Travel News: Latest News, Breaking Stories, and Analysis of Travel

Tourism

South Africa’s New Visa Push for Indian and Chinese Tourists Has a Tour Operator Twist

South Africa’s visa reform relies on vetted tour operators to streamline approvals for Indian and Chinese tourists. While this approach may reduce bottlenecks, it raises concerns about limiting independent travelers and whether operators can manage increased demand effectively.

Peden Doma Bhutia | 2 hours ago

Airline Weekly

Thunder Down Under: Qantas Flexes Its Muscles

Ten years ago Qantas was struggling. Dangerously thin profits, if not outright losses in some periods, drove its then-CEO Alan Joyce to undertake controversial cost-cutting measures. Fast forward to 2024, and Qantas is earning higher margins now than before the pandemic. With a new leadership team in place, Qantas believes things will get even better. In this week's feature story we separate the facts from the marketing fluff and ask what the future holds for the Flying Kangaroo.

4 hours ago

Daily Lodging Report

U.S. Hotel RevPAR Goes Up

STR reported U.S. lodging data for the week ending August 31, showing a 3.6% rise in RevPAR, with ADR up 1.6% and occupancy up 1.9%. Group RevPAR increased 7.2% on a 7.1% occupancy boost.

21 hours ago

Hotels

Hotel Earnings: 7 Things We Learned From Companies in the Skift Travel 200

Hotels recently discovered that they'd rather have fewer guests paying more. But can they keep holding the line on prices as they face other challenges?

Sean O'Neill | 2 days ago

Tourism

Stonewall National Museum Ends Membership With Visit Florida

A tourist attraction has cut ties with Visit Florida over its LGTBQ Travel removal. It's only one but more could follow, putting pressure on the organization to change course.

Dawit Habtemariam | 2 days ago

Airlines

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary: eDreams CEO Is ‘Spoofing His Shareholders’

Expedia, eTraveli Group, lastminute.com, Kiwi, loveholidays.com and Omio have authorized access to Ryanair flights. eDreams Odigeo is missing in action — and it hurts.

Dennis Schaal | 3 days ago

Airlines

How Holiday Packages are Boosting EasyJet and British Airways

Once snobbishly consigned to the ‘bucket and spade brigade,’ package holidays are one of the fastest-growing products in UK travel. This lucrative opportunity to diversify revenue has not gone unnoticed by British Airways or easyJet, with both airlines rapidly expanding their highly profitable holiday divisions.

Pranjal Pande and Gordon Smith, Skift | 3 days ago

Experiences

5 Key Trends in Travel Experiences

Spending on tours and activities may hit $300 billion by 2025. Expect to see more consolidation pressures, growth in demographic targeting, adoption of AI, and attempts to react to climate change.

Jesse Chase-Lubitz | 3 days ago

Podcasts

Travel’s Great Renewal (and Reckoning) – Skift Travel Podcast

This month brings the return of the Skift Global Forum, where travel executives will offer no shortage of opinions about the state of the industry. What topics will they discuss?

Rashaad Jorden | 3 days ago

Skift Meetings

The Neverending Fam Scammer Nightmare

As long as there have been fams, there have been fam scammers. They’re a costly nuisance that the industry can’t seem to get under control.

3 days ago

Airlines

What’s Next For Azul, Brazil’s No. 2 Airline?

Azul is now the second-largest carrier in Brazil. The pandemic did little to deter its growth, but the airline must find a solution for its increasing debt levels. Could a merger fix this?

Ashab Rizvi | 3 days ago