Building relationships in corporate travel
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) announced it has named Bruce Hanna as regional director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in ACTE. In this role, he will…
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Corporate & Business
Iceland hosts first International Women In Travel & Tourism Forum
Travel industry chiefs and next-generation female professionals from 18 countries headed to Iceland and pledged to accelerate gender diversity, gender balance and inclusion within the…
Virgin flies the flag in Manchester with Pride
Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays have announced a three-year partnership to be headline sponsor of Manchester Pride Festival. It is a charity that campaigns for equality; celebrates…
Hotelbeds raises more than USD 8000 for WWF
Hotelbeds, bed bank company, has announced the money raised through its policy of replacing holiday season corporate gifts with a charity donation will this year go to the World Wildlife…
SpiceJet and Amadeus strengthen partnership in the Gulf
Looking to the future of travel in the Gulf, SpiceJet, India’s second biggest budget carrier, and Amadeus recently organised a series of empowerment sessions for the region’s travel…
Two months to go until Travel Tech Middle East in Riyadh
Following the success of the first three editions of Travel Tech Middle East (TTME), Verve Management is hosting the 4th Edition Travel Tech Middle East Congress on 23-24 March 2020 in…
UNIGLOBE Chairman’s Circle supports Ethiopia project
UNIGLOBE Travel International Chairman’s Circle members have donated USD 17,000 raised at their annual awards gala to Plan International UK's Safe Schools for Refugees in Ethiopia…
Air India disinvestment process restarts
The divestment of Air India has restarted with the government seeking to sell 100% of its equity share capital in the state-owned airline, including Air India’s shareholding interest of…
Grand Hyatt: Kochi’s answer to MICE in the backwaters
In a free-wheeling conversation about increasing MICE tourism to the beautiful backwaters of Kerala, TD speaks to Shrikant Wakharkar, the general manager of Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty…
Gulf Air ropes in 22 Bahraini maintenance technicians
Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, recently welcomed a new batch of 22 Bahraini aircraft maintenance technicians who have recently joined the airline and began their training…
STAA welcomes three new members
The UK Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA), the trade body representing the short-term rental sector, has announced that it has welcomed three new affiliate members to its ranks…
ETOA sets stage for 12th Britain & Ireland Marketplace
The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) will welcome nearly 90 new businesses to its first flagship event of 2020 – the twelfth Britain & Ireland Marketplace (BIM) - on 28…
Reuben Brothers check in at La Residence in Mykonos
The Reuben Brothers have acquired La Residence hotel in Kalafatis Bay, Mykonos in Greece, a 30-room luxury boutique hotel as part of their continued strategy of investing in premium…
W Hotels introduces new amenities brand
W Hotels has announced its collaboration with Italy-based, eco-conscious skin and haircare name The Davines Group for a brand-wide partnership. The Marriott brand will incorporate its…
Upping the travel insurance game in Singapore
Etiqa Insurance has been named as the NATAS official travel insurance partner by the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) from 2020 to 2022. With a vision to be the…
Going outdoors: MarBella Collection Adventure Club on the anvil
The MarBella Collection is partnering with London’s prestigious outdoor education provider The Exploration Society to create the MarBella Collection Adventure Club. Launching in summer…
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays partner with WeSwap
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has partnered with WeSwap to offer customers a prepaid contactless global travel money card and help organise all their travel essentials when abroad. In…
Sabre inks decade-long partnership with Google to build future of travel
Google Cloud has joined forces with Sabre Corporation as it seeks to digitally transform the traveller experience.
Sabre, which launched in 1960, revolutionised the travel market…
Support the bush and go ‘out the back’ for your next event
One of the biggest tourism businesses in far west New South Wales (NSW), Out of the Ordinary Outback, has launched a programme to attract more social and corporate events to its flagship…
Winning direct booking wars: Mint Hotels joins hands with Simplotel to overhaul e-commerce
Mint Hotels, a chain of over 25 hotels and resorts across various business and leisure destinations in India and Simplotel, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company offering…
Scott Hace to accelerate strategic projects at CWT
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), the B2B4E travel management platform, has appointed Scott Hace, vice president of enterprise strategy. In his new role, he and his team will be responsible…
Jet Airways to sell Netherlands business to KLM
Bankrupt Indian airline Jet Airways said it had agreed to sell its assets in Netherlands to Dutch airline KLM. If the deal is finalised, it will only involve a sale of part of the…
JNTO and Etihad to promote Japan in Middle East
To further increase tourism demand from the Middle East to Japan, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) and Etihad Airways have started a joint consumer campaign to promote the…
Trip.com Group collaborates with British Airways and Iberia on NDC standard
Chinese provider of travel services, Trip.com Group, has strengthened its partnership with British Airways and Iberia by connecting to the New Distribution Capability (NDC).
