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 marketing. “Travellers need a search platform that offers fast results with visual content that is mobile and community-led. By creating their own platform, they have eliminated major barriers to travel that once hindered the pre-booking journey, and these communities are making destinations viral overnight,” S ..read more

Technology provider Amadeus has recorded double-digit growth across all reported segments demonstrating strong financial performance for the first quarter of 2024.    Financial Highlights for Q1 2024: Air Distribution revenue grew by 12.6% to €764.4 million. Air IT Solutions revenue increased by 17.0% to €497.0 million. Hospitality & Other Solutions revenue grew by 13.2% to €234.9 million. Group Revenue increased by 14.1% to €1,496.3 million. EBITDA grew by 14.2% to €582.01 million. Operating Income increased by 19.1% to €422.1 million. Adjusted profit increased by 18.8% to €324 ..read more

Travel on verge of transformation, driven by AI – STA experiments with unconventional partners Given how openly most Saudis speak about their family, especially their mothers, I thought it fitting that I should start my interview with Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of Saudi Tourism Authority, with a question about his family, and the biggest lesson his mother taught him. When I asked him what it was like to grow up with nine siblings, he said that what was interesting was not the number but that three were adopted by his mother. “She welcomed my step siblings, the three of them, and she raised them with ..read more

According to a new report from Fliggy, one of China’s key travel platforms, bookings for travel services from Chinese tourists during the five-day Labour Day holiday from May 1 to 5 saw nearly 100% growth, building on last year’s rapid rebound.   Key Findings from Fliggy’s Labor Day Holiday Travel Report 2024: Outbound travel bookings saw a nearly 100% YoY increase during the five-day holiday Independent travel took up 80% of the total outbound travel bookings Overseas hotel bookings doubled YoY Bookings for outbound cruise packages increased by more than 15 times YoY The average price p ..read more

Leading online travel agency (OTA) Expedia has announced its expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market, marking its first entry into a new market in eight years. The announcement was made at the Arabian Travel Market, where Expedia Group participated in the thriving $25 billion travel and tourism industry in the region. The UAE has been experiencing significant growth in the travel and tourism sector, with Dubai emerging as one of the top global destinations for travellers in recent years. Read key takeaways from WiT Phocuswright Middle East 2024 here. Expedia’s entry into the UAE m ..read more

Travel on verge of transformation, driven by AI, says STA’s chief as the tourism board experiments with unconventional partners Given how openly most Saudis speak about their family, especially their mothers, I thought it fitting that I should start my interview with Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of Saudi Tourism Authority, with a question about his family, and the biggest lesson his mother taught him. When I asked him what it was like to grow up with nine siblings, he said that what was interesting was not the number but that three were adopted by his mother. “She welcomed my step siblings, the three ..read more

At the Phocuwright 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 complex dance – aligning the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the often unpredictable nature of human behavior. While AI adoption promises transformative potential, from optimizing hotel room layouts to personalizing customer experiences, the path to seamless integration with humans is riddled with c ..read more

Designing hotel rooms by the people who sleep in them The launch of MM:NT Berlin Lab sees Adina Hotels partnering with Häfele, Germany’s supplier of architectural hardware systems, furniture fittings, electronic access control and LED lighting to design hotels of the future. MM:NT Berlin Lab is an evolving minihotel laboratory that will operate in an ongoing beta mode, continually gathering feedback from guests to redefine stays and reshape hospitality products. MM:NT Berlin Lab has also begun a two-month experiment where guests are invited to stay for free and provide real-time, qualitative ..read more

The Global Startup Pitch, by WiT, Phocuswright and PhocusWire, is back for the third year running in its quest to unearth the brightest stars on the gleaming edge of travel tech. Welcoming both travel and non-travel startups who believe their businesses have application in the industry, the competition aims to uncover gems from different regions – Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Africa, Europe and the Americas. Entries are free and the submission deadline is May 17. “We have made some changes to the programme this year, based on lessons learnt and feedback from our judges and startups,” said Yeoh Si ..read more

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released its latest data for March 2024, revealing a surge in global passenger demand.  Here are the key highlights: Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), increased by 13.8% compared to March 2023. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), also saw a substantial rise of 12.3% year-on-year. The load factor for March reached 82.0%, marking a 1.0 percentage point increase compared to March 2023.   International demand International demand experienced a robust growth of 18.9% compared to Ma ..read more