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  1. China Tourism News

    Holiday Hotel Bookings Peak as 13-Day Leave Strategy Drives Longer Stays

    With only three days between this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, the 'take 3 days off for 13 days' leave strategy has gone viral, pushing hotel bookings into a peak period. Meituan data show Shaanxi's overall culture and tourism bookings rose 50% year on year during the holiday, with hotel and homestay bookings up 49%. Gao Wen, manager of Xi'an Yaman Oriental Courtyard Hotel, said Mid-Autumn was the hottest period, with occupancy near 80% on Sept 25-26, while the National Day peak shifted to Oct 2-3. Platform data show users booking flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year. Hoteliers report a rising share of 4-5 night stays, with both average spend and…

  2. TravelDaily China

    2026 TravelDaily Accommodation Summit Focuses on Stock-Market Shift and AI Operations

    On September 22-23, the 2026 TravelDaily Summit & Digital Travel Show was held at Shanghai International Convention Center, split into three forums: the TravelDaily Summit, the Accommodation Summit and the Business Travel Digitalization Summit. The September 23 Accommodation Summit centered on Chinese hotels moving from scale expansion to value deepening, covering macro mobility trends, local brand leaps, AI operations, mid-to-high-end breakthroughs, regional group transformation and global competition. Executives from BTG Homeinns, Huazhu, Hilton, IHG, Shangri-La, Meituan, Wanda Hotels, Fliggy, Atour, Jin Jiang, Marriott and Delonix participated.

  3. China Tourism News

    National College Red Tourism Creative Planning Competition Concludes

    China Tourism News reports that the 16th National College Red Tourism Creative Planning Competition finals were held in Huining, Gansu, from September 19 to 23. Sixty teams advanced to the finals, with six teams winning top prizes and 18 teams winning first prizes. Launched in March, the competition attracted 1,045 universities, 6,077 teams and over 30,000 teachers and students, collecting 5,412 works. It featured six tracks including red tourism route design, red study course design and red cultural creative product design.

  4. Skift Feed

    Prince Harry Calls on Travel Industry to Put Destinations First

    Prince Harry, founder of Travalyst, called on the travel industry at the Skift Global Forum to measure destination health rather than just traveler value or traditional business performance metrics. He said travel relies on healthy communities and nature, but overtourism and climate change put them at risk. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, travel and tourism accounts for around 7.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. His comments come amid a summer of extreme heat, wildfires, and drought that wreaked havoc in popular destinations.

  5. European Commission Press Corner

    European Commission disburses full €82 million 2026 contribution to UNRWA

    European Commission Commissioner Šuica confirmed at the UNRWA ministerial meeting that the Commission has disbursed the entirety of its €82 million contribution to UNRWA's 2026 budget, on top of €18.6 million in humanitarian funding already provided this year across Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. She said 6 million Palestinian refugees depend on UNRWA, and described the demolition of UNRWA's East Jerusalem headquarters and the forced evacuation of the Kalandia Training Centre as unacceptable.

  6. Hospitality Technology

    Scooter's Coffee Integrates Digital Ordering with Olo Platform

    Scooter's Coffee has migrated its digital ordering ecosystem onto Olo, the restaurant digital commerce platform. Olo Ordering now powers the backend of the Scooter's Coffee mobile app, while Olo Rails enables the chain's first third-party delivery marketplace channel. The rollout was completed in under 90 days across 900+ locations, covering POS routing configuration, a customizable menu with modifier management, and a seamless transition for existing mobile app users without operational downtime. The brand operates around 900 locations across 32 U.S. states.

  7. Skift Feed

    Booking Holdings Builds Long-Term Advantage With Five Parallel AI Bets

    Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said at Skift Global Forum that the company is running five simultaneous AI bets in a venture-capital style, including consumer agents for Priceline, Agoda and Booking.com plus two native AI startups. He said the technology itself is becoming easy to build, so the real advantage lies in what AI alone cannot provide. Fogel said AI referral traffic currently drives fewer than 1% of room nights at Booking.com, though he expects commerce through AI agents to grow. He also said Airbnb's move into hotels was inevitable and could push home-rental hosts who rely on a single platform to seek additional demand sources.