The NDC…
EbixCash partners with Amadeus to propel APAC and UAE expansion
EbixCash, a fully owned subsidiary of Ebix, has signed a strategic travel technology partnership with Amadeus to grow its footprint across the Asia Pacific region and UAE and become a…
Royal Air Maroc set to enter oneworld on 1 April
National carrier of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc, will join the oneworld alliance effective from 1 April 2020, becoming its first full member in the African continent and bringing even more…
Hotelbeds asks “Are bedbanks the problem or the solution?”
Hotelbeds has today published the results of an industry survey that reveals concerns about the challenge of managing the integrity of hotel room rates in the online environment.
The survey…
VLeisure hospitality tech now available to smaller hotels
VLeisure, the technology company and booking platform for hotels, airlines and travel insurance, announced that VLeisure Operating System (VOS) is now available to 2-star and 3-star…
etc.venues to invest USD 26 million in new event spaces
Following strong growth in 2019, the conference, training and event venue specialists, etc.venues plans to invest a further GBP 20 million (USD 25.96 million) in new space in 2020…
Hotelbeds inks deal with citizenM Shanghai Hongqiao
Hotelbeds, the bedbank company, has announced a strategic partnership with citizenM Shanghai Hongqiao, a Shanghai based property of the Netherlands-based hotel chain citizenM. The deal…
Flight to success: Airbus delivers robust aircraft performance in 2019
Airbus delivered 863 commercial aircraft to 99 customers in 2019, outpacing its previous output record set in 2018 by 8%. In the 17th yearly production increase in a row, it progressed…
CWT debuts with replatformed digital offering in China
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), the global travel management specialist, has announced the launch of its flagship platform, myCWT, in China – marking the latest milestone in its journey…
MICE focus: Novotel Rayong Star Convention Centre
As Accor continues its monumental landgrab of hotel real estate around the globe, and the upwards movement of Thailand as a highly desirable destination for the global MICE industry, today's…
Tourism start-ups focus on innovation and sustainability
The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in association with Globalia, a tourism group in Spain and Latin America, has selected the finalists of the 2nd Global Tourism Startup…
The Funded: Spanish travel tech Beonprice raises USD 2.78 million for AI-driven hospitality revenue software
Spanish-based Beonprice has announced closure of a Series A funding round of EUR 2.5 million (USD 2.78 million) with venture capital fund Adara Ventures as the lead investor.…
What can you learn from OYO, Grab, Google and leading hotels at Direct Booking Summit
The Direct Booking Summit: Bangkok taking place on 19-20 February has announced a world-class line up of speakers who will share their hotel marketing, revenue and distribution expertise…
Travel Edge celebrates top performers
Six top performers from Travel Edge were welcomed in the private island of Lanai, Hawaii, hosted by the Four Seasons. This was the third top performers trip organised by the group.…
Aparthotel operator scores funding for growth
Aparthotel operator Staycity Group has revealed a positive trading year for 2019 with record occupancies across its estate and a number of key property openings, including its first…
Woodlands Event Centre goes cashless
The Woodlands Event Centre, the premier conference and event facility at Wyboston Lakes Resort in the UK will not take cash for payments at all from January onwards.
Simon McMahon,…
Huazhu completes Deutsche Hospitality deal
Huazhu Group, a leading and fast-growing hotel group, has announced the closing of the acquisition of all shares in Steigenberger Hotels Aktiengesellschaft, Germany or popularly called…
Air India exits Sabre
Sabre Corporation, the software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, has issued a statement regarding its relationship with Air India.
“After a successful…
Aegean Airlines enters Croatian Airlines bidding
Aegean Airlines has launched a bid to acquire Croatian Airlines, submitting a non-binding bid. In a statement, the Greek carrier confirmed: “Aegean has participated in the non-binding…
Asiana Airlines gets a breather
The news that a consortium formed between South Korea-based construction company Hyundai Development Co (HDC) and Mirae Asset Daewoo has agreed to acquire controlling stake in…
Qatar Airways scoops best business class in the UK
Qatar Airways has been awarded ‘Best Business Class Seat and Service’ at the first-ever Head for Points Travel and Loyalty Awards.
The awards reward the best in UK business class travel,…
Trip.com invests in business lounge operator DragonPass
DragonPass, a Chinese company operating high-end business lounges at airports and high-speed railway stations, announced it has obtained an undisclosed sum of funding from Ocean Link as…
Alibaba’s Fliggy ropes in 15,000 hotels
Alibaba Group Holding’s online travel agency Fliggy has established an alliance with 15,000 lodging service providers to help China’s independent hotels find more clients. The alliance,…
Global Travel Group appoints new head
Stephanie Lord has been appointed as head of marketing for Global Travel Group with immediate effect. The appointment follows Lord’s return to the UK after four years as head of…
WebBeds goes on tour in APAC
WebBeds has ended 2019 on a high by hosting a trio of important international events in the Asia Pacific.
