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Airlines
Airline industry leaders are now amping up the pressure on Congress to pass a short-term spending bill to reopen the government as air traffic controllers miss their first paychecks and delays caused by staffing shortages continue to pile up at airports across the U.S.
Full Video: Oman Air’s New Strategy Focuses on Point-to-Point, Not Playing Catch-Up
Oman Air would like to prove that smaller carriers can punch above their weight—if they stay focused. Its CEO is betting on Oman’s natural strengths, smarter distribution, and a full-scale digital reboot to turn the airline into a leaner, more profitable global player.
Full Video: Etihad Bets on Premium, Avoids Premium Economy in Streamlined Strategy
Etihad’s strategy is clear: grow fast, but only if you grow smart. Under Neves, the airline isn’t chasing scale for its own sake. Profitability, premium experiences, and AI-powered precision are now central to the playbook.
Business Travel
Full Video: People-Powered Corporate Travel in an AI-Driven World
Major shifts in the corporate travel space have inspired a trend toward unified, AI-powered policy management platforms. But travel is personal, and travelers demand a personalized touch; for AI to realize its potential, it must live in the hands of human agents.
Navan’s Share Price Fell 20% on Its First Day of Trading
Navan’s IPO shows it’s betting on its tech to take on the big players in corporate travel — even while it’s still losing money.
Navan’s Business Travel Customer List Includes OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic: Scoop
Navan's landing of OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic as customers is a coup, and shows the company's offerings resonate in Silicon Valley. But Navan's revenue is also broad-based geographically.
Coronavirus
The Travel Industry’s Immense Potential for Growth
Despite the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges, the travel industry’s recovery is proving to be remarkable.
The Travel Industry Surpasses 2019
Today's edition of Skift's daily podcast looks closer at the recovery of the travel industry that have allowed it to surpass spring 2019 benchmarks.
Travel Makes a Complete Recovery
Today's edition of Skift's daily podcast looks closer at travel's coronavirus recovery, Airbnb's optimism, and Hilton's extended-stay moves.
Cruises
Full Video: Ritz-Carlton Thinks Yacht Travel Is the New Luxury Goldmine
Forget mega-cruises. Luxury yacht travel is tourism’s next frontier, and Ritz-Carlton wants to own it. As the UAE positions itself as the next Las Vegas, immersive travel and premium experiences are setting the tone for 2030.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection CEO Says IPO Is Possible in ‘Two to Three Years’
An IPO just a few years after Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection's maiden voyage would be ambitious, though the CEO also raised the possibility of getting "gobbled up."
Global Carbon Tax on Cruise Lines Delayed After U.S. Opposition
The cruise industry wants clarity, but Washington just sent a loud message: Climate rules that raise costs are a non-starter.
Experiences
Full Video: Hospitality’s Talent Crisis Needs a Rebrand, Say Industry Veterans
Travel talent is overdue for a rebrand. The future isn’t about fighting AI, it’s about doubling down on the human edge. For hospitality to thrive, it must tell a better story.
Omakase, Fine Casual… and Burgers: Marriott’s Top Food Trends in Asia
Asia’s food culture, from hawker stalls to omakase counters, has always been vibrant. But it’s now also setting the pace for how food tourism might look globally in the years ahead.
What Singapore F1 Says About Asia’s Appetite for Live Tourism
Engines aren’t the only things revving in Singapore this weekend, so are hotel rates, loyalty redemptions, and travelers’ appetite for the extras beyond the race.
Food and Drink
How Tourism Homogenizes Cuisines and What Are Possible Solutions
There is a lot that can be done, both from an awareness and, even more importantly, from a policy perspective. Most of it requires changes that the travelers of today, seeking more authentic experiences, would welcome.
Magic Mushrooms in the Minibar
Some will always love a luxury spa. But psychedelics (think psilocybin soundbaths and mushrooms) are the phase in high-end wellness.
24×7 Food at Delhi’s Aerocity – India Report
Delhi Aerocity, with a heavy presence of branded hotels, is a convenient hub for business and leisure travelers alike.
Ground Transport
Full Video: JetBlue and Eurail Envision Seamless Transatlantic Travel
The “one ticket” dream isn’t just about convenience; it’s about rethinking the traveler journey from booking to return.
JetBlue’s Europe Frustrations and Train Ambitions
JetBlue president Marty St. George said he was concerned that consolidation is squeezing out smaller carriers from Europe.
European Commission Calls for Single Booking System to Boost Train Travel
The European Commission is optimistic that it will finally be able to reach an elusive goal: implementing a single booking and ticketing system for long-distance rail travel.
Hotels
Full Video: From Live Tourism to Loyalty, Accor Is Rethinking Value in Hospitality
Accor’s Jean-Jacques Morin sees the future of travel playing out in the East, led by bold investments, strong leadership, and experience-centric hospitality. But he’s clear-eyed too: sustainability, tech disruption, and talent strategy will define who stays competitive by 2030.
