Online Travel Agents (OTA)

Expedia is setting its sights on Southeast Asia's booming travel industry following the acquisition of a stake in Traveloka, the Indonesian OTA. The US-based online travel giant has…

Thailand has revealed fresh plans to clamp down on online travel companies that sell low-quality tour packages to the country. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the new…

Yatra.com, the Indian online travel company, has appointed Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor as its new brand ambassador. The company said that the announcement is timed to coincide…

A new online booking site has been launched that aims to operate in a more "fair and ethical" manner. Traveliko, which focuses on hotel bookings, says it wants to help "make the world…

The travel industry gathered in London on Thursday night for a special event to celebrate Opodo’s 15th anniversary. The occasion at London’s Soho Hotel marked a major milestone in the…

Ctrip.com International, the largest online travel company in China, has signed a "definitive agreement" to acquire Skyscanner, the UK-based travel search site. Under the terms of the…

Two technology companies have teamed up to help attract more Chinese tourists to Indonesia. Indonesia's Panorama Destination, which forms part of PT Panorama Sentrawisata, has signed…

Ctrip experienced a sharp upturn in profits in the third quarter of the year, as its sales soared. The Chinese online travel giant generated a net profit of CNY2.5 billion (approx.…

Ctrip.com International has effectively acquired its rival, Qunar, following a share swap deal with Baidu. Baidu has exchanged approximately 190 million shares in Qunar for almost…

The Priceline Group has formed a new partnership with TripAdvisor that will see its hotel inventory placed on the new Instant Booking platform. Under the new tie-up, Booking.com will…

Agoda.com, the online booking site, has revealed the best times of year for travellers to obtain the cheapest hotel rates. In its 'Travel Smart Study', the company analysed the hotel…

Expedia has started enabling its loyalty scheme members to redeem their points for hotel stays. Under the new initiative, Expedia+ members will be able to use their points when…

Indian online travel agency, MakeMyTrip, has acquired a significant stake in HolidayIQ, the travel planning and review site. On Wednesday, the companies confirmed a deal worth…

Tourism Australia has signed a new three-year partnership with Expedia, aimed at developing marketing campaigns and content to increase international travel to Australia. The new…

The Priceline Group has announced plans to increase its stake in China's Ctrip. The US online travel giant will invest an additional US$250 million in Ctrip, through a convertible…

HNA Group, the Chinese conglomerate that owns Hainan Airlines, has entered the online travel sector. The Haikou-based company has formed a joint venture partnership with NetEase Inc,…

Accor is aiming to drive more bookings direct, rather than through online travel agents (OTAs), with a new digital development strategy. Late last year the hotel group unveiled plans to…

A new study has found that younger 'Gen Y' travellers are highly engaged with online travel agencies (OTAs) but less keen on airline and hotel apps. According to the Travel…

More than 50% of online travel searches are abandoned when the shopper reaches the price screen, a new study has revealed. In response to the finding that 81% of online travel searches…

A group of leading Asian hotel professionals has expressed confidence in the continued growth of the region’s online sector. The ‘Driving Hotel Revenue Malaysia Summit’, which was…

The Asia Pacific region is at the forefront of the travel industry's mobile revolution, with the region's consumers making more bookings on handheld devices than anywhere else in the world.…

Technology is growing in leaps and bounds across the Middle East. Recent studies show that one in six consumers in the region now use the Internet as a booking platform of choice,…

Millennium Resort Musannah has a line of projects for expansion during 2014, affirmed general manager Maurice De Rooij. Online travel booking for the resort increased by 125% in 2013 and…

Leisure travellers who book hotel rooms online are younger and show less brand loyalty, according to a new study. The joint report, conducted by data provider Adara and travel…

UAE-based Musafir.com has forayed in the Indian online space. The online travel agent will offer complete travel solutions to Indian travellers with  several product innovations lined…

Cleartrip in a bid to enhance its services for the Arabic market has deployed TransPerfect’s language services and GlobalLink OneLink technology to support its expansion efforts. The new…

Directline Holidays has launched an interest free monthly payment scheme for all bookings off the back of a recent Which? report. The online travel agent has introduced the scheme…

PhoCusWright recently conducted a new research on the online market in the Middle East titled - 'Assessing The Online Travel Opportunity: The Middle East'.  As per the report, the UAE has…

Regional online travel bookings forecasted to be worth US$15.8bn by 2014  Online travel bookings are carving a niche for themselves. This is authenticated with increasing statistics wherein…

Travel Republic CEO Kane Pirie has stepped down from the ABTA board of directors. Pirie had joined the board in October 2010 as a non-elected director and despite his departure Travel…

Potential of the online travel industry in the Middle East is showing tremendous growth.  The industry is flourishing at an unprecedented rate with online bookings growing by nearly a third…

Teletext Holidays is to use new affinity partnerships in its next phase of growth, it has announced. The company has created a new role of partnerships manager in a bid to boost its…

Online travel agent Travel Republic has obtained an ATOL licence for flight and hotel bookings. The OTA, which already covers all bookings through its Total Financial Protection Plan, said…

It probably will not come as much of a surprise to hear the British are the most sun-seeking nation in the world, according to a new report by Wyndham Hotel Group. According to 5,6000…

Travel Republic has seen sales soar more than 40% in April this year as customers look to get away from the wet weather. The OTA saw its year-on-year figures boost even further during the…

Keeping up with the aggressive growth of the online travel space, www.holidaysarabia.com has forayed into the UAE. The portal is a dedicated online travel service brings together Middle East…

Expedia has announced the launch of its first '360-degree' advertising campaign in India. The campaign, entitled ‘Expedia – one word for travel’ has been rolled out across print, digital,…