Led by Daryl Lee, WebBeds’ CEO for Asia Pacific, many of the group’s regional…
ITB China, The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence promote MICE and corporate travel
ITB China and The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) announced their strategic partnership for the upcoming travel trade show set to take place from 13 to 15 May 2020 in…
PEACHY events: Discover the best MICE location in Thailand
With the country's popularity as a MICE-destination continuing to soar, contributing significantly to the Thai tourism industry and its impact on the economy, it’s no wonder the Royal Cliff…
Air Europa adds the “perfect accompaniment” to new Dreamliner fleet
Air Europa has always been fighting fit and ready to rock and roll, great staff, friendly service and now – with the arrival of its box-fresh Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners – the Latin specialist…
Hotelbeds: Three strikes and you’re out
Bedbank behemoth Hotelbeds has rolled out an update on its successful implementation of new distribution management rules, which directly address the rate integrity challenge for its 180,000…
Finnair and Air Serbia ink codeshare deal
Finnair and Air Serbia, the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, have agreed on a codeshare agreement in order to provide their passengers enhanced travel opportunities within…
Gulf Air and KLM Royal Dutch in codeshare partnership
Gulf Air, the national airline of Bahrain, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have signed a codeshare partnership, for travel commencing from 27 October 2019. The announcement follows the…
Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions plans biggest conference to date in November
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), which represents the interests of the visitor attractions sector in Scotland, will hold its annual two-day Autumn…
Hertz appoints GSAs for four countries
Hertz Asia-Pacific has appointed Discover the World (DTW) as its general sales agent (GSA) for Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. First Marketing has also been appointed as the GSA for Macau.…
IHG signs Holiday Inn Express in Bengaluru
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a management agreement with Thanishq Grande Hotels & Resorts for Holiday Inn Express Bengaluru Bommasandra. This 170-keys hotel is…
ATOL announces completion of renewals process following deadline extension
The UK Civil Aviation Authority confirms that of the 1,283 Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOLs) that originally expired on 30 September 2019, 1,182 have been granted. This announcement…
Boon or bane: What does the longest, non-stop flight mean on business travel?
Aussie airline Qantas made history after it completed the first non-stop commercial airline flight from New York to Sydney. The flight took 19 hours and 16 minutes!
ITB China backs tourism forum
More than 3,000 delegates from 26 countries attended the 2019 World Culture and Tourism Forum in Chanba, Xi’an, China. The conference hosted by Xi’an Municipal People’s Government and…
Ctrip is now Trip.com
The recently concluded 2019 annual general meeting of shareholders adopted the resolution to change the name of the company from Ctrip.com International to Trip.com Group.
Ctrip.com…
Duffel to unveil travel booking platform
Duffel, the British travel tech company, has raised USD 30 million from investors to launch its innovative new booking platform with some of the world’s biggest airlines, including…
American Express Global Business Travel reveals next-gen airline retailing advancements
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) announces that with the latest release of its proprietary online booking tool, Neo, it is the first travel management company (TMC) to…
UK’s regional hotels witness tough quarter
While London properties saw rate-driven rooms revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth of 5.1% year-on-year, hotels in the regions saw a decline of 1.3%, the third consecutive quarter…
Sabre and ATPCO ink pact for better retailing capabilities
Sabre Corporation and Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO) has announced a new long-term retailing agreement enabling Sabre to distribute ATPCO’s Routehappy content to…
Avis drives in with Bidroom
A new partnership between Avis and Bidroom for Central Europe provides Avis Preferred members an exclusive one-year-free membership for the Bidroom hotel platform. Avis users in the…
THAI reaffirms company not at risk of shutting down
Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) firmly stated that the company is not at risk of shutting down, contrary to false news reports that appeared in the media.
Sumeth…
Travel technology investment symposium announced
Travel Startups Incubator (TSI) has announced a one-day Travel Technology Investment Symposium, on 8 January 2020 in Miami at the Amadeus Executive Center. Dedicated exclusively to…
Amadeus hosts meet to discuss future of travel
Amadeus recently welcomed travel industry leaders to an exclusive gathering in the Amadeus Majlis at Arabian Nights Village, located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s desert. Hosted by Antoine…
GBTA announces new board members
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)—the voice of the global business travel industry, announced two new members have joined GBTA’s WINiT strategic advisory board - Alison…
TAT joins Expedia Group and UNESCO to unveil sustainable tourism pledge
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Expedia Group in conjunction with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), are joining forces in an…
Norwegian to launch JetBlue partnership next summer
Norwegian and JetBlue have signed a letter of intent for an interline agreement. The partnership will allow customers to combine low fares in a convenient single booking for connecting…
Triptease launches retargeting for hotels
With a history of delivering personalised messaging on hotel websites, Triptease has now unveiled a tool which will deliver personalisation in banner ads across the rest of the web.…
Premier Holidays and Emirates launch campaign to promote Sri Lanka
