Skift

If done, this will be among the largest consumer Internet acquisitions in India's nascent digital sector, and show that building utility services that are layers on top of unorganized sectors matter more in countries like India, than flashy apps.

This is not how you assure visitors that Egypt is once again open for business.

Staff at airports have a reputation for being unhelpful, but holograms that don't interact with you only make matters worse. How about airports invest in people and management who understand customer service rather than gimmicky technology?

There's a clear financial benefit to the consumer when hosts don't have to pay the high costs associated with regulated transient housing.

The expensive building projects have proved to be unsustainable in a country where locals can’t afford fares and there aren’t enough tourists to fuel the lines alone.

Studies that show animals are more valuable kept alive than killed for cuisine will help officials rationalize bans and controls that keep hunting of endangered animals to a minimum.

The concentration of flights in Europe and the northern hemisphere highlights which countries benefit the most from business and leisure travel and how much potential there still is for further connectivity.

Marriott’s first major marketing attempt to attract customers, which are being wooed away by design hotels, has been criticized for being so different from Marriott’s branding that it feels like a lie.

The future of Turkey’s vital tourism industry depends on the length and severity of current protests, which are slowly eating away at the country’s reputation as worldwide travel destination.

Visitor flow slowed from January to April as the region rebuilt itself, in some cases from the ground up, and the state highlighted that work in a heavily funded ad campaign that boosted visitor numbers for Memorial Day.

New York’s obsession with biking grows as senators look to capitalize on a new generation of CitiBike riders who may soon be interested in riding somewhere more scenic than Times Square.

NCL's string of recent successes stands in sharp contrast to peers like Carnival, while also serving as a model of how you can be innovative and customer-centric without breaking the bank.

The United-Continental merger can be viewed as a case study in integration miscues. US Airways-American Airlines: Are you taking notes?

Forcing plaintiffs to individually arbitrate their claims of hotel-price-fixing against Travelocity would sabotage the class-action lawsuit if the ruling stands up. There undoubtedly will be further developments in this case.

Businesses are still being cautious about their travel budgets for meetings and conventions. The economic recovery is patchy, at best.

BP destroyed small businesses along the entire Gulf Coast and walked away with a slap on the wrist. Now the motels, casual restaurants, and other players who have little political pull will work hard to get visitors back despite the lingering issues.

Jordan has focused promotional efforts on western journalists and travel bloggers, yet the nation has only seen numbers from those regions decline. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian travelers and other visitors from the region are picking up the slack.

Gambia is the new Tunisia for the sun-and-sand seeking European tourists, but like the former North African dictatorship, Gambia hides a brutal regime, even though it is supposedly a democracy.

Historic ruins discovered in Asia have little chance of remaining untouched by the millions of tourists that are crossing borders every day in search of authentic undiscovered gems.

EU membership will open Croatia’s borders to European residents, but also increase visa hassles for tourists from Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Its impact can already be felt with tourism from those markets already dropping 15 percent.

Australian leaders do not appreciate having their management of the reef compared to that of a third-world or developing country. So perhaps they should stop giving UNESCO and others reason to draw these conclusions.

This latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner glitch may be a minor incident, but it comes at an untimely moment during the Paris Air Show, and after months of adverse publicity about the aircraft. Hey, at least the batteries seemed to work fine.

United and Delta are catering to their respective elite frequent flyers, but the airlines are also ensuring that you have to spend certain minimums in order to get qualify.

Florida has little shot of actually becoming the world’s most visited destination, but its reputation, driven by family travel and theme parks, is on course to make significant gains in line with global tourism growth.

Walking tours of city lend themselves to making tourists slow down, take in the city and spend more time there. And as global consciousness rises on wanting more authentic human experiences, Nairobi has a potential chance of reinventing itself.

Travelocity has struggled in recent years, and the acquisition can be seen as a way for parent company Sabre to cash in on a strategic asset.

A focus on people supports what we’ve argued is Foursquare’s best use case: a local discovery and recommendation engine. To know where and when your friends go makes Foursquare the most personalized searched engine out there.

What good are all those travel apps if you’re phone is dead?

An affinity for excess isn't limited to the Middle East these days, what with Australia planning a full-size replica of Beijing’s Forbidden City and New York looking to build the world’s largest Ferris wheel. The Saudi prince might have taker after all.

