Skift Travel News Blog

The high-end, experiential travel show Pure Life Experience, meant to take place in Marrakesh from 10 to 13 September, has been canceled.

The organizers of the annual event, now in its 14th year, issued a statement confirming its cancelation following the devastating 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Morocco on Friday, 8 September, which killed more than 2,000 people and left thousands more injured.

Serge Dive, CEO and founder of This Is Beyond, the events company behind the Pure travel show, said the team had assessed safety conditions before deciding the best way forward in light of the natural disaster.

“My intent is to respect all of your decisions while doing what is right for those affected in Morocco, our own community, and the fabric of the local tourism,” said Dive as he expressed concern about the inappropriateness of planned events amid the devastation and emotional toll. The earthquake took place 50 miles from the city of Marrakesh in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco and is said to be the biggest to hit Morocco since 1960.

Beks Ndlovu, the founder of African Bush Camps, a bespoke Africa-based safari company, posted he was in the city for the four-day trade fair, which had 525 registered exhibitors to attend this year’s event.

“I truly believe that we have a unique opportunity for those who are already in Marrakech to strengthen our bond, reflect on the current event, and to be a real force for good for the Moroccan community,” Dive said.

See the complete statement below.

Raffles London at The OWO is set to open in London on Friday 29th September, the first hotel in the UK for Raffles Hotels & Resorts.

The hotel has been developed in partnership between Accor and the Hinduja Group, with the latter thoughtfully restoring Britain’s Old War Office to its former glory over the last eight years.

The new hotel will have 120 rooms including 39 suites, 85 Raffles Residences, a spa in partnership with Guerlain and Pillar, 9 restaurants, and 3 bars – one of which will provide access to a rooftop with panoramic views across St James’s Park, The Mall and onto Buckingham Palace.

The hotel will also feature a fully restored interior, with original elements of the building on full display, including hand-laid mosaic floors, oak panelling, chandeliers, and a marble staircase.

“Raffles seeks out astonishing settings for each of its properties, and Raffles London at The OWO offers this generously. The rich heritage of the city, as well as the Old War Office building, make London a natural home for the Raffles brand, which has long been synonymous with legendary service, glamour, art, and storied destinations,” said Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Orient Express, Accor.

Brazil will mandate visitors from the U.S., Australia and Canada obtain an e-visa prior to entering the country starting January 10, 2024, according to Embratur, Brazil tourism’s board.

The visa requirement was initially going to take effect on October 1 this year, but the government has postponed it to next year.

Since 2019, Brazil had waived its visa requirement for nationals from U.S., Australia, Canada and Japan . Nationals from those countries had been allowed to stay in the country for up to 90 days with the possibility of extensions of up to 180 days. The visa waiver will last until January 10, according to Embratur.

Visas will be issued electronically. The Brazilian government is currently developing the procedure. Once done, the details for the process will be provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The policy reinstatement is a retaliation toward countries that have not waived their visa rules for Brazilian nationals. The Brazilian government has been pressing U.S., Australia, Canada and Japan to reciprocate and waive its visa requirements.

Brazil has only reached an agreement with Japan to have reciprocal exemption, which will take effect on September 30, 2023. Not only will Japanese tourists continue be allowed to Brazil without a visa, Brazilian tourists will be allowed to Japan visa-free.

Property manager Vacasa announced its intent to conduct a one-for-20 reverse stock split that’s geared to get its share price higher than $1 per share and therefore to be continued to trade on Nasdaq.

A vacation rental that Vacasa manages. Source: Vacasa

Its shares were trading for $0.48 midday on Friday.

The reverse stock split, authorized by the Vacasa board of directors September 1, would go into effect before midnight October 2, the company said. Vacasa’s split-adjusted shares would start trading on the stock market the next day.

Several companies, including Sonder, which went public via SPACs and have seen their share prices dip below $1 have similarly announced reverse stock splits.

Air France is set to commemorate its 90th anniversary with a fashion exhibition that will take over the window display at the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann.  

The exhibition, which will run from 28 September to 10 October 2023, will showcase five dresses designed by Xavier Ronze, head of the costume design workshops at the Paris Opera Ballet. 

The designer took inspiration for the dresses from the signature hallmarks of the airline, including aircraft and technology, uniforms and fashion, its iconic posters, fine dining and tableware, and design and architecture.

In addition to the window display, the exhibition will also feature a selection of vintage Air France memorabilia, as well as a number of pop-up stores carrying items that have been specially created or reissued to commemorate the anniversary.

Visitors will also have the chance to attend real fashion shows retracing the company’s uniform heritage, with models dressed in the uniforms of pilots, cabin crew, airport staff and mechanics taking over a dedicated area of the store.

Air France boasts a rich history of collaborating with famous fashion houses to design its crew uniforms, encapsulating the essence of ‘French elegance’, as demonstrated in the video below:

International travelers spent $18 billion on travel to, and within the U.S. in July., down by $1.5 billion from its pre-pandemic level, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data. Spending on strictly goods and services like recreation, lodging and food totaled $9.7 billion in July 2023.

Between January and July, international travelers spent more than $118.5 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services, up nearly 24% from the same period in 2022. On average, international travelers spent more than $559 million per day this year so far.