Premier Holidays and Emirates have partnered to promote Sri Lanka in a joint autumn campaign. The operator has many offers on sale until 31 October to attract clients for their next…
Cox & Kings no longer USTOA member, ceases US operations
Cox & Kings, The Americas including its affiliate East India Travel Company – is no longer a member of the US Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the USTOA reported. USTOA also…
Holiday Extras acquires City Hotel Reservations
Holiday Extras, the UK market leader in holiday extras such as airport parking, airport hotels, lounges and travel insurance, announced the acquisition of airport hotel and parking…
Tel Aviv to host 2020 Global Wellness Summit
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the USD 4.5 trillion global wellness economy, closed its 2019 conference by announcing that next…
Let’s talk sustainable river business, says CLIA
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) UK and Ireland has revealed its speaker line up for this year’s River Cruise Conference, taking place in Amsterdam from 10-11 November.…
American Express GBT appoints new chief information security officer
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has appointed David Levin as its new chief information security officer (CISO). Levin reports to chief information technology officer David…
Cleartrip for Work unveiled
Cleartrip has now launched ‘Cleartrip for Work’, a transformative travel product for the individual traveller. Through ‘Cleartrip for Work’, travellers with a GST number can access…
Airways Aviation Group buys French academy Esma
The Airways Aviation, a global flight training group, has announced the acquisition of the French Aviation Education & Training organisation Esma (Ecole Supérieure des Métiers de…
Get ahead of flight disruption with new tool
Global travel brand JTB Business Travel has teamed up with travel data and analytics expert, Cirium, to offer its clients proactive Airline Waiver Notifications to minimise flight…
Flybe to be renamed Virgin Connect
The European Commission has approved the sale of Flybe to the newly-formed Connect Airways, which includes Virgin, Stobart Group, Cyrus Capital, earlier this year.
Mark Anderson,…
EaseMyTrip joins hands with Malaysia Tourism
EaseMyTrip has joined hands with Malaysia Tourism Board to promote the destination amongst Indian tourists and offer customised tour packages for Malaysia at attractive rates.…
World’s most disruptive sports tourism start-ups meet in Macau
The growing sports tourism sector took centre stage at the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau, SAR with the first 'SPORTSTECH' edition of the UN World Tourism Organisation’s Tourism…
Wyndham Destinations joins war against human trafficking
Wyndham Destinations, vacation ownership and exchange company, became the first timeshare company to sign the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct with ECPAT-USA. The formal…
ITB China lands pioneering partnership with Meituan
Riding on the success of three years, ITB China, the largest B2B exclusive travel trade show in China, has announced its milestone partnership with China’s leading e-commerce platform…
G Adventures’ Change Makers Summit returns for 2020
G Adventures has announced that its popular agent incentive programme, Change Makers, is returning in 2020. The global summit will be held in India and Nepal from 20-26 April 2020.…
CRISIL keeps Thomas Cook India credit rating unchanged
The CRISIL credit rating rationale has assigned Thomas Cook India (TCIL) corporate credit rating of ‘CCR AA-’. Additionally, CRISIL has reaffirmed its ratings on the debt programmes and…
Vietnam Airlines first carrier in APAC to adopt Sabre Dynamic Rewards
Vietnam Airlines has emerged as the first carrier in Asia Pacific to leverage the loyalty redemption solution, Sabre Dynamic Rewards, technology provider Sabre Corporation has announced.…
RoomIt by CWT expands hotel distribution with new global partnerships
RoomIt by CWT, the global hotel distribution division of CWT, announced new strategic partnerships with multiple global hotel guest acquisition platforms. SiteMinder and Vertical Booking…
New study tracks Muslim women travel
Mastercard and CrescentRating will release a new report Mastercard-CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel Report during the Halal in Travel-Asia Summit on 17 October. The report takes an…
MakeMyTrip inks pact with TripAdvisor
MakeMyTrip has signed an agreement with travel platform major TripAdvisor to offer choices for local experiences at international destinations to outbound Indian tourists. Travellers…
OYO to raise USD 1.5 billion in new round of financing
OYO Hotels and Homes will be raising USD 1.5 billion as part of a latest round of funding which will be utilised for expansion in the US and strengthen its vacation rentals business in…
Messe Berlin to host maiden Travel Tech Asia 2020
Messe Berlin (Singapore) announced that it will be organising the inaugural Travel Tech Asia 2020 in Singapore. The three-day conference will take place from 21-23 October 2020 at the…
UK is largest inbound market for Philadelphia
In 2018, 697,000 overseas visitors came to the Greater Philadelphia region, of which 112,000 are from the UK, according to a new report from the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors…
Abad joins Flight Centre Travel Group
Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) global procurement network has appointed Yon Abad to the role of vice president, corporate supplier relationships and distribution platforms. Based in…
Gamechanger deal: Thomas Cook’s 555 shops to be bought by Hays
All 555 Thomas Cook shops are to be bought by rival Hays Travel in a move that could save up to 2,500 jobs.
UNWTO teams up with EBRD for sustainable tourism
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) are joining forces to strengthen sustainable and inclusive tourism as a tool for…
Northstar strengthens position in the UK with media acquisition
Northstar Travel Group has acquired Buying Business Travel from Panacea Media based in London to gain a stronger media position in the UK market.
