Expected to open in the second half of 2028, the property will offer more than a place to sleep. Guests will find an enclosed free-fall thrill ride high above the city, an observation deck more than 1,000 feet (around 305 metres) above Manhattan, a rooftop pool and a rooftop bar and lounge.

The project will be the first StandardX hotel in North America. Extell is the New York developer behind landmark towers such as Central Park Tower and One57, as well as the W Hotel Times Square. The building at 255 West 45th Street will combine hospitality, dining and entertainment, and it promises to change the city’s skyline.

The StandardX is the younger, more irreverent sibling of The Standard. That brand was founded in 1999 and has flagship hotels in New York, London and Bangkok, plus European addresses in Brussels and Ibiza. The idea behind the spin-off is simple: keep what makes a Standard hotel special and drop the rest. Rooms are simpler and service more relaxed, but the brand’s design sense and attitude remain intact. The hotel serves as a base, while the surrounding neighbourhood is the real attraction.

There is only one StandardX so far, in Melbourne’s creative Fitzroy district. The 125-room boutique hotel has a rooftop, several dining options and a busy events calendar that ranges from wine tastings to DJ sets. The format is designed to connect travellers with local life instead of keeping them inside the hotel.

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Times Square works on a very different scale, and Hyatt presents the new hotel as a one-off flagship, not a template for future StandardX openings. Its design will reflect New York’s theatrical character, with bold colours, sculptural shapes, and unexpected touches. The guestrooms will be expressive but uncomplicated. The public spaces will bring together design, music and the social energy The Standard is known for.

Restaurants, bars and nightlife venues will run from street level to the top of the building, and they are meant to attract New Yorkers as well as hotel guests. The aim is to bring the cultural spirit of The Standard, High Line and The Standard, East Village to a very different part of the city. Details on the dining and nightlife concepts and on creative collaborations will be announced later.

For Amar Lalvani, Chief Creative Officer at Hyatt, The StandardX takes The Standard’s core idea of being part of the city and makes it simpler and easier to access. “Usually, that means putting people in the middle of an interesting neighbourhood, with everything happening right outside the door. In Times Square, a lot of it will be happening right inside the building,” he said. “I love that. It’s energetic, theatrical and completely over the top. We want to embrace that, have some fun with it, and create something that could only happen in New York. And only right there.”

L’article The StandardX plans 1,800-room Times Square hotel with free-fall ride and sky-high pool est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

An expert jury selects the finalists, before a public vote determines the winner. The winning museum receives €100,000 to realise its proposed project. Voting runs from 5 to 27 November, with the winner due to be announced on 2 December.

Located in the IJmeer lake, Pampus forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines. Its former garrison had to survive for long periods without help from the mainland, making self-sufficiency essential to the fort’s original purpose.

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That challenge has taken on a new meaning. Pampus now operates without fossil fuels, generates its own renewable energy and purifies water from the surrounding lake for use on the island. According to its website, official approval to serve the treated water as drinking water is still pending.

“This combination of heritage and practical solutions for the future makes Pampus a rather special place,” said spokesperson Anouschka Zanolla. “Our selection is a wonderful recognition of everything our team has been working towards.”

The island also grows some of the vegetables and herbs used in its kitchen, while providing space for wildlife. Together, these activities demonstrate how the careful use of natural resources can become part of everyday island life.

“The next step is to help visitors experience more of this ingenuity for themselves,” Zanolla said. For visitors, she added, the “adventure” begins on the boat journey to the island.

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Exploring self-sufficiency

Winning the prize would allow Pampus to create interactive installations around the island, exploring energy, water, food and materials. The aim is to help visitors understand the practical choices involved in becoming more self-sufficient.

“How can you harness the wind’s energy? Which tiny creatures help a vegetable garden thrive? And how can you preserve summer’s harvest to enjoy in winter?” Zanolla asked.

“Through hands-on activities, tasting and experimenting, visitors would discover how inventive and enjoyable a more self-sufficient way of living can be.

“The island’s history provides the starting point, showing how ideas from the past can inspire practical solutions for the future.”

