Author: admin

U.S.-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled just $7.1 billion in November 2025, according to the latest data from Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC).The figure signals a 1 percent year-over-year decrease from $7.2 billion in November 2024, but a whopping 17 percent drop from the record $8.6 billion reached in October 2025. In addition to seasonality, experts blamed the longest government shutdown in history for the lackluster production. Total passenger trips saw the same dropoff, with agencies booking 20.5 million total trips last month, which breaks down to 12.4 million domestic journeys and 8.1 million international trips.The average ticket price climbed 1…

Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable has more than tripled its valuation in just five months. Stockholm-based Lovable on Thursday said it had raised $330 million in a Series B funding round that was led by CapitalG and Menlo Ventures, at a $6.6 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Databricks Ventures also participated, as did other investors. This raise comes mere months after Lovable raised a $200 million Series A round that valued the company at $1.8 billion in July. One of the quickest to capitalize on the AI boom, Lovable has built a “vibe-coding” tool that lets people use text…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Lake Tahoe school district is caught between California and Nevada’s competing policies on transgender student athletes, a dispute that’s poised to reorder where the district’s students compete.High schools in California’s Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District, set in a mountainous, snow-prone area near the border with Nevada, have for decades competed in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, or NIAA. That has allowed sports teams to avoid making frequent and potentially hazardous trips in poor winter weather to competitions farther to the west, district officials say.But the Nevada association voted in April to require students in sex-segregated sports…

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) selected Madrid as its new global office, a move that was endorsed by the 17 members of the organization’s operating committee.“The unanimous decision to establish our global office in Spain reflects a clear view among the operating committee about what WTTC needs to succeed in the years ahead,” said WTTC Chairman Manfredi Lefebvre. “This move ensures we operate more efficiently, deliver more value to our members, access the best global talent and maintain a truly international outlook, strongly supported by the Spanish government,” he said, noting that “2026 will be a year in…

Luma, the a16z-backed AI video and 3D model company, released a new model called Ray3 Modify that allows users to modify existing footage by providing character reference images that preserve the performance of the original footage. Users can also provide a start and an end frame to guide the model to generate transitional footage. The company said Thursday the Ray3 Modify model solves the problems of preserving human performance while editing or generating effects using AI for creative studios. The startup said the model follows the input footage better, allowing studios to use human actors for creative or brand footage.…

While celebrating its 25th anniversary, Inside Travel Group, parent company of InsideJapan and InsideAsia, announced record-breaking growth, a milestone powered by innovation and strategies to tackle overtourism.Inside Travel reported a 22 percent year-on-year increase and a record breaking 16,000 travelers across InsideJapan and InsideAsia. Since becoming B Corp certified in 2023, the company has continued to champion travel as a force for good. It’s 2024 Impact Report highlights the ‘every trip offset’ pledge delivering over $670,000 in renewable energy and forest management projects across Asia. Inside Travel also donated more than $160,000 to charity partners and reinforced its commitment to…

Apple announced it will allow alternative app stores in Japan and will permit developers to process payments for digital goods and services outside of its own in-app purchase system in iOS. The iPhone maker is not making these changes because it wants to be more open; it’s being forced — in this case, to comply with the country’s Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which is now going into effect. With this update, Apple’s App Store revenues are being impacted in another major market due to anticompetition laws and regulations. The company already has to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act…

ALG Vacations (ALGV) opened nominations for its 2026 Kindness Events, which will again be held at the Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun, July 13-17.For the second consecutive year, the event will include two gatherings: the Kindness Conference and the Kindness Connection. Nominations extend to Jan. 30.“Advisors are encouraged to nominate a colleague, mentor or themselves,” ALGV said. “Selected participants will be notified in the weeks following the close of nominations.” The event will also “welcome 40 under 40 of travel’s most inspirational emerging leaders – advisors who exemplify service, innovation, and kindness in action,” ALGV said. Through Dec. 19, 2025, ALGV…

Rivian’s new second-generation R1 EVs are receiving an update today that brings the new “Universal Hands-Free” driving software, which the company revealed last week at its first-ever “Autonomy & AI Day.” The company says the new feature allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in the United States and Canada, including a mix of highways and surface streets, as long as there are visible lane lines. Owners will still have to supervise the driving system and, crucially, it “will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs.”…

by Brian Major Last updated: 1:30 PM ET, Thu December 18, 2025 ‘Our end goal is to uplift the entire economy,’ said Discover Puerto Rico Chief Marketing Officer Storm Tussey-Haverly. (Photo Credit: Discover Puerto Rico)Storm Tussey-Haverly is the newly appointed chief marketing officer at Discover Puerto Rico, the Caribbean nation’s destination marketing agency. She brings more than 15 years of experience in international marketing and brand strategy to her new role. Before joining Discover Puerto Rico, Tussey-Haverly held senior leadership roles at companies including IAAPA, Hurtigruten, LEGO, Verizon, and Webroot. She has a proven track record of leading successful global campaigns, digital transformations,…