They say the best way to understand a story is to live it. And that’s exactly what I experienced recently.
Last week Trip.com’s media briefing on concert travel came with some pretty impressive numbers. Concert package bookings are up 64% year over year, executives told us, while music-related trips jumped 80% in a single quarter. Impressive, no doubt. But numbers on a presentation slide can only tell you so much.
It was only when I found myself in the middle of a crowd belting Mean It (with Lauv) at a packed LANY concert did I truly understand what the numbers meant.
Fans were wearing tour merchandise from other cities, chatting about where they’d travelled from, and clearly making much more of their trip than just attending a concert.
This is what Trip.com calls the rise of the “artist-first” traveler. You don’t necessarily choose a destination and then decide what to do there. You choose the concert first, and everything else follows.
Think about it. You need somewhere to stay near the venue, a ride back after the show, a nice place for dinner beforehand, and perhaps something to do the following day. And that’s how a two-hour concert turns into a multi-day holiday.
Sometimes, you may learn more from a concert full of screaming fans than sitting at a presentation. And I got a pretty good front-row seat to this one.
Skift Aviation Forum
Profitability, capacity, AI, loyalty: the questions that set aviation's agenda for the year get argued out in one room, in one day.
The CEOs of International Airlines Group, Breeze Airways, and Los Angeles World Airports are among the first confirmed for the 6th annual Skift Aviation Forum, November 12 at TWA Hotel, JFK.
On Airline Weekly Lounge, ClarityPay CEO Houman Motaharian explains how its JetBlue partnership could turn financing into a loyalty engine.
EDITOR’S PICKS
MakeMyTrip Buys Into Daily Commutes With Quick Ride Stake
by Peden Doma Bhutia
November 6, 2026
As its air business softens, MakeMyTrip is pushing harder into everything else. Quick Ride gives it a product people use on a random Thursday, not just before a holiday. The test is whether those commuters become MakeMyTrip travelers.
Minor Hotels Puts Its New Wellness Brand Inside a St. Regis It Owns
by Montira Rungjirajittranon
November 5, 2026
Owning the building made this easy. Minor didn’t need anyone’s money to put its wellness brand inside a Marriott-run hotel. Getting an outside owner to pay for one, and agreeing with another brand on who keeps the client, will be harder.
Trip.com Group Builds a Bigger Travel Business Around Concerts
by Peden Doma Bhutia
November 5, 2026
The concert might be the reason to travel, but Trip.com Group wants to make sure it's not the only thing fans spend money on. Tickets and hotel rooms are just the opening act.
Air India CEO Wants More Widebodies as International Ambitions Grow
by Peden Doma Bhutia
November 4, 2026
Air India CEO Tewolde Gebremariam thinks the carrier has been "punching below its weight." He is now planning for the airline he wants it to become, not the one it is today.
Thailand’s 2032 Tourism Plan Chases Spending, Not Arrivals
by Montira Rungjirajittranon
November 4, 2026
Thailand’s $118 billion goal targets spending rather than arrivals, which have stalled at about 33 million. Rising prices will surely lift revenue regardless, but higher rates aren’t the same as higher value, and the plan has no budget yet for the terminals, marinas and guides needed to attract bigger spenders.
Booking.com Bets It Can Close the Trips That ChatGPT and Gemini Start
by Peden Doma Bhutia
November 4, 2026
AI may own the start of the trip, but Booking.com is betting trust and payments decide who gets the booking. Its experience with superapps, where daily use never became travel spending, suggests generative chatbots may face the same problem.
Thailand Keeps Building for Tourists Who May Not Come
by Montira Rungjirajittranon
October 30, 2026
Thailand’s arrivals outlook has weakened, but new rooms and flights are still coming. The test is whether resilient luxury demand and new source markets can deliver the returns that investors want.
Would You Pay for Hotel Loyalty? 485,000 Accor Members in Asia Pacific Already Do
by Peden Doma Bhutia
October 29, 2026
Paid loyalty is gaining traction in Asia Pacific, where subscriptions are already a habit. Accor is treating its 485,000-member program as a revenue channel, not a discount scheme. The real test is renewals, and those are only now arriving in volume.
Agoda Plugs Into Meta’s Muse in Singapore and Japan
by Montira Rungjirajittranon
October 28, 2026
Agoda gives Booking Holdings a foothold in Meta’s Muse in Singapore and Japan, while Expedia holds the hotel slot in North America. The real question is the economics: if Meta takes a fee, hotels could pay twice for the same booking.
Philippine Travel Tax Repeal Risks Tourism Funding Gap
by Montira Rungjirajittranon
October 27, 2026
Scrapping the Philippines’ travel tax would make overseas trips cheaper but strip its tourism infrastructure agency of its main revenue source, with no replacement in the proposed 2027 budget.
