Kate Harden-England1

📌 66% of global travel executives report profit loss due to inefficient payment systems. 70% find cross-border payments challenging, affecting a quarter of their revenue. A survey conducted by Airwallex and Skift in April 2024 included 473 travel executives across 7 markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Israel, Singapore, the UK, and the US. Modernization of payment technology is a planned priority for 90% of executives within the next 12 months, and 88% noted a shift in customer payment preferences since COVID-19. Nearly 40% of respondents reported half their revenue from international customer payments, and 75% earn more than 25% of their revenue from cross-border payments. 88% frequently deal with foreign currency payments, and 67% cite increased complexity due to FX rate volatility. Over one-third report losing 10% in profits, and 80% are interested in an all-in-one payment solution.

💰 Payment orchestrator Yuno has partnered with mobility company Meili to transform payment infrastructure in the airline industry. The partnership aims to provide airlines with a unified payment platform offering over 300 payment methods globally, one-click checkout, AI-enabled smart routing, and anti-fraud tools. Major airlines such as Avianca and Viva Aerobus have already adopted Yuno's solutions. The collaboration promises to enhance efficiency, security, and customer satisfaction in airline payment processes.

📍 Flight-free travel tech start-up Byway raised £5 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round, led by Heartcore Capital and with contributions from Eka Ventures and returning Byway angels. The funds will fuel team expansion, entry into new markets, and development of Byway's JourneyAI, the world’s first 100% flight-free holiday planner. Byway, riding the wave of sustainable travel demand, plans to enrich holidays by making journeys integral to the experience. Upcoming months will see new tech, product, finance, business development, and customer support roles launching. CEO Cat Jones expresses delight at investor enthusiasm for flight-free travel's future.

✈ AirHelp, a travel tech company, published the first half of its 2024 AirHelp Score, ranking 239 airports from 69 countries based on over 17,550 passenger ratings. Bergen Flesland Airport in Norway ranked 25th globally with 8.07 points, followed by Bodø Airport with 8.06 points. Leeds Bradford Airport was the highest-ranked UK airport at 69th. European airports struggled, with only eight in the top 50. Doha Hamad Airport leads worldwide with 8.52 points. Large airports like Detroit Metropolitan excelled with 8.20 points, while Belém Val-de-Cans led smaller airports with 8.26 points. Gatwick scored low at 6.53 points.

🏡 Former Airbnb employees launched Bigfoot, an AI-driven local discovery platform that uses Gen AI, user content, and 50+ data sources to offer personalized weekend plans in 160 cities. Bigfoot's "Littlefoot" provides curated, top-rated local recommendations via text, with over 120,000 activities accessible. Co-founder Alex Ward emphasized Bigfoot's unique local focus, aiming to eliminate planning monotony. The platform features multiple Large Language Models from Open AI, Anthropic, and Perplexity, and plans to integrate with Spotify and Google Maps for enhanced recommendations.

🏖️ Travelgenix integrates Darina Holidays as a premium supplier, offering Travelgenix clients access to DMC services in UAE, Qatar, and Oman via API. This partnership enables travel agents to deliver better service, particularly for popular British travel market destinations like Dubai. CEO Andy Speight highlights the enhancement for tour operators and travel agents, and anticipates client benefits from the enhanced booking capabilities.