  8. Skift Feed

    Sierra and OpenAI's Taylor on AI's Broad Impact on Travel

    Bret Taylor, founder of Sierra and chairman of OpenAI's board, said at Skift Global Forum that AI agents can already handle the entire journey — booking, pre-arrival, in-stay and post-stay — as one continuous conversation. He criticized companies that route customers between departments, saying shipping your org chart should never happen in the world of AI. Taylor said the difference between marketing and service is just who initiates the conversation, and that every company's agent will eventually handle booking, onboarding, cross-sell and service as a single interface. He also said over-constraining AI produces worse results, and companies should set goals and guardrails instead of script…

  9. Skift Feed

    Uber on Owning More of the Travel Journey and Negotiating With Agents

    Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at Skift Global Forum that Uber is in active discussions with basically every agentic company, but on the right terms, using its 10.5 million drivers and couriers across more than 70 countries as leverage. He said no agentic company is going to replicate that content. Khosrowshahi also said 80% of Uber's hotel bookings come from UberOne members, reducing dependence on discovery channels like Google. He noted that Uber's early approach of making AI follow human-agent scripts was limiting, and giving AI a goal and a budget produced better outcomes at lower cost.

  10. European Commission Press Corner

    EU Reaffirms Commitment to 1951 Refugee Convention on 75th Anniversary

    European Commissioner Lahbib issued a statement on behalf of EU Member States marking the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, reaffirming the EU's commitment to the Convention's core values and to UNHCR as its primary guardian. The statement notes that the EU provides temporary protection to more than 4.8 million people fleeing Russia's war against Ukraine and leads humanitarian response from Sudan to Syria, Myanmar and beyond. It also outlines a route-based approach to identify vulnerabilities early, deliver fair and swift protection to those entitled to it, and prevent irregular migration.

  11. European Commission Press Corner

    EU Commissioner Calls for Protection of Children in Gaza and the West Bank

    European Commissioner Lahbib spoke at the Call to Action for the Children of Gaza and the West Bank in New York, stating that nearly the entire population of Gaza is squeezed into less than half of the Strip, overcrowded, unsanitary and unsafe, with children lacking food, medicine and shelter and many out of school. Despite the ceasefire announced in October, children are still being killed and injured by airstrikes and other attacks; by early August, at least 300 children had been killed in the 300 days since the ceasefire was announced. In the West Bank, military operations, demolitions, movement restrictions and settler violence cut people off from water, healthcare and jobs, and childre…

  12. Hospitality Technology

    Survey: 94% of Consumers Say Technology Influences Their QSR Choice

    Canopy's 2026 Restaurant Tech Report, based on a national survey of 1,007 U.S. adults, finds 94% of consumers now factor technology into where they dine, up sharply from 80% in 2025. More than a third (37%) abandoned an order entirely due to malfunctioning technology, and 29% changed their ordering method, switched to a competitor, or walked out when confronted with an unexpected digital tip prompt. McDonald's was named the top QSR tech experience provider for a second consecutive year (34%), with Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell rounding out the top three. Only 20% of kiosk users said self-service kiosks work seamlessly every time, unchanged from 2025; consumer exposure to AI drive-thru voice ord…

  13. Hospitality Technology

    Long John Silver's Advances Digital Transformation

    Long John Silver's, a seafood and chicken chain with nearly 500 locations, is advancing a digital transformation led by Tim Newton, chief technology officer and head of brand operations, who joined in 2024. The brand upgraded its point-of-sale system to a cloud-based setup in 2019 and is now replacing static cardboard menu boards with digital displays, testing computer vision and predictive analytics at the drive-thru speaker box, and piloting five voice AI solutions. With average unit volumes of $1.1 million, any technology added must make financial sense and fit a demographic that includes older and more rural guests. Newton said tech integration is not about cutting labor but redistribut…