A break from the old routine: 92% of business travellers prefer travelling to the office
Research by CWT, shows that business travellers feel that positives outweigh negatives at work (92%) and at home (82%) when travelling for business.
Travellers from the Americas are the…
IT&CMA and CTW Asia Pacific 2019 ends on a high note
IT&CMA and CTW Asia Pacific 2019 concluded on a high with delegates expressing positive experiences across board, as a variety of business, learning and networking objectives were…
ANA promotes tourism in Japan’s Shikoku region
All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest airline, has recently expanded its multilingual tourism guide site Japan Travel Planner to include information on the Shikoku region as well as…
Themed travel fast-growing trend among Chinese
Research by Mintel finds that three in five urban Chinese respondents (of 3000 surveyed online aged 20-49) say they are motivated to try themed travel because it would make a suitable…
Destination Europe: The most aspirational for South-East Asian travellers
The scenic beauty, natural landscapes, diversity of cultural attractions and the good weather are just some of the reasons why Europe remains the most aspirational holiday spot among…
CoStar Group to acquire STR
CoStar Group, a provider of commercial real estate information and analytics, has entered into an agreement to acquire STR, a leader in data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace…
Battle of the best: 2019 Mekong innovative start-ups in tourism finalists announced
The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office has announced that 10 innovative start-ups from across the Mekong Region will compete in the Mekong Innovative Start-ups in Tourism (MIST)…
EbixCash buys corporate travel business of Cox & Kings
EbixCash has acquired the corporate travel business from Cox & Kings for an undisclosed amount. This is its second acquisition in recent months, after its purchase of Yatra.com.…
WTM London revamps Buyers’ Club programme
For the 40th anniversary of World Travel Mart (WTM) London, the Buyers’ Club programme is being revamped to create a new and exclusive experience for buyers, exhibitors and visitors. The…
Gen Z is the least cost-sensitive travellers
If given an extra USD 100 to spend on vacation, generation Z travellers say they would spend that money on an experience, versus a nicer hotel or more leg room on a flight. They believe…
Championing tourism: TAT honours travel experts
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) presented 94 Thailand Tourism Awards that recognise the Thai travel industry’s best and brightest for their excellence in delivering remarkable…
Global travel bookings rise
International travel departures increased by 4.9% during the first eight months of 2019, according to ForwardKeys. The travel analytics company’s report on air travel bookings said for…
IATA launches gender diversity campaign
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched the 25by2025Campaign—an airline industry initiative to advance gender diversity in the airline industry by 2025. The 25by2025…
Connect: BCD Travel launches digital engagement platform
Global travel management company BCD Travel has introduced Connect, a digital engagement platform exclusively for its customers, as a continued investment in digital engagement services.…
FCM partners with Grab for ground transportation
FCM Travel Solutions, a global travel management company (TMC), has made it easier for clients to take advantage of Southeast-Asia’s most popular ride-sharing service Grab, with a new…
China Eastern unveils 5G travel system at Beijing airport
China Eastern Airlines, China Unicom Beijing and Huawei have joined forces to launch a 5G smart travel service system at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport. 5G enabled…
Lufthansa and CTM NDC partnership is “key to remaining at the forefront of innovation”
Lufthansa Group, along with business travel firm Corporate Travel Management (CTM), has announced that they will be partnering up to roll out and expand their NDC capabilities. The aim is…
MICE on Maldives radar
Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has revealed its efforts to enter MICE, cultural and sports tourism.
“We have seen temporary efforts in marketing Maldives…
Vietnam Airlines and Sun Group ink pact
Vietnam Airlines and Sun Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and provide even more inspiring product and service offerings to their customers. The cooperation…
Golfasian expands golf holidays to Sri Lanka
Golfers can now indulge in a golf holiday to Sri Lanka with Asia's largest golf tour operator, Golfasian. As part of an ongoing expansion and increasing requests from return customers,…
American Express GBT appoints new CEO
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) announced that Paul Abbott will assume the role of chief executive officer, effective 1 October. Abbott replaces Doug Anderson who is…
Visit Finland launches sustainable travel programme
Visit Finland has launched a new Sustainable Travel Finland programme for companies and regions across the country. The new initiative will provide companies and destinations with a…
Business travel costs to rise in 2020
Global hotel rates will increase by 1% to 3% and airfares by 1% to 2% in 2020, according to leading business travel management company BCD Travel’s newly released 2020 Industry Forecast.…
PATA, ADB and Plug and Play unveil Travel Lab Asia
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB) Ventures and Plug and Play, have announced the launch of Travel Lab Asia (TLA), Asia’s only…
Employment and dementia are no longer oil and water
With 47 million people living with dementia, there is no denying that is currently one of the major health crises we are facing. Unfortunately, there is no treatment that will prevent, slow…
UNIGLOBE Travel expands service to Moscow
