The third annual Skift Global Forum East will bring several travel executives to Dubai this week to discuss the state of the industry in the region. What are the major trends in the Middle East’s travel industry? We asked our answer engine Ask Skift 2.0 that question. The AI chatbot used information that’s appeared in our past news coverage, and we also did additional reporting on the...
Tourism Australia is betting big on Indian tourists and is ramping up its efforts to attract them. The tourism board of Australia recently visited India along with a delegation of 15 CEOs from the Australian tourism industry. Appealing to Indians’ love for cricket, Tourism Australia launched a social media video campaign starring cricketer David Warner. In the four-part series, Warner showcases...
Contiki, a travel company focused on young adults, is eyeing expansion in Asia, Latin America, and Africa as it adapts to the post-pandemic travel landscape. CEO Adam Armstrong said in a Skift interview that Contiki has a strong presence in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and sees the potential to double or triple its business in these new markets. Increased demand from Australians and...
A merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines would place them as the fifth- or sixth-largest airline depending on whether the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit goes through. But that’s based only on revenue. Where does Alaska-Hawaiian stack up on profitability? Alaska-Hawaiian together is less profitable than Alaska by itself but significantly more profitable than Hawaiian, which...
The global tourism industry is bouncing back in 2024. International arrivals increased 16% between January and August, compared to 2023, according to travel intelligence firm ForwardKeys. The company’s insights, presented at the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit in Perth, highlighted the pivotal role of the Asia-Pacific region in driving this resurgence. Despite...
Online Travel
5 Bidders, 1 Last Week: New Details about the Tripadvisor Deal
With a bid coming across the table as late as last week, will Tripadvisor’s proposed acquisition of Liberty Tripadvisor close as scheduled by June? If it gets that far, there could be all kinds of deal possibilities in Tripadvisor’s future.
Dennis Schaal | 3 days ago
My colleague Josh Corder recently reported how Saudi Arabia is thinking about luxury: The country’s tourism leadership acknowledged that 4- and 5-star hotels will account for at most 20% of their traffic. This reality stands in stark contrast with the mega projects that make headlines like The Line and Neom. But the global press has focused too much on the glitz and glamor and missed the...
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...