Preferred Hotels & Resorts announced three new member hotels in China for 2026: Tonino Lamborghini Hotel Chengdu, Hotel Banov Townscape Wuhan, and Surya Hotel Shanghai New Hongqiao Center. They join the Lifestyle and L.V.X. collections. Globally, Preferred represents over 625 member hotels in 80 countries and regions, with 13 member hotels in China.
TravelDaily announced its 2026 TravelDaily Summit will be held September 22-23 at the Shanghai International Convention Center, with registration closing soon. Organisers say more than 1,600 travel industry executives have confirmed attendance, and the attendee directory lists over 1,800 mid-to-senior industry professionals, 70% at director level or above. The summit features three forums, over 100 speakers from leading companies and 30+ core sessions spanning corporate buyers, hotels, airlines, car rental, destinations, TMCs and travel agencies, and travel technology, with exhibition, standard and VIP ticket tiers.
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Culture and Tourism recently announced that the final of the "Dancing Inner Mongolia" 8th Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Square Dance Competition will be held on September 19 at the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Cultural Center. The competition is hosted by the Publicity Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Culture and Tourism and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, following the principle of "grassroots mobilization, tiered selection and centralized performance." Since launching in June, it has gone through auditions, preliminaries and se…
On September 17, the 4th CATA Aviation Conference opened in Beijing, running three days under the annual theme "AI and Civil Aviation Integrated Development," marking the first time AI serves as the main thread across the opening ceremony, industry forums and professional exhibition. CAAC Deputy Administrator Han Jun attended and addressed the conference, calling for holding the safety bottom line, focusing on scenario implementation and maintaining open collaboration. CATA Chairman Wang Changshun said the association will deepen industry self-discipline coordination and support technology innovation. The opening ceremony presented the 2025 Civil Aviation Science and Technology Awards, and…
IHG Hotels & Resorts announced on 17 September 2026 in Shanghai an early bird booking offer for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays. IHG One Rewards members can receive up to 24% off stays at participating hotels across Greater China when booking at least 14 days in advance. IHG highlighted three travel trends in Greater China this season: longer, more immersive trips (e.g. Western Sichuan), continued popularity of short breaks close to home (e.g. Huzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing), and growing interest in emerging destinations (e.g. Qinhuangdao, Chongli, Wugong Mountain, Wushan, Luoyang). IHG's 14 brands offer accommodation options in these areas.
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.
On September 16, the XPCC Red Tourism Study-Tour Conference and Innovation Development Co-building Event was held in Alar, First Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, with the 'Retrace the Desert Veterans' Road' 10,000-person red study tour launched simultaneously. Co-hosted by the XPCC Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, Alar City, and Tarim University, it drew over 400 participants, and eight government-enterprise pairs signed cooperation agreements on study-tour co-building, curriculum development, source-market exchange, and talent training.
On September 17, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism announced six newly designated red tourism scenic sites. Under the Beijing Red Tourism Scenic Site Assessment and Management Measures, following district recommendations, site inspections, and review meetings, the six sites approved for 2026 include the former site of Radio Station 491 in Chaoyang District, the Zhongguancun Village History Museum in Haidian District, the Beiping Takeover Cadre Training Class (Liangxiang Confucian Temple) in Fangshan District, the Shaotang Literature Museum in Tongzhou District, the Century Newspaper Reading Hall in Pinggu District, and the Xinhua Printing Factory in the Economic-Technologi…
TravelDaily China reports that Yali Technology is capturing corporate travel demand through a three-track contracting system of group, regional and property-level agreements, while expanding its hotel supply network: it has enabled 10+ external brands and 1,000+ external hotels, and its own network covers 200+ cities with 800+ hotels and 6 brands; Yali Club connects over 25 million members with a central reservation rate above 70%. The article notes that in 2025 lower-tier market business-travel lodging orders grew 26.2% year on year, accounting for 43.3% of national business-travel lodging orders, yet business-ready supply has not fully kept pace: over half of employees encountered hotel q…
Pinchain Tourism reports that on September 11, 2026, the Central Organization Department announced Shi Dai as Chairman of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong, succeeding Wang Haimin who moved to China Resources in July; the same day Huangshan Tourism Chairman Zhang Dehui resigned and President Sun Jun took over; in August CYTS Chairman Ni Yangping resigned due to job transfer, with Vice Chairman Zhao Peng serving as acting chairman. The article reviews the leadership transitions and operating data of the three companies.
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.
