Bringing you the Philippine and Global Hospitality and Tourism Industry News Updates for the week ending May 29, 2026.
After a brief hiatus Industry News Updates is back, with a round up of hospitality and tourism news from the Philippines, around the World, and within the Tech Industry.
Industry News Updates:
- World Travel Awards Voting Reminder
- New China Flights to Manila Added
- Philippine Airlines Sees 2026 Q1 Profit
- Boracay Bridge Row Continues
- PH DOT Secretary Meets With Key Stakeholders & LGU’s
- Thailand Ends Visa Free Rules
- Barcelona Mayor Blocks Cruise Ships
- New Zealander Banned From Rome
- Spain Emerges As World’s Strongest High-Value Tourist Market
- Booking.com’s Greek Tax Balls-Up Costs Hotels
- Japan Airlines Introduce Ground Handling Robots
- Uber Expands Business Model Into Hotel Bookings
- AI & TikTok Are Changing Asia’s Travel Bookings
- Booking.com, TripAdvisor & Viator Connect to Claude
- Google’s Guide To Optimizing For AI Search
- TikTok Go Launched In USA
World Travel Awards Voting Reminder
The World Travel Awards is open to votes now and the Department of Tourism is encouraging Filipino’s and tourists alike to vote for their favorite Asian destinations, beaches, cities and airlines, via its Tourism Philippines facebook page.
Check out the posts now to find out how to vote in the World Travel Awards.
New China Flights to Manila Added
This week saw the launch of two new flight routes between the Philippines and China. Xiamen Airlines’ inaugural Chongqing to Manila flight landed at T1 Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on May 21.
Xiamen Airlines also now offers direct flights to Manila from Hangzhou, which will operate four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
The Chongqing to Manila route will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
With these additional routes Xiamen Airlines now has 44 weekly round-trip flights between the Philippines and China.
Philippine Airlines Sees 2026 Q1 Profit
Philippine Airlines ended Quarter 1 “in profit” despite the ongoing war in the Middle East, and its impact on fuel availability and cost.
While the carrier ended March with a net profit of P4.6billion, it is less optimistic about quarter two and three, with no signs of America’s war on Iran – and the ongoing closure of the Humous Strait – ending any time soon.
Boracay Bridge Row Continues
The row between Boracay businesses and residents and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), regarding the awarding of a ₱7.78 billion grant to San Miguel for a bridge continues!
This week islanders were set to celebrate after it was stated that Ramon Ang, and San Miguel, had backed down. But Ang himself responded, announcing that the plans for the Boracay bridge continue.
Many who are opposed to the bridge cite, among other issues:-
- unknown impacts geologically and environmentally on Boracay’s infamous White Beach, as no feasibility studies have been undertaken
- the island’s Carry Capacity – which was a hot topic of concern for any future developments during the 2018 rehabilitation closure, and
- the impact to livelihoods
The biggest cause of anger is the lack of consultation on the “project” and the subsequent award. The bridge idea has been floating around for nearly a decade now, and islanders have mostly remained steadfast in their rejection of it.
And floating a few diagrams and architectural concepts around online does not a consultation make! A consultation – by definition – does not take part after the fact (awarding of a significant contract by a Government body), well – not if it’s a genuine, transparent and democratic process.
If you want to understand some of the concerns raised by islanders and environmentalists, check out this article by Business Mirror ‘Quo Vadis’ Boracay? Experts warn v proposed bridge.
PH DOT Secretary Meets With Key Stakeholders & LGU’s
May has been a busy month for the Department of Tourism’s new Secretary, Dita Angara-Mathay, with meetings with Ambassadors, tourism stakeholders and local government units. Meetings and initiatives have been forged with
Visiting Officials & Dignitaries:
Paraguay President Santiago Peña Palacios
Canadian Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Rechie Valdez – who also serves as the Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism.
Canadian Ambassador, H.E. David Hartman
The Accommodation Sector:
Megaworld Hotels and Resorts (MHR), the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA), Airbnb, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC), and Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC).
Travel & Tourism Sector:
Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP),
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Philippines Chapter,
The Philippine IATA Agents Travel Association (PIATA)
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP)
Cebu’s MICE & HRRACI Sectors
NUSTAR Resort Cebu
Japanese Association of Travel Industries (JATI)
Korean Travel Agency Association (KOTAA)
Aviation Sector:
Aboitiz InfraCapital, and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)
Banks & Financial Institutions (to advance digitalization and tourism investments):
World Bank,
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and
Mastercard
Automotive Industry (to explore potential collaborations, promotions and investment):
ACMobility and
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC),
LGU’s & Government Agencies
House Committee on Tourism Chairperson Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona
Manila Mayor, Isko Moreno Domagoso,
Governor Aris Aumentado of the Provincial Government of Bohol,
SBMA Tourism Committee Chairman Raul Marcelo,
Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO,
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) CEO and General Manager Roberto Z. Zozobrado,
Coverage of DOT Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay’s activities on the governments Facebook page have not been as detailed as those of former Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, but it is likely that orientation is still underway.
