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Day tourists are now charged an entry toll whenever they set foot in Venice’s historic center during peak periods. The city began charging day tourists an entry fee of 5 euros (around $5.30) on Thursday.

New federal rules around airline junk fees and refunds are meant to protect consumers but they overlook the logistics of making it happen, according to Laura Chadwick, president and CEO of the Travel Technology Association.

Destination Toronto said Friday that Andrew Weir would become its president and CEO on May 1. Weir was the destination marketing organization’s executive vice president.

Amadeus, the travel technology giant, is offering a program that provides subsidized sustainability training for small and medium enterprises in the tourism industry to the Americas for the first time. 

Travel executive pay is a topic we’ve covered extensively at Skift. In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, our full-time hosts, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko discuss several issues related to those often large pay packages — including compensation for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, whose 10-year pay package could turn into $1 billion or more.

Imagine you’re visiting the Colosseum in Rome for the first time, and you want your friends to enjoy the same view through the lenses you’re wearing. 

Capital A has announced an agreement for the divestment of its airline business and the acquisition of AirAsia X, forming a unified AirAsia Group.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, April 26. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

IndiGo, which operates on the no-frills philosophy, has perfected its model of keeping costs low since 2006. The airline is one of the biggest customers of the A320/320neo family, with 1,340 of these ordered and over 350 in operation. 

Looking to establish itself as the number 1 online travel agency in Southeast Asia, Air Asia Move, previously known as AirAsia superapp, announced the launch of its ASEAN Explorer Pass on Thursday.

Indian budget carrier IndiGo has placed its first-ever order for widebody aircraft, with an order of 30 Airbus A350-900 jets. The move is expected to help expand IndiGo’s international network to long-haul destinations.

San Francisco is gearing up to greet more visitors from China, starting with a pair of pandas.

Klook, a leading platform for travel experiences in Asia, signed a letter of intent with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to boost experiences in the country. The company is hoping to double the number of bookings it has for tourism packages to Thailand this year.

After the Biden administration announced it would crack down on junk fees and require automatic refunds, it was unclear how the rules would be enforced and applied to the airline industry.

Some cruise stereotypes are going overboard as Royal Caribbean Group executives witness a boost in younger travelers.

With submissions for the 2024 Skift IDEA Awards well underway, we are excited to introduce the first cohort of industry experts that will bring their unique perspectives and experiences to support us in selecting the 2024 Award winners. 

Wyndham‘s executives saw March 11 as a fresh start for their hotel franchising company – that was the day Choice Hotels abandoned its hostile merger bid.

Southwest Airlines is pulling out of four airports as it deals with Boeing delays.

Toronto-based Hostaway, which sells property-management software, announced it will offer business loans to its customers. Hostaway didn’t share details about how the financial arrangement works but said that the industry standard is to take a commission of the loans. 

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday that certain aspects of a new federal government rule that would require airlines to provide automatic refunds were “gray.”

Accor, the Paris-based hotel operator, earns about a fifth of its revenue from France. So analysts have been eyeing possible impacts from Paris hosting the 2024 Summer Olympic Games for three weeks across July and August.