On September 17, the European Commission adopted the EU KIDS Act proposal, prohibiting social media platforms from accessing children under 13 and setting an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for minors to open their own accounts. The Act is structured around four pillars: social media delay, safety-by-design, privacy-preserving age assurance, and effective enforcement. Platforms must prove their services are age-appropriate and safe by design, and submit compliance plans. The proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and Council for examination.
EU Commissioner Dombrovskis, speaking at the Eurofi forum in Dublin, outlined three themes: the digital euro project, strengthening the euro's international role, and a simplification agenda to boost banking competitiveness. He noted nearly two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area run through non-European providers, while 13 euro area member states rely entirely on international schemes. The digital euro's first issuance is targeted for 2029, with the Commission supporting the Irish Presidency's aim to conclude trilogue negotiations by year-end. He also said outstanding EU bonds have reached around €800 billion and that the Commission will push for their inclusion in sovereign bond…
Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has opened registration until 29 September for the 4th AVSEC Continuous Improvement Workshop, to be held online and synchronously on 6-8 October from 14:00 to 17:00. Aimed at civil aviation security professionals, the workshop covers best practices in AVSEC quality control, artificial intelligence in AVSEC, the Airport Security Programme (PSA), human factors in AVSEC, cabin crew security procedures, and management of unruly behaviour in aviation. Because part of the content is classified as Restricted AVSEC Information (IRA), participation is limited to professionals holding a valid certificate from AVSEC courses under RBAC No. 110; the AVSEC A…
United Airlines CFO Michael Leskinen said at the Morgan Stanley Laguna investor conference that the carrier still expects to recover 100% of jet fuel costs by year-end despite a recent rapid rise in fuel prices. He noted about 35% of fourth-quarter tickets are already booked and cannot be repriced, creating a lag effect, but said customers are willing to pay more for premium seats and amenities like Starlink as the industry turns more premium.
Sam's Club, the warehouse retail chain owned by Walmart, has relaunched Sam's Club Travel with a new cruise-booking site through a partnership with Boundless Labs, a five-year-old cruise-booking technology company. Sam's Club curates itineraries, sailings and destinations. The vast majority of cruise bookings industrywide still happen offline through human agents because of complexity spanning the sailing, cabin types, meal plans, flights to the embarkation port, hotel nights, transfers and shore excursions. Boundless Labs says more than 90% of the cruise bookings it handles for other partners, including Kayak and PerkSpot, happen online.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said at the Morgan Stanley Laguna investor conference that the carrier expects to make trade-offs on capacity if fuel prices stay elevated in the long term, with slower growth expected in 2027. He said that if fuel prices remain as high as they are now, adjustments to capacity planning will be required looking ahead. American CFO Devon May said at the same conference that the carrier would adjust capacity.
Simpli.fi released "Whose Cheeseburger Is It?", the debut report in its Loyalty in the Real World series, analyzing billions of anonymized mobile movement and digital intent signals across the top 20 U.S. burger QSR chains over eight weeks to separate "loyalists" (single-chain visitors) from "samplers" (two or more chains). Shake Shack posted a 99% loyalty rate, with Wendy's, Smashburger, Sonic and Steak 'n Shake rounding out the top five. While 61% of burger QSR visitors stick to one brand, 39% are samplers; McDonald's recorded 60% loyalty but the largest customer overlap across every chain, making it the primary target for switcher campaigns.
Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) Resolution No. 800 took effect on 14 September 2026, setting rules for handling unruly passengers at airports and on board. Conduct is split into three severity tiers — unruly, serious and very serious — with fines of up to BRL 17,500; very serious acts can also trigger a no-fly list barring domestic flights for six to 12 months. Airlines or airports notify the passenger and then ANAC, which tracks sanctions via a Serpro-built system. Abear data show 1,764 unruly-passenger cases on domestic flights in 2025, up 66% from 2024.
The Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point, California, will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation and convert to the luxury JW Marriott brand as The Ocean Cliffs at Dana Point, a JW Marriott Resort. The 371-key property will continue to be managed by Plano, Texas-based Aimbridge Hospitality. Upon debut, it will offer redesigned guest rooms, an expanded multiacre event lawn, a revamped arrival area, a signature chef-driven restaurant, and enhanced meetings and events facilities including a new 6,000-square-foot ballroom. Global design firms HKS and ROAM are overseeing the project. The conversion comes as Marriott International expands the JW Marriott brand amid a strong-perfor…
Hilton announced a franchise agreement with Arte Hoteles for the first Outset Collection by Hilton property in EMEA: Casa Verbena Madrid. Expected to open later in 2026, the 45-room hotel will sit on Calle de Preciados in central Madrid, within walking distance of Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Gran Vía. The signing expands Hilton's lifestyle collection portfolio and its presence in Spain.
