Global Business Travel Group（Amex GBT）宣布，其被Long Lake Management以全现金交易收购已完成，公司估值约63亿美元。该交易于2026年5月4日公布，并于2026年8月3日经股东特别大会批准。根据合并协议，Amex GBT股东每股获得9.50美元现金，较合并协议签署日30日成交量加权平均价溢价65.1%。交易完成后，Amex GBT普通股停止交易并从纽约证券交易所退市，公司转为私有。Amex GBT首席执行官Paul Abbott表示，此次交易将Long Lake的AI工程团队引入公司，加速塑造商旅管理的未来，从代理式客户工具到AI赋能的…
JTB、Goodfellows JTB和Fontrip Technology Japan三家公司建立合作，以加速跨境旅游发展。合作将JTB集团在日本全国的区域网络和分销系统，与Fontrip集团在台湾、日本、香港和澳门运营的跨境数字旅游平台及FunPASS周游券品牌相结合。三方将于2026年10月1日起销售TOHOKU FunPASS数字观光周游券，提供三种方案，覆盖30多个设施和店铺。
Alibaba Group and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment announced a multi-year strategic partnership naming Alibaba the Official Technology and Cloud Partner of the Brooklyn Nets and the team's Official Jersey Patch Partner. Beginning with the 2026-27 NBA season, Alibaba technology will power a Real-Time 360° Replay system at Barclays Center, and an in-arena "Nets Figure Lab" will let fans create personalized collectible cards. The partnership also ties into the franchise's 60th anniversary season to test and scale technology and marketing applications.
BCD Travel发布差旅经理指南，提出通过五个步骤影响旅客可持续差旅选择：选定一个决策点、找到决策时刻、将指引嵌入预订流程、衡量结果、学习调整。指南引用BCD调研数据：34%旅客将供应有限和信息不足列为可持续选择的障碍；50%差旅采购方使用在线预订工具消息，但仅28%旅客记得看到过。指南还提供90天试点路线图，分三阶段推进。
Agoda published a feature highlighting six Asian destinations known for their coffee culture: Da Lat in Vietnam, Ipoh in Malaysia, Jeju in South Korea, Bali in Indonesia, Hualien in Taiwan and Chiang Rai in Thailand. Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President of Supply at Agoda, said coffee gives travelers an easy way into a destination. Agoda said its platform covers more than 6 million holiday properties, 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 activities worldwide.
During the 2026 TravelDaily Summit, Ctrip Corporate Travel won the Most Trusted Travel Management Company (TMC) award at the TravelDaily Business Travel Awards (CBTA), voted by corporate travel managers and business travelers. Meanwhile, the Ctrip Corporate Travel AI Ecosystem won the AI Product Track Excellence Award at the 2026 DTA Digital Travel Awards. Launched at the April 2026 Global Partner Conference, the AI ecosystem covers the full travel and procurement workflow with seven AI Agents: travel Q&A, itinerary booking, travel approval, travel insights, compliance and risk control, financial settlement and resource procurement.
JTB announced that, together with JCB and Japan Airlines (JAL), it has commercialized the winning student team's proposal from the 2025 Hawaii Idea Contest as a new "Look JTB MySTYLE Gakutabi" product, "Gakutabi Hawaii," released on September 25, 2026. The contest, provided by JCB, JAL and JTB and supported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority Japan office, aims to raise young people's interest in overseas travel. The product is a 4-night/6-day trip departing March 8 and March 9, 2027, featuring a Diamond Head hike and cleanup activity and a "Graduation Party in Hawaii" for students on graduation trips, with idol group CANDY TUNE appearing as a special guest. The product also includes a mechanis…
Agoda released a list of six Asian music-festival destinations: Mumbai, Taipei, Busan, Ko Pha Ngan, Uluwatu in Bali and Chonburi. Agoda said global dance events are expanding rapidly across Asia and that superfans will cross borders for a weekend set, a trend in which the line-up determines the destination. Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply at Agoda, said the line-up has become the destination, and Agoda is also partnering with Eurovision Asia as its Official Travel Partner.
BCD Travel has launched Tripsource, a platform designed to improve the end-to-end business traveler experience by delivering real-time, contextual guidance and support. The platform combines travel content from aggregators and GDS, enabling booking, trip management, policy application, and risk insights. BCD Travel reports a 90% satisfaction rate with Tripsource. Emphasizing an open ecosystem, the platform can integrate with other booking tools and partners, helping travel managers improve program compliance and performance.