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Seeing home differently

Pampus hopes visitors will leave with more than happy memories of an unusual island. Its ambition is to encourage them to consider how the ideas they encounter could apply to their own lives.

“The ambition is to spark fresh curiosity about the water from their taps, the electricity in their sockets and the food on their plates. Perhaps they will even think: ‘I could try that at home.’

“The message is an optimistic one: a more sustainable future offers opportunities for creativity, discovery and enjoyment.”

“If so much is possible on one small island, imagine what could happen beyond its shores,” Zanolla told Travel Tomorrow.

More information about the nomination and public vote is available on the Pampus website.

L’article Former Dutch sea fort shortlisted for €100,000 green museum award est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

At the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) annual general meeting in Doha, the association representing 39 Middle East and North African airlines predicted a net loss of $4.3 billion (€3.82 billion) in 2026 and a 5.2% decline in air cargo traffic. Although the body expects the sector to remain profitable overall for the year, “ongoing operational disruptions” and “exposure to conflict-affected markets” are pressuring margins.

Held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, and hosted by Qatar Airways in Doha, day two of AACO’s 59th AGM discussed the aviation industry’s outlook, shared challenges and strategic priorities, highlighting the importance of regional cooperation in shaping the future of air transport.

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) November 3, 2026

The surge in global fuel prices that has occurred since the US-Israel war on Iran and subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a big factor. The industry as a whole is expected to make less money than it has done for 12 years, with fuel accounting for 31.4% of operating costs, compared to 25.4% in 2025. But for AACO airlines, the figure is much higher, 37.3% (up from 27.9%) – a 9-point rise in the Middle East versus the overall sector’s 6 points.

With four million jobs and the sector’s $290 billion (€258 billion) contribution to the regional economy at stake, Hamad Al-Khater, CEO of host Qatar Airways Group Chief CEO, said the solution lies in partnership working: “As our industry faces a very difficult period, with geopolitical developments continuing to disrupt global connectivity, regional cooperation has become our greatest strength,” he said.

One policy area in particular where Middle East airlines believe pulling together will ease the financial pressure on them is lobbying against the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS). International flights arriving in Europe from destinations within 5,000 km will be required to pay for their CO2 emissions starting in 2029, under new rules put forward by the European Commission earlier this year. The proposal has intensified complaints from the global aviation industry about taking responsibility for their planet-warming activity.

During his address at the Arab Air Carriers Organization’s 59th Annual General Meeting, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer and AGM Chairman, Hamad Al-Khater, emphasised the importance of strengthening collaboration among Arab airlines and aviation partners to address current and future challenges and drive the region’s aviation growth.

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) November 2, 2026

Abdul Wahab Teffaha, AACO’s Secretary General, speaking to Euronews Travel, pointed to the Arab region’s existing obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and said already-strained Arab carriers could end up paying twice unless the two systems recognise each other and align.

In rhetoric that signals heightening tension over the issue, Teffaha said the expansion of ETS was a matter of “sovereignty” and that the EU’s attempt to broaden the system’s scope was “extra-territoriality, trespassing on the sovereignty of others.” He added: “And that applies for all the countries within the 5,000 kilometres, which are basically, we start from Turkey, through Iraq, down till Dubai, up until Sudan, Egypt, up to Morocco.”

More diplomatically, Sheikh Jassim Fahad Al-Thani, VP of Aeropolitical and Corporate Affairs at Qatar Airways, told the outlet Europe is “a key market” and highlighted the connectivity win-win of the airline’s increased European schedules to major international hubs such as London and Frankfurt that “give travellers more flexibility and better connections through Doha to our global network.”

L’article Arab airlines predict net loss of nearly €4 billion for turbulent 2026 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Organised by the World Tourism Forum Institute under the theme “Investment and Security,” the event is expected to welcome more than 2,000 delegates from over 50 countries. Governments, financial institutions, investors, and tourism businesses will discuss the conditions that turn destination strategies into development.

