Riyadh Air and Mastercard take off together to redefine the global travel experience

Riyadh Air and Mastercard take off together to redefine the global travel experience

Riyadh Air and Mastercard today unveiled a bold strategic alliance that brings together payments, travel and technology to reshape how people and businesses experience global travel. With no legacy programs in place, Riyadh Air is in a unique position to jointly create an extensive financial and payment ecosystem that is unprecedented from day one. The collaboration introduces a powerful suite of innovations spanning consumer payments, premium airport experiences and next-generation B2B travel payments – positioning Saudi Arabia at the forefront of global travel evolution.

Centara’s second hotel in Japan invites members to experience the best of Osaka

Centara’s second hotel in Japan invites members to experience the best of Osaka

Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is set to expand its presence in Japan with the upcoming opening of Centara Life Namba Hotel Osaka in Q2 2026, marking the group’s second hotel in Japan following the successful debut of Centara Grand Hotel Osaka in 2023. To celebrate the launch, Centara is introducing a limited-time, members-only opening offer designed for modern travellers who want to experience the city from its most vibrant neighbourhood.

Why western Sicily is Italy’s emerging arts hub

Why western Sicily is Italy’s emerging arts hub

Art is helping to revitalise Sicily’s ghost towns and deserted urban spaces, with the earthquake-hit town of Gibellina becoming Italy’s first Capital of Contemporary Art From the ostentatious baroque square of Quattro Canti all the way up to the Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s Via Maqueda is thick with tourists. Pomegranate juice sellers are setting up pyramids of fruit on their carts at gaps in the crowd and waiters are trying to reel in passersby with happy hour prices for Aperol spritzes. Amid the noise and movement, it’s easy to walk straight past number 206, whose arched doorway features a stone cross stained black with dirt – a clue to the building’s former use. Convento dei Crociferi was abandoned for 30 years, until Sicilian power couple Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saievi took over and transformed it into Palermo’s newest arts space, the Museum of World Cities , due to open at the end of February. Inside, a cloister with high, scalloped porticoes frames a verdant courtyard filled with palms and banana trees. Bartoli comes to meet me and enthusiastically pumps my hand before leading me up to the grand, marble-floored rooms on the first floor, which have been given over to a rather self-referential exhibition on urban change. Continue reading...