Full Video: From Treehouses to AI, Marriott’s CEO Bets on Personalization and Place
Marriott is not just trying to building hotels—it's after an ecosystem. From treehouse suites in Costa Rica to AI-driven personalization, Capuano’s vision is about owning the full traveler journey and capturing every wallet size along the way.
D.C. Hotels Have Slumped During Government Shutdown
The shutdown appears to be amplifying Washington’s tourism downturn, but underlying national softness in hotel demand makes it hard to isolate the damage.
Luxury
Ultra-Luxury Breakaway: Why the 1% Travel Market Has Become Its Own Universe
The super-high end of hospitality has become its own ecosystem — one defined by absurd expectations, staggering personalization, and record-breaking business for those who can play the new game.
Capella’s Next Chapter: Neil Jacobs on How to Grow Without Going Bland
Capella wants enough hotels that wealthy travelers encounter the brand across continents, but few enough that each one still feels like a discovery. Not as simple as it sounds.
Seychelles Grows Up: Cheval Blanc and the Island Nation’s Next Act
LVMH’s arrival in Seychelles signals a destination coming of age. What was once shorthand for honeymoons is now entering the ultra-luxury arena.
Media and PR
Full Video: Google and Abu Dhabi Want to Rewrite the Rules of Destination Marketing
Abu Dhabi wants to market its future while it’s building it in real time. With Google as both platform and partner, the city is using AI, creator content, and cultural capital to try to cement its place as a global tourism powerhouse.
From Tanks to TikTok: Inside Ryanair’s ‘Cheeky’ Marketing Strategy
By turning memes into core messaging and social snark into earned attention, Ryanair keeps its brand visible without heavy ad spend. Chief marketing officer Dara Brady talks strategy with Skift.
What American’s New Retro Jet Reveals About the Business of Airline Nostalgia
American Airlines is the latest carrier to join an elite club of sky-high centenarians, and it looks like it'll be making some noise doing so.
Meetings
Inside India’s Events and Meetings Aspirations
India upped its convention center game for the G20 Summit last year. Now, it is trying to drum up the marketing for these spaces across the country. But is India really MICE ready?
How Fontainebleau Las Vegas Is Unlocking New Possibilities for Meetings and Events
From world-class dining and versatile meeting spaces to high-touch service standards and one-of-a-kind offerings, Fontainebleau Las Vegas offers everything planners need to craft exceptional events.
Rajasthan Focuses on Weddings, Conferences to Boost Tourism – India Report
Rajasthan, a premier wedding destination in India, has much to offer including wildlife, museums, temples, and lakes. While the state is seeking to promote its various offerings, it does not want to lose out on the significant revenue from weddings and business meetings.
Online Travel
Vrbo Adds Guest Photos to Property Reviews and Galleries
The AI Guest Review summaries will save travelers lots of time if they accurately reflect review content. The guest photos will add a dose of reality to the search experience.
Full Video: Airbnb, Silkhaus and the Middle East’s Short-Term Rental Surge
Short-term rentals aren’t just a stopgap, they’re a strategic pillar for tourism growth. As the Middle East doubles down on mega-events and visitor targets, players like Silkhaus and Airbnb want to prove that flexibility, personalization, and partnerships are key to staying competitive.
Full Video: Fintech Is Booking’s Quiet Powerhouse, and It’s Getting Smarter With AI
Booking.com wants to engineer a future where payments unlock the full travel journey. As AI and agentic systems loom, it is making the case that the its future lies in easing friction, striving to be hyper-local, with fintech as a foundation.
Podcasts
Explora Journeys President on Redefining Ocean Travel and the New Language of Luxury
Explora Journeys isn’t trying to compete with the cruise industry — it’s trying to reinvent it. By replacing “cruising” with “ocean travel,” the brand aims to redefine what time, space, and luxury mean on the water.
Iberostar’s CEO on Family Ownership, Brand Evolution and Responsible Tourism
Iberostar’s family ownership lets it make bold, long-term bets on guest experience and ocean health that many public hotel groups can’t.
Vrbo Reaches for Scale With Expedia’s Distribution Muscle
Vrbo's expanded distribution across Expedia platforms, integration into the One Key, and experiments with AI-powered reviews show how the brand is evolving inside its parent’s ecosystem. The challenge: balancing consistency for operators with new demands from a global marketplace.
Short-Term Rentals
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky: ChatGPT Can Distribute Travel, But Cutting Out OTAs Is ‘Very Difficult’
It's the existential issue the travel industry is debating: Will OpenAI and other platforms become travel booking sites? Brian Chesky doesn't think so.
Hostelworld to Acquire Local Events Aggregator to Build Out Social Network
Whether this acquisition will be a difference-maker for Hostelworld may depend on how well flea markets and arts festivals resonate with its youthful cohort of guests.
Airbnb Adds Social Features to Experiences, Expands ‘Reserve Now, Pay Later’
Airbnb has a lot riding on its Experiences business. Adding a social feature is an incremental improvement, not a game changer.
