Travel in county Summit

Many renters of vacation homes want the free option to cancel reservations if necessary, while hosts want confirmed, non-refundable bookings. Entering the fray is Booking.com, which encourages hosts to accept a compromise.

Air India’s new flagship has made its debut on the international stage. On Wednesday night, Flight AI995 departed Delhi for Dubai, operated by an Airbus A350-900 for the first time. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, May 2. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The world’s biggest hotel chains are doubling down on India, betting that the country’s rising affluence will fuel a surge in travel demand for years to come.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to deliver 320,000 new hotel rooms – with a development cost of US$37.8 billion – by 2030 as part of its unprecedented investment in infrastructure, tourism transformation and real estate, according to industry data released ahead of the Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia, 29 April to 1 May.

With the spotlight on sustainability like never before, the hospitality industry the world over can – and is – playing a key role in supporting government ESG initiatives and green goals.

The 2023 Miami Grand Prix proved to be the pivotal race in Max Verstappen’s dominant and historic performance en route to securing his third World Drivers’ Championship title. The Dutch driver started from P9, while his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez started from pole. Verstappen sliced his way through the pack, as if in a different formula category. With nine laps remaining, he emerged from the pits and not only closed a 1.8-second gap to Perez but passed him and put another five seconds into the Mexican driver before taking the checkered flag. What we didn’t realize at the time was that Verstappen would proceed to win every remaining race of the 2023 F1 season, save for a glitch in the Red Bull matrix that was Singapore.

Independent British manufacturer Swifty Scooters has just launched a groundbreaking product that marks a significant milestone in British transportation history. The Swifty GO GT500 is the first e-scooter to receive official approval for road use in the UK, becoming the first road-legal e-scooter that a consumer can buy.

Virgin Atlantic is best known for linking Britain with the United States, but there’s another market that is increasingly important for the carrier. 

G Adventures, the world's largest privately owned small-group adventure travel company, has just announced the imminent return of last year’s GX Community Tourism Summit in 2024, to be hosted in conjunction with its non-profit partner, Planeterra, in the vibrant destination of India.

A bulging middle class, a mega-rich 1%, and a rapidly growing population are swirling to potentially make India a tourism superpower. But the country’s largest online travel agencies are not going to go to war; rather, they’re in a race for who can leverage the growth opportunities first and then on a long-term basis.

Air India has big ambitions: CEO Campbell Wilson said he wants to restore the carrier into a “top-tier and world-class airline” at the Skift India Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday. 

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is set to depart the island to participate in Eco-Canada’s Sustainable Blue Economy Summit 2024 in Halifax, Canada, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Minister Bartlett will be a featured speaker and thought leader at the summit, highlighting the critical importance of the blue economy to building tourism resilience and sustainability.

On April 8, parts of Indiana will experience its first total solar eclipse since August 7, 1869, and its last until September 14, 2099. Up to 600,000 eclipse chasers could arrive on April 8, many of them heading to cities like Indianapolis, Bloomington, Muncie, Richmond & Wayne County and Terre Haute.

A luxury "glamping" site in the UK that claimed to offer "utter peace and tranquillity" has been ordered to close following a series of noise complaints, The Guardian reported.

Just two days after the Economic Times reported that Oyo had met with regulators to expedite its IPO, it reported that the hotel operator wanted to back out of the public offering.

We are thrilled to announce the inaugural Skift Data + AI Summit, set to take place in New York City on June 4.

Skift India Summit – which will undoubtedly be the best travel industry conference ever seen in India – kicks-off in Delhi-NCR on March 20 and will bring together a top-notch line-up of speakers focused on the region’s future. 

Expedia Group announced after its fourth quarter 2023 earnings call that Ariane Gorin would become the online travel agency’s CEO on May 13, succeeding current CEO Peter Kern. Gorin will join the board of directors, where Kern will remain. Barry Diller will continue in his roles as Expedia Group’s senior executive and chairman.

Cynics typically say that bigger doesn't always equal better when it comes to major corporations like Marriott International.

Hilton Honors members increasingly have more options to earn and redeem points — and the broader traveling public has more opportunities to check out a Hilton-affiliated hotel.

Skift is coming to India for the first time to host our inaugural Skift India Summit in Delhi-NCR on March 19-20. In this transformative Summit, we will decipher the big trends facing the travel industry, and we will hear from leaders across all sectors, including tourism, hospitality, aviation, experiences, and more.