Holiday & Travel

The 4th of July is a cherished American holiday, commemorating the nation's independence and fostering a spirit of unity and patriotism. 

While celebrations take place across the country, some cities truly shine when it comes to creating dazzling firework displays that leave spectators in awe. If you're seeking the ultimate experience to celebrate America's birthday, here are the best cities in the United States to immerse yourself in breathtaking firework shows.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) expressed gratitude to the union government for partial relief for tour operators. The union government, in particular the Finance Ministry, withdrew an increase of Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages which will remain in effect until September 30, 2023.

In addition, the TCS percentage increase from 5% to 20% on amounts up to Rs 7 lakh per annum has also been withdrawn. IATO also thanked the Minister of Finance and Secretary Revenue for considering non-applicability of TCS on an amount of Rs.7 lakh per person per annum on overseas tour packages. While appreciating the government’s decision, Mr. Rajiv Mehra, President of IATO, said: “Though we are happy with this roll back, our long-standing demand is that the TCS should be reduced to 2.5%, as the main objective of the government is to bring more into the tax net.

Setting to capture aviation business over the African continent, Air France-KLM is planning major expansion in Africa, banking on the growing demand of air services within the continent. Air France-KLM executives have rated the African skies as a strategic priority for the airline group.

Africa is the fifth biggest business area in the group’s network of 12 regional operations, behind North America, Greater China, Korea and Japan, said Marius van der Ham, the regional manager for the East and Southern Africa, Ghana and Nigeria region.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the American Automobile Association (AAA), this Independence Day weekend will be setting a new record for the holiday travel.

The FAA predicted that the busiest day to fly ahead of the July 4 holiday will be Thursday of next week, forecasting a peak of 52,564 flights on June 29. 4.17 million Americans projected to fly to their destinations Independence Day weekend, an increase of 11.2% over 2022 and 6.6% over 2019.

In an historic first, the world’s two leading Travel & Tourism organisations representing the global public and private sectors agreed to work together across a number of key objectives.

The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organisation of the United Nations (UNWTO) at the G20 Ministerial meeting (Goa, India), focused on advancing public-private sector cooperation at the global level whilst promoting job creation, talent development and business opportunities around the world.

Targeting tourism and business development cooperation with Indonesia, Tanzania has opened its Embassy in Jakarta to coordinate and strengthening cooperation between the two countries. Tourism is among the key areas of cooperation between Tanzania and Indonesia. Cruise ship tourism and beach holidays are the leading tourist activities set for joint cooperation between the two states.

For some, mainly those with excessive discretionary funds, normal travel experiences are ho-hum. That’s where space tourism steps in.

With a space flight for tourists costing on average between a quarter of a million to a half million dollars (US$150,000 – US$500,000) per person, there is only that upper 2% of the population that can afford a trip into outer space. All the prepping before the actual trip including orientation and suiting up, will last much longer than the actual 15 minutes or so onboard the spacecraft to get from Earth to the edge of outer space and back.

The Italian Government Tourist Board) and the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), airport passengers are expected in Italy are at least 1,844,000 of which 84% are of international origin and 16% Italian. At least 944,000 arrivals are expected in June, an increase of +8.6% compared to 2022.

The president and founder of the Excelencias Group, Jose Carlos de Santiago, has announced the call for the first edition of the Magical Ecuador by Excelencias Awards. The 6th International Smart City Ecuador Congress was the framework chosen to present these awards, with which the Excelencias Group seeks to recognize Ecuador's rich cultural, natural and historic heritage. 

A group of six travel agents explored the charming island of St. Eustatius on Friday, June 16, 2023. Their visit was part of the second edition of the Fly In programme, a remarkable initiative that replaced the renowned St. Martin/St. Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART).

Led by Narissa Page, representing the French St. Maarten tourist office, and knowledgeable tour guide, Althea Merkman, the travel agents immersed themselves in the rich cultural and natural heritage of St. Eustatius. T

As the island of St. Kitts gears up for the Summer of Fun kick-off later this month, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority has been hard at work announcing monumental flight routes and expansions, networking with Caribbean tourism officials and key media to bolster destination awareness and putting the finishing touches on the epic 3-night celebration at St. Kitts Music Festival. 

Tourism Trinidad is pleased to announce that Air Canada will be returning its air service between Toronto, Canada to Port of Spain, Trinidad. This is welcome news for travellers and for the tourism industry.

Historically, Air Canada has and still remains a vital partner to Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism industry and its diaspora connectivity. The airline for the twelve-month period of January to December 2019 had a total of 22,918 passengers disembarking at Port of Spain, Trinidad.

As Jamaica’s tourism sector continues its robust recovery, the island has been dubbed the number one Caribbean destination for Delta Vacations in terms of growth. With over fifty years in business, Delta Vacations, a Delta Airlines company, is one of the largest vacations providers in the United States. Delta Airlines is a major airline based in the United States and is considered a legacy carrier.

Cambodia, the Maldives and Indonesia have become the newest signatories to the International Code for the Protection of Tourists. The International Code for the Protection of Tourists is the first ever legal instrument designed to create internationally recognised standards for the protection of tourists at the international level.

According to the European OrganiSation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), Istanbul Airport saw a 12% surge in daily traffic as football fans were returning home after attending the 2023 Champions League Final in Istanbul.

Turkey’s main air hub, which already enjoys the status of Europe’s busiest, serviced 1,684 flights recently, breaking the record of 1,624 flights set by Frankfurt Airport on September 11, 2019. The previous three daily arrival-departure records at a European airport were all set in quick succession in 2019 before the pandemic, according to Eurocontrol.

In the month of April 2023 alone, nearly 184,000 Americans visited Japan, an 8 percent increase over April 2019.

The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) announced that American visitor arrivals to Japan increased by 3.6 percent year-to-date in 2023 over the same period (January-April) in 2019, a year that broke the record for international travel to Japan. In the month of April 2023 alone, nearly 184,000 Americans visited Japan, an 8 percent increase over April 2019 – making the US the only Western nation (aside from its North American neighbour, Mexico, which saw a 13.1 percent increase in its visitor numbers to Japan over the same period) to experience a rise in tourism to Japan.