Fusion & Acquisition

🗺 TUI Musement, a TUI Group subsidiary, integrated 750+ multi-day tours across 30 countries into TravelExchange in September 2025. This enhanced service provides travel agencies with real-time access, updated rates, and instant booking confirmation through an API connection. TUI Musement aims to streamline operations for over 2,600 agencies in 92 countries, particularly targeting European markets like Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Featured destinations include Thailand, Costa Rica, Spain, and Italy, catering to diverse travel preferences.

✈️ Delta Air Lines will launch a direct flight from Boston to Nice Côte d’Azur on May 17, 2026, with three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This expansion strengthens Nice’s connectivity after previous links to New York JFK in 2022 and Atlanta in 2023. In 2019, Americans comprised 9% of Côte d’Azur tourists, dropping to below 4% in 2020, but rebounded to over 15% by 2024, marking the U.S. as a crucial market for the region.

🏁 Fondée en 1996, Rusticae gère 210 établissements en Espagne, Portugal, Maroc, Andorre, et Italie. Barceló entre dans ce marché niche avec la récente acquisition. Sara Sánchez conserve 20% de l'entreprise. Barceló a réalisé 7,5 milliards d'euros de chiffre d'affaires en 2024, avec une augmentation de 56% des bénéfices nets. Rusticae se concentre sur le tourisme durable et culturel, proposant plus de 100 expériences locales.

✈️ Ryanair and Booking Holdings have partnered, ending years of conflict and allowing Ryanair flights to be booked via Booking, Priceline, Kayak, and Agoda starting in 2024. This strategic move opens new market potentials for both companies. Travelers can now manage flights and accommodations on Booking’s platforms, enhancing convenience and potentially offering better prices. Ryanair's vast network includes over 235 destinations, promising more choices and value for users.

🚀 Eve Air Mobility, a Brazilian eVTOL specialist and Embraer subsidiary, raised $230 million (€210 million) to advance its electric aircraft, Eve 100, for a 2027 launch. Investors include BNDES and Embraer. Shares priced at $4.85 are listed on the NYSE and São Paulo exchanges. The funding will cover costs in Brazil, aiming to tackle urban congestion. A deal with Future Flight Global foresees producing dozens of eVTOLs for the U.S. and Brazilian markets.

🛫 Webjet acquires Melbourne-based Locomote for $17 million (approx. €14.7 million), with an additional $6 million contingent on achieving EBITDA targets in three years. This acquisition accelerates Webjet's business travel expansion plan by three years, enabling savings, and introduces the "Webjet Business Travel" branding. Webjet aims to double its activities by 2030, focusing on international flights, package sales, hotel bookings, and loyalty mechanisms, retaining Locomote's leadership, including CEO Ross Fastuca.

💳 Booking.com launches the "Genius Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card" in the US, targeting travelers with rewards like 6% travel credits for bookings on its platform, and aims to boost direct reservations. Cardholders automatically become Genius level 3 members, enjoying 10-20% stay discounts. U.S. market holds promise, with direct bookings already rising from 60% to 65% in a year. Booking seeks to counter digital banks like Revolut, enhancing its travel ecosystem. Over 80% of cardholders desire improved travel experiences.

🏠 Safe Harbor, acquired by Blackstone Infrastructure for $5.65 billion less than four months ago, has purchased Monaco Marine, providing access to prestigious Mediterranean ports. Monaco Marine operates nine strategic sites in Monaco and southern France for superyachts up to 90 meters. ????️ CEO Baxter Underwood praises the service in locations like Saint-Tropez, Antibes, and Monaco. Blackstone’s Heidi Boyd highlights the expansion of existing infrastructure while maintaining a "people-first" culture.

🚀 SKY acquires JetBlue Ventures, JetBlue Airways' investment arm, to enhance profitability, focusing on core operations. In 2025, European startups drive Travel Tech innovation, challenging U.S. dominance. France Tourisme Tech's mentorship aids startups in digitalization. In 2024, 2.1% of travel startups ceased operations, with 27 out of 38 still in early stages. Only 7% of IATA airlines have invested in startups, focusing mainly on biofuels and AI.

📈 Dr. Wolf Schmuhl of trivago highlights the acquisition of Holisto, enhancing trivago's user experience and reservation process. This strategic move helps trivago deliver a fixed commission model, benefiting smaller advertisers. The acquisition contributes to trivago's continued success, marked by a 17% revenue increase in Q2 2025, marking the third consecutive growth quarter. Johannes Thomas, trivago's CEO, celebrates this momentum, bolstering the trivago Book & Go initiative.