JTB and Tourism Malaysia signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) to jointly stimulate and expand Japanese outbound travel to Malaysia under the Visit Malaysia 2026-2027 campaign. The cooperation runs from September 2026 to December 2027 and focuses on four pillars: media promotion, familiarization trips for JTB sales staff, digital content and social media outreach, and growth of group travel including MICE and educational trips. The two sides also plan measures such as two-way charter flights, with 2027 marking the 70th anniversary of Japan-Malaysia diplomatic relations.
Alicia Olson, Director of Hotel Program Strategy at Advito (BCD Travel), argues that corporate hotel program success is shifting from the volume of negotiated rates secured to whether travelers can access the right hotel content through approved channels. Citing discussion in Business Travel Executive, the piece notes persistent challenges including lengthy RFP cycles, the static-rate versus dynamic-discount debate, rate loading issues and traveler compliance, while the industry pushes toward shorter, technology-enabled sourcing models. A larger negotiated portfolio does not necessarily produce a stronger program; sourcing should focus on properties supported by traveler demand and visible…
Expedia Group announced a multi-year marketing collaboration with Redion (formerly Europ Assistance worldwide and Generali Global Assistance in the U.S.), marking the first time a travel insurance and assistance brand has joined Expedia Group Advertising as a dedicated partner and opening an entirely new advertiser category. The two companies have worked together for more than 15 years, with Redion providing travel protection to Expedia Group customers; this collaboration moves the relationship beyond product distribution into a strategic advertising alliance with co-branded editorial, on-platform experiences and targeted activations rolling out across Expedia Group brands from Q3 2026. Exp…
On September 17, Trip.Biz held its Transform 2026 summit in Singapore for overseas enterprises and partners, drawing 200 senior leaders from travel, procurement, finance and HR. The summit examined Asia-Pacific travel-management pain points and launched Agent ONE, an AI tool for overseas markets. Agent ONE comprises four collaborating agents covering itinerary planning, booking, approval and travel insights, providing end-to-end support; it is now live across all Trip.Biz overseas markets.
BCD Travel announced on Sept. 17, 2026 that Tripsource, its open, intelligent travel platform, embeds sustainability across the travel program. Travelers, arrangers and agents can see relevant CO2 information and guidance during planning and booking, and organizations can display and collect a carbon fee at the point of sale. The platform offers insights and AI analyses to benchmark performance and optimize sustainability strategies. BCD's survey of travel buyers found 56% cited improved technology, including online booking tool capabilities, as a top influence on sustainable business travel; meanwhile 31% of travelers said they normally lack flight emissions information when booking.
Digital travel platform Agoda has partnered with luxury hospitality management company Capella Hotel Group, bringing all luxury and lifestyle properties under Capella Hotels and Resorts and Patina Hotels & Resorts onto the Agoda platform. Agoda says this opens Capella's award-winning portfolio to its global customer base. The article cites a Visa projection that Asia will account for nearly half of the world's new high-net-worth individuals by 2028; Agoda's 2026 Travel Outlook Report shows 31% of surveyed travellers prioritise culinary experiences and 25% cite cultural exploration as a key motivator. McKinsey projects Asia-Pacific luxury travel demand to grow about 8% annually.
After attending 2026 industry events including SAP Concur Fusion, ProcureCon and the GBTA Convention, executives from BCD Travel and Advito identified five shifts likely to shape managed travel in 2027 and beyond: AI discussions moving from experimentation to adoption and governance; competitive advantage increasingly coming from people and change management; insufficient industry focus on the human side of front-line service; hyper-personalized traveler engagement; and resilience replacing prediction as a planning strategy. Both leaders said travel managers should prioritize adaptability, governance, stakeholder alignment and traveler engagement in 2027 planning.
BCD Travel published an updated business travel preparation guide in September 2026, covering the full trip cycle from first booking to post-trip expense reporting. It advises travellers to confirm trip purpose and approvals, review company travel policy (covering booking channels, preferred airlines and hotels, cabin class, ground transportation, payment methods and approval rules), check passport, visa and entry requirements, and organise itinerary and payment details. On packing, it stresses preparing around actual meetings, keeping hard-to-replace items such as laptops, chargers and presentation materials in carry-on, and building a repeatable packing and tech-kit system for frequent tr…
Agoda has begun beta rollout of its new AI Assistant, designed to help travelers turn travel ideas into personalized, bookable trips. Initially available to a select group of Agoda mobile app users, it connects conversational trip planning with Agoda's live inventory of more than 6 million accommodations, as well as flights and activities. The assistant retains user preferences and trip context; its core conversational intelligence is powered by OpenAI's GPT-5.6 model, with Google Gemini's 'Grounding with Google Maps' feature used for complex trip planning. It will gradually be made available to all mobile app users over the coming months.
