Leisure and Hospitality Leads U.S. Job Growth on World Cup Boost
While it's not clear the World Cup's tourism impact will live up to the hype, federal data shows the hospitality sector is staffing up ahead of the tournament.
News
The Verdict: Travel’s AI Race Has an Operating Problem
We heard from more than two dozen of travel's most important tech leaders — the people actually deploying AI solutions every day. Here's what the industry still needs to get right.
Ixigo Acquires Hotel Booking Platform and Invests in AI Startups
With Brevistay, Ixigo closes the last major gap in its travel stack. Its twin bets on AI infrastructure hint at a larger goal of keeping trip planning inside its ecosystem, rather than letting it migrate to ChatGPT.
Skift Meetings
As Event Risks Expand, Industry Revives Security Coalition
Planners are confronting a broader and more complex risk landscape, from violence and cyberattacks to fraud and workplace safety gaps. In response, a long-paused security coalition is being reactivated and expanded to reflect today’s threats.
Amsterdam Proposes Tourism Tax Hike to 20%
Raising taxes is easy — actually reducing visitor numbers is the problem Amsterdam hasn't solved.
Skift Meetings
Tehran-Based Event Planner Grapples With Job Loss and Daily Uncertainty
Although there are no longer any restrictions on events in Iran since the ceasefire, there is still little demand from businesses and attendees. Event planners remain unemployed and under pressure.
Connectivity Is Becoming Travel’s Most Critical Trust Signal
Connectivity has become a foundational layer of the travel experience. As the smartphone becomes the control point for travel, reliable connection is becoming less about convenience and more about trust.
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The Two-Sided AI Squeeze That Only Travel Faces
Travel is the only major industry getting hit from both directions at once: AI search volumes are exploding without converting while total AI token bills internally are rising.
Accor CEO Bazin’s Final Stretch: An AI Warning and What’s Next for Ennismore
CEO Sébastien Bazin said an Ennismore IPO is "one of four or five" possible fates for the lifestyle joint venture. In M&A-speak, that means Accor's board hasn't decided yet.
Green Aviation Startups Face a Funding Crisis
The electric and hybrid plane dream is alive, but the funding model that gets it there still needs to be figured out.
Why High-Spend First-Timers Could Be a Destination’s Most Expensive Mistake
First-timers spend more per trip. Repeat visitors spend less. But the math still favors loyalty.
IndiGo Suspends 7 International Routes: What’s Behind the Cutbacks
India's two biggest airlines spent the last few years expanding aggressively abroad. IndiGo leased wide-body aircraft for the first time. Air India was looking to rebuild into a world-class global carrier. Both are now in retreat, at least temporarily, from some of those ambitions.