Sabre buys Techsembly. AI helps rhinos. Booking.com’s new Trip Planner is here.
Sabre swoops on gift card leader
Sabre Hospitality has moved closer to its long-term strategy to be the leading global hotel commerce and distribution platform by acquiring UK-based hospitality e-commerce provider Techsembly.
Techsembly provides an automated e-commerce solution enabling hotels t [...]
Blogxiety is real. NFTs keep Bali’s culture. Traxo tracks NDC, more.
NFTs help to preserve Bali’s culture and artisans
Craftsmen in Bali are among 11 artisans from Indonesia who are helping to protect the country's heritage and culture by placing their work on Web3, a web feature that includes blockchain technology.
A BBC report reveals the artisans have joi [...]
Finland’s phone-free island. Risk of greenwashing. Shiji’s frictionless payments, and more.
Tourist island declares itself phone free
Finland’s Ulko-Tammio tourist island is going phone-free this summer.
Those travelling to the island, located in the Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park, will be encouraged to switch off their smart devices, take a break from social media and enjoy n [...]
Bye TikTok, Hello AI. Easier payments. Qatar’s try-before-fly.
AI, it’s the only way to plan travel.
A survey of US travellers has found more than one third — 36% —said they are likely to use AI to research or plan travel within the next 12 months.
The survey was conducted by travel publisher Matador Network, which recently launched the personal AI tr [...]
Mapping cherry blossoms in Japan. Airbus helps elephants. Hopper’s risky business, more
Flickr’s role in cherry blossom research
Research by Monash University experts has tracked Japanese hanami (flower viewing) via social media images, producing a remarkable map of cherry blossoms across Japan to document their annual bloom and calculate its peak in major cities.
The study gathe [...]
Reviewing hotel reviews. Australia banks on Hopper. Digital nomads in Europe, more
Commbank opens a travel account with Hopper
Australia’s CommBank is the latest organisation to hop onboard Hopper to help make it easier for the bank’s customers to book flights, accommodation and car rental – both domestic and international.
Hopper ‘s range of travel features will be pa [...]
BritGPT is AI on roids; Unbundling travel insurance; Guinness World Records validates Travelport+
Brits put AI on “steroids”
The UK government plans to invest £900m in a cutting-edge supercomputer, as part of its new artificial intelligence (AI) strategy – a move will enable the country to build its own “BritGPT”.
Adam Harris, founder & CEO of Cloudbeds, which provides techno [...]
Future of Extended Reality; eating “phygital” chocolate; Air NZ’s digital goals; More
McKinsey’s take on the future of XR in travel
McKinsey and Co, in an extensive new report, has posed the question, ‘Can travel go virtual’, can the travel industry grab a US$20 billion opportunity offered by the metaverse.
The answer? Yes, no and maybe.
McKinsey suggests it’s time for [...]
AI pioneer regrets his work; US Airlines’ 5G dilemma; Uber vs Australia; EU wary of multimodal ticketing
IATA’s sensitivity about 5G sensors
The US government says will not delay a deadline for airlines to refit planes with new sensors to address possible 5G interference, despite concerns the 1 July cut-off date could cause travel disruption.
Airlines are warning they will not be able to meet the [...]
How to bag a Coronation tag; Air India is all tech; Russians avoiding European destinations
Air India enters the digital age
Air India chief, ex Scoot Singapore boss, Campbell Wilson, is making digitalisation of the airline’s operations a priority.
The national carrier has been a laggard for years but under new owners Tata Group, Air India hopes to recapture some, if not all, of its [...]
