On August 13, the first domestically built large cruise ship 'Adora Magic City' made its maiden voyage to Shenzhen International Cruise Homeport, carrying nearly 4,600 guests on a 5-day, 4-night itinerary to Hue, Vietnam, marking its first international cruise route in the Greater Bay Area. The season runs until September 16, with a 9-day 'Maritime Silk Road Discovery' itinerary also planned.
On August 9, construction began on a 118-meter Ferris wheel at Shanghai Jinjiang Park, expected to open in 2027. It will be China's first single-tube wheel structure exceeding 100 meters, featuring 36 panoramic cabins offering in-air dining and VIP customization, integrated with nearly 10,000 square meters of ground facilities. The project plans to distribute about 100,000 complimentary tickets to the public.
On August 8, the Nanyue Hengshan Scenic Area officially introduced smart exoskeleton robot outdoor assistance equipment, equipped with AI-simulated gait algorithms, providing over 30% assistance. Rental points are set up at three locations: Kangjialong Visitor Service Center, Shoubi Nanshan Stone Carving Check-in Point, and Nantianmen Parking Lot, priced at 29-49 yuan per hour. The operator plans to gradually deploy to major cultural tourism scenic areas in Hengyang.
Autonomous vehicle mobility specialist Moove has raised $250 million in Series C funding at a valuation of $2.1 billion. The round was led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota's Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific. The funding will boost Moove's AV expansion, including autonomous fleet ownership and establishing 'Nests' depot infrastructure, as well as expansion into new markets, including AV workforce growth of more than 220% to approximately 500 by the end of 2026.
CKE Restaurants shared its POS system consolidation experience at a Restaurant Technology Network town hall. The company previously operated over 22 different POS platforms, creating significant technical debt. By standardizing to a single centralized menu database, CKE reduced new product release cycles from two weeks to under two days, improving operational efficiency.
Ground transportation specialist Busbud secured $40 million in credit financing from Vista Credit and formed a new parent company, Terra Mobility, combining Busbud, Buson, Recorrido, and operator OS TerraOS. TerraOS offers ticketing, inventory management, AI-powered revenue management, and demand forecasting. Erik Blachford was named chairman, and Sam Shank joined the board. Terra Mobility has 270 employees across 26 countries, connecting over 100 million travelers with 4,000 operators.
Omio Group has agreed to acquire Rail Europe, a global distributor of European rail tickets, with the deal expected to close in September. Separately, Omio received a $10 million strategic investment from Granite-Integral to expand in Japan and Southeast Asia. The acquisition will strengthen Omio's global rail capabilities and distribution network.
Omio founder and CEO Naren Shaam discusses how AI accelerates solving supply, data, and customer understanding in multimodal travel, but doesn't replace live operational complexity. Omio currently operates in 47 countries, planning to expand to 70 next year and 100 the following year. The company is increasing B2B efforts, providing infrastructure via APIs and MCP.
Mews, a hospitality operating system provider, announced a partnership with Uber to integrate ride booking into its platform, enabling hotels to arrange, track, and bill transportation directly. The collaboration aims to reduce manual front-desk processes and tie billing to guest folios via Mews Payments. The integration will support both staff- and guest-initiated bookings, with a pilot expected later this year.
Ferry booking platform Direct Ferries launched a ChatGPT app offering conversational search and discovery. The app connects over 300 operators and 4,000 routes, built on OpenAI's enterprise infrastructure. Direct Ferries says its MCP server interface resolves the complexity of global ferry travel, enabling any agentic search platform to access clean, accurate, real-time inventory. The app is available worldwide via the free version of ChatGPT, with plans to offer the same infrastructure to B2B partners through Direct Ferries Connect.
Lyft has acquired the UK business of London black cab app Gett for an undisclosed amount, expected to close in coming weeks. The acquisition enables Lyft to offer a range of ground transport options in London, from black cabs to bikes and chauffeur services. Lyft previously acquired Freenow and TBR Global Chauffering, and plans to test autonomous rides with Baidu in London.
