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The West doesn’t have a travel superapp, but Uber and Google Maps are the closest ones. Each are missing several things to further any superapp ambitions.

Uber lacks discovery, but people open it up because they already know they need a ride or want to order restaurant delivery. Google Maps is strong in discovery but has largely boycotted the transaction.

Will AI change the game and see each creeping into the other’s turf? Do westerners even want a superapp? Our story below from Skift founder Rafat Ali explores that terrain.

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Why MSC Cruises Put a Marine Scientist on Its Bridge

MSC CRUISES + SKIFT

Regulators are watching how cruise lines handle whale-rich waters, and MSC Cruises isn't waiting to find out what new rules might cost. Its first Alaska season comes with a marine scientist on the bridge, feeding real-time data to navigation officers, a model other lines will be watching closely.

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EDITOR’S PICKS

The West Got Two Half-Apps Instead of a Super App: Google Maps vs. Uber

July 8, 2026

Uber owns the transaction, and Google Maps owns the moment before it, and in the first half of 2026, both started using AI to cross into the other's territory. Travel distribution sits directly in the path.

China’s Tongcheng Travel Bids for Dida to Bring Ride-Sharing In-House

July 7, 2026

Chinese OTAs have long offered airport transfers and chauffeur services through third-party partnerships. If completed, Tongcheng's Dida acquisition would make it one of the first to own the ride-sharing marketplace itself, rather than plugging into someone else's.

The Hidden Hurdle in AI Travel Planning: Chatbots That Ignore the App

July 6, 2026

Travel apps inside AI chatbots are starting to look like real referral channels. The catch, Skift's testing found: A brand can be connected and still get skipped.

Turkey Quietly Built One of the World’s Most Complete Travel Tech Stacks

July 3, 2026

Durable travel tech is forged by hard operating conditions, not venture capital and conference circuits, and Turkey is the proof.

OTAs Are Betting on Traveler Trust. But the Scramble Is On to Win the Trust of AI Agents

July 2, 2026

Whether or not travelers trust AI would almost be irrelevant to OTAs if the LLMs don't trust them enough to surface their inventory for discovery. The contest is on behind-the-scenes battle to become the LLMs' OTA fave.

Booking.com Built Its India Business on Leisure — Now It’s Going Corporate

July 2, 2026

India's business travel boom gives Booking.com a rare chance to grow two businesses at once — corporate bookings today and leisure loyalty tomorrow.

Visa Steps Into Travel — and Into Competition With Its Own Card Issuers

June 29, 2026

Visa just officially launch a consumer travel site that competes with the banks that pay Visa to issue their cards. That's the real story here, the structural conflict of a payment network establishing direct relationships with cardholders and entering into the banks' own travel businesses.

MakeMyTrip and Cleartrip Both Just Launched Creator Programs. The Models Are Different — For Now

June 29, 2026

Two near-identical launches in five weeks prove that creator-led travel commerce is here. The hard part now is proving that a reel can turn into a booking, and deciding how much the companies are willing to spend before they have that proof.

Going it Alone: Why Hotel Owners Are Dropping The Big Brands

June 28, 2026

Franchise agreements, like casinos, tend to favor the house. Now, as a generation of hotel contracts begin to expire, some owners are deciding to walk away from the table.

Fewer Flights, Higher Fares, More Travelers: The July 4 Squeeze

June 26, 2026

Going into what is expected to be a busy July 4 travel season, airlines are cutting capacity as they hope to hold onto their pricing gains.
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SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK

Visa does not issue credit cards. Banks do. And those banks, Chase, Capital One, and Citi, have spent years and billions building their own travel portals. Chase Travel did $12.6 billion in sales in 2025. American Express did $11.1 billion. Now Visa has launched Visa Destinations, a consumer-facing travel platform sitting above all of them at the network level.

In this clip from Good Morning Hospitality Hotels Edition, Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk break down the structural conflict, what it means for the banks that built their travel businesses on top of Visa's rails, and why the pushback could be coming.

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SKIFT TRAVEL 200

How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.

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