Certares founder Greg O'Hara, ahead of the Skift Global Forum, detailed his roughly €300 million investment in Trenitalia France. The company ordered 19 high-speed trains from Hitachi in August, ten of them for a Paris–London service targeted for 2029. O'Hara argues that whoever delivers rolling stock first should secure the three required approvals — French, tunnel and British — first. The investment came from Certares' current fund with co-investment, drawing strong interest from European family offices and institutions.
European Commissioner Dombrovskis addressed the European Parliament plenary on gold-plating, warning that when Member States add stricter or broader requirements while transposing EU law, it distorts competition, raises compliance costs especially for SMEs, and discourages cross-border activity. The Commission will work with Member States on better detection, follow-up and prevention, prepare a best-practice toolkit, and has circulated questionnaires to Member States and stakeholders.
The European Commission raised €11 billion of EU-Bonds in its eighth syndicated transaction of 2026, comprising a €6 billion new 3-year EU-Bond maturing 12 March 2030 and a €5 billion new 30-year EU-Bond maturing 12 October 2056. Both tranches were priced against reference points in the EU-Bond curve, reflecting the curve's growing liquidity. The transaction forms part of the Commission's €80 billion funding target for the second half of 2026.
Meadin Research released its August 2026 housing rental industry development report. August saw concentrated delivery of government-subsidised rental housing, with state-owned capital continuing to dominate. Global rents diverged: the U.S. median rent was $1,390, up for a seventh straight month; Canada fell for a 23rd consecutive month to C$2,035; UK average rent was £1,382, up 4.1% year on year; Tokyo's 23 wards saw family-type listed rents of ¥263,148, up 10.9% year on year. In China, Beijing and Shanghai ordinary apartment rents stayed high. On policy, the CSRC backed REIT issuance for rental housing and allowed such projects to be injected into listed REITs as expansion assets; Shanghai…
Union workers at the Embassy Suites Pioneer Square in Seattle ratified a new contract with Hilton after an 85-day strike. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, housekeepers' starting pay will be $31.03 an hour, a 6.9% first-year increase and 23.3% over four years; employees working at least 1,250 hours a year receive year-round healthcare coverage; and the union gains a new enforcement mechanism for emergencies affecting immigrant workers, a first for Hilton nationwide. Workers returned Sept. 15. The union calls it the longest hotel strike in Washington state history.
American Express said it will open The Centurion Lounge at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on Sept. 17, the 33rd in its Centurion Lounge network and the first in continental Europe. The nearly 6,000-square-foot lounge sits between Concourses E and F and will operate daily from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., featuring a Blue Roast Coffee Bar, a full bar and a buffet inspired by Dutch and regional European flavors, plus a phone room, abundant power and USB access and complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi. Platinum card members get unlimited access; qualifying Centurion card members also get unlimited access with guests.
IHG Hotels & Resorts and EasyJet have launched a global partnership linking their business-traveller programs, IHG Business Edge and EasyJet Plus. IHG Business Edge members receive a 10 percent discount on a new EasyJet Plus membership plus benefits such as priority security screening, priority boarding, seat selection and extra cabin baggage. EasyJet Plus SME members gain access to IHG Business Edge benefits, including preferred rates and loyalty perks at participating IHG hotels worldwide, and reach IHG One Rewards Gold Elite status after their first eligible stay. IHG has pursued similar corporate-targeted collaborations with Delta Air Lines, Singapore Airlines and Hertz to bolster IHG B…
Thrust Carbon has added a pre-trip briefing capability to its behavioral change tool EngageAI, which it launched earlier this year. The feature can reach travelers a day or two before departure with trip-specific policy guidance such as per diems and expense rules, plus destination information including traffic, weather and rail status that could affect the travel experience. EngageAI launched in January to steer travelers toward more economical and sustainable options. The company said it is now working to add traveler-specific messaging into the briefing based on data such as travel history and expense habits.
Air France will open the largest lounge in its international network at New York JFK's New Terminal One in 2027. Spanning two levels and more than 2,700 square meters, it will seat over 400 guests and serve La Première, business class and Flying Blue Elite Plus customers, plus eligible KLM and SkyTeam partner travelers. Air France plans to move all its JFK flights to the new terminal, which opens in phases between 2026 and 2030 as part of a $19 billion transformation project.
