As millions of travellers head abroad during the peak summer holiday season, Europe has reinforced its position as the world’s leading leisure travel destination, capturing one-third of all global leisure travel spending in 2025, according to new 2026 EIR data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), sponsored by Chase Travel, Lead Research Partner. The latest figures show that global leisure travel spending reached $6.15TN in 2025, up 3.5% year-on-year and accounting for 80.5% of total global travel expenditure. Of this, Europe attracted $2TN, equivalent to $1 in every $3 spent worldwide on leisure travel, highlighting the region’s enduring appeal as travellers embark on this year’s summer holidays.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) welcomes the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) as a Destination Partner, strengthening collaboration with one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. The partnership will enhance cooperation between WTTC and the ETA to promote sustainable tourism growth, strengthen public-private collaboration, and showcase Egypt’s diverse tourism experiences to travellers, investors, and industry stakeholders worldwide.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Governments Summit Organization (WGS), an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that marks a new era of public-private sector collaboration to shape the future of Travel & Tourism. By bringing together WTTC’s global network of private sector leaders and the World Governments Summit’s unique convening power among governments and policymakers, the partnership creates a platform for stronger cooperation on the key issues influencing the sector’s long-term growth, resilience and competitiveness.

PATA Nepal Chapter has been selected as the winner of the PATA Award of Excellence, presented by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA HQ) during the PATA Chapter and Student Chapter Awards Ceremony held on Monday, August 17, 2026, at Commons Café, Old Court House, Kuching — a day ahead of PATA Travel Mart 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Alipay today launched China’s first full-stack agentic commerce platform at its AI Ecosystem Partner Conference in Hangzhou, providing merchants with the tools to shift from digital operations to AI-powered operations. “Agentic commerce is poised for rapid growth over the next 6 to 12 months. AI agents will become a new interface connecting hundreds of millions of users with tens of millions of merchants, unlocking a new intent-driven commercial ecosystem. Through trust, connectivity, and an open ecosystem, Alipay will help build a new generation of AI-powered services and support agentic commerce growth,” said Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group.

Qatar Airways Holidays is set to elevate the Qatar stopover experience with the launch of exclusive FORMULA 1® QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX 2026 packages. For the first time, three-day Formula 1® race tickets have been integrated into Qatar Stopover packages along with flights and hotel accommodation, allowing passengers transiting through Hamad International Airport to transform their journey into an unforgettable Grand Prix getaway.

The CTO Chapter U.K. & Europe has appointed hospitality veteran Nadine Rankin as its new chapter manager. Rankin’s appointment marks an important new phase for the CTO Chapter U.K. & Europe as it continues to strengthen its support for members, expand its program of activities, and champion Caribbean tourism across the U.K. and European markets.