Berlin-based startup Nox Mobility raised €2 million in pre-seed funding to develop a private-cabin overnight rail model in Europe. The round was led by IBB Ventures, with participation from investor Tommaso Lucca and HomeToGo co-founder Patrick Andrae. Funds will grow the team, build a full-scale mock-up, and prepare for first routes launching in 2027. The company notes European night trains declined from ~1,200 per week in 2001 to 450 in 2019. Its model offers private rooms instead of shared compartments, targeting leisure and business travelers; business travelers already account for 30% of night train users in France.
WeRide and Uber launched driverless robotaxi service in Dubai, and partnered with Grab for autonomous shuttle in Punggol, Singapore. Dubai service initially covers Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah, with plans to expand to at least 1,200 vehicles in the Middle East. Singapore service is free, with commercialization expected later this year.
Airbnb has partnered with Welcome Pickups to offer private car transfers as part of its Services. The service is available in more than 125 cities across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, allowing guests to pre-book a car in the Airbnb app between their listing and point of arrival or departure. It follows a trial earlier this year. Airbnb's chief business officer Dave Stephenson said this is just the start of expanding the offering.
Uber has agreed to acquire Blacklane, a premium chauffeur service, to expand into luxury and executive travel. Terms were not disclosed, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval, expected to close by end of 2026. Blacklane, founded in 2011, operates in over 500 cities across 60+ countries and has raised over $150 million. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said premium travel is a fast-growing segment, and the acquisition will broaden options for riders.
Uber is partnering with autonomous driving company Pony.ai and Verne to launch a commercial robotaxi service in Europe, starting with Zagreb, Croatia. On-road testing has begun, and Uber is investing in Verne to support expansion. The partnership aims to scale autonomous ride-hailing, with plans to grow the fleet to thousands over the next few years. This move is part of Uber's broader strategy to become a major facilitator of autonomous vehicle trips, following recent partnerships with Rivian, Zoox, and others.
Google has launched a Gemini-powered conversational interface called Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation in Maps. Ask Maps allows users to ask questions in natural language, get personalized recommendations, and book restaurant reservations. Immersive Navigation provides a 3D view of buildings, overpasses, and terrain, highlighting crosswalks and stop signs. Ask Maps is rolling out in the U.S. and India, and Immersive Navigation is available to U.S. users.
Travelport's TripServices Flights API release AirReservation 26.11.86 supports adding Auxiliary Tour (TUR) and Surface (SUR) segments to an existing booking using Custom Auxiliary Segments, and deleting auxiliary segments from an existing booking using Cancel Workbench Items. This feature applies to GDS only.
Autonomous vehicle company Zoox has partnered with Uber to launch robotaxis on the Uber app, marking Zoox's first partnership with a third-party platform. The companies plan to launch in Las Vegas this summer and expand to Los Angeles by mid-2027. Zoox, acquired by Amazon in 2020, currently offers free rides in Las Vegas and select San Francisco neighborhoods. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted Zoox's safety commitment and advanced technology as ideal for partnership.
Ground transport platforms like BlaBlaCar, Rome2Rio, Travelier, and Flix are competing for the A-to-B journey through expansion, acquisitions, and AI. Fragmentation creates opportunities, and new EU regulations will boost multimodal digital booking. AI agents may reshape competition, but trust and data accuracy become crucial.
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.
Uber and Lyft have partnered with Baidu to launch Apollo Go robotaxis in London. Uber will start testing in H1 2026, and Lyft has signed a definitive agreement with testing pending regulatory approval. The UK government plans to pilot self-driving passenger services from spring.
Japanese airport transfer provider SmartRyde has integrated with Amadeus, making its services available through Amadeus Transfers. The first phase rolls out to travel sellers in Japan and South Korea, offering travelers pre-booked door-to-door transfers and travel sellers a single booking flow within Amadeus. SmartRyde's network covers over 1,000 airports worldwide, with options from standard vehicles to premium chauffeur services, featuring real-time availability, instant confirmation and transparent pricing.
SAP Concur and Uber for Business have integrated to automatically flow business rides into SAP Concur expense reports with trip details, eliminating lost receipts and confusion between business and personal rides. Companies can track spending in real time, identify trends, and ensure policy compliance via the Uber for Business dashboard. Employees can enjoy an exclusive Uber One discount.
