Why Melanie de Souza finds AIUla fulfilling and what’s behind “Forever Revitalising”
First brand campaign to showcase Saudi’s luxury heritage destination to the world
Nearly five years into her role as Executive Director Destination Marketing, at the Royal Commission of AlUla, and Melanie de Souza says “it’s been the most fulfilling chapter in my career”.
De Souza, who s [...]
Seven steps to move destinations away from overtourism
Overtourism is a key issue for sustainable destination management. Dealing with the problem starts in measuring seven key dimensions, that according to Mabrian and Phocuswright, contribute decisively to lay the foundations of a long-lasting sustainable strategy, based on data intelligence.
Addres [...]
The quandaries humans in travel tech face in their journey towards AI La La Land
From getting away from “curse of the search box”, to reimagining user interfaces, and delivering on the “AI Agent Era”, human revolution needed to answer the hard questions AI is posing. And no, AI does not have the answer.
Both a human revolution is needed amid the technology revolut [...]
Emotional marketing, speedy AI-powered searches and creator content top highlights at EXPLORE 24
“AI does not create magic; you need human intelligence to know where to use it and how to use it,” says new CEO
EXPLORE, Expedia’s annual partner conference, reached a milestone this year with its 25th installment. It was also Expedia’s first flagship event in two years, albeit having held [...]
How did we allow this to happen? Viator’s founder Rod Cuthbert on the rise of Google
As Google continues to roll out AI-powered search features, which will undoubtedly increase its dominance in travel, Rod Cuthbert, the founder of Viator and generally acknowledged as the “Godfather of tours and activities”, got quite indignant during his session at WiT Japan & North Asia in [...]
Expedia launches AI travel assistant and creator shops in 40+ spring product slate
At EXPLORE, Expedia’s annual partner conference held in Las Vegas, the company announced the launch of 40+ new products and features across its tech ecosystem - chief of all being the introduction of Romie, an AI-powered travel assistant.
Romie is designed to assist travellers at every step of [...]
Go City’s Gauthier on cultivating strong partnerships and Asia’s great potential for growth
Sightseeing passes provider, Go City, announced a few weeks ago that it had formed a partnership with Merlin Entertainments, a prominent player in branded entertainment destinations. This collaboration significantly adds to Go City’s popular London Pass, now celebrating its 25th year of operation, [...]
Sentosa signs multi-lateral MoU with key players to develop Sentosa Precinct Partnership
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), DBS Bank (DBS), and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance Sentosa’s guest experience through the development of a Sentosa Precinct Partnership. This multi-lateral partnership aims [...]
Bangkok bike-hailing. Expensify’s chat super app. Token answer for busy airports. More.
Travel search on the cusp of a new era
Speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this week in a session on “How To Build Influence with Gen Z in Just 30 Seconds”, Marc-Antoine Simon, industry manager, Travel and Tourism – MENA, TikTok, shared insights on the latest trends in community-led marke [...]
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 [...]