  14. Skift Feed

    Expedia Bets AI Agents Won't Own the Entire Booking Journey

    Speaking at Skift Global Forum 2026, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said she wants to work with the newest generation of AI agents, including Meta's new agent Muse, but does not believe any single agent can take over the entire travel journey. Expedia had revealed on Tuesday that it would be available on Muse; its X post said only that users can tell Muse where they are headed and it can work with Expedia to sort hotels and everything in between, without detailing how it works. Gorin, participating via remote video, did not elaborate on the partnership but said she personally does not believe a large portion of bookings will become an end-to-end conversational experience, since travel plann…

  15. Skift Feed

    Wyndham CEO: Gen Z Now Makes Up Nearly 10% of Membership Base

    Wyndham Hotels & Resorts President and CEO Geoff Ballotti said at the Skift Global Forum in New York that Gen Z now accounts for nearly 10% of the company's revenue and membership base, up from around 3% three years ago. Combined with millennials, that share has risen from roughly the high 20s to approaching 40%. Ballotti called the demographic's downstream earnings potential important, and said reaching it requires more than a competitive points program, with experiences playing a key role — for example, dozens of packages built around the Harry Styles world tour through a partnership with Madison Square Garden.

  16. Hospitality Technology

    How Church's Texas Chicken manages tech creep

    At the Restaurant Technology Network's (RTN) September town hall, Jeff Caplan, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Church's Texas Chicken, shared how to manage growing technology demand with limited resources. Church's has more than 1,500 locations worldwide, and the broadening scope of technology, accelerated by AI adoption, is increasing pressure. Caplan grounds every technology decision in maximizing unit-level economics, focusing on guest experience, making it easier to prepare great food, and making restaurants easier to manage. About 80% of U.S. locations are franchised. The company is building a corporate data lake producing AI-based and traditional analytics delive…

  17. Hotel Dive Feed

    Accor Launches AI Travel Concierge ALL Concierge Across Full Journey

    French hospitality group Accor announced the launch of ALL Concierge, an AI-powered conversational travel tool designed to guide guests from initial travel inspiration and hotel comparison through to booking management and post-stay support. Accor calls it the hospitality industry's first end-to-end conversational travel companion deployed at scale. Following a pilot phase, the tool will roll out across Accor's global digital channels, including the ALL Accor website, mobile app, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and iMessage. Accor also debuted The Butler, an AI tool for hotel teams. Alix Boulnois, Accor's chief commercial, digital and tech officer, said the launch is part of Accor'…

  18. Skift Feed

    Booking CEO: Building the AI Travel Agent Isn't the Hard Part

    Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said at the Skift Global Forum in New York City that building an AI travel agent like Instinct wouldn't be that hard, but the real challenge is establishing trust. He argued there is more to travel than handling the transaction, and that travelers want to deal with real people when safeguarding credit card details and other sensitive information. Booking Holdings is still moving forward with AI initiatives, including its ad deal with OpenAI and integration on Google.

  19. Skift Feed

    Hilton CEO Sees More Room to Improve Owner Margins

    Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta said at the Skift Global Forum in New York City that hotel owners have had an abnormal, difficult decade — from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and anemic growth in 2017-2018, to the pandemic wiping out more than 90% of revenue, a stimulus-fueled recovery, and then weak growth with high inflation. He said he began developing a response in late 2024 and early 2025; Hilton launched Project Rise last June and rolled it out this year, committing to return 75 to 100 basis points of incremental margin to owners.

Sep 23Wed
  1. Skift Feed

    Qatar Airways CEO: Not Passing Fuel Costs to Customers Just Yet

    Qatar Airways CEO Hamad Al-Khater said at the Skift Global Forum in New York City that the carrier is not ready to pass higher fuel costs on to customers, calling it an option of last resort because of the competitive landscape in the Middle East. He noted that fuel prices have surged again as attacks in the Iran war intensified, and that Qatar Airways, like other Middle Eastern carriers, has been hit hard by airspace closures in the region and a drop in demand.

