Travel Weekly Group Ltd

🏆 The 26th shortlist for the 34 Travolution Awards categories has been released, including the Mastercard B2B Payments Award. Five finalists excelled in innovation and market success. The awards ceremony will occur on Tuesday, December 2, at City Central, HAC, London. Last year's event drew over 450 attendees. Other awards, like Rising Star of the Year, remain unrevealed. Sponsors include Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment, Icelolly.com, TravelSupermarket, HolidayPirates Group, Slalom, Trip.com, and WEX.

✈️ Global tech firm DerbySoft partners with AirAsia Group to implement its Global Data Network (GDN) for Flights. The decentralized, API-first network promotes direct connections among airlines, OTAs, and more, enhancing distribution control and access to traveler data. Amanda Woo, AirAsia’s Chief Commercial Officer, emphasizes future growth in Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. DerbySoft’s GDN architecture fosters a continuously expanding, intelligent ecosystem, benefiting all participants and ensuring efficiency and profitability.

💵 HotelRunner and Visa are uniting to enhance cross-border payments for SMEs in travel and hospitality. This partnership leverages Visa's global payments and HotelRunner's tech reach, benefiting businesses from Morocco to Bali. Ali Beklen highlights the creation of financial rails for the next decade of tourism, while Tania Platt notes the innovation potential. The collaboration aims to support travel companies in Europe, APAC, the Middle East, and Africa, driving safer and smarter global travel commerce.

🗺 WonderMiles, an existing Sabre Development Partner, connects with SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace, enabling its 2,000+ agencies in France, Italy, Benelux, and Saudi Arabia to access the world’s largest live NDC portfolio and over 150 low-cost carriers. This integration streamlines operations with Sabre Lodging, powered by AI, improving search, booking, and service efficiency. Sabre's research shows 90% of agencies use four or more systems, and this consolidation reduces complexity and boosts productivity.

🛫 Passengers in 25 countries surveyed by SITA in 2025 want technology for seamless journeys. 66% desire faster airport processing, while 42% want a single ticket for air, rail, and road travel. Mobile usage rose by 20% since 2020. 80% are ready to store passports on phones, with digital ID users expected to grow from 155 million to 1.27 billion by 2029. 90% would pay more for lower emissions, reflecting a demand for sustainability and trust in travel services.

🏨 Numa Group has launched Native by Numa to expand its premium offering in Europe. Targeting cities like Rome, Paris, and Vienna, it features a fully digital guest experience. With 10,000 units across 42 cities, Numa manages assets worth €2.5 billion, promising gross profit margins of 55-60% for partners. Native by Numa begins with 20 properties and 1,000 units in the UK, integrating AI to automate 90% of operations. This marks a pivotal phase in their pan-European expansion.