Accor is considering acquisitions and other partnerships to accelerate its expansion in India, Duncan O'Rourke, the group's CEO for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, told Skift. In July, Accor and Treebo Hospitality Ventures called off a planned deal that would have given the Ibis and Mercure brands access to hundreds of hotels in smaller Indian cities. O'Rourke said the group has always been entrepreneurial and will not stop growing because the deal did not work out, adding that it remains open to opportunities in India and elsewhere, though he did not identify a potential target.
AirAsia MOVE has launched MOVETIX, bundling flights with official event tickets into a single booking, starting with the 2026 Djakarta Warehouse Project festival in partnership with organiser Ismaya Group. A general admission ticket plus return flight from Kuala Lumpur starts from MYR 1,300, with savings of up to 20% versus separate bookings. AirAsia MOVE says its data shows travel intent around major concerts and festivals in the region rising 10-20%. The company plans to expand into sports and cultural events.
Ahead of the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, the Fourth Detachment of the Beijing Transportation Comprehensive Law Enforcement Corps has deepened its joint enforcement mechanism with local police to crack down on illegal "Imperial City Tour" overcharging. On September 11, a taxi driver took two passengers on a detour around Tiananmen Square and demanded a flat fare of 120 yuan, and was administratively penalized for failing to use the meter as required. Authorities advise visitors who encounter fare negotiation, refusal to carry, failure to use the meter, or detour overcharging to call the 12328 transportation service supervision hotline.
On September 16, the launch event for the 2027 Palace Museum Calendar was held at the Palace Museum, attended by Wang Xudong, Party Leadership Group Member of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Palace Museum, Zhang Yongxin, Party Secretary of the Palace Museum, and Wu Shulin, Chairman of the Publishers Association of China. The Palace Museum Calendar has been published for 18 consecutive years, with cumulative distribution exceeding 10 million copies. The 2027 edition offers four versions: the zodiac edition, the painting and calligraphy edition, the auspicious edition, and the Chinese-English bilingual edition. The zodiac edition features artifacts related to sheep and…
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism Development, targeting deeper progress toward a culture and tourism powerhouse by 2030, with 8.3 billion domestic trips, 190 million inbound trips, and 3.5 annual per-capita uses of public cultural facilities. The plan covers eight priority areas including artistic creation, cultural heritage protection, public services, industry development, market regulation, technology, exchanges, and regional coordination, supported by 54 key projects.
Zeng Bowei of Beijing Union University's Tourism College analyzes the joint guidance on optimizing natural resource allocation for regulated tourism development. The article notes that the 2015 tourism land policy expired in 2020, and the new guidance re-integrates tourism factor policies under the 'multi-plan integration' territorial spatial planning system and natural resource asset management framework. It examines five key areas: planning coordination with space first, differentiated land-use control, integrated resource supply, stock revitalization, and full-lifecycle service supervision, noting the policy shifts tourism project development from solely guaranteeing construction land to…
China's Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and National Forestry and Grassland Administration jointly issued guidelines to optimize natural resource allocation and promote regulated, orderly tourism development. The guidelines cover tourism development space, use control, resource supply, stock utilization, and supervision. They clarify the link between tourism special plans and territorial spatial planning, incorporate 15th Five-Year Plan tourism space needs into a unified map, combine incremental supply with stock revitalization, apply differentiated use controls, explore treating multiple plots as one parcel and bundled natural resource asset supply, move app…
Meituan data shows flight bookings for this year's Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday rose 44% year on year, with long-haul bookings over 2,000 km up 76% and accounting for more than a quarter of the total; users booking two or more destinations rose 70%. September 10-17 was the booking peak, with nearly 20% of travellers departing the day before Mid-Autumn and over half departing before September 30. Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing led destinations, while Shanghai-Urumqi bookings rose 235%. Combined air-rail transfers drew attention for their price advantage, with Beijing-Yuncheng air-rail options saving up to 70%.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism Development, targeting deeper progress toward a culture and tourism powerhouse by 2030. It deploys eight priority areas including artistic creation, cultural heritage protection, public services, industry development, market regulation, technology, exchanges, and regional coordination, supported by 54 key projects.
The 2026 Beijing Culture Forum will be held in Beijing on September 22-23, with the parallel forum on Cultural Heritage and Artistic Creation scheduled for September 23 at the Beijing Hotel. The parallel forum is co-hosted by the Culture and Art Bureau of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Arts Department and Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Publicity Department of the National Radio and Television Administration, the Theoretical Research Office of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Creation Liaison Department of the China Writers Association, and jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal Radi…