Tour Operator

PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the tour operator sector, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more on the brands in multi-day, single-day and packages, including their strategies, executives and positions in the market.

News / Technology

Q&A: Trust, truth and transparency at the heart of TUI Group’s blockchain work

By Mitra Sorrells | February 21, 2018

TUI Group was one of the first travel brands to make headlines for its adoption of blockchain. Read More

News / Online

Battling external forces: How a startup competes in the tours market

By Jill Menze | February 14, 2018

The travel industry has yet to see a clear frontrunner emerge in the tours and attractions space. Be it for lack of the right idea or the right distribution model - or, most likely, both - no major or... Read More

News / Startups

Travel tech entrepreneur launches blockchain system for non-airline services

By Mitra Sorrells | February 12, 2018

A new blockchain-based travel billing and settlement platform is in the works. Read More

News / Online

Expedia plots new push on attractions without "same old playbook"

By Jill Menze | January 29, 2018

“We’re at a precipice for change,” Expedia Local Expert vice president Jen O’Twomney observes about the current state of the tours and attractions market. Read More

News / Technology

TUI Group, Utrip unleash AI-driven travel planning platform

By Jill Menze | January 23, 2018

TUI Group has tapped digital travel discovery platform Utrip to help personalize the traveler planning experience through artificial intelligence. Read More

News / Online

New search tool curates packages, pricing for solo travelers

By Mitra Sorrells | January 19, 2018

Aiming to eliminate the aggravation of too many search results, a new patent-pending software is designed to help solo travelers find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Read More

News / Online

Leisure travel report forecasts growth for hotels, tour operators

By Mitra Sorrells | January 18, 2018

Investors will find a great deal to like across the travel and leisure segment in the coming year according to the latest research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Read More

Notated News / Technology

Amazon patent blends reality to virtual locales

By Alan Boyle - GeekWire | January 3, 2018

Amazon has a new patented technology: a blended-reality display that puts your image into a virtual scene. Read More

Opinion / Distribution

PhocusWire Forecast 2018: Gordon Wilson of Travelport has five trends to follow

By Gordon Wilson - Travelport | December 15, 2017

As is customary at this time of the year, we turn out minds, strategy and expectations to what we might expect to happen over the course of the next 12 months. Read More

Opinion / Online

Mixing media is the smart shift for travel in 2018

By Jim Price - PebblePost | December 13, 2017

There was a shift felt across the travel industry when Booking.com announced in November that they would be more than doubling their investment in television advertising. Read More

News / Technology

VIDEO: Solving a genuine multi-billion dollar problem in travel

By Kevin May | December 6, 2017

There are a number of comments that often float about during travel startup pitch events - many of them not very positive. Read More

News / Online

Thomas Cook talks up digital reboot with Expedia

By Kevin May | November 28, 2017

Thomas Cook has spent a long time trying to figure out what to do when it comes to providing online services to customers. Read More

News / Online

Vayable pivots from guide marketplace to trip concierge

By Sean O'Neil | August 23, 2013

The US-based startup has unveiled its revamped website, which emphasizes its June pivot from being a destination tours and activities marketplace to a custom tours and vacations search engine.... Read More

News / Online

Admit it - true innovation in travel is a bit of myth

By Viewpoints | July 12, 2013

Different sources give slightly various definitions for "innovation", but all of them agree that it is something new that is being introduced to our life, whether it is a new idea, method, or device. Read More