Dawit Habtemariam

I cover what destinations around world are doing to attract tourists. Prior to joining Skift, I covered corporate travel at Business Travel News.

Latest Stories

Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb’s C-Suite Shuffle

Today's podcast looks at Airbnb's new CFO, Selina's restructuring, and how a merger between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian would play out.

Dawit Habtemariam | 10 hours ago

Airbnb’s C-Suite Shuffle

Tourism

Hawaii’s Maui Locals Speak Out Against Tourism Amid Housing Shortage

Hawaii and Maui won't see a full tourism recovery if the public perceive them as responsible for leaving the wildfire victims homeless.

Dawit Habtemariam | 20 hours ago

Hawaii’s Maui Locals Speak Out Against Tourism Amid Housing Shortage

Tourism

Peru Set to Increase Tourist Cap For Machu Picchu

Macchu Picchu is to Peru what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Making it more available to tourists could reverse its sluggish recovery.

Dawit Habtemariam | 2 days ago

Peru Set to Increase Tourist Cap For Machu Picchu

Tourism

Elon Musk Bets Americans Will Go Camping in Tesla Cybertrucks

At the moment, Americans can't imagine camping in the woods using an electric vehicle. Maybe the cybertruck can change that.

Dawit Habtemariam | 5 days ago

Elon Musk Bets Americans Will Go Camping in Tesla Cybertrucks

News Blog

Middle East Tourism Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Levels Before Israel-Hamas War

The Middle East exceeded its pre-pandemic international tourist arrival numbers by over 20% through September this year, according to the UN World Tourism Organization's latest data. That's before the Israel-Hamas conflict started in early October. UNWTO accredited the Middle East's performance to new visa facilitation measures, the development of new destinations, new tourism-related projects and…

Dawit Habtemariam | 6 days ago

News Blog

European Commission Proposes Enhanced Traveler Rights

The European Commission has proposed revisions that would bolster traveler rights and protections. Here are some highlights:  Persons With Disabilities: If an airline requires they travel accompanied, the person accompanying them will fly with them free of charge. Travel Package Prepayments: Travelers will pay a maximum of 25% of the price of travel packages booked…

Dawit Habtemariam | 6 days ago

Tourism

Amsterdam’s ‘Stay Away’ Ads Didn’t Deter Partiers. Now What?

Amsterdam is struggling to shake off its historic image of the city where everything goes.

Dawit Habtemariam | 7 days ago

Amsterdam’s ‘Stay Away’ Ads Didn’t Deter Partiers. Now What?

Tourism

Long Visa Wait Times to Be U.S.’s ‘White Whale’ in 2024

Doesn't seem unreasonably high visa wait times are going away any time soon in Mexico, India and Colombia.

Dawit Habtemariam | 1 week ago

Long Visa Wait Times to Be U.S.’s ‘White Whale’ in 2024

Hotels

Standard International to Debut New Hospitality Brand, The StandardX

Standard International is trying to take lessons from its successes 25 years ago and apply them to its latest brand today.

Dawit Habtemariam | 2 weeks ago

Standard International to Debut New Hospitality Brand, The StandardX

Tourism

U.S.-Canada Rainbow Bridge Incident Spurs Heightened Security at Onset of Thanksgiving Travel

Hopefully no one else was hurt, and that this incident was an isolated event.

Dawit Habtemariam | 2 weeks ago

U.S.-Canada Rainbow Bridge Incident Spurs Heightened Security at Onset of Thanksgiving Travel