Expedia expands to United Arab Emirates, its first new market in eight years
Leading online travel agency (OTA) Expedia has announced its expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market, marking its first entry into a new market in eight years. The announcement was made at the Arabian Travel Market, where Expedia Group participated in the thriving $25 billion travel and [...]
The Symphony of Humans and Machines: A travel CTO’s balancing act
At the Phocuswright WiT Middle East summit in Dubai, held May 3, 2024, a panel of four senior CTOs discussed the critical issue of AI’s interface to humans. Timothy O’Neil-Dunne provides this summary.
In the ever-evolving world of travel technology, CTOs stand at the precipice of a [...]
Real-time hotel feedback. GoCity goes London. Tencent explores the Metaverse. More.
Designing hotel rooms by the people who sleep in them
The launch of MM:NT Berlin Lab sees Adina Hotels partnering with Häfele, Germany’s supplier of architectural hardware systems, furniture fittings, electronic access control and LED lighting to design hotels of the future.
MM:NT Berlin Lab [...]
Airbnb puts new spin on experiences with ‘Icons’ launch
For the last several years, every May and November, Airbnb has announced a package of updates and new products related to its core accommodation product, with a focus on offerings to fine-tune the platform for its short-term rental hosts and guests. The 2024 May update, dubbed the “Summer Releas [...]
Arival releases Gen AI guide for tours, activities, attractions and other visitor experiences
Arival, a leading resource for the in-destination experiences sector, has released "The Arival Guide to AI in Experiences.", a guide that aims to equip operators of tours, activities, attractions, and other visitor experiences with the knowledge and strategies to leverage Generative Artificial Intel [...]
Letter enroute to Riyadh: A journey into The Land of Incredulous Possibilities
I am off to Riyadh today via Singapore. It was meant to have been via Paris but a flu bug changed my plans. It has a nasty way of doing that, as we’ve all learnt in the last few years. Nothing’s going to stop us now – yeah! A bug will.
So, I am sitting at the Emirates Lounge, which is freez [...]
Hostels are already relatively sustainable – so why not make it official?
Asian hostel bookings represent 25% of Hostelworld’s traffic, second only to Europe, with Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia doubling year-on-year.
Hostelworld, in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), recently launched a new sustainability framework called the 'Staircase [...]
Hotels’ digital revenue hits record high, Asia leading direct booking trends
In D-EDGE's latest Hotel Distribution Report for 2024, an analysis of the past five years reveals big shifts in online booking behavior, especially following the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, which draws from the data of almost 5,000 independent hotels and small hotel gro [...]
Car rental accelerates evolution. Shop before you fly. Talking the walk in wellness tourism. Exploration ship plumbs the depths.
Tech is driving car rental evolution
A report from OAG has taken a deep look at the car rental industry which, the airline data analyst says is “undergoing its biggest transformation yet, fuelled by aviation data, advanced technology and shifting consumer preferences”.
Collaborations, greene [...]
55% of Southeast Asians ready for domestic travel; safety budget top priorities
As summer approaches, Southeast Asia is gearing up for a surge in domestic travel, with the Philippines and Indonesia leading the pack in interest for local getaways. A recent report by Milieu Insight, a survey software company in Southeast Asia, sheds light on the summer travel plans of Southeast A [...]
