05
Sep
Travel
05
Sep
Aviation Insurers Hold Back on Afghanistan Flights After U.S. Troops Leave
Passengers on a moped in Kabul, Afghanistan. Airline insurers want more security at Kabul’s airport and proper air traffic control before they cover commercial flights, Reuters reports. Pixabay
Skift Take: Airline insurers want more security and proper air traffic control at Kabul’s airport before restarting their coverage of commercial flights there. The concerns are understandable.
05
Sep
European Union Pulls U.S. From Safe Travel List and 11 Other Top Travel Stories This Week
The Grand Place in Brussels could see even fewer U.S. visitors. Dennis Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons
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Skift Take: In Skift’s top stories this week, the European Union recommends further restrictions be placed on U.S. travelers, two major companies go public, U.S. travel brands turn to TikTok to attract younger travelers, and Radisson’s CEO explains why the company split in two.
05
Sep
UK Travel Restrictions Force Early Closure of Turkish Hotels
UK Tourists will continue to see less of the Istanbul skyline. Mike McBey / Flickr
Skift Take: The future is enormously murky for so many of Turkey’s hotels. Not only have they lost revenue due to absence of the lucrative U.K. market, Covid variants make any timeframe for a rebound uncertain.
05
Sep
U.S. Tourism Brands Take Quick Advantage of New Rules to Sign Elite College Athletes to Endorsement Deals
College football stars at institutions like Boston College (left) and Clemson (right) will surely look to take advantage of any NIL opportunities. TigerNet.com / Flickr
Skift Take: Travel companies and destinations need to do extensive research and pay attention to more than the biggest sports — football and men’s basketball — to find the right athletes who will be worthy returns on the promotional investments.
05
Sep
Caribbean Returns to Lockdowns as Covid Spikes Amid Low Vaccination Rates
Martinique (pictured) is among the Caribbean destinations seeing a spike in Covid cases. Jo Dasson / Flickr
Skift Take: Hopes for a tourism recovery are being dashed in the Caribbean as vaccinations can’t keep pace with the spike in new Covid cases. It’s another example of why vaccine equity matters.
05
Sep
Discover Puerto Rico Becomes Marketer-For-Hire to Others
Discover Puerto Rico selling its creative services to third parties will diversify revenue and strengthen the destination’s brand. Courtesy of Discover Puerto Rico Studios / Discover Puerto Rico
Skift Take: It’s a win-win for the island’s destination marketing group and for its in-destination clients — but how many other tourism boards are ready to follow suit at this time?
05
Aug
Choice Hotels First Major Hotel Brand to Outperform Pre-Pandemic Levels
Choice Hotels’ focus on leisure and drive-to travel across brands like Comfort (pictured) boosted the company to several financial wins in recent months. Choice Hotels International
Skift Take: Profitability is one thing, but out-performing 2019 is the genuine sign of a rebound. Choice Hotels is lucky to not have to worry as much about corporate travel and conventions as some of its competitors.
05
Aug
Can a Downsized Regional Airline Relaunch in a Pandemic? ExpressJet Thinks It Can
An ExpressJet Embraer 145 aircraft. ExpressJet hopes to resume flying in the third quarter. ExpressJet Airlines
Skift Take: Like Lazarus, regional carrier ExpressJet hopes to rise from the dead. Can the airline survive flying on its own during a pandemic with small jets? The airline almost pulled it off before, but can it do it again, or will history repeat itself?