Meet us in Brussels! Where confidence becomes cooperation, and cooperation shapes the future. Join global leaders, investors, and innovators as we come together to discuss the future of tourism, security, and international investment. November 9–10, 2026 Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels #GlobalTourismForum #Brussels2026 #InvestmentConfidence #TourismLeaders #AnnualMeeting #EUsummit #TravelIndustry #GlobalCooperation

— Global Tourism Forum | GTF (@gtourismforum) August 19, 2026

For the institute’s president, Bulut Bağcı, the stakes are high and bringing tourism stakeholders together is paramount. “When I look at tourism in 2026, I see an industry whose future is increasingly being decided beyond its own boundaries,” he told Travel Tomorrow. That echoes the International Monetary Fund’s October Outlook identifying conflict, trade tensions, and fiscal policies as risks to growth. Recent comments from the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) also illustrate how that “extra-territoriality” can affect regional economies differently, with the association’s secretary general slamming proposed changes to Europe’s emissions trading system (ETS) that will mean Arab airlines could end up paying for their pollution twice. 

The first day of the Global Forum will focus on investment: where capital is moving, how projects become financeable, hospitality development, public-private partnerships, and blended finance. Connectivity and climate resilience also feature, while an Investment Deal Room is planned to bring proposals and potential partners together.

Bağcı wants those conversations to confront practical obstacles. “My starting point has always been that tourism is infrastructure,” he says. Lenders need credible demand forecasts and repayment plans; developers require clarity on land rights, licences and approvals, and infrastructure such as electricity, water, transport, not forgetting workforce development.

Linked to that, local benefits are another test for the sector. Bağcı calls for attention to procurement, training, smaller businesses, as well as an eye to local services and housing pressures. “A destination’s economic success becomes more durable when the people who live there can see a benefit from its growth,” he argues.

On the second day, attention turns to security and resilience, spanning cybersecurity, border processes, major events, crisis management, and transport, alongside climate and health risks. The agenda connects investment decisions with destinations’ ability to remain accessible and operational when travel is disrupted. Bağcı identifies priorities including responsible handling of personal information, dependable payment systems, and assistance when plans unravel, backed by well-prepared staff and fallback plans.

At the heart of the largest travel market in the world and the head of European decision-making and policy-making, Brussels offers an apt setting for this cross-sector discussion. It’s a setting that highlights how coordination between authorities is crucial for destination promotion, transport, finance, and border issues. But Europe’s relationships with Gulf investors, Asian travel markets, and emerging destinations across Africa and Eurasia are also central to tourism’s future and, therefore, the Global Forum’s programme.

That programme anticipates a Brussels Agenda for Tourism Investment and Security and follows hot on the heels of the first ever EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, adopted on 4 November 2026. Whether the forum delivers on its ambitions, however, will depend on what comes next: better-prepared projects, clearer institutional responsibilities and partnerships that progress beyond discussion. As Bağcı puts it: “The value of the meeting will become clearer through the decisions that follow it.”

L’article Global Tourism Forum set to bring investment and security into focus in Brussels est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The first thing is that attendees are supposed to find ways they can agree on to work together. The UN itself explains that COP 31 is essentially a giant meeting intended to “allow governments to assess progress and negotiate how to tackle a challenge that no nation can solve alone.” It should be noted, too, that political leaders are not the only ones taking part. Researchers, enterprises, First Nations, youth groups, and other sections of civil society will be there too. Whether this makes it easier to reach a consensus or not is a matter up for debate.

One major achievement was 2015’s Paris Agreement, which saw countries pledge to ensure global warming remains below 2°C and to try to limit it to only 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. (That 1.5°C threshold was breached for the last months of 2023, and for the first time, a full calendar year, in 2024, according to the World Meteorological Organization.)

The consequences of climate change remind us of a single truth: We do not have another planet, yet we have the power to transform it. A small step, the right awareness, and strong solidarity. Only 3 days left to be part of the change! https://t.co/6BI0mFq53L

— COP31 Türkiye (@turkiyecop31) November 5, 2026

However, not every COP results in a landmark international deal like the Paris Agreement, nor is every conference intended to do so. Each year, further negotiations happen, and new domestic goals are publicised, alongside sharing best practices and solutions.

