Our latest Tourism and Hospitality Industry News Updates for the week ending 12 December 2025.
Industry News Headlines:
- Philippines Voted World’s Leading Dive Destination 2025
- Cebu Pacific To Launch Low-Cost Riyadh Flights
- PAL Reopens Manila to Saipan Flights
- 45th ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 Preparations Underway
- DOT Signs With CG Hospitality Global
- DOT GCash Partnership Plans
- Expedia Expands Its Experiences Market
- Business Traveler AI Assistant Launches
Domestic Industry News Updates:
Philippines Voted World’s Leading Dive Destination 2025
For the seventh year in a row the Philippines has been awarded the title World’s Leading Dive Destination.
Manila also won – for the third year in a row – the World’s Leading City Destination 2025, while Boracay won the World’s Leading Luxury Island Destination 2025. The Awards were announced during the Grand Final Gala Ceremony, held in Bahrain on Saturday 6 December.
The World Travel Awards is an annual awards programme, in its 32nd year, which recognizes and rewards excellence across the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
Localised Awards for brands within the Philippines can be viewed at the World Travel Awards website. The Asian World Travel Awards winners, announced back in October, can be found in our earlier Industry News Updates 17 October article
Cebu Pacific Launching Low-Cost Riyadh Flights
Cebu Pacific (CEB) announced an upcoming expansion to its fleet and routes, on 10 December.
CEB announced they would be offering a Manila-Riyadh flight route from 1st March 2026. The flights will operate four times a week and could be up to 57% cheaper than current ticket prices offered by other carriers.
Aside from being another route for international tourists visiting the Philippines, this will be great news for the thousands of OFW’s living and working in Saudi Arabia and the Middle-East, offering more affordable flights home to visit their families.
PAL Reopens Manila to Saipan Flights.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be offering flights between Manila and Saipan once again in 2026. Saipan is a US territory in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The flight route will be available by end of March 2026, flying twice weekly, and PAL is offering cheap “introductory fares” to encourage early bookings.
45th ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 Preparations Underway
Mactan Island, Cebu will be hosting the 45th ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2026. The Forum will run from 26-30 January, 2026, with “Post-Tours” for delegates continuing until 3rd February 2026.
The theme for the forum is “Navigating Our Future, Together”, and the event will bring together regional ministers, international buyers, tourism boards, and industry players from 11 member nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
The Travel Exchange (TRAVEX) trade-only mart will also be held at the same time as the ATF. TRAVEX, the forums B2B (business-to-business) arm, is a travel trade marketplace open to Buyers, Sellers, Media and Trade Visitors.
The DOT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with nine major media organizations this week, to ensure comprehensive coverage of tourism-related campaigns, activities, and programs throughout the ASEAN Forum timeframe.
The media partners are:- Business Mirror, Daily Tribune, Inquirer Interactive Inc., Manila Standard, Manila Bulletin, The Manila Times, Malaya Business Insights, The Philippine Star, and the multi-platform media company Cignal TV.
DOT Signs With CG Hospitality Global
The Department of Tourism this week also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nepalese conglomerate CG Hospitality Global.
The MOU aims to:-
- Expand Joint Promotions
- Support Industry Knowledge Exchanges
- Expand the Indian Travel Market to the Philippines
- Enable New Investment Opportunities.
CG Hospitality, is the hotel arm of CG Corp Global, a rapidly expanding global hotelier with nearly 200 properties across 12 countries, and partnerships with major brands like Marriott and Taj.
CG Hospitality took over San Benito’s famous wellness resort The Farm in October 2018, before entering into a joint venture for the resort, with Marriott’s Autograph Collection in May 2025. CG Hospitality has previously announced its goal to expand its property portfolio, with between 25-30 new hotels added annually.
DOT GCash Partnership Plans
The Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) announced this week they are holding discussions with GCash, to consider a collaboration that would provide domestic and international travelers with another payment option for tourism-related services.
Currently, GCash is not available to foreign travelers but the discussions have included enabling temporary access to the e-wallet platform to them, as well as integrating GCash into in-app travel platforms to make bookings easier.
Global Industry News Updates
Expedia Expands Its Experiences Market
Expedia announced on 10 December 2025 that it is close to completing its purchase of Tiqets, a global museums, attractions and experiences ticketing platform.
This acquisition will support Expedia in expanding its tours and activities catalog, making it a more attractive one-stop shop for travelers and its travel partners.
“Tiqets capabilities fit seamlessly into our ecosystem, enhancing the offerings and value we deliver to partners and travelers. Their expertise in experiences complements our strengths in scale and technology, enabling us to accelerate innovation and unlock new growth opportunities.” Alfonso Paredes, President of B2B, Expedia Group
Tiqet provides online tickets and booking for activities and experiences in more than 1,000 cities, in 60+ countries. The acquisition is at the agreement stage and is expected to complete in early 2026.
Tech Industry News Updates
Business Traveler AI Assistant Launches
A new AI Assistant for the business traveler market launched this week, after nine months of beta testing – an extensive testing process undertaken before launching live to the public.
Conceptualized and built by travel-industry veterans – including past execs of Concur, Egencia and Expedia – “Otto The Agent” is described as an AI‑powered Executive Assistant for business travelers, offering concierge‑level support.
By learning a user’s preferences – from airlines, hotels and any Loyalty programs, to seat and room type preferences – Otto can suggest itineraries, plan and book whole trips, and manage cancelations and rebooking.
Phase 1 of the launch includes the ability to integrate with a users calendar, allowing Otto to adjust plans for canceled meetings or shifts to start time, as well as issues arising from delayed or canceled flights.
Future phase implementations are expected to include the ability to undertake and manager dinner-reservations and car rentals.