  2. European Commission Press Corner

    EU Commissioner on Drones and Civilian Protection in Eastern DRC

    EU Commissioner Lahbib said in a New York speech that drones are being used by multiple parties, including armed groups, in the conflict in eastern DRC and are hitting civilian areas. She said that less than three weeks after her February visit to Goma, a drone struck a residential building in Goma housing humanitarian workers and EU personnel, killing UNICEF humanitarian worker Karine Buisset. She stressed that international humanitarian law applies to drone warfare and called for the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, hospitals, aid convoys and camps for displaced families.

  3. Hotel Dive Feed

    7,000 union hotel workers in Chicago authorize strike

    More than 7,000 Chicago hotel workers with Unite Here Local 1 voted 85% to authorize a strike over better wages and benefits. Contracts expired Aug. 31, and a strike could be called at any time, which the union says would be the largest hotel strike in the city's history. Employers include Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott International. Workers seek higher pay to keep up with inflation, healthcare and pension benefits, civil rights protections and safer workloads. The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association said it is deeply concerned about the negative impact on employees, visitors, hotels and the city, but impacted hotels have robust contingency plans and plan to remain open. Chicago's last major…

  4. European Commission Press Corner

    EU and Canada Secure Almost €220 Million for Global Ocean Observation

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the OceanEye International Alliance at a high-level pledging event during the 81st UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York, securing almost €220 million in pledges for the Global Ocean Observing System. The EU added €92 million in seed funding, while Canada pledged C$82 million over five years. Thirty countries have joined the alliance so far, with contributions including financial support, in-kind support and assets such as research vessels, sensors and drones. The funds will support maintenance of existing observation platforms, closing critical data gaps, and strengthening the GOOS…

  5. Hotel Dive Feed

    Hilton debuts Home2 Suites Clean Energy Prototype

    Hilton launched the Home2 Suites by Hilton Clean Energy Prototype, an optional design concept for the upper-midscale extended-stay brand featuring all-electric systems, renewable energy and high-efficiency building technologies, and its first prototype designed for zero operational emissions. Hilton says it addresses rising hotel operating costs and evolving energy markets, with potential annual energy cost reductions of 18% to 40% and roughly 30% greater energy efficiency. Energy modeling in San Jose, California, found an estimated 32% annual energy cost reduction, a $670,000 increase in potential asset valuation and a 0.6% lower net cost to build versus the traditional prototype.

  6. Skift Feed

    Royal Caribbean to Buy 50% Stake in Sandals for $3 Billion

    Royal Caribbean Group is acquiring a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts for about $3 billion in cash, valuing the business at roughly $6 billion. The 50% figure was disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, and the deal is expected to close in early 2027 subject to approvals. It marks Royal Caribbean's biggest step from sea to land, covering the family-owned Caribbean all-inclusive brands.

  7. European Commission Press Corner

    European Commission Advances Simplification Agenda: 12 Omnibus Proposals and Regulatory Deep Cleani…

    At the EESC plenary, the European Commission presented its Communication on 'A Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU Rulebook', reporting twelve major Omnibus simplification proposals that could save at least €17 billion in annual administrative costs for European businesses and national administrations. Five pillars of action were set out: simplicity by design, a strengthened better-regulation system, regulatory deep cleaning, action against Member State gold-plating, and faster, more robust enforcement. Plans include simplification proposals for banking, housing and transport in 2027 and a proposal to accelerate permitting.

  8. European Commission Press Corner

    European Commission Daily News: France Launches First National Housing Hub

    The European Commission's Daily News of 23 September 2026 reports that France launched the first national housing hub, implementing the European Affordable Housing Plan adopted in December 2025. Established with the French Ministry of Housing, Caisse des Depots, Council of Europe Bank, Union of Social Housing (USH) and the European Investment Bank under the Pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable and Sustainable Housing, the hub aims to improve public-private cooperation, make better use of EU and national funding, and align local and EU housing policies. The briefing also covers the European Literacy Coalition, several merger clearances and UN General Assembly activities.

