TODAY: World’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Russia plans a hotel on the International Space Station and News from around the APAC region.

World’s first Minister for Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday, 16th January 2018

The UAE announced the appointment of Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama as the country’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence (AI), becoming the first nation with a government minister dedicated to AI, Ministers were also appointed for Advanced Sciences and Food Security as UAE looks to the future >>

W Hotels scheduled to debut in Osaka in 2021
16 Jan 2018 : W is about to rise up in the Land of the Rising Sun, W Hotels Worldwide announced the signing of W Osaka, slated to open in 2021 >>

Russia plans a hotel on the International Space Station
16 Jan 2018 : Tourism is blooming across the planet: In fact, the demand to visit new places has risen so high, that the hospitality industry may soon be expanding to a previously untapped frontier: space >>

Focus on accessibility key to exhibition market
16 Jan 2018 : When choosing whether to attend an exhibition, exhibitors will go almost anywhere there is potential for successful business but visitors prefer destinations with good accessibility and an attractive leisure environment >>

News from around the APAC region
16 Jan 2018 : Hotel industry and travel news from around the Asia Pacific region: First Curio Collection opens in Australia, AVANI to debut in Luang Prabang - Laos, Maldives aims to diversify tourism growth with nfrastructure investments outside Malé and more >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

Why You Shouldn’t Participate in the New Booking.com Programme 'Risk Free Reservations'
Tuesday, 16th January 2018

Booking.com is launching its new programme: 'Risk Free Reservations', at least for some hotels here in Spain, and they are doing so in the same way as with other programmes the past: including all hotels by default. Hotels who don’t wish to participate must actively notify their decision, something which, in practice and due to lack of time or certain passivity, achieves the programme’s objectives, which are for most not to reply and to include more hotels inside the programme >>

Destinations Are the Top Factor for Turning Business Trips into Bleisure Ones
Did you know that 43 percent of business trips turn into leisure and business trips (what we call bleisure)? Now consider that 66 percent of bleisure travelers spend more money on leisure activities because of the money they saved on travel - Translation? Bleisurers are ready and willing to spend their money >>

Hotels Step Up Their Online Game to Encourage Direct Bookings
Getting guests to book directly on a hotel’s website rather than through an online travel agent (OTA) is a key challenge that hoteliers are gearing up to tackle in 2018 >>

Ready for Some Cold Hard Facts About Hotels?
Veteran hotelier Giovanni Angelini began the new year by delivering a serving of 'cold hard facts' but laced it with a sense of humour >>