The U.S. Department of State updated its Afghanistan travel advisory, maintaining Level 4: Do Not Travel. The advisory urges U.S. citizens to leave immediately and provides specific safety advice, including maintaining a low profile, monitoring local developments, and making contingency plans.
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 4 advisory for Afghanistan due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, wrongful detention, kidnapping, natural disasters, and limited health facilities, urging U.S. citizens to leave immediately. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations in 2021 and cannot provide consular services.
Ardent Partners report highlights key AP trends for 2026, including agentic AI moving from pilot to core operations, global invoicing compliance becoming a real-time responsibility, AP data driving cash intelligence, tariff instability, data cleansing, and the death of paper checks. The AP role is shifting from basic invoice management to a strategic hub.
Utility operating expenses (OpEx) face new regulatory risks, with regulators demanding greater cost transparency and documentation. Travel and expense (T&E) becomes a visible signal of financial discipline, and spend management platforms like SAP Concur help utilities embed controls, automate policy enforcement, and provide real-time transparency.
Travelport Flights API release notes show a new Premium Flex Search feature, allowing flexible search dates and PCCs, supporting up to three PCCs and date ranges of up to three days before/after. This feature is GDS-only, not available for NDC, and requires specific customer provisioning.
Travelport's February 2026 Flights API release notes detail enhancements across GDS and NDC content. Key updates include support for exchanges on itineraries with exempt taxes (GDS), brand-based exchange search, expanded Premium Flex Search capabilities, NDC bundled offers and Air Canada Flight Pass, and loyalty cross-accrual. These changes aim to improve search flexibility, streamline exchange workflows, and bolster NDC support for travel sellers.
Travelport introduces the returnAllBrands object in Flight Specific Search reference payload requests, enabling the return of all brands in a fare family regardless of the anchoring flight's brand from the initial search. This feature is GDS-only and not supported for NDC. The update aims to provide travel sellers with more comprehensive brand options, enhancing search flexibility.
SAP Concur has been named #1 on G2's 2026 Best Accounting and Finance Software list, marking its sixth consecutive year receiving a G2 Best Software Award. The ranking is based on nearly 6,500 authentic user reviews. SAP also earned the top spot on the Best German Software list. Users praise its integration, automation, compliance, and ease of use.
SAP Concur has enhanced its integration with Uber for Business, enabling automatic employee directory sync, smart filters, and preview-before-invite. Admins can sync employee data directly from SAP Concur, filter by team, region, department, etc., reducing manual upkeep. SAP Concur remains the system of record, ensuring alignment across travel, meals, and expense data.
Based on user reviews from G2 and TrustRadius, SAP Concur earns higher ratings in long-term fit, efficiency, mobile functionality, rules enforcement, and reporting analytics. On TrustRadius, SAP Concur scores 8.3/10 overall, compared to Emburse's 7.9. User feedback highlights SAP Concur's strengths in automation, compliance, and scalability.
SAP Concur recaps 2025 innovations, including general availability of Joule AI assistant, Receipt Analysis Agent, Complete unified solution with Amex GBT, Microsoft Teams integration, enhanced Uber for Business integration, new NetSuite connector, support for over 90 languages, and more. These updates aim to improve travel and expense management efficiency, compliance, and user experience.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Côte d'Ivoire due to crime, terrorism, unrest, health, and piracy. U.S. government employees are restricted from driving outside major cities at night and require two-car convoys. Crime includes carjacking, robbery, and home invasion; terrorism risk exists; medical facilities are limited.
Transavia, the low-cost carrier in Air France-KLM Group, has expanded its global distribution agreement with Amadeus, providing access to all fare types, including Smart Fare and Fare Family Upsell, via the Amadeus Travel Platform. The agreement covers Transavia France and Netherlands. Transavia is strengthening its presence at Paris Orly, operating routes to Marseille, Nice, and Toulouse from March 29, 2026, targeting business travelers.
Booking Holdings reported Q4 and full year 2025 results. Q4 room nights grew 9%, gross bookings grew 16% (11% constant currency), and revenue grew 16%. Full year room nights grew 8%, gross bookings grew 12%, and revenue grew 13%. The company achieved approximately $550 million in annual run-rate savings through the Transformation Program and approved a 25-to-1 stock split.
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 2 travel advisory for Côte d'Ivoire due to crime, terrorism, unrest, health, and piracy. The northern border region is Level 4: Do Not Travel. U.S. government employees are restricted from driving outside major cities at night and require two-car convoys. Crime includes carjacking, robbery, and home invasion; terrorism risk exists; medical facilities are limited.
Booking Holdings announced it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on February 18, 2026, at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET via a press release on its Investor Relations website. A conference call to discuss the results will be held at 4:30 p.m. ET the same day, with a webcast and audio replay available for seven days.
Amex GBT announced an increase of $300 million to its share repurchase authorization, bringing it to $600 million. The company also reported strong preliminary Q4 2025 results: revenue up 34% to $792 million, TTV up 45% to $10 billion, and adjusted EBITDA up 17% to $130 million. Full-year revenue grew 12% to $2.718 billion, TTV up 17% to $36 billion. The company reiterated 2026 guidance with revenue growth of 19-21%.
Travelport Flights API has released several updates, including support for Air Canada NDC flight passes, NDC bundled offers, NDC disruption handling, and GDS features like Premium Flex Search (flexible dates and PCCs), search by brand, and fare quote per passenger/segment. These updates aim to enhance flexibility and efficiency in search and booking.
Radisson Hotel Group and Amadeus have built an API connectivity between Radisson's EMMA Central Reservation System and the Amadeus Travel Platform, moving beyond traditional GDS protocols. The connection updates in real time and uses AI-driven data mapping to streamline search and booking, providing travel sellers with more accurate and timely hotel inventory and rates.
