Posts by author

Martin Cowen

13 posts
Entrance to a tropical resort villa with green-and-white striped awnings, palm trees, and a brick pathway leading to open doors.
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  • 4 min

The Set Utilizes Canto for Managing 90,000 Digital Assets, Achieving 25% Reduction in Creative Support Time

📄 The Set, representing 18 luxury hotels, uses Canto to manage 90,000 digital assets. Since implementing Canto five years ago, The Set has seen a 25% reduction in creative support time. Canto supports GDS connectivity and marketing, providing a single source of truth for assets. The Set collaborates with travel advisors like Virtuoso and Smartflyer, using Canto to enhance brand consistency as they expand. New initiatives, including The Set Society, leverage Canto for asset management and brand extension.
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Person in an orange jacket sits on a rocky ledge overlooking a forested lake with snow-capped mountains in the distance.
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  • 4 min

VisitScotland's New Digital Asset Management Platform Boosts Efficiency by Saving 180 Hours Daily for 90 Staff Members

📃 September 2025, VisitScotland revamped its Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform, managing 90,000+ images and videos. This change enhanced efficiency for 90 staff, saving up to 180 hours daily. By Glasgow 2026, a new portal for press/media aims to improve content access, with 2,600 active users currently. Key markets include the USA, Germany, France, and Australia. C2PA and EU AI Act Article 50 will guide asset governance by August 2026, reinforcing Scotland's authentic experience narrative.
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Smiling man in a white collared shirt and dark sweater, head-and-shoulders portrait against a gray background.
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  • 2 min

Intuitive Launches New API for iVector Platform, Enhancing Speed and Efficiency with AI and AWS Technology

🛠 Paul Nixon, CEO of intuitive, announced the launch of a new API for iVector, aimed at leveraging AI-enabled software tools. Starting mid-January, a minimum viable product was developed by March, supporting over 3,000 API calls. By the quarter's end, version 1.1 will be released. The API uses AWS API Gateway, enabling travel companies to build custom features. Nixon noted that AI has increased productivity by 20% and projects can now be completed up to 50 times faster.
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Travel Marketplaces Embrace Integrated Payment Flows to Enhance Customer Experience and Drive Capitalization Opportunities

💸 Last week's Travolution Connects panel highlighted a shift in travel tech: marketplaces increasingly focus on optimising payment flows. Sunrate's Paul Batchelor stressed the commercial potential of integrated payment solutions. Will Plummer from Trust My Group noted OTAs' control over inventory, tech, and payments in the past decade. Oliver Fellowes from PingPong emphasized embedding payments from the design phase. Gemma Timmons from OAG identified payments as a crucial pillar in the evolving tech stack for enhancing traveler experience.
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Investors Favor Single Discipline Specialists Over Large Scale Consumer Businesses, Highlighting Home Swap Market Growth

🌎 At last week's Travolution Connects, experts highlighted investment trends, noting "smart money" avoids mid-sized consumer businesses. Susie Stanford of Growth Partner and Morgann Lesné of Cambon Partners emphasized growth in niche, community-focused travel sectors like home swaps, estimating potential billion-dollar valuations within 3-4 years. Roopak Pati praised Expedia’s integration with Uber, enhancing connected travel experiences. The focus remains on sustainable growth and leveraging tech-led propositions to cater to evolving consumer preferences and community engagement.
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Public information area with a yellow bilingual sign reading 'Informações/Information' and a payphone, framed by perforated metal panels.
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  • 3 min

Google AI Max for Search Launched, Boosting Hilton Bookings by 58% and Booking Value by 55%

🌐 Google’s Ailish English shared insights at Travolution Connects. Google search initiates 78% of travel journeys, dropping to LLMs before 62% return. Search evolved with AI, shifting from keywords to conversations. A 10% rise in extensive queries in top European markets noted. Google AI Max for Search, launched in May 2025, boosts ad relevance. Hilton's case saw a 58% booking increase and 55% rise in booking value. Google plans agentic experiences in search for seamless bookings.
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Publicis Groupe Acquires AI-Driven Data Platform Liveramp to Enhance Data Co-Creation and Marketing Efficiency

💻 At last week’s Travolution Connects, experts discussed AI's role in marketing. Canto's Roxanne Lewington emphasized AI's utility in managing repetitive tasks, while Kylie Mckie from Liveramp highlighted AI's reliance on quality data. Liveramp was recently acquired by Publicis Groupe. Chelsea Dickinson, of Holiday Expert, leverages AI for content tasks but emphasized human connections in marketing. Panelists underscored the importance of trust and personalization in consumer engagement, with AI playing a supportive role.
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OAG CEO Filip Filipov Advocates for AI-Driven Travel Industry Focused on Trusted Intelligence Over Price-Driven Models

💻 Filip Filipov, CEO of OAG, spoke at the Phocuswire Europe event in Barcelona, emphasizing a shift from price-driven to AI-driven travel. The current system focuses on the cheapest options, but Filipov advocates for intelligent, connected itineraries. The future travel industry requires real-time data and trusted identity, enhancing consumer trust in AI. The goal is personalized, context-aware experiences, where success hinges on owning trusted intelligence, not merely the interface.
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Microsoft Introduces "Three Eras of the Web" Strategy at Phocuswright Europe, Emphasizing Agentic Web's Impact

💻 Representatives from fintech, AI-native travel platform, and enterprise tech firms gathered in Barcelona for Phocuswright Europe. Pablo Laucirica from Microsoft discussed their "three eras of the web" strategy: human, LLM, and agentic webs. He emphasized the need for businesses to adapt to the agentic web, noting 80% of websites currently block bots, which may hinder AI agents. A panel with Revolut and Perk discussed AI's evolving role in travel booking.
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WIT Middle East Highlights Varied Recovery in Gulf Travel, With Dubai Experiencing 65% Drop in Tourism

📈 At this week's WIT Middle East event, the Gulf conflict's impact on tourism was analyzed. Saudi Arabia saw minimal impact due to its focus on domestic travel and religious tourism, while Dubai experienced a 65% drop in tourism. Booking.com and Trip.com aim to boost regional recovery. Wego's CEO highlighted challenges in inbound tourism due to perceptions and advisories but is optimistic about long-term prospects, citing a young population and investment in future industries.
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