Global Hospitality & Tourism Industry News Updates
Thailand Ends Visa Free Rules
Thailand announced its plans to end its 60 day visa-free stay on Tuesday May 19, 2026. The Thai Foreign Ministry advised that visitors from countries that include Australia, the UK and the US will receive a 30-day visa-free stay.
There will be some nationalities will have to obtain visas on arrival but no further details on which nationalities will be affected have been made available.
Tourism accounts for 10 – 20% of Thailand’s GDP but it comes at a price, with Thai officials advising that the visa changes are being made in response to an increase in crime by foreign nationals.
Government spokesperson Rachada Dhanadirek explained that while tourism boosts the country’s economy, the “current scheme has allowed some people to exploit it.”
Criminal incidents by foreign nationals range from shoplifting, drunken bar fights, and indecent exposure, to vandalizing temples, overstaying their visa, operating businesses without the proper permits, and drug and human trafficking.
The 60-day visa exemption was previously in place for 93 countries. This has now been scrapped and many tourists will only be able to secure a 30-day visa exemption.
A renewal will also be dependent on why the tourist wishes to stay longer, and will be subject to approval by Immigration – it will no longer be automatic.
Barcelona Mayor Blocks Cruise Ships
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, has recently taken the decision to remove the city from Cruise Ship itineraries, on the basis that they deliver zero benefits to the city.
In 2025, Barcelona saw around 832 cruise ships arriving in Port, with 3.9 million passengers. Collboni argues that the only significant impact cruise visitors bring to the city is a massive strain on public services, traffic and gridlocks, and misery for its residents.
There won’t be an immediate block though.
Barcelona’s Cruise Terminals will be reduced from seven to five by the end of 2026, with ships being redirected to the pier furthest from the city center. The daily cruise passengers cap will also be reduced from 37,000 passengers a day, down to 31,000 passengers.
Barcelona’s Mayor isn’t the first in Europe to revisit the cruise industry in terms of environmental and residential impact. Iceland has recently implemented an $18-per-head cruise passenger fee. Nice now has a 900-a-day passenger cap, and Cannes has blocked visits by any cruise ships with a carry capacity above 1,000 passengers.
New Zealander Banned From Rome
A man from New Zealand has been banned from Rome and fined almost $600 after he took a dive into the City’s famous Trevi Fountain.
The mans exploits were caught on camera and shared across TikTok, securing more than 12 million views. He continued to walk around inside the fountain despite local police ordering him to get out.
Security, and controlled access, has been increased in recent years in response to similar incidents by visitors.
In February 2026, a new entrance fee to access the fountain was introduced in an attempt to better manage the crowds, and protect and preserve the fountain.
The Trevi Fountain receives more than 9 million visitors every year.
Spain Emerges As World’s Strongest High-Value Tourist Market.
Spain was recently declared as one of the world’s strongest high-value tourism markets by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Spain is expected to have generated more than €115 billion in international visitor spending in 2025, largely through high visitor volume and above-average per-traveler spending.
The predicted average spend by international visitors per trip to Spain is estimated at US$1,344. The average spend by visitor elsewhere in Europe is around US$1,068.
Spain’s growth in international visitor spending is attributed to the country’s long-term investments in:-
- transport infrastructure,
- public-private collaboration,
- connectivity and
- digital travel systems.
Spain is also predicted to see further growth in 2026, with traveler spending increasing by as much as 5.3%.
Booking.com’s Greek Tax Balls-Up Costs Hotels
Booking.com has not been very popular with Greek hotels this month, after a glitch in its system applied incorrect environmental tax charges on live bookings.
Hoteliers saw the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee automatically reduced by as much as 75% on new and confirmed Booking.com bookings.
Greece’s Climate Crisis Resilience Fee is a mandatory tourist tax applied per room, per night to almost all types of paid visitor accommodation.
Some hotels saw the nightly CCR fee reduced from €8 to €2! Others reported that despite trying to manually correct the fees in their extranet, Booking.com’s platform continued to revert to the incorrect fee amount.
When Booking.com was alerted to the issue by thousands of affected hoteliers contacting them via their Customer Support channels, their initial response was to advise the hoteliers to just collect the difference in fees direct from guests upon check-in.