While the Turks host in Antalya this year, Australia is heading the negotiations, alongside other Pacific islands, many of whom are taking the brunt of rising seas and increasingly violent weather systems that, right now, pose active threats to their lives and cultures. It’s no surprise, then, that the urgency of actually doing something that works will be high on the agenda. The UN’s top climate advisor Selwyn Hart has said he’s “running a personal campaign to rename the Action Agenda, the Implementation Agenda.”

Specifically, the Climate Implementation Bridge (BRIDGE), developed under the COP31 Presidency, aims to build up the capacity and investment that are currently lacking as countries try to put planning into practice. Partnerships between governments, international organisations, development banks, climate funds, and the private sector will be the driver.

Ideas come together at COP31 Green Zone! From climate solutions to a more sustainable future, nearly 600 panels will bring together fresh perspectives and inspiring conversations. The program has started rolling out! Explore the sessions, find the topics that interest you, and check out the details on the COP31 website. 9–20 November 2026 | COP31 Venue, Antalya Open to everyone. Free to attend!

— COP31 Türkiye (@turkiyecop31) October 29, 2026

The oceans and the seas will, also unsurprisingly given the lead participants, be a focus, as a stated COP31 priority is promoting “support for coastal communities facing sea-level rise and coastal erosion. Safeguarding livelihoods and strengthening adaptive capacity are central objectives.” (COP31 Action Plan).

We can expect to hear a lot about the ocean’s potential for absorbing around 25% of carbon emissions, and, as the World Research Institute’s Tom Pickerell (Global Director, Ocean Program) notes, the ocean absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat caused by climate change. Blue carbon ecosystems such as seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and mangroves will be entering national climate strategies, climate accounting, and target-setting. The protection and restoration of land carbon sinks, such as forests and rangelands, will be another theme.

Our future depends on the peace we make with nature. For a future in harmony with nature, let’s meet at COP31. https://t.co/Xq7iiK5TKe

— COP31 Türkiye (@turkiyecop31) November 3, 2026

But COP31 will not only be about sequestering carbon or compensating for emissions. It seeks, in addition, to find radical reductions. Waste will therefore be another keyword. Waste is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane, responsible for 30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. COP31 will promote ways to prevent emissions at the source through circular economy solutions, and, in doing so, slash in half the projected increase in global annual waste generation by 2035.

Similarly, green industrialisation, especially for developing nations, will be a priority, with attention on helping hitherto “hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, chemicals, aluminium, and fertilisers” reach near-zero emissions while supporting economic competitiveness and innovation.

Climate-resilient cities, food, health, and clean energy are also on the action plan. Food insecurity looms for around 318 million people due to climate shocks, while food systems are responsible for one-third of global emissions yet receive only four per cent of climate finance. What’s more, around two billion people are still dependent on polluting cooking methods. Scaling up green agriculture, technical solutions to clean electrification, and mobilising finance for vulnerable communities are all problems COP31 will work on.

One more item that is worth mentioning regarding COP31 is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which Associate Professor Nathan Cooper, of the University of Waikato’s School of Law, Politics and Philosophy, calls “the green elephant in the room.” He points out that “work is under way on the Antalya Artificial Intelligence Pledge, a voluntary framework to support AI use for climate action. But given growing concerns around AI’s negative and growing climate footprint, the role of AI in relation to the Climate Crisis remains controversial.”

Perhaps most importantly though, as we stand on the brink of a post-1.5 °C world, hope is still in the room with us too. Selwyn Hart highlights that COP31 is taking place as the technologies are emerging that can really make a difference. “The good news, in this horrible situation of overshoot, is that the world has never been better equipped to solve this challenge,” he says.

L’article What to expect from COP31 climate summit? est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Is prevention separate from lifestyle?

The disagreement emerged early. Lutz Lungwitz, president of the German Medical Wellness Association, drew distinctions between medical tourism, medical wellness and wellness tourism, associating the latter with lifestyle and enjoyment.

“So you’re suggesting that prevention is not lifestyle?” Puczkó asked, challenging a separation that would become a recurring theme throughout the debate.

For Emil Hidayatli, chief physician at TABIA Group, lifestyle and prevention are closely connected. Drawing on his work in lifestyle medicine, he argued that nutrition, physical activity and natural resources can form part of a medically supervised approach to preventing disease.