JTB announced it has developed and begun offering the inquiry and career learning program "Heart-Moving Space×Career Experience in Space Travelium TeNQ" with the cooperation of the space experience facility "Space Travelium TeNQ" operated by Tokyo Dome Corporation. The program targets junior and senior high school students, using space-themed experiences and dialogue to increase interest in the space industry and science and technology, and to help students think about their futures and possibilities. It combines permanent exhibits, free-roaming VR, and other immersive experiences with lectures and dialogue with professionals active in the space field, providing a learning opportunity that…
At the 2026 Feishu Future Unlimited Conference and Doubao Work launch event on Sept 15, Ctrip Corporate Travel presented its latest integration of travel-management AI capabilities with the Doubao Work platform. Enterprises need no extra development and employees need no redirects; by conversing with Doubao Work they can invoke Ctrip Corporate Travel's travel AI for policy inquiries, itinerary planning and booking. Ctrip Corporate Travel connected its travel Q&A Agent and travel booking Agent to Doubao Work as connectors; the former covers over 93% of travel Q&A scenarios, while the latter supports itinerary planning and one-click ordering. Ctrip Corporate Travel says traditional flight-and…
UEFA announced the renewal and expansion of its partnership with Booking.com, which will continue as the official accommodation and attractions partner across the UEFA Nations League Finals 2027, European Qualifiers 2027-28, UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2027, UEFA EURO 2028 and UEFA Women's EURO 2029. The deal includes integrating Booking.com into the fan ticketing journey and the Event Guide, plus two digital content-based sponsorship and engagement programmes.
Digital travel platform Agoda and the Kaohsiung City Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support Kaohsiung's goals to elevate its profile as a global travel destination. The collaboration covers co-branded marketing initiatives on Agoda's platform, exchanges of market and tourism insights, and digital training workshops to build local industry capabilities. Agoda will produce the inaugural Taiwan edition of Agoda Dialogues, a filmed conversation with the Mayor of Kaohsiung unveiling the city's tourism vision and international positioning, to be distributed across Agoda's channels in October 2026. Agoda data shows Kaohsiung is one of the fastest-growing destinations in Ta…
Agoda has published a look at sleep tourism in Asia and a set of emerging destination recommendations. Sleep tourism refers to travelers planning trips around rest and recovery rather than sightseeing or activities. Agoda attributes the trend to rising burnout, chronic sleep deprivation, growing wellness awareness and the spread of sleep-tracking wearables, which have pushed sleep from a private health concern into a travel priority. Recommended destinations include Kinosaki Onsen in Japan, Khao Yai in Thailand, Sumba in Indonesia, Damyang in South Korea, Ba Be Lake in Vietnam and Alishan in Taiwan, characterized by quiet settings, natural darkness and accommodation built around genuine res…
Travelport announced on 9 September 2026 the appointment of Naomi Hahn to lead its Go-to-Market, Marketing and Communications, and Commercial Operations functions. Hahn brings more than 25 years in the digital industry, including six years on Skyscanner's Executive Team as Chief of Staff, VP Strategy & Operations and latterly VP Data, where she led global data strategy and transformation; she previously spent 11 years at Auto Trader, joining its Executive Team in 2014. Travelport CEO John Mangelaars said the appointment will help build a more connected, data-driven, customer-focused organization.
Navan and Engine announced a strategic partnership to bring Engine's intelligent content, infrastructure, and payment capabilities into Navan's platform. Travelers will benefit from more choices, especially for extended stays and group trips, and greater flexibility for changes. The partnership leverages Engine's Omni API to provide seamlessly connected technology, supporting group bookings, extended stays, and last-minute changes. Initial features roll out this month.
