Loveholidays' ambitions in the growing packaged travel market. PhocusWire · July 22, 2026 Loveholidays' head of strategy discusses dynamic packaging growth and AI usage in this interview at Phocuswright Europe 2026. More industry news. Cruise Industry News - Jul 22, 2026 Disney Fantasy has completed a 10-night Southern Caribbean cruise and returned to its homeport of Port Canaveral after visiting six destinations, including two Disney private islands. This was the ship's longest itinerary of the year, operating roundtrip from Central Florida and highlighting Disney Cruise Line's expanded Caribbean reach. cruise destinations family-travel Cruise Industry News - Jul 22, 2026 Royal Caribbean has extended its suspension of calls to its private Haitian destination Labadee through June 2027, citing ongoing security and safety concerns in Haiti. The pause, originally in place through late 2026, now pushes Labadee's earliest possible return to service into mid-2027, with affected itineraries re-routed to alternative Caribbean ports. cruise Caribbean safety Cruise Trade News - Jul 22, 2026 Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will add three new ships to its fleet in 2028 - S.S. Helen, S.S. Clara and Mekong Mystique - as part of a broader, investment-backed expansion strategy. The vessels will sail the Danube, Rhine and Mekong respectively and are designed to reflect the art, history and culture of their regions, bringing Uniworld's global fleet to 22 ships once both the 2027 and 2028 additions are delivered. Bookings for Uniworld's 2028 season, including these new ships, are already open. cruise river-cruise fleet-expansion

Travel employers appear in Sunday Times Best Places to Work. Four travel companies have appeared in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 rankings: Panache Cruises, Simpson Travel, Unforgettable Travel Company and loveholidays. Now in its fourth year, the list features companies voted for by their own employees via a survey of more than 200,000 staff spanning 25 industry sectors across the UK. The Sunday Times said the best employers aim to create connections among employees and offer hybrid working policies, fair pay, career development opportunities and "thoughtful" fringe benefits. It also cited health-related benefits, from discounted gym memberships to tailored support at different life stages - and welcoming pets at work. Other highlights include those supporting staff with tech and AI skills and employers are still putting mentorship and career progression at the heart of operations. - Online travel agency loveholidays has been named on the list for the fourth year running and is ranked among the 100 'big' companies (250+ employees). The Sunday Times said: "The UK's fastest-growing online travel agent is on a mission to open the world to everybody, including its 426 employees. Discounted breaks for staff and their family and friends are part of the deal at the London package holiday specialist. "The flexible working policy enables the team to work from home two days a week and from anywhere for two weeks a year. Everybody receives up to £2,000 annually for external development and can take a paid day for volunteering." Rick Kershaw, chief people officer at loveholidays, said: "This recognition proves that our continued investment in development, wellbeing and innovative new tools is resonating, freeing up teams and making our peoples' lives easier. The culture we've created is what helps us to attract and retain brilliant people, who show up every day to deliver the best experiences for our customers." - Featured among the 218 best medium places to work, for firms with 50-249 employees, are Panache Cruises and Simpson Travel. The Sunday Times said of Panache: "A luxury cruise retailer with staff across the UK, US and Australia, this Chorley, Lancashire, company looks after its 77 UK employees in style. "Flexible working, including remote working and additional options during school holidays, and enhanced parental leave, offering six months' full maternity pay and six weeks' paternity leave, are standard. "Vitality provides access to counselling and virtual GP services. There are also free familiarisation trips to destinations such as Antarctica and the Galapagos." For Simpson Travel, it said: "Travel perks are unsurprisingly the big draw at this Richmond-based luxury holiday business. "The 75 staff are invited to view the overseas portfolio first-hand, and there are generous concessions on products and services during their own leisure time. "Annual leave increases with length of service, there are family and friends discounts and all staff have complimentary annual worldwide travel insurance. It is not all about relaxing, however - the team's charity work includes everything from concerts to beach cleans." Simpson Travel said it received an engagement score of 90% across the business, which is some 17% above the average across the Travel and Leisure industries. The company's chief executive, Ed Pyke, said: "We are thrilled to have