It's almost spooky season as we look ahead to Halloween, and the UK is going all out for the holiday with destinations hosting festivals, inflatable monsters and more.
Travellers planning ahead to next year might want to consider a trip to Italy, Estonia or Cambodia, all of which rank in Skyscanner's trending 2025 list.
And there are new flights in the air for Etihad and AJet. Here's a round-up of recent travel and tourism news – in case you missed it.
Italy, Philippines and India rank in Skyscanner's trending travel destinations for 2025
Travellers planning ahead for holidays next year might want to take note of Skyscanner's latest report.
The online flight search engine has unveiled its list of trending destinations for 2025, with Reggio Calabria in Italy taking the top spot.
Destinations in the Philippines and India also ranked as popular choices for the coming year.
Analysing flight searches for 2024 compared to the previous year, Skyscanner revealed that the Italian Mediterranean province, renowned for its culture, coastline and cultural diversity, saw a whopping 541 per cent increase in flight searches over the past 12 months.
Tartu in Estonia ranked second in the report, with flight searches up 294 per cent. Located in the east of the country, the second-largest city in Estonia, after capital Tallinn, is home to one of the oldest universities in the Baltic states and was named the European Capital of Culture for 2024.
Cambodia's Siem Reap rounds up the top three, with the temple-filled spot seeing flight searches increase by 241 per cent. Having recovered from a tough Covid-19 lockdown, the destination is famed for its sprawling Angkor Wat and also offers travellers wellness, culture and history.
Panglao Island, located in the province of Bohol, ranked eighth on the list, with the Filipino destination seeing a 77 per cent increase in flight searches.
And India's Thiruvananthapuram, round out the top nine list with the gateway to Kerala seeing an increase of 66 per cent.
Other top trending destinations include Baltimore, Portsmouth in Dominica, Cordoba, Tromso and Stuttgart.
AJet launches new routes to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt
Turkish airline AJet has added flights from Istanbul to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.
The budget arm of Turkish Airlines is now flying from Sabiha Gokcen Airport to Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
It has also added five flights per week to the Egyptian resort cities of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, as well as daily flights to Bahrain.
The new routes are set to cater to tourists heading to Egypt's popular Red Sea resorts, to commercial and religious travellers flying to Saudi Arabia and to cater to growing Bahrain-Turkish relations.
Aimed at cost-conscious travellers, the airline launched in March this year and offers no-frills air travel to 95 destinations across 32 countries.
UK attractions light up for Halloween
Things are getting spooky in the UK this month as several destinations across the country light up for Halloween.
In Kew, the first-ever Halloween light trail will transform the Unesco World Heritage Site with twinkling lights, fire performers and laser shows. Running from Friday until November 3, the 1.5km trail has a possessed pumpkin farm, a spider web light tunnel, a laser garden and a monsters' lair. Live fire performances will take place each evening.
In Manchester, visitors can get in the spooky spirit with week-long Halloween in the City celebrations. The event runs from October 25 to 31, and visitors can expect giant balloon monsters on city centre rooftops, pumpkin lanterns and an eight-metre-long inflatable monster called The Leech.
And in Scotland, Glasgow's Botanic Gardens are also turning ghostly for the season. GlasGlow returns to the historic landmark and this year's theme is Trick or Treat. Visitors can explore 10 distinct spaces from the BoneYard to the Haunted House. Alongside more than 9,000 plants, visitors can also try their hand at pumpkin picking and smore making.
Etihad adds more flights to Jaipur
Travellers flying between Abu Dhabi and Jaipur will soon have more options for air travel.
Etihad Airlines is adding six new flights per week between the destinations starting from December 15.
Famously called the “pink city” for its standout architecture, Jaipur is the capital and biggest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan. It offers a kaleidoscope of forts, palaces and bustling bazaars, all steeped in history and regal charm.
The walled city is also a Unesco World Heritage Site. Its architecture aside, Jaipur pulsates with vibrant cultural energy, best experienced by getting lost in its labyrinthine streets.
Etihad's network adjustment will mean that the national airline of the UAE is operating 10 times per week to the South Asian destination that is part of India's well-travelled golden triangle route.
The network expansion comes after the airline first launched flights to Jaipur from Abu Dhabi in June, proving the route's popularity.
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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