Travel

Skift Take Marriott has proudly opened its 9,000th property. Hilton has debuted its 8,000th. We put these milestones into perspective by creating a five-year growth scorecard for all the major hotel groups. Sean O’Neill On August 16, Marriott International opened its 9,000th property, with the debut of The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort in Florida. Meanwhile,

Skift Take More than 65% of Indian population is aged below 35. With increasing spending power, these young travelers make for a large potential traveler base. Bulbul Dhawan Indian Gen Z and Millennials prefer to travel in the off-peak season to avoid crowds and reduce costs, according to a report by online visa application platform

Skift Take Party hotel brand FIVE has seen years of success in Dubai, but after putting three hotels in one city, the group is starting to “cannibalize” its own business. Josh Corder Local Dubai hotel group FIVE reported financial results Monday that show the company has continued to benefit from the emirate’s robust tourism sector,

India’s Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) has entered into a three-year partnership with global payments gateway Visa. The agreement is valued at around $1 million, with the aim to skill at least 20,000 youth for tourism-related jobs, according to the ministry of skill development.  As part of the partnership, youths from 10 Indian states,

Skift Take Yatra’s acquisition of a corporate travel company highlights its shift towards the more profitable business travel market, especially as competition heats up in the consumer travel space. With consumer revenue dropping, Yatra is doubling down on corporate clients. Peden Doma Bhutia Yatra Online on Monday announced that it has agreed to acquire Globe

Skift Take Local Law 18 hasn’t yet led to a significant amount of additional long-term housing in NYC and hotels are thriving. But small-time hosts have lost a key source of income. Modifications, and a more balanced approach, are needed. Published September 1, 2024 Malaika nearly wiped out her retirement savings a decade ago to

Skift Take The German airline group wants to avoid purchasing a controlling stake in TAP because it doesn’t require approval from European Union antitrust authorities. Meghna Maharishi Lufthansa is eyeing a 19.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which cited two Portuguese institutional sources. The company’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, plans

Skift Take As Western carriers continue to pull out of China due to capacity restrictions and the closure of Russian airspace, United relaunched its nonstop service from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Meghna Maharishi United Airlines restored its Los Angeles to Shanghai nonstop service on Thursday, becoming the only U.S. carrier to fly the route.  The

Skift Take Athens has had infrastructure shortcomings for quite some time. Climate change and a tourism boom magnified the problems. The city’s top tourism hopes greener upgrades can be a solution. Dawit Habtemariam Athens, Greece, has been one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Europe. Last year, the city had a record 7 million tourists. 

Skift Take Turkish Airlines is ruffling feathers as it pushes for direct bookings starting in October. American Airlines failed an attempt for a similar strategy this year, which surely will inform the execution for Turkish. Justin Dawes Turkish Airlines fares will no longer be available through Sabre starting on September 1, which means travel agencies

Skift Take The merger of Vistara and Air India will end the long process of consolidating the web of aviation entities and organizing them into one airline business. This follows a 24-year quest for Singapore Airlines and Tata to co-own Air India.  Ajay Awtaney, Skift The Air India and Vistara merger has been ongoing for

Airports all over the U.S. (and the world) are investing tens of billions of dollars to modernize and expand.  It’s all meant to ease congestion and reduce wait times as air travel continues to grow.  The International Air Transport Association expects 7.8 billion air travel trips annually by 2040, double what it was before the

Skift Take Thanks to powers granted by the Scottish parliament, Edinburgh is leading the way on charging its visitors taxes on their hotel stays. We could see more tourist taxes pop up in Scotland, making the destination more expensive. Dawit Habtemariam Scotland will be getting its first tourist tax, a levy in Edinburgh, but the

Skift Take Visit Florida finally responded to a question about why it removed its LGTBQ Travel page. But there are still plenty of unanswered questions. Dawit Habtemariam Visit Florida made its first public comment Wednesday about the removal of its “LGTBQ Travel” page, after more than a week of no explanation of why it was

Skift Take In its race to welcome 150 million tourists, Saudi Arabia’s new tourism campaign promises to offer just about everything to everyone. Josh Corder “An unexplored territory….Untouched. Uncharted.” That’s the message in Saudi Arabia’s new global tourism campaign to attract overseas travelers to the kingdom. “This Land is Calling,” a nearly 2-minute video, showcases

Over 80% of Indians have either had or are planning a destination wedding, a survey conducted by search aggregator Skyscanner showed. This preference is strongest among Gen Z, with about 50% of that group indicating that they are considering a destination wedding. This figure is 33% among Millennials.  Anam Zubair, Director Consumer Marketing, WeddingWire India,

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. What do travelers find valuable when booking destinations, accommodations, and activities? According to a report from Google, high-value travelers consider customer service (60%), an easy-to-use website (55%), online reviews (50%), and loyalty programs (46%) as important factors when choosing a travel brand.  Brands that

What can India and U.S. do to boost tourism? According to the first Indo-U.S. Tourism and Hospitality Summit held by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in Delhi on Friday, the answer is speedier visas and more direct flights. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary with India’s Tourism Ministry, said that the bulk of India-U.S. air travel is