The cost of making residents comfortable with moves is so minimal compared to what's being spent on the stadiums and being pocketed by construction conglomerates. In the end their greed may end up costing them more, and damaging Brazil's reputation as a desirable destination.

Japan’s falling yen has attracted visitors and brought tourism to forefront of the country’s growth efforts. Removing barriers to entry, like the Malaysian short-stay via, will only fuel that growth.

Opening Berlin’s airport won’t solve all of Air Berlin’s problems, but it could boost profits and allow the low-cost airline to launch new routes. Despite the airline and airport’s demise, Berlin has become one of the most popular European destination.

Don't write off Ostrovok yet, but clearly the Russia hotel site faces some huge challenges from Booking.com and the nature of the Russian market.

At least we will see some creativity in the UK and London travel souvenirs this way....

Considering the reputation of both the hard-sell sales practices as well as how sales agents are treated in the timeshare industry, this arrangement seems like a poor match for everyone involved. Except, of course, the developer.

U.S. regulators are focused on the short-term goal of increasing youth employment without looking at the long-term economic benefits of attracting visitors to spend summers in the U.S. Benefits include building a positive brand abroad, attracting peers of summer workers to visit, and encouraging future trips.

Major brands should honor pricing errors whenever possible to avoid the PR snafu of upsetting happy; El Al did this and turned a mistake into a brand boost that likely drove future profits.

This is Dubai-level crazy, and may just work. Australia and its regions have been the most aggressive in attracting Chinese tourists as other nationalities have stayed away for various reasons.

Passengers gave seat comfort especially low marks. What do you expect when leg room in couch gets increasingly cramped to accommodate lie-flat seats and other premium seats.

The growing trend of turning prisons into boutique hotels exemplifies consumers’ desire for authentic or unique experiences as well as hoteliers’ appetite for differentiating themselves by pushing design boundaries.

Haiti is pinning its economic growth on tourism and hopes its naturally attractive environment will attract visitors and provide the boost needed to get the nation back on its feet after the 2010 earthquake.

Sometimes smart development comes through the hard work of building consensus across a community, state, or nation. And sometimes all you need is a benevolent dictator.

Island nations are often the most dependent on tourism and a dip in visitor numbers reverberates throughout the entire economy.

The most pressing concern for anyone involved in aviation is how the industry will move beyond rising fuel costs to find a more sustainable source of energy, something few jets on display will be able to offer.

During a week where U.S. and UK are obsessed with security and the government's ability to monitor it, it seems like an odd time to praise the 15- second benefits of eyeball scans.

The airport has claimed fewer deaths (~50) than Mount Everest (~240) making it the lesser of two risks, but the destination's precarious location provides few opportunities for increasing safety.

Regulators included connecting flights into their competition analysis, significantly increasing the impact of the proposed merger, and the airlines will likely have to make concessions to push the merger through.

Twitter is slowly building additional features into the main service, and this new acquisition means it will make its formal entry into a local-travel and discovery sector, and may give a run for the money to other larger startups like Foursquare.

Despite the meaningful backstory behind Portland’s new brand, it still fails to distinguish the city from its West Coast counterpart or give visitors a sense of the city without an understanding its history.

Less than 20 percent of the Hindu pilgrims were evacuated with the majority still stranded and a state unsure of how to remedy the ongoing disaster.

European hotels have long conquered U.S. counterparts when it came to the breakfast spread, but the extra costs for warm meals and healthier options are now necessary to keep pace and satisfy customers in the U.S. market.

You see passengers here and there using mobile boarding passes at the airport these days, but their use is hardly omnipresent. That could change over the next few years, however, as mobile boarding passes become a staple of third-party apps.

Australia has attracted a huge number of tourists through its relatively open borders and long-stay visas. The Philippines could see an also influx of tourists looking for short-term work, which would ultimately boost the economy and country’s profile.

Making smart, regional connections is the smartest think for Amtrak to be doing, but politicians insist that the train line serve cities in their district for political reasons. Then they cut the funding. Meanwhile, Japan just announced a train that goes 300mph.

Free Wi-Fi on airlines makes a lot of sense. It should be viewed as a necessary utility. But, the Wi-Fi systems will have to improve because they can't handle bandwidth demands even now with so few passengers using the onboard Wi-Fi.

Chinese investments are following their tourists abroad and investing in luxury hotel brands, real estate, and even yacht companies with expectation for a quick return in popular travel destinations.