UNIGLOBE Travel has expanded its network to Russia with the addition of global partner UNIGLOBE Talarii Travel. Based in Moscow, UNIGLOBE Talarii Travel is a fully licensed agency and…
YTL to debut new Marriott brand in Malaysia
YTL Hotels and Marriott International have announced the signing of a master development agreement to bring the AC Hotels by Marriott brand to Malaysia for the first time. The AC Hotels…
First-ever Business Travel MICE procurement event strengthens ITB China’s positioning
The recently organised Business Travel MICE Procurement Conference 2019 - Shanghai Station, jointly hosted by China BT MICE and ITB China, attracted 300 senior industry attendees from…
Thomas Cook announces partnership with G Adventures and G Touring
Thomas Cook has appointed G Adventures and G Touring as its new Thomas Cook Tours partner. With more than 90 years of combined experience in the touring sector, G Adventures and G…
Marriott Bonvoy Events platform unveiled
Marriott International has announced the launch a new Marriott Bonvoy Events platform. This new site is a comprehensive tool for meeting and event planners, building upon former Marriott…
STB unveils global INSPIRE to enrich MICE experience
Singapore Tourism Board has unveiled In Singapore Incentives & Rewards (INSPIRE), an incentive programme to attract potential visitors from the global Meetings, Incentives,…
Voyager Club unveils membership for regular jet setters
Voyager Club has announced the launch of The Jet-Set Voyager – an exclusive membership that offers unlimited travel services and access to some of the world’s most exclusive off the…
Airbus deepens China commitment with AVIC deal
Airbus has reaffirmed its commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with China’s aviation industry. As part of the move, the company has signed a new agreement with Aviation…
Hotelbeds’ MarketHub events go annual
Hotelbeds has today confirmed its plans to expand its successful MarketHub formula.
From 2020 the MarketHub events – typically attended by up to 600 participants from leading tour…
eRevMax partners with Greek booking engine expert BookOnlineNow
eRevMax has completed a two-way integration with Greece-based internet booking engine BookOnlineNow. Hotels using eRevMax connectivity solutions can leverage this interface to make…
From filthy bedsheets to hairy plugholes, Brits reveal their hotel horrors
Filthy bedsheets, hairy plugholes and unidentifiable room smells are some of the top factors likely to cause Brits to walk out of their hotel and never return. This was revealed by a…
Shandong Airlines-Sabre deal to drive intelligent retailing in China and across Asia
Sabre Corporation announced that China-based carrier Shandong Airlines is the latest to select several intelligent retailing solutions from the Sabre Commercial Platform. Under this…
On the green track: ADB and PATA partner with Plug and Play
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a non-profit membership association for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel…
The big league: Stellar line up of industry giants will headline ITB Asia 2019 keynote sessions
ITB Asia is set to deliver a series of keynote presentations over the event’s 16-18 October dates, in line with 2019’s conference theme, ‘Bold Thoughts, Bold Moves.’ The keynote sessions…
PATA bets big on video communication
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has strengthened its partnership with Binumi, a video content platform to develop more robust video communications.
“PATA has bolstered its…
ABTA to address credit card fraud measures
The Payment Services Directive will be the hot topic of discussion at Association of British Travel Agents’ (ABTA) latest programme of regional business meetings, taking place between…
“Minimising the current disadvantages seen within the market”: Flight Centre steps into B2B
Monster of the travel agency industry Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), has decided to take on B2B accommodation providers, such as Hotelbeds and Bedbank, with the creation of its new…
Radisson rolls out global responsible business training programme
Radisson Hotel Group has announced the introduction of its new global ‘Responsible Business’ training programme called Living and Leading Responsible Business. Set to be rolled out…
1,100 runners conquer Budapest Airport’s runway run
Over 1,100 runners raced down Budapest Airport’s runway 13R-31L to take part in the annual Budapest Runway Run. Now in its seventh year – a permanent fixture in many diaries – airlines,…
Luxair signs a partnership with Hotelbeds
Bedbank Hotelbeds has announced a partnership with Luxair Luxembourg Airlines, the flag carrier of Luxembourg that carries almost two million passengers every year.
As part of the…
Road to recovery: Cinnamon Hotels to host Future of Tourism Summit in Sri Lanka
Recognising the need to uplift Sri Lanka’s travel industry in the wake of 4/20 incident, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts is set to host the third edition of the ‘Future of Tourism Summit’…
Travelport signs decade-long partnership with Edwardian Hotels London
Travelport has signed a long-term agreement with Edwardian Hotels London. The contract represents the largest hotel partnership of its kind managed by Travelport’s digital media…
Join a masterclass by The Travel Corporation
The Travel Corporation (TCC) has unveiled a new e-learning programme for its Luxury Gold portfolio and is inviting travel advisors to enrol and become a brand expert. Luxury Gold is a…
Going green: Abercrombie & Kent supports Refill Not Landfill campaign
Abercrombie & Kent Southeast Asia is supporting a project to introduce drinking water stations around the Thai capital in Bangkok. Its community support enterprise, Abercrombie &…
The art of bleisure: Work and play at Sheraton Grand Danang
Looking for the right hotel to mix work and play? Here’s how you can perfect the art of bleisure at Sheraton Grand Danang Resort.