  9. European Commission Press Corner

    EU launches first €43 million Team Gaza projects

    The European Commission signed the first flagship early recovery projects under the EU-led Team Gaza Initiative on the margins of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York. The projects, together worth €43 million, will help restore essential water and solid waste management services for people in Gaza. The signing was carried out by Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica.

  10. Skift Feed

    India Weighs Pros and Cons of Letting Airport Operators Own Airlines

    India's Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said the government is weighing the pros and cons of allowing airport operators to own airlines, but has yet to make a decision. The issue emerged after Adani Airport Holdings sought a waiver from the Airports Authority of India from restrictions that prevent the operator of Mumbai Airport from holding more than a 10% stake in a scheduled airline.

  11. Skift Feed

    F1 Bahrain Shuffle Turns October Into a Southeast Asia Hotel Boom

    With the Bahrain Grand Prix relocated due to Middle East conflict, Malaysia's Sepang hosts the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from October 2 to 4, its first race since 2017; the Singapore Grand Prix follows at Marina Bay from October 9 to 11. Forward-looking Amadeus Travel Intelligence data shows booked air arrivals from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for October 5 to 11 tracking 74% higher year-on-year.

  12. European Commission Press Corner

    EU adopts €505 million package to support Lebanon's stability, recovery and reforms

    The European Commission announced €505 million in financial support for Lebanon for 2026 and 2027, the second half of the €1 billion support package announced by President von der Leyen in May 2024. The funding covers three main areas: maintaining basic services for vulnerable people including education, health, social protection and water, with cash assistance and primary healthcare; supporting the reform agenda, justice sector, oversight bodies, Parliament and human rights, while strengthening the security sector, border management, private sector resilience and economic recovery in conflict-affected areas; and supporting civil society and culture, including rights of women, youth, minori…

  13. Skift Feed

    Sri Lanka Targets 3 Million Tourists, Prioritizes Spending Quality

    Sri Lanka announced at the Arabian Travel Mart that it aims to attract 3 million international tourists over the next 12 months, but is more focused on tourism earnings than visitor numbers. The government targets over $5 billion in tourism revenue. Alexi Gunasekera, consul general of Sri Lanka to Dubai, said the country is going for quality rather than quantity. In 2025, Sri Lanka received 2.36 million visitors and generated about $3.2 billion, or roughly $1,360 per visitor. To reach $5 billion from 3 million visitors, it would need to lift spending to about $1,667 per visitor, still well below destinations like the Maldives at roughly $2,480 per visitor.

  14. ACI World RSS

    ACI: Global Airport Passenger Traffic Hits Record 9.8 Billion in 2025

    Airports Council International (ACI) World released its 2026 Annual World Airport Traffic Report, showing global airports carried a record 9.8 billion passengers in 2025, with air cargo also hitting an all-time high. The report draws on data from 2,817 commercial airports, capturing an estimated 97% of scheduled global passenger traffic. International traffic drove growth, up 6.1% versus 1.7% for domestic; cargo rose 3.3% and aircraft movements 2.0%. Africa led with 9.0% growth, followed by the Middle East (6.5%), Asia-Pacific (5.1%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4.5%) and Europe (4.2%), while North America fell 0.7%. Momentum has cooled in 2026: first-half passenger traffic reached abo…

  15. Business Travel News

    U.S. DOT to Seek $30B More for Air Traffic System Funding

    Citing a Reuters report, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a Washington speech that he would ask Congress to approve an additional $30 billion for air traffic control towers, software and digital upgrades and airport facility improvements. About $10 billion is dedicated to replacing aging ATC towers, $10 billion to telecom and other tech systems used by air traffic control, and $10 billion to airports including runways. The comments came a day after a Northeast telecom outage caused ground stops at Philadelphia, Newark and Teterboro airports and significant delays at LaGuardia and JFK. On Monday, Newark Liberty canceled 55 percent of departing and 49 percent of…