The distinction, in his view, lies partly in professional involvement. Medical wellness introduces medical assessment, consultations and personalised programmes into an experience that extends beyond general relaxation. Follow-up matters too: the ambition should be to support changes that continue after guests return home.

Yet this raised another question. If both wellness and medical wellness encourage healthier habits, how clearly can travellers distinguish between them?

Traditional spa destinations face a changing market

For Kateřina Adámková, director of Císařské lázně in Karlovy Vary, these questions have immediate commercial relevance. She described the challenge facing Czech spa destinations built around traditional treatment stays lasting two or three weeks.

Such lengthy visits are increasingly difficult to fit into people’s lives. Adámková also highlighted the loss of Russian guests and the pressure on destinations to attract different markets, including visitors interested in shorter medical wellness stays.

Thomas Bömkes, medical and health tourism adviser to ITB Berlin, argued that reaching younger generations requires a broader approach. Nutrition, cooking lessons, mental wellbeing and sleep could all help guests connect their stay with changes they can make at home.

The value of a visit, he suggested, extends beyond the days spent at the destination. Giving people something useful to take back into everyday life could also encourage them to return.

Must the benefits be measurable?

Puczkó pressed the panel to explain what visitors should expect to gain. Medical treatment often has an identifiable outcome, such as a new hip or a repaired tooth. What, he asked, is the equivalent promise in medical wellness?

“What’s the reason to believe?”

Hidayatli cautioned against promising rapid results. Some changes could be assessed during a stay, he argued, but medical wellness should focus on longer-term outcomes, supported by continued adherence and follow-up.

Puczkó challenged whether that proposition would persuade younger consumers looking for visible results. Hidayatli suggested that activity tracking and other tools could help guests monitor their progress after leaving.

Bömkes offered a different perspective, describing a two-week Ayurveda experience in India. Changes to his diet, daily treatments and restful sleep had left him feeling sufficiently better to want to repeat the experience annually.

“I don’t need figures. I don’t care. I felt it was good to me,” he said.

For Bömkes, that personal response also had marketing value: a satisfied visitor returns home and recommends the experience to friends. His example illustrated the appeal of wellness travel, while leaving open the moderator’s question about what makes its benefits specifically medical.

Who should set the rules?

The discussion became more concrete when it turned to regulation. If a service uses the word “medical”, what qualifications, supervision and safeguards should travellers expect?

Hidayatli supported certification involving cooperation between relevant authorities. Bömkes argued for government regulation of health-related activities, while allowing other bodies to oversee aspects outside that remit.

Lungwitz described his association’s work on an independent certification system combining medical involvement with hospitality standards. He also questioned whether “tourism” adequately describes a journey made specifically to receive medical treatment.

Across these different positions, trust emerged as a shared concern. Travellers need to understand what they are buying, who is responsible for their care and what claims a provider can reasonably make.

Tourist, patient or client?

Ultimately, the distinction depends on who the offer is designed for: a tourist seeking relaxation and wellbeing, a patient travelling for medical care, or a client investing in a personalised programme to improve their health.

Their motivations and expectations shape the services they need, the outcomes they seek and the level of medical supervision required. For destinations, identifying that audience is the starting point for defining a credible offer.

L’article When does a wellness holiday become medical tourism, and who decides? est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Organised jointly by Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Belgium and its Missions to the European Union and NATO, the concert marked the sixth anniversary of Victory Day.

The evening opened with Bayati-Shiraz, one of the seven main mughams, recalling its performance in Shusha in 2021 when the Kharibulbul Music Festival returned to the city after almost three decades. For Mammad Ahmadzada, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the choice carried particular significance: the piece “is much more than a musical composition. It’s the voice of a nation’s pain, the expression of its longing, the reflection of its victory and, ultimately, its hope for peace.”

“Today, this music carries the message of peace. It symbolises our hope for lasting stability, reconciliation, and a future in which these lands, once marked by suffering and conflict, will become places of prosperity, development and renewed life,” he added.

