European Commission travel tips

EU antitrust regulators warned on Friday a bid by South Korea’s biggest carrier, Korean Air Lines, for second-place Asiana Airlines could hurt competition, as they opened a full-scale investigation of the deal.

Tripadvisor offered a muted outlook across its major businesses, and attributed the softness to changes in Google’s travel search results pages.

The European Commission has introduced a new visa “cascade” regime for Indian nationals applying for Schengen visas in India. This regime looks to offer longer-term, multi-entry Schengen visas, based on the applicant’s travel history.

Europe added two more additions to its border-free area this weekend, welcoming both Bulgaria and Romania.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, March 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to increase the basic fee for a Schengen visa in 2024.

Under orders from the European Commission to enhance competition, Google plans to change the way it displays flight search results in European Union countries. But a major flights seller said it “firmly rejects” Google’s plan as not going far enough.

Citizens of European Union members Romania and Bulgaria will no longer need a passport from March 31, 2024 to travel by air or sea to most other EU countries as well as Norway and Switzerland, the council of EU governments said on Saturday.

The European Commission reveals the 2024 European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism, recognising their outstanding achievements in accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, and cultural heritage & creativity as exceptional tourism destinations.

SAS intends to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company’s shareholders, to be held in January 2024, to approve the contemplated step-up mechanism within short order.

ECTAA strongly urges the inclusion of a rapid refund system based on fast-tracked State Aid, ready for swift deployment in the face of worldwide travel restrictions or highly remote risks in the future.

A lack of common measures often causes confusion among airlines' customers and leads to hidden extra costs.

Florence banned short-term rentals in its historic center, guests spent over 150 million nights in short-term rentals this summer in Europe, and its cities fear overtourism.

eTraveli Group was left at the altar last week when the European Commission blocked its acquisition by Booking Holdings on antitrust grounds. Booking is appealing, but eTraveli CEO Mathias Hedlund said the $1.8 billion deal would be “no longer in play.” “We are a bigger fish now than we were at the time,” Hedlund said in an exclusive interview with Skift, referring to when the company signed the merger deal in November 2021. He said eTraveli is 2.4 times larger than before the pandemic.

The European Commission has all but officially blocked Booking Holding’s almost 2-year-old pending acquisition of Swedish flight-tech company eTraveli Group, and Booking confidentially sent a memo to national competition authorities detailing why it thinks the commission’s arguments are flawed.

The European Commission is set to block Booking Holdings’ $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group, a critically important transaction that’s been in limbo for nearly two years.

Raluca Marian, the IRU Director of EU Advocacy, emphasized the necessity of an EU initiative to establish a well-functioning MDMS ticketing system.

Italy has suspended its golden visa programme for Russian and Belarusian citizens, the country’s Business Ministry has announced on its website.

Passengers may soon be able to make phone calls on flights in the European Union thanks to a recent ruling by the European Commission. The ruling is one of two that would allow airlines and other transportation providers to provide the latest internet connection service on their trips.

Google made changes to Google Flights and Hotels related to transparency in hotel reviews and pricing under pressure from the European Commission — but stopped short of making those modifications elsewhere in the world.

Sustainability in travel will no longer simply be judged on stated goals. Rhetoric turns to accountability as companies and destinations are forced to put goals into operations in 2023. Travel climate ambitions have reached a moment of maturity.