  16. Business Travel News

    Qantas to Launch Nonstop Sydney-New York Flights in 2028

    Qantas announced plans to launch the first nonstop commercial service between Sydney and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in mid-2028, with tickets scheduled to go on sale in August 2027. Part of the carrier's ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise initiative, the route will be operated by Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft configured with 238 seats across four cabins and fitted with an additional fuel tank allowing up to 22 hours of nonstop flight. The new service will cut more than three hours from the current one-stop option, making the journey about 18 hours. Qantas has 12 of the planes on order, with the first scheduled for delivery in April. The first Project Sunrise route, Sydney-…

  17. Business Travel News

    Accor Launches ALL Concierge Conversational AI Assistant

    Accor announced the launch of ALL Concierge, a conversational AI assistant that helps with inspiration and destination search, hotel comparison, booking changes, in-stay questions and loyalty coaching on optimizing status and points. The tool is available in 11 languages via the ALL Accor app, Accor's website and the WhatsApp and iMessage messaging channels. Accor SVP of data science and AI Nicolas Maynard said next steps include more languages, local experiences and full integration of loyalty partners beyond Accor. Chief commercial, digital and tech officer Alix Boulnois said the tool does not currently assist with meetings and event spaces, but that this is on the roadmap.

  18. Web in Travel

    Asia-Pacific Airlines Grow Fastest While Route Networks Shrink

    Asia-Pacific led the world in international traffic growth and load factors in 2025, with IATA forecasting 3.8% long-term annual growth versus 2.5% for Europe and 2.8% for North America. Yet according to DOHOP's whitepaper, it is the only region where the international network contracted, losing 1,017 international routes and a net 228 airport pairs since December 2019, with mainland China alone shedding 293 international connections. The cause is not weak demand but a jammed aircraft pipeline: order backlogs stand at 17,000 planes, nearly 60% of the active global fleet, with a new order taking about 6.8 years to arrive. Scoot, Citilink, Thai Vietjet and Cebu Pacific are turning to 'connect…

  19. Web in Travel

    Asia-Pacific Airports Lead Connectivity as Chinese Hubs Complete Recovery

    OAG released Megahubs 2026, its annual global airport connectivity ranking, with eight Asia-Pacific airports in the global top 20. Kuala Lumpur International (KUL) ranks fourth globally and first in Asia, with connections to 154 destinations, and tops the low-cost carrier megahubs index with nearly 15,000 possible low-cost connections; AirAsia operates 34% of total flights there. Seoul Incheon (ICN) ranks second in the LCC index with connectivity to 198 destinations. Chinese airports showed notable recovery: Shanghai Pudong (PVG) rose from 19th to 14th globally, Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) from 36th to 19th, and Hong Kong (HKG) returned to the global top 20 from 22nd to 20th. Tokyo Haneda (HND)…

  20. US BTS Statistical Releases

    North American Transborder Freight Reaches $157.6 Billion in July 2026, Up 18.8%

    The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) released transborder freight data on September 23: total freight between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico reached $157.6 billion in July 2026, up 18.8% year over year. U.S.-Canada freight was $62.8 billion, up 7.8%, while U.S.-Mexico freight was $94.8 billion, up 27.5%. By mode, trucks moved $108.2 billion, up 23.9%; railways $15.6 billion, up 8.7%; pipelines $10.4 billion, up 15.4%; vessels $9.9 billion, up 12.0%; and air $5.9 billion, down 3.8%. Laredo, Ysleta, and Detroit were the top ports by value, with computer-related machinery and parts the largest commodity.

  21. China Tourism News

    Sichuan launches 100-day tourism market crackdown

    On 21 September, Sichuan province held a video conference in Chengdu combining a scheduling meeting on rectifying tour-guide misconduct and forced consumption, a progress meeting for the "Thunder Action" 100-day campaign, and a meeting on culture and tourism safety production and the holiday market. The province announced the launch of the 100-day Thunder Action for its tourism market. Culture and tourism departments will work with public security, transport and market regulation authorities to build cross-regional, multi-department joint enforcement mechanisms, focusing on four prominent problems: illegal agencies, illegal guides, illegal shopping outlets and illegal vehicles, with top-lev…