Amtrak, the U.S. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, has officially joined the Concur TripLink ecosystem. The article says the integration lets business travelers book directly on Amtrak.com and the Amtrak mobile app, connect their Amtrak loyalty program, capture negotiated rates, and automatically sync the itinerary and e-receipt with SAP Concur solutions. Amtrak also features a direct connect integration with Concur Travel, letting travelers book a train reservation the same way they book air, hotel, or car reservations. The article says Concur TripLink serves a growing ecosystem of air, hotel, rail, and car suppliers, is used by over 14,000 customers, and supports more than 11 milli…
A SAP Concur blog post suggests companies can save on ground transportation costs and improve employee safety by increasing rideshare use. It advises reviewing rideshare expense and insurance policies, checking rideshare configuration in Concur Expense, and analyzing year-over-year rideshare spend percentages. Best practice percentages range from 38% to 87% depending on industry. A formula is provided to estimate potential savings: (taxi median rate – rideshare median rate) × (25% of total taxi transactions). Encouraging rideshare gives employees autonomy, location-sharing ability, and reduces carbon emissions.
A SAP Concur blog post argues that employee travel safety should extend to rideshare and other ground transportation. It cites a global survey: 77% of female travelers experienced harassment or mistreatment, 85% of LGBTQ+ travelers changed travel arrangements due to safety concerns, 54% of travelers say safety is not a top priority in their company's formal travel policy, and 67% say their company lacks technologies that make travel easier. The post recommends consolidating corporate card data with itinerary details, tracking employee locations, providing neighborhood safety information, and encouraging trip sharing when using rideshare.
A SAP Concur series article analyzes vehicle program risks for high-mileage drivers. Drivers logging more than 5,000 reimbursable miles annually create exposures including vicarious liability, tax issues, mileage fraud, volatile fuel prices and employee dissatisfaction. It compares three common approaches: flat car allowance (predictable but taxable and unrelated to actual mileage), cents-per-mile reimbursement (insufficient for low-mileage drivers, excessive for high-mileage drivers, with fraud potential), and fleet vehicles (company assumes 24-hour risk, with accident rates as high as three times the U.S. national average). A follow-up will cover the fixed and variable rate (FAVR) approac…
Lyft Business integrates with SAP Concur's Concur Expense to help travel managers reduce ground transportation costs and improve traveler satisfaction. The integration automates expense reporting, and travelers can earn rewards with Lyft's airline and hospitality partners. Currently available only in the U.S., it has already enabled over 20,000 end-users. Lyft Business can result in 30% savings on company-wide travel spend, and travelers earn $5 in personal ride credit for every 5 business rides.
SAP Concur published an article recommending businesses increase rideshare use over taxis by adjusting rideshare expense and insurance policies. It notes rideshares are typically safer and less expensive than taxis, and that rideshare apps track and share itineraries and locations, helping organizations fulfill duty of care. The article provides a potential savings formula and notes best-practice rideshare spend percentages range from 41% to 77% depending on industry.
This SAP Concur blog post provides a business travel guide to San Diego. It covers transportation options from San Diego International Airport (SAN) (taxis, rideshares, free shuttles), hotel recommendations (from the luxury Hotel del Coronado to the conveniently located Manchester Grand Hyatt), public transit (MTS Trolley), and dining and activity suggestions (like Little Italy and Balboa Park). The article also mentions hotel discounts for Concur Hipmunk users.
SAP Concur, citing a mileage trends report from partner Motus, notes that business mileage activity has recovered to about 54% of pre-pandemic levels, and companies should revisit their vehicle programs. The article cites 2019 Motus Benchmark Study data: average vehicle program cost per mobile worker rose 5% year-over-year, 70% of organizations with vehicle allowance programs have not reviewed allowance amounts in the past 12 months, mileage reporting fraud cost U.S. organizations roughly $665 million in 2018, fuel accounted for 25% of vehicle ownership and operating costs in 2018, and 88% of organizations do not measure employee satisfaction with their business vehicle program. Traditional…