Skift Originals
Skift Expands Community and Multimedia Offerings with Two Strategic Acquisitions
I’m proud to announce two acquisitions that mark significant steps forward for us in community-driven, multimedia content. These acquisitions are part of our intentional growth strategy, balancing simplicity and complexity to build resilience into our media ecosystem.
Marriott Bonvoy’s New AI Search Tool: 4 Tests Show How It Works — and Doesn’t
Marriott Bonvoy's new AI tool probably isn’t sharp enough yet to be reliable. But as one of the first tools like it by a major hotel brand, it offers an early glimpse at how lodging search could look in the future.
Don’t Create Company Culture: Lessons on Meaning of Work
Culture stems from the meaningful work we do, and each of us seeing the tangible in-situ effects of that work for the people for whom we create everything.
Startups
Upgrade’s $165 Million Fundraise Comes as Buy Now, Pay Later Sector Faces Pressure
Investor confidence in Upgrade suggests that BNPL in travel may be shifting from an optional feature to a required one, but it still has to prove it can weather the next credit cycle.
GetYourGuide Says It’s Profitable on $1 Billion+ in Sales: How it Stacks up in Experiences
Travelers demand experiences more than ever before, and Berlin-based online travel agency GetYourGuide is cashing in.
Exclusive: The 29 Aviation Startups in IAG’s 2025 Accelerator Revealed
With AI now ubiquitous and early-stage sustainability startups multiplying, this year's cohort reflects both immediate and longer-term bets.
Tour Operators
Full Video: Almosafer CEO on the Future of AI-Driven Travel in the Middle East
Almosafer wants to prove that it can move AI from buzzword to operating system. With widespread internal adoption and regional momentum, the Middle East’s biggest travel company is setting the standard for how AI can scale across every layer of the travel business.
G Adventures CEO Is in ‘Panic Mode’ Over 2030 Climate Targets
Climate goals are looming, but progress is lagging. G Adventures’ CEO is sounding the alarm and making tough decisions.
Intrepid Travel Overhauls Climate Strategy: No More Carbon Credits, All Flight Emissions Count
Intrepid is confronting an uncomfortable truth: The gap between climate ambition and available solutions, especially in air travel, is widening, and goals and targets need a rethink.
Tourism
Full Video: India and China Are Defining the Next Era of Outbound Travel
Indian and Chinese travelers are rewriting the rules of how travel is discovered, booked, and experienced. For destinations, adapting to these markets means more than translation. It means rethinking payments, safety, personalization, and platform partnerships from the ground up.
Full Video: Abu Dhabi’s $7 Billion Bet on Tourism Growth
By fusing culture with cutting-edge infrastructure and a people-first strategy, Abu Dhabi is trying to set a new regional standard for how to grow tourism sustainably, inclusively, and ambitiously.
Chinese and Indian Travelers Are Exploring More Destinations But They Need Easier Payments and Safety
Just marketing attractions to Indian and Chinese travelers is no longer enough. Destinations need to make travel simpler and safer for them.
Travel Agents
Wyndham Debuts a Paid Loyalty Plan: $95 a Year for Discounts and Higher Status
Wyndham is monetizing the very concept of being a repeat hotel guest, while providing discounts on bookings with other travel suppliers. Expect the industry to watch this move closely.
Cruise Ads Pulled in UK for Misleading ‘Green’ Promises
The rulings underscore growing pressure on travel marketers to back up climate claims. LNG may reduce certain pollutants compared with heavy fuel oil, but it doesn’t make a cruise “green” on its own.
The U.S. Travel Agency Rebound Post-Pandemic
Traditional travel agents continue to hold a strong place in the market, even though their booking volumes are lower than those of OTAs.
Travel Technology
Full Video: Anthropic’s Claude and the Future of Travel Personalization
Anthropic isn’t chasing flashy AI gimmicks — it’s quietly building Claude into an infrastructure for travel’s next big leap. Its focus: trust, personalization, and giving businesses control over how AI can enhance the traveler journey.
Anthropic Sees an Opportunity to Make Travel More Personalized — and Simpler
Anthropic wants businesses to build their own AI agents. Here’s how travel can benefit.
Google Exec: Travel Search Is Getting Longer, More Specific, and Smarter
Travelers aren’t browsing aimlessly - they’re searching with precision. Google says the future of travel discovery lies in creators, AI tools, and meeting intent in the moment.
Venture Capital
Regional Air Travel Startups Raise Over $85 Million: Funding Roundup
The biggest airlines are behind on updating their tech systems and operations; regional airlines are even further behind.
Ramp Raises $200 Million for Expense and Biz Travel Management: Startup Funding Roundup
Startups for business travel management and flying taxis are still raising a lot of money.
Lodging Tech and Jet Fuel: Travel Startups Raise $560 Million
Funding has been slow this year, but B2B travel tech startups are still leading the way these days.