Understandably the hoteliers pushed back on Booking.com’s response, citing not just the government and administration compliance issues it would cause, but the impact on trust, future loyalty and reviews if guests were asked to pay more money for bookings they thought were fully paid.
Booking.com finally agreed to rectify the settings internally, and deduct the financial difference from their commission fees.
The revenue from Climate Crisis Resilience Fee goes directly into a special government emergency fund, which is used to repair, rebuild, and prepare local communities for extreme weather and environmental disasters driven by climate change.
Read more about this incident at Money Tourism Greece
Industry News Updates Tech
Japan Airlines Introduces Ground Handling Robots
AI and automation is all the rage across most industries right now and travel and hospitality is no exception. Japan Airlines has recently announced that they will be trialing the use of “humanoid robots” for ground handling at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
The new ground crew robots will start out assisting with the loading and unloading of cargo containers. If the trial is successful the duties may even extend to the cleaning of cabins.
The use of robots isn’t a cost-cutting exercise though. Japan’s aviation industry has experienced labor shortages in recent years as a result of an aging non-working population, low birth rates, and a growing tourism industry.
The introduction of the humanoids will help the airport to focus their real humans in face-to-face customer roles.
Uber Expands Business Model Into Hotel Bookings
Uber is readying to expand beyond its core ride-hailing business once again. In the very near future Uber users will be to book hotels directly within their app, marking a major move by Uber into the travel market.
Uber has partnered with Expedia Group to enable users to browse more than 700,000 hotels worldwide, and book. This recent partnership has removed the need for Uber to build its own hotel supply network.
In addition, Uber is also expanding its delivery system into hotels, enabling guests to order food and other items directly to their rooms via its Eats platform.
The Uber One membership programme will also be optimised to drive adoption, offering subscribers discounts and credits on hotel bookings to encourage repeat use and loyalty.
These rollouts reflects Uber’s push to evolve into a more comprehensive digital platform, and to strengthen its position as a one-stop App for transport, food, and travel services.
AI & TikTok Are Changing Asia’s Travel Bookings
Skift recently reported that, according to Industry leaders RedDoorz and Wego, Social Media, AI, and rising prices are have a noticeable impact on travel behaviour across Asia.
Social Media platforms – particularly TikTok – are a powerful source for inspiration among younger travelers, and Influencer content is also playing a significant role in shaping destination choices.
AI-driven search tools are increasingly guiding users from the discovery to booking phase at a much faster pace than seen by traditional online searches. And many more travelers now say they use AI tools to search for hotels, and summarize guest reviews.
AI-powered referrals are making up a growing share of booking traffic, and have strong conversion rates – something that is only expected to expand as Agentic AI and AI monetisation models mature.
Industry experts predict one potentially problematic outcome from this growing adoption of AI. That it could lead guests to have strong expectations before they arrive. Expectations that are based on quick AI-generated information, rather than on the detailed research of old that typically included spending time on a destination or hotel website, visiting their social media and pouring over reviews.
Another identified behavioral change is how sensitive travelers in Asia are to price. Even a small difference in cost can make someone switch to a different website or app to secure their booking.
While travellers prefer certain hotel brands, they are far more willing to shop around for the best deal for that brand, creating challenges for direct booking strategies and increasing the importance of consistent, competitive pricing.
Booking.com, TripAdvisor & Viator Connect to Claude
The Claude directory now has more than 200 connectors – or Apps – across different industries, including design, finance, health and travel.
Brands that are among Claude’s latest connectors are Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Viator, Uber and Uber Eats, as well as flight search and booking apps like Kiwi Connector, Flightrader24 and Flight Canvas.
So, what does this mean? It means that users who have a Claude account can connect multiple apps to their account and use any one or all of them in the same ‘conversation’ or action – a personalized traveler planner.
For example, someone looking to book an off-the-beaten track adventure in Australia, sometime in June, can ask Claude to recommend the best flight route or carrier to travel using Kiwi Connector or Flight Canvas, best prices/times to fly and also ask for help to narrow down accommodation choices using Booking.com or TripAdvisor.
Claude can even present choices from two similar Apps allowing the account holder to choose which option, and App to proceed with.
Travel is changing!
Google’s Guide To Optimizing For AI Search
Worried that you’re behind on optimizing your hotel or tours for AI Search?
If you’re worried that you haven’t done anything – or enough – to be cited and seen by people who use ChatGPT, or other Answer engines to research and plan their holidays, this free guide is for you:- Google’s Guide To Optimize For AI Search
TikTok Go Launched In USA
TikTok Go is the latest way for travelers to discover and book experiences and stays.
Currently being trialed in the US only, the latest app feature allows users to discover and book hotels, attractions and tours directly from TikTok content, search and location pages.
Read more about the new TikTok Go feature here
