Hospitality
Electric air taxis takeoff in 2024, Swiftie surge, and agents of influence
20/11/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Australia noted a 446% week-over-week growth in booking volumes after Taylor Swift concert announcements in Melbourne and Sydney Amadeus has released its 2024 travel trends and as pointed out by similar courtesy of Booking.com and Expedia, travel and hospitality continue to shift and evolve in this [...]
5 key takeaways from The Phocuswright Conference
20/11/2023 by PhocusWire
Will artificial intelligence change travel booking forever? What’s the most important thing to consider when starting a company? Could Hopper become profitable soon? How should travel companies market to Gen Z on social media? Is Kayak under threat from one of its co-founders’ newest ventur [...]
WiT Podcast: Expedia’s Schulze and Nair on rising to the occasion in travel and hospitality
17/11/2023 by WiT
As a company, Expedia Group is no stranger to change - the company has been through many shifts in the travel and hospitality industry, from technological booms to slumps in the global economy, to the current AI revolution amidst a worldwide recovery phase. Similarly, two travel veterans, Greg Sc [...]
Google’s safe Maps. Austria’s night trains. India’s air taxis. Klook x STB.
17/11/2023 by Ian Jarrett
This week: Google tracks safety in South Africa, lift-off for India’s air taxis and a new dawn for night trains in Europe.   Google fights crime in Cape Town Google has made changes to its Maps application, following a recent attack on an American tourist near Cape Town International Airp [...]
TV shows influence travellers more than social media, destination dupes, and more trends
16/11/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Taipei named top destination in 2024, while unexpected cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Edmonton, and Mexico City are tourism hotspots next year Expedia has just released Unpack '24, a report offering a sneak peek into the upcoming travel trends for 2024. Combining first-party travel data and insights [...]
Global travel M&A surpasses pre-pandemic levels, 423 deals in the last year
16/11/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Cambon Partners and VIDEC unveil travel industry's first-ever mergers and acquisitions tracker Cambon Partners, a Paris-based investment banking firm specialising in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate financing, has collaborated with VIDEC, a Mumbai-based boutique research, consulting, and M& [...]
Phocuswright unveils Top 25 travel startups of 2024, 8% from Asia Pacific
16/11/2023 by WiT
New list spotlights pandemic-era innovations, with 17 startups born in the last three years PhocusWire, the media and news division powered by Phocuswright, has unveiled its list of the "Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2024" at The Phocuswright Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This year's sele [...]
Go City and Weixin Pay sign 3-year partnership, notes revenue growth from Chinese customers
15/11/2023 by WiT
Partnership to facilitate sightseeing experiences for Chinese tourists across Go City's platform Go City, a multi-attraction pass provider, and Weixin Pay, a payment feature within the Weixin app, have formalised a collaboration with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Capitol [...]
Airbnb acquires GamePlanner.AI, expands AI capabilities
15/11/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Tech giant invests nearly $200 million in stealth AI startup founded by Siri co-creator In its first acquisition since 2019 and first-ever as a public company, Airbnb has acquired GamePlanner.AI, a stealth 12-person AI company founded by Adam Cheyer and Siamak Hodjat. Adam Cheyer, known for co-foun [...]
A thought revolution needed in sustainability
14/11/2023 by Luke Clark
The next word is biological diversity, says Greenview's Ricaurte A leading player in hotel sustainability reporting has outlined what he sees as “the next lens” to view humanity’s mission of environmental balance and stewardship Speaking at WiT Singapore 2023, Eric Ricaurte, CEO of Greenvi [...]