Articles tagged “eu”

Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans sounds like a typical corporate boss, opposing additional taxation as anti-business. The proposed EU tax on revenue would amount to double taxation, and that's seldom a good thing.

With another multibillion dollar fine handed down, we might be getting nearer to the European Commission taking a closer look at Google's travel products.

Much of the European tourism industry has emerged from the doldrums of 2015 and 2016 stronger than ever, but not without fault lines to keep track of, such as hotels and alternative accommodations. The latter is proving it's a sector that's holding its weight against hotels across much of the continent.

While there is no specific mention of the big Gulf airlines, they would likely be a target for any new measure designed to rein in supposed anti-competitive practices. European airlines, alongside those in the U.S., have long said the likes of Emirates and Etihad have an unfair advantage. European airlines surely welcome any new rule that attempts to level the playing field.

While European Union competition authorities might be happy with the results of their crackdowns, it doesn't look like much has changed. The market still makes it difficult for both smaller online travel agencies and the hotels themselves to compete.

Europe is finally warming up to the American-style, risk big and risk early venture investment culture that has given birth to so many tech megabrands out of Silicon Valley.

Nobody would argue that the European Union is a perfect institution but not only has it helped foster a degree of unity between former enemies but it has also ushered in an era of unparalleled freedom for its citizens. Brexit has put all that under threat.

The travel industry needs to wake up. Five months have passed since the Brexit vote and the UK government has still to spell out its plans. The British travel industry has been a huge beneficiary of many of the initiatives brought in by the EU and stands to lose out if it does not play a part in mapping out the future.

The European regulatory probe of Google on several fronts is putting pressure on the U.S.'s FTC to jump into the fray after bowing out under less-than-stellar circumstances a few years ago. Still, don't expect any meaningful changes in Google's practices until the regulatory processes likely wind through the courts.

The time it will take to implement this is a stark reminder of how slowly the aviation industry moves.