Press Releases

“I just want to congratulate you on the updates from your event, including this one in Africa. You are wise enough to send interesting, newsworthy reports coming out of the conference, especially for media who cannot attend. These are useful (we published more than one) and show understanding for what serious journalists want and need to cover an event without it reading like PR. Kudos to you and your team.”    HOTELS Magazine, Editor in Chief

Below is a selection of recent press releases.

  • Africa’s top hospitality investors headline the AHIF programme

    [caption id="attachment_3367" align="alignright" width="200"] Mathew Weihs, Managing Director, the bench[/caption] With the agenda of the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) just announced, the event’s organiser, the bench, has confirmed that several of Africa’s largest and most influential hospitality investors will […]

  • WebBeds promotes Felipe Vidal to Regional Director of Sales – Southern Europe

    WebBeds, the global marketplace providing accommodation and ground product distribution services to the travel industry, announces the promotion of Felipe Vidal to the position of WebBeds’ Regional Director of Sales - Southern Europe. WebBeds has promoted talent from within its […]

  • Ramadan travel falls short

    Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys, said: “Ramadan travel this year is still far behind the heights it reached before the pandemic in 2019. However, a major factor in assessing the recovery of Ramadan travel are the dates when the festival falls […]

  • Egypt and Marriott power hotel development in Africa

    When it comes to hotel development across Africa, Egypt and Marriott are the two phenomena to watch. This insight comes from this year’s African Hotel Chain Development Pipeline report, widely acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source, documenting and analysing […]

  • WebBeds announce partnership with Luxair and LuxairTours

    [caption id="attachment_3330" align="alignright" width="640"] From left to rightÑ Peter Vermeulen (Vice President Product, Purchase & Destination Management, LuxairTours), Christophe Van Damme (WebBeds - Regional Director of Sales France & Belux), Thomas Fischer (Chief Commercial Officer, Luxair), Daryl Lee (WebBeds - […]

  • WebBeds launch online tool at ITB to improve rate parity

    WebBeds has launched a new online tool to their hotel partners, called “Parity Monitor”, as the first phase of a major initiative within the company to streamline internal processes and improve the speed of resolving parity issues. This new tool […]

  • Impact of the Ukraine war on travel:

    One year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ForwardKeys, which has access to the freshest and most comprehensive flight booking data available, has analysed the impact of the war on travel. It reveals a number of trends, some expected and […]

  • New Petition: Remove LTNs and Greenwash Traffic Schemes

    Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), so called “clean air zones” and new, underused cycle lanes are all deeply unpopular. So [caption id="attachment_3320" align="alignright" width="216"] David Tarsh[/caption] much so that a new petition has recently appeared on the UK Parliament website (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/633504) demanding a […]

  • WebBeds promotes Lola Diaz to SVP Sales for Europe

    [caption id="attachment_3308" align="alignright" width="237"] Lola Diaz, SVP Sales, Europa, WebBeds[/caption] WebBeds has bolstered its European leadership team by promoting Lola Diaz to SVP Sales, Europe, emphasising the importance of Europe as the largest source market region of its global business. […]

  • WebBeds appoints Stephanie Rogers as SVP Sourcing for Europe.

    [caption id="attachment_3302" align="alignright" width="200"] Stephanie Rogers, SVP Sourcing, Europe, WebBeds[/caption] WebBeds has made a senior-level appointment to its European leadership team, emphasising the importance of Europe as the largest destination region of its business. WebBeds Europe is the largest TTV […]

  • Outbound China travel surges for Lunar New Year but will peak in summer

    China’s decision to ditch its zero-Covid policy has triggered a surge in flight bookings, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys. And it’s the intra-regional neighbours in Asia who will reap the benefits the most. ForwardKeys China Market Analyst, Nan […]

  • The Bench launches AviaDev Real Estate

    [caption id="attachment_3271" align="alignright" width="228"] Jon Howell, Founder & CEO, AviaDev[/caption] The Bench, which is well known for organising AviaDev, the premier platform dedicated to growing connectivity to, from, and within the African continent alongside a portfolio of world-class hotel investment […]

  • The sleeping dragon awakens

    China’s decision to ditch its zero-Covid policy has triggered a surge in flight bookings, according to the latest data from ForwardKeys. On 7th December, Chinese authorities announced that a negative PCR test would no longer be required for air travel […]

  • A Mega Week for Tourism Investment in Nairobi

    The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), the premier tourism and hospitality investment conference in Africa, will return to Nairobi on 12-14 June 2023. Overlapping it, AviaDev Africa, the leading aviation route development conference for Africa will take place on 14-16 June.  […]

  • New passport rules have scuppered EU school visits

    [caption id="attachment_3264" align="alignright" width="200"] Richard Toomer, Executive Director, Tourism Alliance[/caption] New research published today shows that in a survey of 82 specialist European tour operators, the number of students they sent to the UK in 2022 was down 83% compared […]

  • The best visited destinations of 2022

    ForwardKeys, which has the world’s largest and freshest database of flight tickets, has revealed the performance of top global destinations of 2022 in an extensive review of the year. The country list is headed by the Dominican Republic, the city […]

  • IHG partners with Msafiri Limited to open Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels across African markets

    [caption id="attachment_3245" align="alignleft" width="328"] Holiday Inn[/caption] IHG® Hotels & Resorts has signed franchise agreements to rebrand three properties in Tanzania and Kenya to join the IHG portfolio of brands. The move sees IHG Hotels & Resorts swiftly expand its presence across […]

  • Radisson Hotel Group continues to strengthen its presence in Africa

    Radisson Hotel Group plans to strengthen its already impressive presence in Africa. The Group has ambitious plans to reach 150 hotels and 25,000 rooms within the next five years across the continent, making Africa a key region for growth. Currently, […]

  • FIFA World Cup boosts travel to the Gulf

    The latest analysis by ForwardKeys shows that flight bookings to Qatar from the thirty-one countries competing in the football World Cup finals, and from the UAE where many fans are basing themselves during the tournament, are currently 10 times the […]

  • Big guns target AHIF

    The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) has revealed an impressive speaker line-up for its 2022 conference. The programme features several government ministers, the Chair of Morocco’s tourism development agency, the Chair & CEO of Royal Air Maroc and a battery […]