As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages on with the potential to drag out, the ripple effects in the travel industry are unfolding fast as well. In my role as the dots-connector-in-chief for Skift, I run through the impact on the travel industry as we know it so far, chilling as it is coming out of the pandemic. I talk about the immediate impact on the airline, hotel and tour operator sectors...
Mindtrip, a trip planning and booking website powered by generative AI, said Tuesday that it has raised $12 million, its second round of startup funding. AI trip planners of various qualities have been popping up since OpenAI released the first generative AI model in late 2022. Many of those planners have already failed, and few have raised money. And yet Mindtrip has raised two rounds. The...
Hilton Worldwide modestly trimmed its annual room revenue forecast amid signs of cooling domestic travel demand and broader economic pressures affecting consumer spending. The hotel operator said Wednesday it now expects revenue per available room to grow between 2% and 2.5% this year, down from its August projection of between 2% and 3% and an April projection of between 2% and 4%. The revised...
The name needs some work, but the trend seems real: “Low-altitude economy” refers to activities within airspace under 1,000 meters — think helicopter rides, paragliding, goods transported by drones and now, flying taxi-powered sightseeing. A new deal between EHang Holdings and China’s Zhejiang Sunriver Culture and Tourism highlights the idea. EHang Holdings operates electric vertical take-off...
Online Travel It was only a little more than a year ago that Tripadvisor co-founder and CEO Steve Kaufer touted the company’s fledgling — and since all but obliterated — Tripadvisor Plus subscription membership program for discounted hotel rooms as potentially a billion dollar business. “You could think of it (Tripadvisor) as we serve 1 billion travelers a year,” Kaufer told...
Cyprus has been diversifying its visitor base and marketing approach as it fills the huge void left by the loss of Russians and Ukrainian tourists. The island was hit by a double whammy — the pandemic and the loss of Russian and Ukrainian tourists. Like other European Union countries, Cyprus banned Russian flights to the island in response to the Ukraine War. Russia has historically been a top...
Southwest reported a major decline in its profits for the second quarter as it announced that it will roll out premium seating in a bid to boost its declining revenues. The carrier had a net income of $367 million for the quarter, around a 46% decrease compared to the same time last year. Its revenues, however, were a record for the quarter at $7.35 billion. “We are taking urgent and deliberate...
Hilton has ridden high on a surging wave of vacationers. But executives at the hotel giant now see the return of corporate trips and conferences as powering the next phase of its growth. Executives predicted Wednesday that occupancy by corporate road warriors and conference-goers would fully recover to pre-pandemic levels soon. “By the end of the year from a demand point of view, we think...
Sphere Entertainment Co. announced its plans in October for a venue in Abu Dhabi, its second location outside of Las Vegas (not counting a failed effort in London). The company’s CEO James Dolan said during an earnings call Tuesday that it can handle more. “I think that we’re certainly interested in future Sphere announcements and expanding into other marketplaces. [If] you’re wondering whether...
India’s youngest airline Akasa Air is looking to cover the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, Southeast Asian countries and countries in the Middle East, co-founder Aditya Ghosh told CNBC TV18. Akasa Air recently added a 20th aircraft to its fleet — making it eligible to fly internationally — with the addition of Boeing 737-8-200. Planes on Order: The airline is...