Mary Ann Ha

When predicting current and future trends, everyone in the travel industry has their eyes on Gen Z travelers, and, boy, are they demanding.

Following Memorial Day Weekend, Americans are still planning to travel during the next major U.S. summer holiday, but with more careful planning and sentiment stability about rising fuel prices.

In a frantic attempt to avoid being left behind, official tourism organization websites are doing their best to catch up to the high expectations of the new traveler — tourists of the post-pandemic digital age.

In Skift's top stories this week, Hopper's decision to allow customers to leave for any reason will have consequences, hotels are increasingly accommodating electric vehicles, and Denver is becoming a new tech hub.

The Department of Tourism Philippine's newest video is the epitome of "talk about creative advertising" — performers mold their bodies into birds, mountains, waterfalls, and oceans to remind tourists that there are workers behind every tourism experience, and that they deserve recognition.

In Skift's top stories this week, Chase pushes further into travel as a commerce category, investors view Instagram as a bigger platform for selling travel, and Qatar may be forced to prioritize World Cup fans over other visitors.

In Skift's top stories this week, a breakup of Google’s advertising businesses could have significant ramifications for travel, U.S. travelers are more worried about surging prices than Covid, and Phoenix is the first testing site for Waymo's driverless cars.

While many turned to recreational vehicles and outdoor experiences for social distancing and mental wellness during the pandemic, rising vacation prices are forcing Americans to carefully allocate their finances, adding yet another reason to the list of why RVs are the move this summer.

Americans are now saying that financial factors trump health and safety worries when it comes to travel decision-making. While some are staying home because they can't afford it, those determined to travel are finding ways to work around higher prices.

In Skift's top stories this week, Saudi Arabia invests heavily in its tourism economy, 30 exclusive interviews cover the history of short-term rentals, and Sabre hands American Airlines a dollar after a decade-long case.