OYO to invest in machine learning-powered dynamic pricing
OYO Hotels & Homes has announced that it has acquired Danamica, a Copenhagen-based data science company, with machine learning and business intelligence capabilities, specialised in…
Hertz drives into Vietnam with new franchise
Hertz Asia has appointed New City Rent A Car as its new franchisee partner in Vietnam. As a local car rental expert, New City Rent A Car will offer customers the full range of car hire…
Green policy vital for travel business
More than 81% of tourism businesses think it is important to implement sustainable and environmental policies for their businesses and clients. This was revealed by UKinbound’s Business…
Make holidays greener, says ABTA
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) is reminding travel businesses, tourist boards and hotels there are just four weeks left for them to get involved in the Make Holidays Greener…
Inaugural Malaysia Travel & Tourism Mart 2020 announced
CEMS Conference & Exhibition (Malaysia) announced the launch of Malaysia Tourism and Travel Mart 2020 (MTTM 2020) to be held from 25-27 June 2020 at Malaysia International Trade and…
CLIA announces 2020 conference dates
The 2020 Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) conference will take place on 26-28 April in Southampton, CLIA UK and Ireland has announced.
Known as the ‘official conference…
Flipkart partners with ixigo for flight bookings
ixigo has partnered with India’s e-commerce market leader Flipkart to introduce an enhanced and native flight booking experience. Through this association, Flipkart users will be offered…
64% extend business trips for pleasure (without telling anyone)
La Quinta by Wyndham has unveiled the trends and challenges for business travellers with its latest 'La Quinta Means Business' national survey.
HomeAway unveils virtual tours in Bali
HomeAway, holiday home rental company, announced the launch of virtual tours in Bali. First launched in the US in November 2018, Bali is the second market outside of the US and the first…
ITB China to host inaugural Business Travel MICE Procurement Conference in Shanghai
ITB China, the largest B2B-exclusive travel trade show in China announced that it will be organising the first edition of the ‘Business Travel MICE Procurement Conference – Shanghai…
Cozystay surpasses 2018 bookings by 600% in 2019
Cozystay, a technology-first, accommodation group with a growing portfolio of hotels, vacation rentals, and resorts under management, announced that it surpassed its total number of 2018…
Real-time performance data sharing of hotels gets easier
ProfitSword, developer of business intelligence software and data integration services in the hospitality industry, has announced the implementation of its ProfitSage operational and…
ICPB report seeks government help to make India global MICE hub
The second MICE market report for India released by India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) with the support of Ministry of Tourism has sought more financial and non-financial support…
Etihad celebrates 15 years of service to Bahrain
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its operations between the UAE and Bahrain. Since launching services to Bahrain on 22 August,…
Wirecard and OYO join hands for hassle-free bookings
Wirecard, the global innovation company for digital financial technology and OYO, the hospitality business chain, have announced that they are exploring collaboration opportunities to…
Sansiri raises stake in Standard International to drive expansion in Thailand
Sansiri, Thailand’s leading real estate developer, announced its investment to increase its shareholding in Standard International Holdings (SIH), the parent company of The Standard, an…
38% of business travellers eat healthier on the road
New research by CWT shows that awareness of maintaining healthy eating habits is gaining momentum amongst business travellers. Overall 38% of business travellers eat healthier while on…
LEVA Hotels launches third party management model
As part of its aggressive expansion strategy, LEVA Hotels & Resorts has rolled out the option of third party management as an alternative to the traditional asset or resource heavy…
Ctrip gets nod for acquisition of 42.5% stake in MakeMytrip
Indian regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of 42.5% of outstanding voting shares in MakeMyTrip by Chinese online travel agency (OTA) Ctrip.…
British Airways attempts to turn waste into jet fuel
British Airways is one step closer to powering its future fleet with sustainable jet fuel made from rubbish as plans have been submitted to develop Europe’s first household and…
OYO Vacation Homes to hire 1,000 employees in Europe by 2020
OYO Vacation Homes, vacation rental companies in Europe, has announced it will hire at least 1.000 employees in Europe by 2020. This decision follows the recently stated commitment to…
UK meetings business in near future to be robust
The good first half year for UK meetings business is set to continue for the rest of 2019. This was revealed by the Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) Meetings Barometer report.…
ITB China joins hands with World Culture and Tourism Forum in Xi’an
ITB China, the B2B exclusive travel trade show in China, has become a strategic partner of the 2019 World Culture and Tourism Forum to be held on 22-25 October in Xi'an, China.