Songs and dances from Karabakh

Founded in 1938 by Uzeyir Hajibeyov, widely regarded as the father of Azerbaijani classical music, the ensemble bears the name of Fikret Amirov, known for his symphonic interpretations of mugham. For its Brussels performance, it prepared a programme focused on the musical and dance traditions of Karabakh and the region Azerbaijan calls Eastern Zangezur.

Songs, instrumental pieces and mugham performances alternated with energetic folk dances. Dressed in colourful costumes, the dancers performed intricate choreography with precision, while the singers impressed the audience with their expressive vocals.

Behind the performers, a screen displayed landscapes from across Azerbaijan alongside footage of reconstruction work in its cities and villages. The evening concluded with a buffet of traditional Azerbaijani specialities.

What is mugham?

Mugham is a traditional form of Azerbaijani music that combines established musical structures with extensive improvisation. A male or female singer, known as a khanende, performs with instruments such as the tar, a long-necked lute, the kamancha, a spiked fiddle, and the daf, a large frame drum.

Passed down largely from master to student, mugham leaves considerable room for individual interpretation, meaning no two performances are quite the same. Its seven main modes are Rast, Shur, Segah, Shushtar, Chargah, Bayati-Shiraz and Humayun, each associated with different moods and emotions. Traditionally, it was performed at weddings and private gatherings of music lovers.

Shusha has long been an important centre of mugham. The city hosted the first Kharibulbul Music Festival in 1989, named after the flower that has become one of its symbols.

UNESCO inscribed Azerbaijani mugham on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Azerbaijani music also features on the Golden Record carried aboard NASA’s Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, taking a part of the country’s musical heritage into space.

L’article Azerbaijan brings the sounds of mugham to Brussels est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The aircraft landed safely at Évreux. According to the French prime minister’s office, all 151 passengers and six crew members were taken to safety while bomb disposal teams inspected the plane. Aer Lingus said it would work to get passengers to their final destination as quickly as possible.

Aer Lingus flight #EI402 (Dublin – Rome) is diverting to Evreux Fauville Air Base, with squawk 7700. https://t.co/acg3BCwzKM

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 5, 2026

The threats mainly targeted low-cost carriers and flights to or from Bulgaria, Czechia and Italy. In Bulgaria, three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted, were escorted by fighter jets. The London flight was diverted to Plovdiv. In Prague, four flights operated by Ryanair, easyJet and Sky Express received threats sent by email from anonymous addresses, according to the airport. No explosives were found. “We perceive the credibility of the threats as low,” Czech police said, adding that all necessary security measures had nonetheless been activated.

In Italy, a Finnair flight from Helsinki was escorted into Rome Fiumicino by Italian Air Force jets and landed normally. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna. A second Wizz Air service, from Milan to Bucharest, landed safely and was inspected on arrival. Flights from Thessaloniki and Porto to Milan Malpensa were also targeted.

Elsewhere, a second Finnair flight, from Helsinki to Vienna, landed as planned. Austrian police said Vienna Airport had received an email with a threat aimed at four flights. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels also landed as scheduled, and the airline said no suspicious items were found. In Denmark, police searched two aircraft at Copenhagen Airport.

Controlli in corso sul volo Helsinki-Roma della compagnia Finnair dopo l’allarme bomba scattato nella mattinata di giovedì 5 novembre. L’aereo è atterrato nello scalo di Fiumicino scortato dai jet dell’Aereonautica Militare. https://t.co/bemA1a6OLy

— Local Team (@localteamit) November 5, 2026

Thursday marks the third day of bomb alerts on European flights this week. On Monday, a Wizz Air flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Budapest. On Tuesday, around ten flights were targeted, leading to a brief closure of Warsaw airport and the scrambling of air force jets near Rome. In total, more than 20 hoax threats have been reported since Monday, at least seven of them involving Ryanair. No explosives have been found on any aircraft.

The UK government has described the incidents as malicious hoaxes. Marco Chan, an aviation expert at Kingston University, told the BBC that the threats were “most likely a hoax, but the system is right to treat it as real”.

The origin and motives behind the threats remain unknown. The wave comes as Europe faces a growing number of hybrid attacks, some of which authorities have linked to Russia or Iran. Recent incidents include cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in several countries, drone incursions, and fake warnings sent through hacked public alert apps in Russia and Ukraine.

