Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
25.08.2023 - 14:17 / skift.com / Rashaad Jorden / Peden Doma Bhutia / Carley Thornell / Matthew Parsons
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, January 31. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia no longer aims to launch a lifestyle superapp. But Tony Fernandes, CEO of its parent company Capital A, is shifting his focus to developing a superapp solely devoted to travel, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.
Fernandes said in an exclusive interview with Skift that AirAsia would focus on selling travel solely through its superapp, having declared Covid was over for the airline. Superapps, popular in Asia, enable users to accomplish a myriad of tasks on one platform instead of having to resort to dozens of apps. AirAsia’s superapp provided food delivery, among other services, during the heart of the pandemic.
Fernandes also said the superapp would focus on delivering the best value for flights across Southeast Asia as well as boosting its ride sharing business.
Next, Turkey was already a popular destination for travelers from Russia, and it looks set to become a business travel hub for Russian corporations displaced after Western sanctions, writes Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons.
Close to 1,400 Russian businesses opened offices in Turkey in 2022, more than any other nation. Parsons writes Russian businesses looking to continue trading view Turkey as a neutral location since it didn’t impose sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. He adds that Russian corporations are in particular to trade with firms banned directly engaging directly with Russia, especially U.S. businesses that set up shop in Turkey after closing their Russian operations.
However, an executive at travel management company BCD Travel warned that high inflation and the weakening Turkish Lira pose significant challenges for the sector’s ongoing recovery in Turkey.
Finally, hotel executives acknowledge that hospitality has become an increasingly stressful industry for staff coming out of the pandemic. So they’re focusing on improving their employees’ mental well-being in an effort to retain workers, Contributor Carley Thornell reports.
Hotel companies like the Turks and Caicos Collection, a group of luxury resorts, are developing strategies to help workers cope with the stress of their work. General Manager Vianel Filpo admitted he can only do so much to help staff dealing with a challenging work environment. So he’s helped arrange face-to-face counseling sessions for employees with a mental health professional, which he said have been enormously popular with staff.
Meanwhile, Crescent Hotels & Resorts, which operates more than 100 properties in the U.S. and Canada, increased mental health
Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
Agency consortium GlobalStar Travel Management is expanding in Europe, after boosting its presence across North America and Asia.
How Latin America Is the Future of the Airline Industry: No part of the world is seeing as many big changes to the airline business as Latin America. The final shape is still opaque, but one thing is clear for the region’s aviation industry: All eyes are watching closely for how this transformation unfolds.
The United Arab Emirates government on Sunday announced the lifting of all precautionary measures implemented in the country during Covid-19. With the lifting of restrictions, wearing of masks has now been made optional in all open and closed facilities, including places of worship and mosques. However, those categorized as “people of determination” would be required to wear mask while visiting health facilities and centers. The Al Hosn app would now only be required to furnish proof of vaccination and for test results inside and outside the country, when required. The green pass on the app would no longer be required to enter public facilities and sites. The requirement of a polymerase chain reaction test would also no longer be made mandatory for those attending or participating at sporting events. The authorities said they have decided to ease the restrictions after studying the epidemiological situation in the country and having monitored occupancy rates in hospitals and intensive care for Covid cases.
Saudi Arabia’s increasing focus in the tourism sector and the shift to leisure travel has brought Seera Group from the red to report the company’s first post-pandemic operating profit of $8 million in the third quarter.
The Middle East’s almost year-long summer is its competitive advantage when attracting the European market. However, the region would do well to add more beachfront properties and curate experiences beyond its Uber-luxury eccentricities.
It was the news everyone was waiting for. Finally the U.S. government set a date, Nov 8. 2021, to reopen its borders.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, January 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
An innkeeper in Bangkok’s Sathorn area has been desperately looking to hire more staff to cater to the increasing number of tourists at his place.
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.
A laboratory study has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the UK’s travel restrictions last year.
Russian tourists may be flocking to Turkish resort hotspots like Antalya and Bodrum, but the country looks set to become a critical business travel hub for Russia as growing numbers of corporations relocate there following sanctions imposed by the West.