RateGain Acquires Travel Martech Firm Adara for Mere $16 Million

Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

A shift towards experiential journeys, growing demand for premium travel options – Indians approach to travel is evolving, according to Mukul Sukhani, senior vice president of business development at Mastercard.

Silkhaus, a United Arab Emirates-based platform for short-term rentals, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $7.75 million in a seed funding round.

China’s latest loosening of its stringent zero-Covid policy, mostly for domestic tourism, comes across as too little too late, at a time when the rest of the world is living with the virus. 

Looking to position itself as a leading tourism destination in the Middle East, Dubai has scrapped the 30 percent municipality tax on alcohol for what has been called a trial period of one year, till December 31. Also, tourists and expats will no longer need to pay a fee to secure a personal liquor license to purchase alcoholic beverages. However, an Emirates ID, or passport for tourists, will still be required. The change that came into effect from Sunday, was confirmed by Maritime and Mercantile International, one of the biggest alcohol retailers in the United Arab Emirates and a subsidiary of the state-owned Emirates Group.

The initial public offering of India-based budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo may be further pushed back from its intended deadline of a launch within the first quarter this year.

India is making a PCR Covid test mandatory for inbound arrivals from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, from January 1.

Keen to pursue its long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), hospitality tech company Oyo has said it would be refiling its draft red herring prospectus with the Indian stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by mid-February.

Indian online travel agency EaseMyTrip announced this week that it has acquired a 55 percent stake in hotel booking marketplace cheQin, owned by Gleego Innovations, for around $370,000.

Indian carrier Vistara reported its first-ever net profit for the quarter ending December 2022, according to statement from the airline on Monday.  

In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the recently-launched New Murabba Development Company will be developing what it calls the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh. The New Murabba project will be built around the concept of sustainability, featuring green areas and walking and cycling paths, according to a release. “It will also feature an iconic museum, a technology and design university, a multipurpose immersive theatre, and more than 80 entertainment and culture venues,” the release further stated. Built over an area of 19 square kilometers, the project will also have its own internal transport system and will be located at a distance of 20 minutes’ drive from the airport. As part of the project, Saudi Arabia will also be developing a 400-meter-high-cue shaped skyscraper Mukaab touted to be the world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics. The project is expected to add $48 billion to non-oil gross domestic product and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. The project is due to be completed in 2030.