Best Tourism Websites and 7 Other Digital Trends This Week

Every week we post hundreds of stories across various sectors in travel, connecting the dots across various global trends, and in these weekend posts we highlight the stories that tackle these trends. This one looks at top digital trends.

For all of our trends roundups, go here.

>>Adventure.com gambled on charging a 20 percent fee to guides, which was considerably higher than the going rate: Adventure.com Failed But What Did It Do Right and Wrong?

>>Kicking and screaming, airlines may end up having to pay more attention to their customers: TripAdvisor’s New Flights Product Seeks to Do for Airlines What It Did for Hotels

>>The global digital payments ecosystem is undergoing a rapid and monumental shift: New Skift Trends Report: Digital Payments in Travel 2016

>>It seemingly takes Google forever to roll out new features in travel products such as Hotel Ads and Google Flights. Google will continue to take its own sweet time: Google Focuses on Deals With Changes to Mobile Travel Products

>>Budget airlines’ strategy of focusing on direct bookings allows them to grab a larger share of web traffic: Top 10 Airline Sites in the U.S., UK and India for June 2016

>>The most modern tourism bureau websites today emphasize neighborhood storytelling: The 25 Best Tourism Websites in the World in 2016

>>Dihedral can turn out to be something huge or meander nowhere like some of the traveler journeys they’ll be charting: Orbitz Founding CEO Gets Backing From Major Airlines and Hotel Chains for ‘Experiences’ Startup

>>Loyyal is now developing a universal point system based on blockchain technology that allows cross-partner redemption: Loyalty Programs See Opportunities in Blockchain Technology