2013 › October

SkyMall shows how social media can help even the quirkiest or obscure travel brands remain relevant in an industry that's quickly moving online.

U.S. airlines are still way behind in creating watchable and shareable short videos, and could learn a lot from the non-U.S. examples listed here.

HomeAway is making a big bet on its pay-per booking model, but some financial analysts believe it hasn't taken off as expected. HomeAway states that the soft launch "was very recent" and the beta sample too small to get an adequate assessment.

It can be argued that Africa is the next Asia, but the more difficult question is whether it wants to be. A booming tourism economy brings international dollars and job growth at the risk of environmental and cultural degradation.

The launch of TripConnect is a really big deal. In much the same way that Booking.com led the way in bringing on board apartment hotels, condos and villas, TripAdvisor will now enable that vast long-tail of smaller properties to participate and vie for direct bookings.

This isn't about the sharing, it's about the commerce.

The maze TSA has built is just justification for its own existence. There is no end solution, just more means created to foster other means.

France will continue to be a big source of tourists, and also a big supporter of building tourism infrastructure in the poor Sub-Saharan African countries, but with China's big forays into the continent, and Middle-East countries investing in the region, that balance is going to change soon.