Booking.com has been named the Official Travel Partner of the Route 66 Centennial in 2026. The historic route stretches 2,448 miles through eight states. Booking.com offers thousands of accommodations and car rental options along the route and will be integrated into centennial events to support road trippers.
Based on user reviews from TrustRadius and G2, SAP Concur outperforms Coupa in overall rating, willingness to buy again, value for price, and travel and expense management features. SAP Concur scores higher on mobile experience and AI automation, while Coupa is less mobile-friendly.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 1 travel advisory for the Kyrgyz Republic, advising normal precautions. Some areas have increased risk due to political, economic, religious instability, and demonstrations or armed conflict may threaten safety.
The U.S. Department of State updated its travel advisory for the Kyrgyz Republic, maintaining Level 1 but adding an 'unrest' risk indicator and removing 'other'. Caution is advised within 30 km of the Tajikistan border due to a history of border clashes.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 1 travel advisory for Slovakia, advising normal precautions. Travelers are advised to enroll in STEP, avoid demonstrations, and purchase travel insurance.
The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Cameroon, no longer advising against all but essential travel to most of Adamawa Region, but continues to advise against travel to Bakassi Peninsula, within 40km of borders with CAR, Chad, Nigeria, Far-North, North-West, and South-West Regions.
According to SAP Concur research, finance teams in 2026 face ongoing volatility, with 35% of CFOs citing poor cost management as a top internal threat. Leading organizations are shifting from reactive to proactive spend management, integrating travel, expense, and accounts payable, and leveraging automation and AI for efficiency. Adopting SAP Concur can reduce business travel and expense costs by 23%, increase policy compliance by 28%, and enhance forecasting confidence.
SAP Concur research shows nearly 7 in 10 travel managers say their budget doesn't reflect travel's importance. Leading travel managers are turning data into actionable stories for leadership and adopting AI tools to improve compliance and efficiency. 95% of business travelers are willing to use AI-enabled booking options, and SAP Concur adoption can reduce travel costs by 23%, speed bookings by 19.2%, and increase policy compliance by 28%.
Italo, Italy's premier private high-speed rail operator, has renewed its partnership with Navitaire, an Amadeus company, through 2030. The renewal expands retailing capabilities with advanced APIs and pricing optimization tools, and develops new features for easier integration with other carriers and services, reducing time to market.
Pan American World Airways has signed a Letter of Agreement with Amadeus to support its return to scheduled service. Amadeus will provide integrated IT and distribution solutions, including NDC and traditional sourcing, to enable a modern retail experience. The launch is subject to U.S. FAA and DOT certifications.
Thai Airways has expanded its partnership with Amadeus, selecting Altéa NDC, Air Dynamic Pricing, and Anytime Merchandising to deliver personalized, consistent offers. These technologies enable real-time pricing and ancillary merchandising, with an expected average revenue increase of over 3%, and lay the foundation for future Offer & Order management.
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings, has appointed Peer Bueller as CEO. Bueller joined KAYAK in 2016 as CFO and added COO in 2021. Co-founder Steve Hafner will become Executive Chair and take a new role at Booking Holdings focused on AI innovation. Bueller will continue to drive growth including KAYAK for Business.
Perk (formerly TravelPerk), an intelligent travel and spend management platform, launched a global ad campaign including its first CTV ad, exposing 'shadow work' costing businesses over $1.7 trillion annually. The campaign humorously shows how hidden tasks like booking trips and filing expenses derail breakthroughs. Perk aims to eliminate these manual tasks with its AI-native platform.
Hanatour, South Korea's leading travel seller, has expanded its agreement with Amadeus, adopting a range of modern technology solutions to improve customer service and operational efficiency. Amadeus will provide advanced AI-powered technologies and professional services to support Hanatour's growth in South Korea and Asia Pacific.
Airports Council International (ACI) World released its World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2025-2054, projecting global passenger traffic to reach 10.2 billion in 2026 (+3.9% YoY) and double to 18.8 billion by 2045. The report highlights strong long-term demand but challenges like capacity constraints and uneven regional growth, calling for collective investment in infrastructure.
Amadeus data reveals that airline bookings to the US, Canada, and Mexico for the tournament period (June 5-July 19) are up 15% year-over-year as of January 8, 2026. Following the match schedule release on December 6, 37% of flight bookings have been made. British travelers lead with 18% of international bookings. Hotel occupancy in host cities like Vancouver, Toronto, and Mexico City has risen significantly.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) updated its Madagascar travel advice on September 9, 2026, adding information on Ebola entry requirements to the "Entry requirements" page. The FCDO states no travel can be guaranteed safe and advises travelers to read the full guide and obtain appropriate travel insurance covering their itinerary, planned activities and emergency expenses.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic tourism trips reached 6.522 billion in 2025, up 16.2% year-on-year; spending totaled 6.30 trillion yuan, up 9.5%. Urban residents made 4.996 billion trips, up 14.3%, while rural residents made 1.526 billion trips, up 22.6%.
The UK FCDO updated its travel advice for Barbados, removing information about flight disruptions. The advice still emphasizes that no travel is guaranteed safe, recommends appropriate travel insurance, and points to general safety guidance.
SAP Concur's blog shares how the University of Massachusetts (UMass) transformed its fragmented travel and expense tools into a unified Concur platform for nearly 10,000 employees by first updating policies, building an innovation team, and choosing the right partners. Key success factors include strategy before technology, leadership support, and partnership.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 1 advisory for Uzbekistan, indicating it is generally safe. Travelers are advised to enroll in STEP, review the Country Security Report and CDC health information, and purchase travel insurance.