Americans traveling abroad spending continued to exceed past its pre-pandemic level. In July, they spent over $17.2 billion, up from $14.9 billion for the same period in 2019. In June, Americans also spent more than they did while traveling internationally before the pandemic.

The Marriott-controlled ultra-luxury superyacht brand The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection would like to raise as much as $400 million to add two superyachts to its current three, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The operator is backed by investors such as Oaktree Capital Management. Its first ship, the 298-guest Evrima, set sail in October 2022, with the Ilma debuting this year and a third vessel, Luminara, in the works for 2025.

Fares start around $3,100 per person per night for sailings starting at four-night itineraries in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Central America, and elsewhere. Onboard dining venues include Michelin-starred chefs. (See Bloomberg’s review of the Evrima for more.)

Park Hyatt New York has unveiled a new art installation from local contemporary abstract artist and hotel bellman for nine years, Jeffrey Okyere-Agyei.

The “Sankofa” art collection features a mixture of modern abstract art and Ghanaian cloth prints that have been created to highlight Okyere-Agyei’s ‘connection to his Ghanaian heritage while simultaneously representing an important cultural bridge between traditional African art and modern abstract expressionism’.

“My goal with this collection is to express my unique vision of creativity, thus further strengthening my connection between my love of abstract art and my African heritage,” says Okyere-Agyei.

“To be able to continue to tell my story to the guests of Park Hyatt New York, a place crucial to my personal journey, is incredibly humbling.”

Sankofa is a Ghanaian Akan/Twi word and symbol originating from Okyere-Agyei’s native country that represents the idea of gathering wisdom and learning from the past to create a better present and future, and forms part of a larger collection of symbols known as Adinkra created by Ghanaian craftsmen used in textiles and pottery.

“As part of what has become a tradition within the Park Hyatt New York family, we’re excited to feature yet another impressive and personal collection from Jeffrey, while also providing a unique and immersive experience to our guests,” said Park Hyatt New York General Manager, Laurent Ebzant.

“It’s an honor to witness Jeffrey’s art process as he creates such thought-provoking art that celebrates his native Ghana, and it’s our pleasure to continue to share his talent with all who walk through our doors. We look forward to seeing what else he has in store for Park Hyatt New York and our guests.”

Ankit Gupta, the India CEO of hospitality technology platform Oyo, and Mandar Vaidya, the head of Oyo’s European operations, will both be moving on from the company.

“Ankit Gupta and Mandar Vaidya moved on from their roles six months ago in March 2023. We are proud of their achievements at Oyo and are thankful for their leadership. Both roles were already transitioned six months ago to Varun Jain, as chief operating officer India, and Gautam Swaroop, as CEO OYO Vacation Homes, respectively,” an Oyo spokesperson said in response to Skift’s query.

Both Gupta and Vaidya are set to embark on their entrepreneurial journey with Gupta expected to announce his start-up soon, a source told Skift.

Gupta, who earlier had been the CEO of Oyo’s Hotels and Homes, was appointed India CEO last year.

This February Oyo had reshuffled its management with Abhinav Sinha taking up the role of global chief operating officer and chief product and technology officer. Sinha, who has been with Oyo since 2014, was taking over the role from chief technology officer Ankit Mathuria, who left the company in June 2023.

Oyo’s proposed IPO launch is expected to take place around the Indian festival of Diwali, which falls on November 12 this year. The company that had earlier planned its initial public offering at $1.1 billion, reduced the size of the offering to between about $400 and $600 million

In May, Chinese hospitality company H World Group sold one-fifth of its holding of Oyo to United Arab Emirates-based family offices and institutional investors for around $9 million.

Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service had said it expects Oyo to generate between about $50 million and $55 million in EBITDA this fiscal year.

With plans to support the surge in business travel, Oyo has also announced its plans to double the number of premium hotels in India in 2023.

The company entered the premium resorts and hotels category with the launch of its new brand-Palette in July. The move comes as a part of Oyo’s ongoing efforts to make its premium property portfolio more versatile.

The company had said that the Palette resorts would be located in popular leisure destinations across India, while also catering to business leisure or blended travelers looking for quick getaways and staycations.

The Finnish Border Guard will allow passengers on selected Finnair flights to and from the UK to pass through border control at Helsinki Airport using new Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) from 28 August 2023.

The pilot project forms part of a reported world first pilot program, which has been launched in cooperation with Finnair, the Finnish Police and Finavia.

DTC is a digital version of a physical passport, and according to a release from the Finnish Border Guard, is ‘equally reliable and will allow smooth and fast border crossings without compromising security.’

Passengers flying with Finnair on the London, Manchester and Edinburgh routes will now be able to pass through border control by registering as a voluntary DTC user and use it at border control when leaving and/or arriving in Finland.

The European Commission is developing the DTC as part of a larger digital identity policy package, with the European Union committing €2.3 million to co-fund the project.

The pilot will run at Helsinki Airport from Monday 28 August 2023 until the end of February 2024.

You can register as a DTC user at the police service points in Tikkurila or at Helsinki Airport by following the instructions on the Finnish Border Guard’s website.