Travel

Skift Take Raja’s departure comes as the airline has struggled to gain ground on its two major competitors. Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat, Skift American Airlines Group has confirmed its chief commercial officer, Vasu Raja, will leave the company next month. He has been in the role since April 2022.  Raja’s departure coincided with the

Skift Take Religious travel is a significant aspect of tourism in India. However, overcrowding at key religious destinations often leads to potential dangerous situations such as stampedes. Uttarakhand has taken its first step to solve this issue, and Madhya Pradesh is now likely to follow. Bulbul Dhawan The central state of Madhya Pradesh could introduce

Skift Take The study will investigate what can be done to enhance competition within the country’s domestic airline market. Gordon Smith Canada’s Competition Bureau is preparing to launch a major review of the country’s airline sector. On Monday, the agency said “recent events have raised questions about the state of competition in the industry.” It

Skift Take Turning international travel into “a walk in the park” may take time, but wouldn’t it be nice to skip those endless queues at airport gates, airline counters, immigration, and security checks? DigiYatra has made domestic travel a smoother ride. If rolled out for international travel, we could all breathe a little easier! Peden

Skift Take If Saudi Arabia is serious about tourism, it will need to cater to a wide range of people and price points. What I want to see is room for a certain segment of the private sector: early-stage entrepreneurs and innovators building something from the ground up. Colin Nagy My colleague Josh Corder recently

CHANGE MAKERS Category: Leadership Adrian Gardiner: Founder & Chairman, Mantis Collection (Accor) In 1989, Adrian Gardiner purchased a 1000-hectare farm as a weekend retreat for his family. However, this farm soon became one of the most ambitious rewilding projects in the world. Within a matter of years, the land expanded to 25,000 hectares, and Adrian began

Skift Take Skift’s research shows that there are real developments taking place and that it is still early enough for savvy destinations and businesses to make their mark with innovative approaches to green travel under the regenerative banner. Robin Gilbert-Jones Regenerative tourism has been the subject of much excitement over the past few years, but

Hundreds of new flights will serve the European Arctic region this year, collectively offering tens of thousands of additional seats. In recent weeks, major airlines from across the continent have announced a flurry of routes to destinations deep within the Arctic Circle.  Notably, many of the services will be operated for the very first time, suggesting a shift in travel

Skift Take Corinne Menegaux says the 2024 Paris Olympics will be a global tourism advertisement for the City of Light, rather than driving massive tourism during the event itself. Dawit Habtemariam Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympics this summer, but it won’t be a major international tourism draw. Only 30% of the event

Skift Take Dubai is the third city to have a tour operator snapped up by Big Bus, after San Francisco and Singapore. Josh Corder Big Bus Tours has acquired activities firm Tour Dubai as the company continues to expand outside of its core business. Big Bus Tours has around 550 buses in 26 destinations around

Skift Take If a soft economy is causing luxury travelers to limit their discretionary spending, that’s sour news for Chase Travel in the short term. But over the long term, Chase Travel and some of its banking peers are trending upwards in travel. Dennis Schaal Chase Travel grew sales last year at a pace on

Skift Take The CEO of Travelsoft said earlier this month that more acquisitions were coming. Justin Dawes Travelsoft said Thursday that it has acquired three tech companies. France-based Travelsoft is primarily focused on providing tech to travel agents and tour operators that streamlines the process of selling and marketing travel packages.  The three companies Travelsoft acquired

Skift Take Staying at Airbnbs can certainly be a deal for the millions of travelers who are focused on price. But it also depends on what a guest is looking for, where and when? Dennis Schaal Are Airbnbs cheaper than hotels? Airbnb said recently that its global average daily rate in March for a one-bedroom

Skift Take While the future of India’s travel and tourism sector looks promising, the reality right now is a bit different and that’s exactly what the World Economic Forum’s index reflects. Peden Doma Bhutia India has experienced a significant drop in the World Economic Forum’s travel and tourism rankings since 2019, falling 10 places to

Skift Take Albania, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt, and El Salvador have been named the most-improved emerging economies for enabling travel and tourism development since 2019. Here are some insights. Dawit Habtemariam and Sean O’Neil The world’s most developed countries continue to dominate tourism but we’ve just gotten a good snapshot of which emerging markets are enjoying

Skift Take Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain practical insights, engage in thoughtful discussions, and connect with peers (and rivals). Becca Smith Get set for a jam-packed day of discussions and networking at Skift Short-Term Rental Summit on June 5, where we will explore how the industry can adapt and thrive amidst ongoing

Skift Take Minor Hotels, the hotel group behind brands like NH Hotels and Anantara, is going all-in on post-pandemic growth. It plans to increase its hotel portfolio by 36% by the end of 2026. Sean O’Neill Minor Hotels reported first-quarter results, reaffirming its plans to add 200 hotels worldwide by the end of 2026 —

Skift Take The huge order – one of the largest aircraft deals of the year so far – is in addition to existing deliveries bound for the Saudia Group. Gordon Smith Saudia Group has placed a major new order for Airbus aircraft. The company includes the national carrier of Saudi Arabia as well as its