Booking Holdings announced that CFO Ewout Steenbergen will participate in a fireside chat at the Barclays 18th Annual Americas Select Conference in London on May 5. Live audio cast and replay will be available to the public.
Expedia Group is shutting down Lastminute.com.au, an Australian OTA. The site closes on June 2. Existing bookings are unaffected, and bookings remain open until May 15 for travel within nine months. After May 15, bookings only for travel by Nov. 1. From June, users redirected to Expedia.
At a WiT Africa panel, industry leaders predicted significant growth in Africa's online travel share, but emphasized trust as key. Meili's CEO predicted over 80%, Visa's Platt over 70%, while WakaNow's Adedeji differentiated between sophisticated markets (80-90%) and broader Africa (50-60%). Global travel bookings totaled $1.93 trillion last year, projected to reach $2.14 trillion by 2027, with online share rising from 63% to 67%.
Almosafer, Saudi Arabia's leading travel company, has launched on the ChatGPT platform, becoming the first Saudi app to offer consumer services through OpenAI's global AI interface. Users can access over 1.5 million hotels via Arabic or English dialogue, receive personalized recommendations, and build multi-city itineraries. This move transforms travel planning from manual search to natural conversation, supporting Saudi Vision 2030's digital transformation.
South Africa's online travel market was valued at $2.54 billion in 2024, projected to reach nearly $6 billion by 2033. 57% of Africa's tourism tech VC investment flowed into South Africa, over $3.1 billion between 2019-2024. Nearly half of South Africans use AI for travel planning, and two-thirds of hoteliers have an AI strategy.
Booking Holdings has announced the appointment of Kurt Sievers, former CEO of NXP Semiconductors, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Sievers brings extensive experience in technology, mobility, and global consumer markets, having led major initiatives including the NXP-Freescale merger. Director Lynn Radakovich will retire after the annual meeting in June.
Booking Holdings announced it will hold a conference call to discuss Q1 2026 financial results on April 28, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Results will be posted on the IR website at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET, and the call audio will be available for replay for seven days.
India-based OTA MakeMyTrip is considering a listing in India to unlock additional capital for growth. The company recently completed an internal restructure bringing brands under a single entity. It also acquired tour operator Flamingo Transworld and invested in visa processing company Atlys. Revenue increased 11% to $296 million in Q3 FY2026.
According to a joint report by Phocuswright and Arival, the in-destination experiences market reached $271 billion in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and is projected to exceed $340 billion by 2029. Online channels grew from 17% of bookings in 2019 to 33% in 2025, with a projected 42% by 2029. OTAs are the fastest-growing channel, but the sector remains under-digitized.
Indonesia's online travel market is expected to nearly double from $9B in 2025 to $17B by 2030. Gross travel bookings reached $16.5B in 2025, with online bookings at $10.6B. Local OTAs like Traveloka and Tiket.com dominate and eye regional expansion. AI adoption is high, with 51% using AI to save time.
In 2025, Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, and Trip.com Group invested a combined $20 billion in sales and marketing, up year-over-year. Booking and Expedia accounted for over three-quarters. Marketing spend as a percentage of revenue ranged from 21% to 50%, showing continued reliance on paid channels.
Trip.com Group's international OTA platform bookings increased 60% YoY in Q4 2025, serving about 20 million inbound travelers. Full-year net revenue was nearly $9B, up 17%. Inbound travel is a key growth driver, currently 0.5% of China's GDP, with huge potential. AI investments and TripGenie usage surged.
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.
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.
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.
Booking Holdings announced it will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results on Wednesday, February 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The event will be webcast on the company's IR website, with audio replay available for seven days. The results release will be posted at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET on the same day.
Booking Holdings announced it will hold a conference call on October 28, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss third quarter financial results. The release will be posted on the IR website at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET, and the audio will be available for replay for seven days.
Booking Holdings announced that CFO Ewout Steenbergen will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco on September 11, 2025. The presentation begins at 10:10 am PT and will be available via live audio cast and replay. Booking Holdings is the world's leading provider of online travel and related services, with brands including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable.
Tongcheng Travel Holdings reported 2024 results: revenue up 45.8% YoY to RMB17,340.7 million, adjusted net profit up 26.7% to RMB2,785.4 million, GMV up 5.9% to RMB255.7 billion. Core OTA revenue rose 22.1% to RMB14,199.4 million, with international air ticket volume up over 130% and international room nights up over 110%. Annual paying users reached 238.3 million, MPUs 43.1 million. The company launched Chengxin AI system, integrated DeepSeek, and fully operates HOPEGOO international platform.
Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (0780.HK) reported audited 2023 results: revenue rose 80.7% year on year to RMB11.9 billion, up 60.9% versus 2019; adjusted net profit rose 240.3% to RMB2.2 billion with an 18.5% adjusted net margin; adjusted EBITDA rose 117.4% to RMB3.12 billion. Annual paying users grew 25.2% to a record 234.7 million, and average monthly paying users rose 39.1% to 41.3 million. Transportation ticketing revenue rose 78.5% to RMB6.03 billion, accommodation reservation revenue rose 61.5% to RMB3.90 billion, and other revenue rose 148.6% to RMB1.997 billion. The company said it will continue penetrating non-first-tier cities and expanding internationally.