Conferenze e Fiere

📍 Starhotels, led by Elisabetta Fabri, expands into international markets with a new Global Sales Office for the UK and Northern Europe, aiming to strengthen its global market presence. The UK-based office is part of a broader growth strategy, including representation deals in the Middle East, India, the US, Latin America, Russia, and CIS. Antonio Ducceschi, the Chief Commercial Officer, aims for increased business opportunities and stakeholder connections. Romano Campione will head the new office, leveraging his experience from managing the Group's London hotels.

✈ Starting October 27, Qatar Airways boosts flight frequencies to London Heathrow, followed by Malè, Miami, and Tokyo for the 2024-2025 season. The UK will see 56 weekly flights, offering 42,000 seats every week. Maldives' capital Malè will have 28 weekly flights from December 13, Miami gets 12 weekly connections from December 16, and starting February 14, 2025, Tokyo will be linked with 11 weekly flights through Doha.

✈ easyJet announces winter 2024 and summer 2025 offerings from Milan Malpensa and Pisa airports. Starting November 2024, two new routes from Milan Malpensa to Kittilä, Finland, and Cairo West, Egypt, will be added, totaling 70 destinations from the Milanese hub. Milan Malpensa-Kittilä flights begin on November 20, 2024, with two weekly frequencies (Wednesday and Sunday). The Milan Malpensa-Cairo West route, also with two weekly departures (Thursday and Sunday), starts on November 7, 2024. Additionally, a new Pisa-London Southend route launches on March 31, 2025, as easyJet inaugurates its tenth UK base at London Southend with three A320neo aircraft. The Pisa-London Southend flights will operate twice weekly (Monday and Friday) starting March 31, 2025.

✈ Wizz Air sold out all 20,000 'All you can fly' annual subscriptions, launched on August 13, allowing travel across 780 destinations, excluding national routes. Users must book only three days in advance and pay €9.99 per flight without any supplements. Concerns were raised by Federconsumatori about the terms favoring the carrier.

🏨 Ethiopian Airlines has enhanced Addis Ababa's status as an African hub with the launch of its Silver Lounge located in Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, designed to accommodate up to 200 guests during peak hours. The lounge offers a range of services including dining areas, relaxation zones, a dedicated smoking room, children's corner, and ample luggage storage. Access is granted to Cloud Nine, ShebaMiles Platinum, Star Alliance Gold, and Silver cardholders. Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, highlighted the lounge as part of their continuous efforts to elevate hospitality standards.

🌿 Lidl's Parkside rechargeable hedge trimmer, available from August 12, is priced at €39.99. It features a diamond-sharpened, hardened steel blade of 52 cm capable of cutting branches up to 12 mm thick at 2600 strokes per minute. The trimmer is part of the Parkside X 20V Team series, indicating battery and charger compatibility within the brand, but they are sold separately. The trimmer's 90° rotating handle allows vertical and horizontal cuts with ergonomic ease.

🌎 Virgin Voyages joins the race to offer new itineraries for the solar eclipse in August 2026. Two cruises planned: a 12-day journey on Valiant Lady with stops at Dublin, Glasgow, and Reykjavik, plus a 15-day voyage on Scarlet Lady visiting Amalfi Coast, Majorca, and Cannes. Additionally, 6 more itineraries ranging from 8 to 16 days with 12 new destinations, including Salerno, Italy, have been announced for 2026. COO Michelle Bentubo emphasized the continuous evolution of routes based on passenger and partner demand.

🚢 AmaWaterways launched a 7-night "Best of the Danube" cruise, inspired by the co-founder. Cruises start and end in Budapest with 15 departures scheduled for 2025 and 14 for 2026. The season begins on AmaMagna, followed by AmaBella, AmaReina, AmaViola, and AmaLea. The tour includes Vienna and Bratislava, offering excursions like biking, walking, tastings, and visits to monuments.

🏃 The Dolce Vita Orient Express, Italy's first luxury train, will debut in spring 2025 with bookings already open. Offering eight itineraries all starting and ending in Rome, it covers 14 regions and 131 destinations including Venice, Matera, and Portofino. The train features cuisine by three-Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck, 12 carriages, a max capacity of 62 passengers, 12 deluxe cabins, 18 suites, and the exclusive La Dolce Vita Suite. Travelers can also enjoy excursions into urban and natural beauty.

✈ Edelweiss, a Swiss airline, expands its North American routes for summer 2025, adding two new destinations from Zurich Airport: Seattle, USA and Halifax, Canada. The Seattle route operates from June to September, and the Halifax route from July to September with a biweekly frequency. This brings Edelweiss's North American destinations to seven, including Denver, Las Vegas, Tampa Bay, Calgary, and Vancouver.