A new survey is putting numbers to what frequent flyers already sense: airline customer service is under serious strain, and passengers are increasingly willing to let AI step in — as long as it actually works. The survey, commissioned by AI customer experience company Ada and conducted by Dynata in April 2026 among 1,000 U.S. travelers, finds that 50% of respondents no … [Read more...] about Travelers Don’t Care If It’s AI or Human — They Just Want Their Problem Fixed
Travel Insights
Clarasight Raises $11.5 Million to Bring AI to Corporate Travel and Expense Management
Corporate travel is one of the last major enterprise spending categories that hasn't been meaningfully transformed by AI — and a growing number of large companies are starting to feel that gap in their bottom line. Clarasight, an AI platform built specifically for enterprise travel and expense management, just closed an $11.5 million Series A to accelerate the fix. The round … [Read more...] about Clarasight Raises $11.5 Million to Bring AI to Corporate Travel and Expense Management
Mountain, Lake, and Fairway: Tamarack Resort’s 2026 Summer Season Is Its Biggest Yet
Tucked into the mountains of central Idaho above Lake Cascade, Tamarack Resort has spent years building toward something ambitious: a true four-season destination where skiing gives way seamlessly to mountain biking, golf, and lake life. The 2026 summer season is the clearest sign yet that it has arrived. The headline development is the debut of the Tamarack Marina on Lake … [Read more...] about Mountain, Lake, and Fairway: Tamarack Resort’s 2026 Summer Season Is Its Biggest Yet
The Poet in the Book: Literary Tourism in Catania, Sicily
There is a moment, wandering the lava-stone streets of Catania, when you realize this city has been telling stories for a very long time. The evidence is everywhere — in the baroque facades, in the volcanic black cobblestones of Piazza del Duomo, in the fish vendors at La Pescheria who haggle in a dialect so thick it sounds like a separate language. And occasionally, it is cast … [Read more...] about The Poet in the Book: Literary Tourism in Catania, Sicily
The Mayor Who Loved His City: Literary and Intellectual Tourism Around Brussels’ Grand-Place
Brussels is not the first city that comes to mind on the European literary tourism circuit. Paris gets the expatriates, Dublin gets Joyce, Prague gets Kafka. But linger near the Grand-Place long enough and you'll find a city with a remarkably rich intellectual tradition — and a bronze mayor who embodies it perfectly. Just steps from the Grand-Place, in the sunlit … [Read more...] about The Mayor Who Loved His City: Literary and Intellectual Tourism Around Brussels’ Grand-Place
Where Don Quixote Rides Forever: Literary Tourism in Madrid’s Plaza de España
Madrid is one of Europe's great literary cities, and nowhere is that identity more literally cast in bronze than at Plaza de España, where Miguel de Cervantes gazes down from his stone pedestal at the two characters who made him immortal — Don Quixote, lance in hand astride his horse Rocinante, and the rotund, steadfast Sancho Panza at his side. The monument, completed in … [Read more...] about Where Don Quixote Rides Forever: Literary Tourism in Madrid’s Plaza de España
Celebrate America’s 250th at Graceland’s All-American Weekend, July 3–5, 2026
Elvis Presley's Graceland is pulling out all the stops for the Fourth of July this year. The iconic Memphis landmark will be lit in red, white, and blue as it hosts its All-American Weekend, a three-day celebration running July 3–5, 2026 — timed to mark America's 250th anniversary in style. The weekend packs in live music, an Elvis tribute concert, a gospel brunch, VIP … [Read more...] about Celebrate America’s 250th at Graceland’s All-American Weekend, July 3–5, 2026
The Merger That Never Was: What United’s Failed Pitch to American Airlines Means for Travelers
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby went public this week with an unexpected story: he approached American Airlines about a potential merger, envisioning a revolutionary combination that would reshape U.S. aviation. American declined. Door closed. On the surface, it's a familiar tale of corporate ambition meeting regulatory skepticism. But what makes this moment significant is … [Read more...] about The Merger That Never Was: What United’s Failed Pitch to American Airlines Means for Travelers
SOUEAST and the Travel+ Bet: When the Commute and the Road Trip Are the Same Product
The phrase "Travel+" reads like marketing boilerplate until you parse what JETOUR International actually wants it to mean. At the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, the company unveiled the strategy alongside the joint debut of its dual brands JETOUR and SOUEAST, with a thesis that cuts against how most automakers segment their family vehicles. Urban commute and … [Read more...] about SOUEAST and the Travel+ Bet: When the Commute and the Road Trip Are the Same Product
Icelandair: The Free Layover Isn’t Free
Icelandair has been running the same play for years and it still works because the offer sounds too good to be wrong. Book a transatlantic flight to Europe, and the airline will let you stop in Reykjavik for up to seven days at no extra charge. No additional airfare. Just show up, see the Northern Lights, eat a skyr, and continue to Amsterdam. The mathematics appear sound. They … [Read more...] about Icelandair: The Free Layover Isn’t Free