Traveling Blog: Booking Sites Get Stingy + Icelandair's Tough Spot + Spotlight on India's Travelers

August 29, 2018

Editor's Note

When you are the leading airline in a hot tourism market such as Iceland, things should be going your way. But Icelandair's CEO resigned Monday, following financial results that wowed no one. OK, pun intended, because low-cost and hometown rival Wow Air has eaten into its larger rival's business.

But, as Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers' story today points out, Wow Air is far from Icelandair's only problem. Legacy U.S. carriers and others have thrown new capacity into the market, and United, American, and Delta now all have basic economy fares on transatlantic routes. That means price-conscious flyers don't necessarily have to stop in Iceland on the way to or from Europe to find an attractive deal. Icelandair's new CEO will have to get creative.

— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor

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The India outbound travel market is poised to boom in a matter of years. The global travel industry needs to make itself aware of this market and why it matters now, so they're not scrambling to catch up later.

This Is a Pivotal Moment for Booking Site Marketing Strategies

Suddenly those seemingly free-spending online travel agencies, which have made Google rich, are toning down their big-spending ways. Google shouldn't be too worried: Expedia and Booking Holdings are still spending billions of dollars on search-engine marketing, but they've just become a bit more stingy. And, they hope, wise.

GoEuro Touts Growth in Ground Transport But Sees No Profit in Sight

GoEuro CEO Naren Shaam said his company is having strong growth in helping consumers book door-to-door, inter-city trips on their smartphones. But can he guide his company into profitability?

Icelandair Struggles Despite a Hot Local Tourism Market

Iceland should be a good air market right now. But increased competitive capacity is putting major pressure on Icelandair. The carrier's new CEO is going to have to find a way to get the airline back on track.

High-End Hotels Can Use Art for the Bottom Line's Sake

In this Instagram era, a hotel art collection can be framed as an insta-marketing tool. We talked with several art curators about how luxury hotels can use art as a platform for branding and creating local buzz.

The union of Marriott and Starwood's loyalty programs last week could have gone far worse based on mergers past. But it also could have gone better.

United Airlines President on Turning Skeptics Into Believers

Not everyone likes Scott Kirby, because he has a habit of speaking his mind, whether his opinions are popular or not. But there's little doubt about his track record. The man knows how to increase an airline's revenue. He's done it at America West, US Airways, American, and now United.

Minor Hotels CEO: Why Hyatt's Interest Was an Embarrassment

Minor Hotels CEO Dillip Rajakarier talks a pretty big game, and he doesn't hold back on what's on his mind about where his company stands in global hospitality.

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