Under…
Holiday Extras Group and Doncaster Sheffield Airport ink pact for expansion plan
Holiday Extras, the UK-based company with a focus on travel extras such as airport parking, transfers and travel insurance – has joined forces with Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) to…
Genting Hong Kong secures USD 2.88 billion financing for Dream Cruises’ two new ships
Genting Hong Kong (GHK) announced that it has signed loan agreements of EUR 2.6 billion (USD 2.88 billion) with a consortium led by KfW IPEX-Bank for construction and post-delivery…
Travel Money and YES Bank launch forex card
YES Bank has partnered with Travel Money, the foreign exchange brand of FCM Travel, to provide highly secure digital payment solutions coupled with a completely seamless experience to…
Dubai Tourism conducts three-city India roadshow
In order to strengthen relationships with travel agents and tour operators, to boost Indian arrivals to Dubai as part of the 2019 marketing strategy, the Department of Tourism and…
Sabre reveals consumer trends powering ‘retail revolution’ in hotels
Sabre Corporation, in partnership with global consumer trends and insights experts TrendWatching, has released a consumer trends study explaining the retail revolution in the hospitality…
QANTAS opens updated business lounge at Changi Airport
Australian carrier QANTAS announced that it flung open the doors of its newly expanded, refurbished and updated Business Lounge this week.
Qantas International Acting CEO Mr Naren Kumar…
AmEx Global Business Travel forms Middle East joint venture
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), business partner for managed travel, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Kanoo Travel, a travel…
‘Bleisure’ travel data shows 75% extend their business trips
Research shows that bleisure travel shows no signs of slowing down as more people continue to combine business trips with leisure activities.
Travelport’s new partnerships puts event organisers and TA’s in control
Travelport and Inspiravia S.L have announced the extension of their current partnership with the signing of a new global referral agreement.
The new contract will see Inspiravia S.L. …
RCI acquires Alliance to accelerate growth
Vacation exchange network as part of Wyndham Destinations, RCI, announced it has acquired travel technology platform Alliance Reservations Network (Alliance) for USD 92 million. This…
Growing the game: Qatar showcases golf offerings to UK
Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) co-hosted a golf day along with its partners Discover Qatar, Qatar Airways, Education City Golf Club and Doha Golf Club. Held at the prestigious…
China Southern and American Airlines in lounge-sharing deal
China Southern Airlines has launched a programme of airport lounge-sharing with American Airlines starting from August. Both carriers will provide their self-managed lounges to the other…
Marriott witnesses summer slowdown
Feeling the heat this summer, hotel chain Marriott has registered a drop of 65% in its net income for the second quarter of 2019 at USD 232 million compared to USD 667 million for the…
West Bengal to showcase new face of Kolkata at IATO convention
While playing host to the 35th Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Convention, West Bengal Tourism will attempt to showcase the new face and identity of Kolkata as a hub city and…
Dubai sees 51% increase in cruise visitors
Strengthening its position as a premier international cruise destination, Dubai concluded its 2018-2019 cruise season with a record increase of over 51% in cruise tourist footfall and a…
The world’s greatest living explorer joins TRIP Group
Sir Ranulph Fiennes has thrown his support behind the Travel Risk and Incident Prevention (TRIP) Group by becoming patron of the travel safety think tank. The world’s greatest living…
New pact to lead way for evolution of travel marketing
Connect Worldwide (CWW) and Planet4people, a development company addressing environmental issues, have announced a partnership to support destinations and travel companies and…
GIATA celebrates 1,000,000th unique identified property
There are over one million unique official accommodations in the world. This was revealed by hotel content database provider GIATA, which has announced its 1,000,000th unique identified…
Get set, go! Bangkok Airways hosts marathon in Phuket
To promote tourism in Phuket, Bangkok Airways recently organised the “Bangkok Airways Phuket Half Marathon”, the fourth running programme of the Bangkok Airways Boutique Series 2019 at…
Thomas Cook Airline renews focus on digital strategy
Thomas Cook Group Airline has consolidated its digital marketing team with a new Manchester city centre base. Looking after all customer-centric digital activity across the groups's…
Families renting out homes to pay for holidays
As the schools break up for summer, home-sharing insurance specialist GUARDHOG has unveiled new research which shows that nearly half (48%) of Brits who’ve listed their homes on…
Deem launches first virtual payment programme
Mobile and cloud technology provider for the corporate travel industry, Deem, has announced the launch of its first virtual payment provider programme with Conferma Pay, a fintech…
National ID enrolment centres for Nigerians opens in Germany and UK
As part of the endeavour to support the initiative by the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) to enrol Nigerian adults and children into the National Identity Database…
AmEx Global Business Travel announces flagship partnership with UNICEF
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has announced its new global flagship charitable cause to help children get back to school in times of emergency and conflict and a…
Hilton and Alshaya partner for 70 Hampton hotels
Hospitality major Hilton and franchise operator Alshaya Group have announced a significant development of their ongoing relationship with the exclusive signing of a master development…
Airfares to rise 5% in 2020 in India
With India’s strong economic growth fueling demand for business travel, airfares, hotel rates and ground transport prices are expected to increase in 2020. This was revealed by the sixth…
SIA and Amex launch first SME business travel card
American Express and Singapore Airlines have announced the extension of their partnership to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore today, in light of survey results…