JTB is partnering with Shikoku Aquarium Development to hold a 'Traveling Aquarium Cruise' on 14 November 2026, sailing from Takamatsu Port around the Seto Ohashi Bridge. Two departures are offered, a day cruise and a sunset cruise, featuring onboard marine-life exhibits, live music, a fish quiz rally and onboard sales. Adult fares are 4,000 yen for the day cruise and 5,000 yen for the sunset cruise, with child fares of 2,000 yen and 3,000 yen. The event is the second in the 'XX Aquarium' series and sits under JTB's Setouchi Island Concierge Service (SICS).
Almosafer's 2026 report reveals domestic travel at 46% of bookings, Red Sea room nights up 4,000%+, wider international destinations, growing AI-assisted booking, and protection product purchases up 165%.
Fenbeitong released a 2026 guide to selecting business travel platforms, analyzing corporate travel management pain points and industry trends. It categorizes platforms into pure TMC/OTA, pure expense management, and integrated travel-expense solutions, comparing their pros and cons. It recommends TMC with per-order fees for companies with annual travel spend below 2 million RMB, and annual-fee integrated platforms for those above, providing eight evaluation dimensions.
This article deeply compares traditional TMC and integrated travel-expense platforms, noting that traditional TMC focuses on booking with weak expense control, while integrated platforms offer full-chain management and no-advance-payment reimbursement. It recommends TMC for annual travel spend below 2M RMB and integrated platforms above, emphasizing price comparison on actual routes.
Fenbeitong published 2026 travel platform selection recommendations for large listed companies and group enterprises. The article compares API-integrated vs. native integrated travel and expense platforms, highlighting native platforms' advantages in scenario-based fine-grained control, full-chain audit trails, and unified governance across domestic and overseas. It provides a five-dimension evaluation framework, selection suggestions by business scale, and real cases.
Fenbeitong released a guide for selecting travel and expense platforms based on surveys of over 300 large enterprises. It summarizes pain points in travel management, categorizes providers into four types, proposes six evaluation dimensions, and provides matching suggestions by enterprise profile. It emphasizes the advantages of native integrated platforms in project control and data consistency.
Agoda data shows Japan's 2026 Silver Week, with first five-day holiday in 11 years, saw domestic travel searches up 120% and international up 131%. Takamatsu searches rose 661%; Seoul, Bangkok top international destinations.
Orix Hotel Management and JTB announced the first joint hosting of the 'Tsunagu Hagukumu Tourism Kids Job Challenge' from October 10 to December 19, 2026, across 12 prefectures in Japan. The program offers about 50 types of job experiences related to local tourism, aiming to foster children's interest in the tourism industry and promote sustainable tourism.
BCD Travel published a guide to help travelers and travel managers handle situations where a hotel cannot honor a confirmed reservation. The guide recommends booking through approved channels, using tools like Tripsource for itinerary information, and provides steps when a hotel 'walks' guests, including asking for alternative accommodation, requesting transportation, and confirming reimbursement.
Trip.com Group announced it will release its Q2 and first half 2026 financial results after market close on September 15, 2026, followed by a conference call at 8 PM ET.
Digital travel platform Agoda has been announced as the Official Travel Partner of Eurovision Song Contest Asia, as the iconic song contest makes its debut in Asia. The inaugural Asian edition will see the Grand Final held in Bangkok, Thailand on 14 November 2026. Agoda will be integrated across broadcasts and offer special travel deals to help fans attend the event.
Amadeus and Talma Travel Solutions have signed a multiyear global agreement, establishing Amadeus as Talma's preferred technology and booking platform across key international markets including the U.S., UK, Asia Pacific, and Germany, supporting its international growth strategy.
BCD Travel's booking platform Tripsource has added Polish as its 12th language option. This move aims to enhance the user experience for global business travelers by providing localized support, reducing confusion, and building confidence, while helping organizations support employees across multiple countries.
Fenbeitong published an article categorizing four models of domestic business travel and expense control platforms: OTA-extended traditional TMCs, expense control software vendors, native integrated travel and expense platforms, and vertical scenario service providers. It highlights that large enterprises need features like no advance payment, rigid control, and integrated finance. It recommends integrated platforms like Fenbeitong, claiming 90% better airfare and 80% better hotel prices than consumer platforms, reducing overall travel costs by 12%-15%.
Expedia Group announces 12 new features for its vacation rental brand Vrbo and property management software Escapia, including Vrbo Sponsored Listings, Limited Time Offers, and Non-refundable Rates, aimed at driving partner growth and enhancing traveler experience.