Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Best Tourism Sites + Marriott Partners With Alibaba + Disney's Star Wars Hotel

August 8, 2017

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Note From the Editor

One of our favorite features to return to over the years has been a look at the world's best tourism sites. Today, we bring you tourism reporter Dan Peltier's compilation of the top 25, and it's guaranteed to provoke some wanderlust. More than just a review of slick and pretty websites, though, the story examines the trends that destination marketing organizations are embracing: more Instagram posts, user-generated content, and videos, but also greater behind-the-scenes innovation that gives tourism boards access to better data as they fine-tune their approach.

Marriott, meanwhile, is digging deeper to capture the notoriously challenging Chinese travel market. The hotel giant made a big move on that front Monday by announcing a joint venture with Alibaba Group to make it easier for consumers in China to plan and book their trips. It's a smart strategy that should help Marriott gain a greater foothold as the middle class in China grows.

— Hannah Sampson, News Editor

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The best tourism websites in the business in 2017 are emphasizing user-generated content from platforms like Instagram and doubling down on video to make destinations seem more real rather than a part of a traveler's imagination.

Disney's New Star Wars Hotel Sounds Like Next-Level Immersion

Disney wowed everyone with this announcement. Now fans of the theme park company and Star Wars wait for the execution — and the price tag.

IBM Watson-Powered Artificial Intelligence Seeks an Edge in Travel Marketing

Five years ago, no one thought about IBM as being a big seller of digital marketing tools to travel companies. That's changed. Big Blue has landed some big deals. Yet the easy wins may be behind it.

Marriott Partners With Alibaba to Court the Chinese Travel Market Even More

Smart move, Marriott. Given the growth of the middle class worldwide will be led by China, it's incredibly insightful on Marriott's part to be doing all it can to establish loyalty and brand recognition with this crucial market sooner than later.

Qatar Airways Turns a Fare Mistake Into an Opportunity — Business of Loyalty

When you add up the PR value for Qatar as well as the good will it engenders among travelers (especially those adding to their oneworld alliance point totals), the snafu was a smart move.

Chefs+Tech: Eat24 Sale Could Signify Yelp's Focus on the In-Restaurant Experience

With several other restaurant-facing product offerings, Eat24 was the one that didn't fit into the Yelp puzzle. By ceding delivery to former competitor, Grubhub, Yelp is free to focus on the other parts of its business that certainly benefit from its robust consumer network.

The global distribution systems aren't going anywhere. Innovation, however, is happening in the margins of the travel distribution marketplace, with airlines seeking to regain control of their destiny.

Travelport CEO Is 'Super Skeptical' About American Airlines Strategy

American is creating a new distribution path that might tweak the role companies like Travelport play in distribution. Travelport boss Gordon Wilson tells us he's skeptical. We remain undecided.

Kayak Acquires Assets of Struggling Brazilian Metasearch Company Mundi

Skyscanner had been sniffing around Brazil's homegrown metasearch leader Mundi and checking its books. Kayak appears to have swooped in to shore up market share.

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