made the cut. As someone from an operations and customer service background, this award is something that is very close to my heart and as I continue through my third year as MD of Simpson Travel, it is a great accolade to have. "Our team - from those in sales, marketing, product and central services in London, to our amazing representatives in all our destinations, and the levels of service, expertise and knowledge that they provide - is what really sets us apart from the competition. So to receive their endorsement is tremendous. I'm particularly pleased at the level of engagement that we got across the business." Louise Ash, head of people, added: "We invest extensively in our people and are proud of the environment we have created, so it is very gratifying to see this care reflected in the results. 'Wellbeing' ranked very highly, with 94% saying they felt they worked for an organisation who genuinely cared (as against industry averages of 71%); 94% said they would recommend to friends and family and 95% felt proud to work for Simpson Travel." - Unforgettable Travel Company appears among the 195 best small organisations to work for 2026, for firms with 10-49 employees. The newspaper said: "This London luxury travel company offers its 41 staff unforgettable perks including a 30-day paid sabbatical after five years' service and a bucket-list trip with a £5,000 company contribution after 10 years. "The family-owned business, launched by husband and wife Graham Carter and Julia Shikina from their living room in 2015, has offices in New York, Split, Athens, Cape Town and Melbourne. "Other benefits include familiarisation trips, £1,000 a year to spend on personal travel and 'pawternity' leave for pet adoption or loss."

PhocusWire's travel tech news briefs: Nuitée, navan, Expedia Group and more... Here's our roundup of the people, product and partner news from the global travel industry this week. This roundup was created with the assistance of ChatGPT. Loveholidays names VP of land. Loveholidays has named Sarah Helppi VP of land, a new role created as the online travel agency (OTA) splits its product organization into land and air functions. Land will include accommodations and ancillaries. Helppi will lead the company's Land marketplace and commercial supply teams. She joins from Trainline, where she was general manager for the U.K. and foreign travel, and previously held leadership roles at eBay and Expedia. EDreams scales Prime in South Africa. EDreams Odigeo has moved its Prime subscription service in South Africa into full-scale expansion after more than a year of operating in the market. The company said South African subscribers have a Net Promoter Score of 62, and that the country's domestic travel demand, digital maturity and smartphone penetration make it a strong fit for the model. The move is part of the brand's broader plan to grow Prime to more than 13 million subscribers by 2030. Key Data appoints president. Key Data has appointed Dustin Downing as president to support its growth and product expansion. He brings nearly 20 years of experience in data-driven technology, including roles at Sabre, LTK and OrderMyGear. At Sabre, he worked on core travel products, led product development and has scaled technology teams in other companies. Downing will focus on improving products and AI capabilities, refining go-to-market strategy and strengthening operations. His appointment comes as demand rises for real-time data in the short-term rental sector, where companies increasingly rely on data and AI to guide decisions. Lumo, BizTrip AI. Lumo and BizTrip AI have partnered to combine predictive disruption technology with agent-based AI for corporate travel. The integration brings Lumo's flight disruption predictions into BizTrip AI's platform, enabling real-time, automated travel decisions. The system allows companies to adjust itineraries, reduce risk, and manage costs proactively rather than reacting to issues. It also coordinates factors like policy, budget and traveler preferences. The goal is to improve efficiency and traveler experience while reducing disruption-related costs through automation and predictive insights. Smartvel's accessibility tool. Smartvel has launched TravelAble, a platform that helps passengers with reduced mobility navigate air travel by providing personalized, step-by-step guidance. It consolidates fragmented airline and airport accessibility information into one system, tailored to individual needs such as mobility equipment and travel context. The platform explains procedures across the journey and simplifies technical service codes into plain language. It addresses common issues like unclear information and uncertainty around equipment handling. TravelAble can be integrated into digital platforms, offering benefits for both travelers and operators, and is expected to expand to support a broader range of accessibility needs. Nuitée, Globe Thrivers. Nuitée and Globe Thrivers have announced a partnership to add hotel search and booking to Globe