Travel

Skift Take Some recent efforts by businesses to go public via mergers with blank check companies have stalled or fizzled. But it's a vote of confidence in Mondee that Travelport's financial sponsors, Elliott Management and Siris Capital, are reportedly putting up money to support the travel tech company in going public. Sean O'Neill Mondee, a travel technology firm based in San Mateo, California, said on Monday that the blank check company that aims to buy it has secured critical money for the merger with plans to go public. Elliott Management and Siris Capital — the institutional investors who happen to be owners of another travel technology firm, Travelport — are reportedly among the investors. Ithax Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, has raised an additional $20 million for its private investment in public equity, or PIPE. Ithax's planned $967 million merger with Mondee is now almost certain...

Dive Brief: USAA is upgrading its mobile app to provide a user experience that is faster and more personalized, with improved search functionality, the bank said this month in a press release . In addition to reducing 6.5 seconds of load time across the app, the enhanced platform will use machine learning to provide members with personalized information and solutions, including travel alerts, or a notification that a bill is past due. The upgraded features will roll out to all USAA members by June, the company said.  Dive Insight: The San Antonio-based financial group provides banking and insurance services to military members and their families. "Our members are stationed all over the world and we know they need a smart, simple, safe and reliable way to manage their insurance and banking needs in the palm of their hand," Ameesh Vakharia, USAA's chief strategy and brand officer, said in the press release.  "Amid the pandemic, w...

Skift Take As it prepares to host Middle East's first-ever FIFA World Cup, Qatar expects the event to offer unique marketing potential to place the destination firmly on the tourism map. But for a country whose pre-Covid arrivals stood at 2.1 million in 2019, a goal of 1.5 million tourists for the two months of the tournament sounds overly ambitious. Peden Doma Bhutia For an event that comes once in four years, Federation Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) World Cup 2022 is surely helping Qatar — its host country this year — to create the right kind of buzz for its tourism sector. As the countdown begins to the biggest tourism event — the Middle East's very first FIFA — stakeholders talk about wanting to leave visitors beyond satisfied with their "Qatar travel experience." Neighbouring countries are also trying to make the most of the event. On Wednesday, Iran announced that it would ...

Rick Steves' Europe Europe travel expert Rick Steves waited 18 months before returning abroad. This fall, he made up for lost time by spending 30 days in the Alps, France, Greece and Italy, home of the Roman Forum. Since the Nixon era, Rick Steves has spent about 100 days out of each year in Europe. Between last March and this September, he logged zero minutes abroad, though Europe was always on his mind. While hunkering down in his home north of Seattle, the travel expert and multimedia personality created public television shows and hosted virtual events about a world nearly 5,000 miles away. In June, traditionally the beginning of the high tourist season, he started accepting reservations for tours departing the following year. Travelers moved fast, snapping up 95 percent of nearly 31,000 spots on about 1,100 group tours running February through December. As for Steves, he finally crossed the Atlantic 18 months after the shutdown and is quickly making up for lo...

After a prolonged period of being stuck at home, some families are looking to travel again. And while the COVID-19 pandemic means that precautions still have to be taken, and not every destination is up and running at 100% capacity, there's still plenty of unique experiences out there that are once again open to the public. When you get to your family vacation destination, what do you do? If you're traveling with kids, in addition to the usual sightseeing attractions, depending on your destination, you might want to look and see if there is a factory tour near you. These behind-the-scene looks show kids how their favorite objects are made; they may even get a lesson in industrial design, engineering and manufacturing. Plus, if you tour a creamery, ice-cream factory or sweet shop, you might get a tasty sample at the end! The following factory tours and appropriate for kids, are well-reviewed by families and are currently open to visito...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Marriott Vacations: A Long-Term Buy On Disney Vacation Club Integration    Seeking Alpha

[unable to retrieve full-text content] True living with the Dead Sea    The Jerusalem Post