Travel Weekly Group Ltd - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers - Page 85

2 min

Cybersecurity threats and geopolitical…

📌 A survey of 500 UK business travellers by Opinium for World Travel Protection reveals 55% find business travel increasingly unpredictable, and 43% are less willing to travel for work. The main concerns for 2025 are travel disruption (74%), losing essential items (72%), crime (65%), cybersecurity threats (62%), and geopolitical instability (59%). In 2022, World Travel Protection saw a 17% increase in emergency evacuations and repatriations, and severe weather disruptions nearly 50% higher. Health and mental health concerns are significant, with 59% worried about medical emergencies and 58% about mental health issues. Women expressed greater concern about travel safety, with 56% worried about harassment and discrimination, and 63% about sexual assault.

1 min

BizAway appoints a new General Manager

🏢 Dario Rizzo joins Italian-based scale-up BizAway as General Manager to bolster the company's global brand positioning and invest in young talent. With a degree in Economics and Banking Science and specialization in Economics and Financial Intermediaries Management from Siena, Rizzo brings digital strategy and B2B marketing experience from previous roles at Tribe47, GetResponse, and Factorial in cities like London, Warsaw, Gdańsk, and Barcelona. CEO Luca Carlucci anticipates Rizzo will enhance community, share knowledge, and create new opportunities for the company.

3 min

The 2025 SAF Mandate: Why the UK must rise…

🛩 The UK's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate, effective as of January, requires SAF to constitute a minimum of 2% of fuel for UK flights in 2025, with targets increasing to 10% in 2030 and 22% by 2040. SAF can slash carbon emissions by up to ~80% compared to traditional jet fuel. Despite the mandate, the UK Climate Change committee predicts SAF will only represent 6% of total fuel demand by 2030, missing the 10% goal. To bolster SAF scaling, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests a comprehensive strategy focusing on enhancing SAF production, infrastructure, R&D, and technology adoption for net-zero aviation by 2050. Business travel, with significant purchasing influence, plays a critical role in promoting SAF, especially through the book-and-claim model, enabling the purchase of SAF without it being physically present at airports. The World Economic Forum highlights the importance of formal government acceptance of this model and transparent accounting to drive corporate investment in SAF.

2 min

Sabre partners with CellPoint to reshape…

✈ Sabre Corporation, a global travel tech company, and CellPoint Digital, a payment orchestration company, have partnered to transform airline payments. Airlines using SabreSonic and Radixx can now access a variety of payment methods and services, improving user experience and reducing costs. This integration offers options like international card networks, digital wallets, non-card-based methods, deferred payments, mobile-based solutions, and direct bank transfers. The collaboration aims to simplify adopting new payment options for airlines, optimizing payment strategies, and ensuring transaction security. Nicolas Ortiz Luengo, Senior Director at Sabre, emphasizes the commitment to flexible payment solutions and cost reduction. Kristian Gjerding, CEO of CellPoint Digital, notes the ease of accessing pre-integrated methods through a single connection.

2 min

Sports tourism is transforming how we travel

🏀 Sports tourism, representing 10% of global tourism spending, is projected to hit $1.3 trillion in 2023. Expedia's research included 2,000 respondents from eight countries who traveled for sports in the last year. The majority attended events with friends (35%), partners (34%), or family (33%). Among 16–34-year-olds, 24% went to mixed-gender events, and 12% to women's sports. Internationally, 44% traveled for events, with Canadians (62%), Germans (58%), and the French (57%) leading. Average spending was over $1,500 per trip, with future plans to spend over $1,200.

2 min

Kenya Airways goes live with NDC content in…

✈ Kenya Airways has become the first Sub-Saharan airline to distribute NDC content via the Amadeus Travel Platform, serving Kenya, South Africa, and the UK. Adoption of Altéa NDC enhances retailing capabilities, with Amadeus ensuring a quick implementation and productivity boost for travel sellers. Global sellers will soon access Kenya Airways' full NDC content, as stated by Julius Thairu, the airline's Chief Commercial and Customer Officer. Amadeus SVP Christophe Roux acknowledges the airline's early recognition of NDC benefits.

2 min

Kaptio teams up with Therefore Interactive…

🏖 Kaptio, a Salesforce-native platform, merges with Therefore Interactive to set a new travel technology standard. Their collaboration aims to simplify booking flows, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth for multi-day travel operators. The partnership already benefits Rocky Mountaineer, which saw digital improvements including new websites for Canyon Spirit and Armstrong Collective, and a revamped Agent Portal. Armstrong's VP, Ashley Wright, acknowledges the partnership's impact on technical capabilities and market reach. Kaptio CEO, Viðar Svansson, sees this as a milestone for customer digital engagement and transformation.

2 min

HBX Group advances its sustainability strategy

🌱 HBX Group published its ESG 2024 Report, highlighting environmental, social, and governance progress and its commitment to sustainable tourism. Over the past year, it expanded the Sustainable Hotels Programme to over 40,000 certified establishments, with 6,000+ eschewing single-use plastic. The company has over 300 subscribers in its knowledge exchange hub and received the Climate Change Award at A World for Travel event, as well as the CSR Best Practice Award at the 15th Sustainability Week in Spain. HBX Group is developing a decarbonisation plan, seeking ISO 14001 certification, and plans to grow its Think Big programme internationally.

2 min

Europeans opt for Easter travel to Japan…

🛫 Europe's Easter 2025 travel trends show a mix of long-haul and unique destinations according to RateHawk. Top 10 Easter destinations for Europeans: Japan, USA, Spain, Italy, France, UAE, UK, Portugal, Turkey, and Thailand. Japan leads with 12.2% of bookings, seeing a 100% increase from Easter 2024. Average accommodation booking value is £840 for a 3-night stay. Iceland bookings from Germany have quadrupled since spring 2024. Saudi Arabia and UAE demand grows among UK and Spanish travel agencies, with Saudi bookings up by 2.5x and UAE doubling year-on-year. USA claims 12% of all European accommodation bookings. Long-haul destinations make up 47% of bookings, up 12% from 2024. RateHawk offers travel agents 2.6 million accommodation options across 220 countries.

2 min

Hospitality platform surpasses 12,500…

🏨 Hospitality technology platform Mews has boosted its customer base by 85%, now serving over 12,500 global customers. In North America, the company doubled its customer base in 2024, while the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) achieved 20% market penetration, and France experienced a 37% annual growth. Mews has recently received an additional $75 million investment from Tiger Global. Notable clients include Lark Hotels and Gravity Haus. Mews offers cloud-native, AI-enabled solutions for the hotel industry.

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