L’article Hoax bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe for the third time this week est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The post office was designed by architect Louis Cloquet, who began its construction in 1898. With its pointed arches and carved stonework, mixing Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance styles, it looks far older than it is.

Today, the building leads a double life. On the ground floor, the De Post shopping centre is open to everyone, with fashion, interior design and beauty shops, as well as places for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Upstairs, 1898 The Post welcomes guests in 38 rooms overlooking the Graslei, Ghent’s historic quay on the river Leie. Opened in August 2017, the boutique hotel has since been awarded a MICHELIN Key.

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Yet a hotel was never the plan. When Geert De Paepe and Greet De Paepe-Kerkstoel bought the building in 2014, they intended to turn it into four large apartments. “We fell in love with the building,” Geert De Paepe told The Brussels Times. “We looked at the rhythm of the windows and started asking architects what else we could do. And we came across the idea of a hotel.”

Turning a protected landmark into a hotel was no easy task, though: the owners discovered that floors in the building’s three towers differed by as much as 20 centimetres. The result? No two rooms are alike.

Rather than hiding the building’s past, the hotel has made it its concept. Rooms are named after the post, from the 19-square-metre Stamp rooms to the Letters, the suites and the 65-square-metre Loft. The most striking is the Tower Suite, an octagonal duplex with 360-degree views over the city.

Inside, the same idea runs through the decor. Interior designer Geraldine Dohogne mixed antique pieces with deep green walls and marble, and hung drawings by Cloquet himself on the way to the reception. On the bedside tables, vintage postcards recall the building’s first job. Wherever possible, original features such as the window frames and staircases were kept.

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The story now continues next door. In September, the owners opened 1898 Porter’s House in the former caretaker’s house, which had been their own home. Its four rooms range from the 21-square-metre Porter’s Room, inspired by the building’s postal past, to an 89-square-metre family suite with a sauna on its terrace. All come with marble bathrooms, and the two largest suites have private terraces with copper ice baths. The whole house can also be booked for up to ten guests.

At a time when travel is trying to reduce its impact, giving an old landmark a new purpose might be one of the most elegant answers. And you don’t need to book a room to see it: browse the shops downstairs, then head up to The Cobbler, the hotel’s cocktail bar, for a drink overlooking St Michael’s Bridge and the Graslei.

L’article How Ghent’s old post office found a new life in tourism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

At Liberty Canyon, the freeway cuts through habitat that animals once moved between freely. For mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains, the road has limited their ability to reach potential mates on the other side. The crossing is also intended to reduce collisions with wildlife, protecting both animals and the hundreds of thousands of drivers who use the freeway each day. 

The 210-foot (64-metre) span over the freeway is the larger of two linked bridges. A second takes animals over neighbouring Agoura Road, so they can clear both roads in one passage. Together, the structures cover nearly 56,000 square feet (5,200 square metres). Crews have planted oaks and other native vegetation to make the route resemble the habitat on either side. Fencing will guide animals towards the crossing, while barriers will shield them from headlights and traffic noise.

Construction began on Earth Day in 2022. Officials initially hoped to finish in 2025, but heavy rain and flooding delayed the work. The estimated cost rose from $92 million to $114 million, a rise AccuWeather attributed to inflation, labour shortages and the complexity of construction. At Agoura Road alone, crews had to relocate power and telecommunications lines, reroute a regional water main and install concrete supports about 75 feet deep while working around two creeks and dozens of mature oaks. 

Project partners have already spotted coyotes and bobcats near the bridge during construction. Once it opens, researchers will be able to compare animal movements with findings from a two-year study that tracked five species before the crossing was available. More than 50 cameras are planned for the bridge and surrounding area. Scientists also plan to fit animals such as deer with devices that record heart rate to see whether they show signs of stress as they cross.

For researchers who have spent decades studying wildlife around Liberty Canyon, one measure of success will be whether animals previously separated by the freeway begin breeding across it. As David Szymanski, superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, put it, “This forward-looking project will help to end the isolation and reconnect natural habitat.”

L’article World’s largest wildlife crossing set to open over California’s 10-lane freeway in December est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.