The rise of the G2 generation in China is what will lead to the next tsunami-size wave of global Chinese tourists, only these ones will be traveling independently outside of the groups, or free independent travelers (FIT) as industry lingo calls them.

Except for the slip up on English language, most tourism board press releases sound like this, just with more polish and sophistication. Can't make too much fun of it...

TripAdvisor is becoming such a full-service travel site -- everything but actual bookings so far. By combining GateGuru and SeatGuru, TripAdvisor will have some laudable assets to inform travelers about the airline and airport experience.

Business travelers are the only ones disappointed by the oncoming economic boost; U.S. airlines, hoteliers, and restaurants have been waiting more than five years for a rebound of this level.

The effect of Chinese tourists coming into Europe will only increase over this year and years to come...

A great annual list from BizBash which honors the not-so-usual suspects in an industry that drives a huge amount of revenues directly into the hospitality and travel sector.

While everyone expects this type of behavior in Putin's Russia, the taint of corruption that surrounds Olympic officials is something people accept. Even when they approve something as outlandish as a Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

At play in the merger is the shrinking service at smaller markets across the U.S. Although it's not all US Airways and American Air's fault, they're going to have to at least provide lip service to the issue.

The hope is that small-scale partnerships like Burlington and Montreal’s charging stations are only the beginning to larger projects that make eco-friendly transport as easy and inexpensive as today’s main transit options.

Museums are considered cultural institutions and often backed by nonprofit organizations, governments, or private families that open the collections as a public service rather than lucrative business venture.

Sports might be the next stop in the evolution of Las Vegas’s tourism industry that’s moved between gambling, conferences, and entertainment throughout the years.

Considering Carnival's past 18 months and the relatively PR-challenged boss Arison, this is likely the second worst job in travel PR. For that Frizzell can thank Ryanair for giving him a bit of a runway.

Google's Waze purchase will be scrutinized closely from a number of angles, but the most important one in the long run may likely be sceptical users wondering just what they're doing with all that data about their movements.

South Americans are flocking to Argentina where bargains are easily found in exchange for foreign cash. Now all South American countries are taking efforts to curb the day trips and keep currencies within their respective borders.

It's an excellent, opportunistic move by Branson to make a bid the same week the very complacent car rental companies announced plans to boost rates on corporate customers.

An endorsement from one of the Gulf superstars will weigh heavily in Boeing’s favor as the U.S. manufacturer continues to work out its rebound from the Dreamliner grounding earlier this year.

Regulatory changes to the H-2B visas ultimately increased fares for U.S. and foreign workers, but the timing left business owners with little time to secure summer workers and factor in fare raises for the 2013 season.

Whether or not California will be able to deliver a real high-speed line is still to be determined, but this first step should get us closer to finding out if they can get the early stages right.

What flyers and airlines really want is a runway and the absence of one has turned into a royal pain.

It’s no coincidence that theme parks have also had a record year; however, Orlando’s deep-seated reputation as a family-friendly destination still stands at the root of its success.

India’s aviation sector is quickly evolving as foreign carriers claim their stake in the growing market place; Jet Airways needs someone experienced at partnerships and competition to keep its marketplace footing.

Singapore previously held the record for the world’s longest flight at 19 hours, but cancelled the flights after fuel costs became too high; Emirates has a chance of making the ultra long-haul model work with more fuel-efficient jets and a wealthy clientele.

If only there was a travel app that could help you plan how to flee from one of the more powerful intelligence agencies.

Steer clear of Western Europe this week. The halt on air and train travel highlights a failure between the state and transportation companies to adequately negotiate before passing the burden on to locals and visitors alike.

Airlines will make their own changes to meet this new demand from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

NYC & Company is missing an opportunity to shine by leading the way to smarter social engagement for tourism marketing organizations. It could be among the first to turn streams into live information chats rather than static PR pushes.

The Carnival Triumph hangover has lasted longer than the cruise industry initially envisioned. Carnival's confident that lower fares will fill the ships, if not the cruise line's coffers.

The years since 2006 have not been kind, but Morgans has not done as well as its peers or competitors. With big egos, big brands, and big stakes, it's not real surprise.

Delta's confidence about summer bookings is a nice counter-point to weakness across the airline industry in April and May.

The competition between Boeing and Airbus will be the not-so-hidden subtext of the Paris Airshow next week.

