EarlyBirds Helping Organizations with Strategic Innovation to Spur Growth

The Maldives’ Fari Islands archipelago came alive from 13–15 August as the second edition of the Fari Islands Festival unfolded across Patina Maldives and The Ritz-Carlton Maldives. Guided by its ‘One Festival, Every Sense’ philosophy, the festival welcomed an international community of artists, cultural voices, chefs, musicians, wellness practitioners and conservationists, including headline contributor Rosamund Pike and acclaimed designer Sean Wotherspoon.

On September 27th, UN Tourism celebrates World Tourism Day. In 2026, it will centre on how digitalization and Artificial Intelligence are redesigning tourism. To mark the date, Belvera Partners, a PR firm exclusively focused on supporting B2B travel technology companies, has brought together thought leaders across the travel technology ecosystem to explore the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities associated with the rapid adoption of technology, in general, and AI, in particular, across hospitality, distribution, and travel experiences.

European visitors to Brazil is experiencing its best January-to-August period in two decades. In the first eight months of 2026, the country recorded 1.28 million tourist arrivals from Europe, a 14.03% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

The China Pavilion at this year’s WTM London will be almost 22% bigger than last year, with the stand configured to combine live cultural experiences, destination discovery and high-value business networking across all the three days of the world’s most influential travel and tourism event, powered by RX Global. The expanded footprint reflects the importance China places on rebuilding international tourism links through WTM London, while deepening cooperation with the UK and wider global travel trade.

Beyond Lithuania’s cities lies a landscape of quiet drama: ancient forests, misty bogs, glacial lakes and dunes shaped by the Baltic winds. Best explored on foot, these wild places offer a different side of Europe — one where you can walk for hours through seemingly untouched landscapes and still be back in town by evening. The Baltic nation is attracting growing international interest with an impressive 74% of visitors. Beyond its historic cities, cultural attractions and increasingly acclaimed food scene, Lithuania offers another compelling reason to visit: an extraordinary variety of accessible natural landscapes and its dynamic seasonality.

The Cincy Region is set for an even stronger connection with the UK in 2027, as British Airways announces a significant expansion of its nonstop service between London Heathrow and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

Polar expedition travel is highlighting a broader shift in premium tourism, as travellers increasingly seek access, expertise and deeper experiences rather than scale, according to Sam Seward, President of Quark Expeditions, in the latest episode of the Travel Trends Podcast. Speaking to Travel Trends host Dan Christian, Seward describes a market where both booking behaviour and traveller expectations are changing – from earlier bookings for Antarctica to growing demand for specialist experiences such as photography, kayaking and citizen science.

Out of the backstage shadows, an onnagata – the traditional female role in the Japanese traditional theatre art of kabuki – steals into the light. Her hair is swept high into a voluminous bun, framing a face veiled in a thin layer of porcelain-white powder. Touches of cherry blossom flush across her eyelids and lips. She glides across the starkly lit stage so weightlessly that her steps leave silence behind. With precision, she turns, twirls and looks into the distance, face perfectly...

Before I went to Warsaw, I knew little of the city beyond the fact that it was Poland’s capital. I had not realised that much of present-day Warsaw, including its beautiful historic centre, was rebuilt after World War II. Warsaw’s wartime destruction was not merely the consequence of battle, but a deliberate campaign by its Nazi German occupiers to erase much of the city. In August 1944, the Warsaw Uprising – a Polish armed revolt by the city’s underground resistance against German occupation –...

You’d likely never guess that a jewellery brand that leans into everything from punk rock aesthetics to Gothic art, and is worn by everyone from Teyana Taylor to Chappell Roan, is actually from Singapore. That brand is Ask & Embla, the brainchild of life and business partners Ryan Gomes and Olivia Eleazar, who started out in 2013 selling a curated edit of body jewellery pieces procured from other suppliers, before transitioning to creating her own designs. “I was 19 years old, listening to a lot...

In 2015, Anantara Hotels & Resorts turned a building formerly occupied by the Four Seasons Bangkok into Anantara Siam Bangkok. Located in the city’s Ratchaprasong district, a stone’s throw from the famous Erawan Shrine, the structure – which dates back to 1983 and was designed by American architect George “Pete” Wimberly – has a long history housing luxury hotels, including the Peninsula in its first incarnation and later the Regent. More than 10 years after the most recent rebranding, Anantara...

Halfway up a long hill in the Kenyan wilderness, a photographer pointed towards the bush. Just 20 metres (66 feet) away, a hyena was running through the undergrowth, chasing its prey. It was exhilarating – and a little terrifying. I was taking part in Beyond the Ultimate’s For Rangers Ultra, a five-day, 230km (143-mile) race through five Kenyan wildlife conservancies, where encounters like this were all part of the unique experience. Armed rangers were stationed around 300 metres apart along the...