APAC air passenger demand drops slightly, global demand grows
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for July 2026 global passenger demand:
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 0.2% compared to July 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1.2%. Total capacity, measured in available seat [...]
Global business travel spending to hit record $1.71 trillion in 2026
GBTA’s latest Business Travel Index report shows spending gains driven by higher prices as geopolitical uncertainty and transportation pressures weigh on the outlook
Global business travel spending is forecast to reach a record $1.71 trillion USD in 2026, with the number of business trips world [...]
Travel just won’t quit: What Booking, Expedia and Airbnb’s Q2 results tell us
We asked Claude to summarise second quarter results of Booking, Expedia and Airbnb
Three earnings calls, three beat-and-raise quarters, one unmistakable signal: whatever headwinds are supposedly buffeting global travel this year, the industry’s three largest platforms just posted some of their st [...]
Asia Pacific had the world’s busiest airport pairs in 2025, says IATA
IATA releases 2025 World Air Transport Statistics
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), providing comprehensive statistical data through to 2025.
Updated annually, WATS provides data related to demand, s [...]
Gemini goes local: What Google’s first Southeast Asia AI report means for travel
Google’s first-ever Gemini Report: Southeast Asia 2026, released on July 14 alongside the local-language rollout of its new “Gemini Spark” agent, claims the chatbot has become the fastest-adopted Google product the region has ever seen – active users more than doubled between April 2025 and [...]
APAC air passenger demand up, amidst overall decline due to fuel prices
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for June 2026 global passenger demand:
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was down 1.7% compared to June 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand declined by 0.6%. Total capacity, measured in available [...]
AI surge meets a crowded digital landscape in Thailand’s online travel boom
How local giants, government super-apps, and sky-high AI enthusiasm are reshaping how Thais book their trips
Thailand's digital economy hit $56 billion in 2025 and is on track for $90 billion by 2030, but online travel growth actually cooled off - up just 6% YoY to $11 billion after a 34% jump in 2 [...]
Travel Happiness Index: It’s not the dessert, it’s the vitamins
Amid all the gloom and doom around us, it’s good to get a little happy news now and then, and yesterday Booking.com launched its Travel Happiness Index, which shows that 98% of APAC travellers associate travel with positive emotion, 84% say it helps them reset mentally, and, most tellingly, nine i [...]
Middle East fuel shock reroutes Southeast Asia’s tourism recovery story
Velocity Ventures and Pear Anderson’s SAILOR 2H2026 report frames the second half of 2026 around a single dominant shock: the US-Israel-Iran Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz closure, which more than doubled jet fuel prices, cut 5.2 million seats from Southeast Asian flight schedules ( [...]
APAC consumers are ready for AI agent-led shopping, Accenture research finds
Accenture hosted a media briefing to present findings from its Consumer Pulse Survey 2026 and lay out a framework for how businesses across Asia Pacific should prepare for what it calls "agentic commerce" — a shift in which AI agents research, compare, purchase and manage returns on a consumer's b [...]