Thrivers' creator-led travel platform. Globe Thrivers will use Nuitée's hotel API infrastructure and content to expand its global lodging inventory while keeping booking within a social, community-driven experience. The deal is meant to better connect travel inspiration, planning and booking, while also giving creators a way to earn commission when their hotel recommendations lead to trips. Track, Expedia Group. Track, formerly TravelNet Solutions, has expanded its support for hotel properties on Expedia Group through a completed integration with the company's Reservation Delivery, Reservation Retrieval, Availability and Rates and Product APIs. The integration gives Track hotel partners a more automated and scalable connection to Expedia Group, including real-time reservation data, automated rate and availability updates and more flexible management of rooms, rates and amenities. Dida, Tsinghua x-lab. Dida has signed a five-year partnership with Tsinghua x-lab to develop travel technology and support talent development. The agreement deepens existing collaboration, linking academic research with industry needs to speed up practical, scalable solutions. The partnership will focus on R&D, project incubation and training future professionals. It builds on prior initiatives including a 2025 hackathon. Dida also announced a global travel tech competition to expand innovation internationally. The collaboration aims to better connect academia and industry in travel technology. Traveloris AI booking engine. Traveloris said its artificial intelligence (AI) trip planning and booking engine has gone live on Tasmania.com and Cairns Discovery Tours, marking a new deployment for the Australian travel technology company. Traveloris said the product combines personalized itinerary planning with single-transaction checkout, allowing travel businesses to add AI-driven trip planning and booking to their own websites. The company said the platform is built for real-world travel logistics, including routing, opening hours, availability and bookability, while also offering inventory connectivity, analytics and website integration. Navan launches audit engine. Navan has launched an audit engine for its business travel and expense platform with more than 45 configurable checks, including anti-corruption and bribery screening. The company said the tool uses AI and transaction data to flag risks such as sanctioned individuals, politically exposed persons, excessive tipping, fraudulent receipts and policy violations in real time. The audit engine is now available to customers globally, while its anti-corruption and bribery check is in beta ahead of a broader rollout. TProfile, Nomupay. TProfile has partnered with Nomupay to integrate payment processing directly into travel booking workflows. The integration enables travel agencies, tour operators and cruise companies to offer multiple payment options, including cards, digital wallets, pay-by-bank and local methods, within a single system. The companies said the approach is designed to reduce friction in the booking process and support conversion. Nomupay's acquiring network also expands TProfile's ability to support cross-border transactions through one integration. HI USA, Cloudbeds. Hostelling International USA (HI USA)has selected Cloudbeds to modernize operations across its hostel network. The cloud-based platform will unify property management, distribution, revenue and guest experience systems, replacing legacy workflows and supporting more standardized operations. HI USA said the move is part of a broader digital transformation aimed at improving efficiency and operational visibility. The system is also intended to give property teams greater autonomy while streamlining day-to-day processes. NextTrip partners with QSTAK on tokenized rewards. NextTrip has partnered with QSTAK to develop a tokenized rewards layer for its travel platform, linking content engagement with booking activity. The system will allow users to earn digital tokens through actions such as watching content and completing bookings, with rewards redeemable for future travel. The companies said the approach is intended to deepen engagement and create new monetization opportunities beyond traditional advertising. QSTAK's infrastructure also introduces a model for leveraging digital assets and supporting non-dilutive capital strategies tied to platform activity. Repayd appoints Erik Crouch to support expansion. Repayd has appointed Erik Crouch as it expands its global payments business in the travel sector. Crouch, who previously worked at PaymentCloud, will focus on growing Repayd's merchant base and partner channels, including ISOs and agents. The company said the hire reflects rising demand for payment infrastructure tailored to travel, particularly for cross-border and high-value transactions. Repayd provides multi-currency merchant accounts designed to address sector-specific challenges such as long booking cycles and deferred delivery, as travel companies seek to scale internationally.