Air India Stokes Price Gouging Uproar and More Top Stories This Week

Throughout the week we are posting original stories night and day covering news and travel trends, including on the impact of coronavirus. Every weekend we will offer you a chance to read the most essential stories again in case you missed them earlier.

Air India Bans Agents From Selling Canada Tickets Over Gouging: At a time when India has just resumed scheduled commercial flights to international destinations, agents wonder whether the Air India ban against them is an ill-timed move — or a well-timed one.

Marketing Pics Don’t Sync With Travelers’ Tastes, Says Getty Images: Travel brands need to make sure the visuals in their marketing are aligned with what travelers — many on Instagram — want today. Sometimes there’s a disconnect, according to new data from photo agency Getty Images.

Amadeus Wins Accenture, Melia Hotels Deals Thanks to Microsoft Tie-Up: Plugging its Cytric Travel & Expense platform directly into Microsoft 365 is a clever move from Amadeus, but is there a risk business trips lose their appeal when positioned so closely next to the option of virtual meetings using Teams?

KLM Names First Female CEO: Air France-KLM continues to lead on female leadership in the airline industry. Rail executive Marjan Rintel will become KLM’s first female CEO when she succeeds outgoing Pieter Elbers in July.

Eurostar and Thalys European High-Speed Rail Merger Approved: Rail travel in Western Europe is about to get a little bit easier. European authorities have signed off on the merger of high-speed rail operators Eurostar and Thalys that will create a single company connecting some of Europe’s largest cities.

The Big Travel Trends to Follow in 2022: What’s the state of the European travel industry right now? Skift Research has some answers as well as solutions to the challenges ahead.

Hotels Refurbish to Take Advantage of More Guests Dining in Their Rooms: The pandemic has fundamentally changed the future of room service delivery methods, menus, and guest room design.

Former Travelport Execs Launch Platform to Boost Struggling Agencies: TPI’s new TripStax travel tech platform has experienced Travelport alumni at the helm, but its all-in-one retailing philosophy might limit its appeal.

Corp Travel Giant CWT Nudges Clients Towards Microsoft-Style Carbon Penalties: More companies are taking carbon management into their own hands, stepping away from offsetting. This new footprint indicator could give CWT’s clients much greater control.

Mauritius Pitches Digital Nomads to Reach Goal of 1 Million Tourists in 2022: An ambitious target of one million tourists by the end of 2022 has Mauritius — a largely luxury tourist destination, diversifying to lure even digital nomads and retirees. Will this help them deliver the numbers?