KIA ORA: Pack your computer and your jandals, New Zealand welcomes digital nomads
- New Zealand has relaxed visa requirements for remote workers in a bid to attract more ‘digital nomads’ skilled workers who given an internet connection can work from anywhere on the planet.
THE BENEFITS, AND RISKS, OF AI TRAVEL PLANNING
- With artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly playing a role in trip planning, it only follows that the technology is also increasingly subject to misuse and as a source of scams.
THE HIDDEN DANGERS – AND TOP MISTAKES – OF DIY ONLINE BOOKINGS
- One in three Canadians make errors when planning trips online, according to a new survey commissioned by Flight Centre Canada. Moreover, the research reveals that critical errors made are costing travellers thousands of dollars.
TRAVEL’S TIPPING POINT: Travelport examines state of modern retailing
- Simplicity, transparency, and trust are the three things travel consumers want from their travel retailers, according to new research from Travelport in its just-released 2025 State of Modern Retailing Report, which, combined with cross-industry insights, highlights key trends the global technology company says will transform the travel industry in 2025.
WHAT DOES CHAT GPT SAY ABOUT TRAVEL ADVISORS?
- It’s not news that artificial intelligence is all the rage and that the travel industry – including many travel agents – have begun embracing the new technology for a range of tasks, from business planning and promotion to curating ideal itineraries for clients. So, what, we wondered, does AI actually think of travel advisors?
BYE-BYE BOARDING PASSES?
- The chief executive of start-up Riyadh Air, which will take flight this summer, says that boarding passes – both paper and digital – will likely disappear withing five years, to be replaced by biometric scans for passengers.
AI – WHERE IT’S GOING IN 2025
- If 2023 was a year of wonder about artificial intelligence, 2024 was the year to try to get that wonder to do something useful without breaking the bank. So, what’s in store for AI in the year to come?
DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE TRAVEL IN 2025
- In a packed session on digital marketing trends at the recent World Travel Market in London, Dan Christian, host of a popular Travel Trends podcast, revealed the trends – from AI and videos to search engine optimization and advertising on TikTok – that are at the forefront of travel marketing today.
LOOKOUT: Thousands of Microsoft 365 users report outage issues
- If you were having problems with opening Outlook or other Microsoft applications yesterday – you weren’t alone. Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers worldwide took to social media to report trouble seeing their emails, loading calendars or opening other Microsoft 365 applications such as Powerpoint and Teams.
‘WORLD FIRST’: Company rewrites the book on hotel bookings
- HotelPlanner has announced what it says is “a world first that will change how customers find and book their hotels.” HotelPlanner.ai is the first end-to-end AI hotel booking assistant with access to book over one million-plus properties worldwide.
FROM THEORY TO REALITY: IATA proves digital travel future is near
- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and its partners report that they have successfully demonstrated that the industry is ready to deliver a fully digital air travel experience. This was achieved in a recent proof-of-concept (PoC) involving two passengers using different digital wallets and travel credentials on a round-trip between Hong Kong and Tokyo.
UN BACKS AI TO ‘FUTURE-PROOF’ TOURISM
- The World Travel Market Ministers Summit, in collaboration with UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), returned last week to focus on the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence for the sector. Taking to the floor in London were Ministers representing more than 20 countries and providing the voice of the private sector, leaders from Expedia, HBX Group, JTB Corp and SITA, highlighted the importance of enterprise and public-private partnerships.
ROUND THE WORLD IN MERE MINUTES: New oneworld tool makes complex itineraries simple
- Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has “revolutionized” the booking process for ‘Round the World’ tickets, according to the oneworld airline alliance, which counts American Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific amongst its dozen-plus global members.
THE TROUBLE WITH CHOICE: Travelport report says too much leaves travellers feeling overwhelmed
- “Choice is a tax on time and attention,” says NYC professor of marketing and author Scott Galloway, who adds, “Consumers don’t want more choice, but more confidence in the choices presented.” It’s a sentiment embodied in Travelport’s just-released 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report, which concludes that a majority of travellers feel overwhelmed by too many choices when it comes to trip planning. And that presents an opportunity for travel agencies, it adds.
WHAT’S NEXT AFTER FREAKY FRIDAY: Global glitch grounds flights, full recovery could take days
- Travel and transport industries continued to get systems back online on the weekend after a widespread technology outage on Friday that threatened to cause travel delays for days, according to experts. Airlines were hardest hit by the global security outage, with thousands of flights cancelled on Friday, and many more passengers delayed or stranded into the weekend.
AIR CANADA ADVANCES NDC PROGRAM WITH SABRE
- Sabre and Air Canada have announced the launch of Air Canada's full content via new distribution capability (NDC) in Sabre's travel marketplace. This launch allows travel agencies to consume Air Canada's expanded NDC offers and services, enabling them to provide a more personalized travel experience to the customers they serve, the companies say.
SMARTER, FASTER: Travelport unveils new AI-powered search tool
- Travelport has launched what it calls “revolutionary” content curation through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that will provide travel agencies more control over multi-source content within the Travelport+ platform, thus “makings agents’ lives easier and business more efficient.”
DIGITAL DIGEST: How to go beyond Google with AI search sites (and is it worth it?)
- It’s not just you. A lot of people think Google searches are getting worse. And the rise of generative AI chatbots is giving people new and different ways to look up information. While Google has been the one-stop shop for decades – after all, we commonly call searches “googling” – its longtime dominance has attracted a flood of sponsored or spammy links and junk content fueled by “search engine optimization” techniques. That pushes down genuinely useful results.
TÜRKİYE’S DIGITAL NOMAD VISA PLATFORM NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
- It is now easier than ever for Canadian digital nomads to work remotely from Türkiye. With the new Digital Nomad Pre-Application platform Digital Nomad GoTürkiye, digital nomads can now easily initiate their application process online. Gaining popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic, digital nomads capitalize on remote work by travelling the world and logging on wherever they have an internet connection.
WTTC URGES HARNESSING ‘SAFE’ AI
- The transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its role in shaping the future of Travel & Tourism are examined in new reports by the World Travel & Tourism Council, which cites its commitment to a digital future that prioritizes safety, ethical considerations, and responsible AI adoption.
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