Egypt sees the promise of tourism dollars as a bright brass ring, but Istanbul knows success comes with complications that could tear the city apart.

Adelson merely zigged where Ho zagged: Carving out an empire in Macau gambling requires that you distinguish yourself in a brash way. That's something Sheldon knows that his Vegas counterpart Wynn doesn't.

Nothing for scaring off visitors before the big game like premature price gauging. But kudos to Brazil for calling out offenders before the big game arrives.

This confusing scenario highlights a larger problem that’s stymied the industry for years -- laws and regulations are constantly changing onboard depending where a ship is at certain moment.

Vintage airline tags blown up this size are a fascinating study in typography, iconic city branding and minimalistic modern design.

Savannah’s largest market of incoming visitors is comprised of day-trippers from cities that are driving distance away, but an increase in designer hotels and larger festivals and attractions has started to widen the city’s tourism base.

The waterfront locations that have sustained each of these cities’ hugely profitable tourism industries and boosted local businesses, now threatens to kill off both with a single unmanageable flood.

There aren't many options out of Alaska, so catering to this market from its west coast hub is a smart move for Virgin.

The movie may have been filmed in multiple locations, but the tourist board that puts the pieces together first can likely lay claim to ownership and haul in the visitors -- if the movie is successful, that is.

Expansion into Asia comes at a good time for the major cruise lines, several of which have suffered serious blows to their reputation in the U.S. and European markets over the past year.

Ryanair is always on the lookout for shady practices by national carriers and the governments that keep them around. But even though the low-cost carrier has made a lot of noise over the years, the playing field isn't nearly as level as it would like to to be.

TripAdvisor didn't buy Jetsetter to have it sit in the background, and the impending doom of SniqueAway is the logical next step.

It’s difficult to gain much insight from the averages since visitor spending varies widely above and below the given number; however, the most notable finding is the near $100 spent on candy per tourist.

The demonstrations regarding the fare hikes are part of a larger movement in which Brazilians protest the government’s high spending that is committed solely to preparation for the World Cup.

Hotels can expand their brand offerings and attract a larger customer set with very low investment by tapping into local resources to form relationships that ultimately serves all parties.

Hotels’ in-house bands and take-home sheet music have been replaced with iPod docks and Instagram updates, highlighting the ever-evolving impact technology has marketing and hospitality as a whole.

The contention between rival re-enactment groups is actually great for the city; it brings more attention to the 150th anniversary activities and lengthens the amount of time that visitors will have reason to stay.

It's hard to imagine how Venice could be ruined more than it has been by rampant tourism, poor regulations, and a total lack of a local identity that's not in the service of selling luxury goods or kitschy mementos of a once great destination.

Just think how the security gridlock would have been exacerbated had the sequestration cuts been fully implemented. Still, things ain't pretty.

The U.S. is years behind Europe and Asia when it comes to innovative rail programs, but leave it to Portland to te to catch p quickly.

Both the World Cup and the Olympics always leave hosts with this problem, so Brazil's problem isn't exactly unique. And since it's shown a determination to be the southern hemisphere's leader, it's likely they'll figure out a way forward on their own.

History matters, and context matters, especially when it comes to understanding why U.S. lost out on the global tourism front, and what policies (or lack of them) led to it. A speech that could have been seminal would be a good place to start understanding this.

Popular brands know no boundaries. Although fashion and luxury brands have crossed into the hotel industry, Ace is leading the way in smart brand expansion among a new generation of design and lifestyle hotels.

The surge in vacation home sales in key resort communities bodes well for vacation rental companies such as HomeAway as buyers often purchase their homes as investments or at least rent them out for part of the year.

Destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy provided the perfect opportunity to bring NYC’s outdoor spaces under a unified brand, which has the added benefit of highlighting the city’s presence far away from crowded streets and traffic jams.

Lufthansa's maintenance division can count on its low-cost rivals to want to avoid the type of costly investment running a large-scale maintenance team requires.

Authorities have found there is room for another rail company in the Channel Tunnel, and this will speed the ride for millions of incremental rail passengers.

The debate pits locals who believe it’s okay to embellish a myth to make a profit versus those who morally oppose the false promotion. In this case, it looks like those looking to make a dollar will ultimately win.

Sometimes travel companies, including airlines, have to make hard choices, and FastJet sees longer-haul flights across Africa as its first priority. The plan is to get to domestic South Africa flights at a later juncture.