Travel Weekly Group Ltd

📱 Expedia Group partners with Beautiful Destinations, leveraging their 50M+ social media followers to enhance travel booking experiences. The industry-first collaboration combines high-quality content creation with Expedia's 'shoppable' technology for end-to-end advertising campaigns. A recent survey indicated that 61% of consumers are influenced by social media for travel inspiration. The partnership promises efficient content production and marketing channel deliveries, aiming to boost conversion rates for global audiences through platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

📍 Travel Counsellors have launched an interactive itineraries feature, developed in-house over 12 months, to offer a more personalized and immersive travel planning experience. Designed to enhance traditional travel documents, it includes rich multimedia content and has been rolled out to their global community of over 2,000 agents after a successful pilot with around 80 homeworkers. The technology aims to save agents time and improve customer engagement, following the acquisition of Planisto, which aided content development. The launch marks an advancement in the company's use of technology to enrich personal client relationships.

✈ Ryanair launched its "Prime" subscription for frequent flyers last month at €199 per year, offering fast-track security, reserved seating, priority boarding, and other benefits. Consumers globally are members of an average of 10 loyalty programs, with airlines now seeking to build loyalty beyond traditional rewards. Successful loyalty schemes must deliver long-term value, anticipating needs and making the entire travel experience seamless. Partnerships, like British Airways with American Express and Delta Air Lines with Starbucks, Hertz, Shake Shack and ExpressVPN, demonstrate a focus on the overall travel experience. Airlines are encouraged to create journeys, not just sell tickets, and to integrate their services into the daily lives of travelers for true loyalty.

📅 At the Arabian Travel Market 2025, Mabrian Technologies and Almawave Group co-hosted a roundtable titled "Successful Market Strategies With AI and Data Intelligence". The event, part of the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council and involving Travolution, gathered 20 senior executives for a 90-minute discussion on AI and data intelligence in travel. Attendees included representatives from Visit Oman, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority, NEOM, PATA, the Egyptian Hotel Association, and consultancies like McKinsey & Co., BCG, and Roland Berger. Emphasis was placed on leadership and collaboration for effective use of AI, with a focus on operationalizing insights for the Middle East's tourism sector.