Innovation

🗺️ New Murabba, the Saudi PIF's real estate arm, signed a three-year technological agreement with South Korea's NAVER Cloud during the Investment & Partnership Forum in Seoul. The 14 km² Riyadh-based urban project intends to integrate cutting-edge technologies like autonomous vehicles, robots, smart city platforms, and digital construction tracking. CEO Michael Dyke highlights its alignment with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. NAVER Cloud's CEO Kim Yu-won emphasizes the project's role in shaping future cities.

💻 LoungeUp was renamed "D-EDGE CRM" following its acquisition by D-EDGE in March 2024. The integration aims to enhance the CRM capabilities for hoteliers through D-EDGE’s global presence. This platform combines data management, personalized interactions, and AI, improving customer experiences without affecting existing user operations. The goal is to boost hotel revenue, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. D-EDGE’s CEO, Pierre-Charles Grob, and LoungeUp co-founder, Mathieu Pollet, emphasize the strategic benefits.

📈 D-EDGE integrates its CRM seamlessly with its tech platform, including a Booking Engine, Channel Manager, GDS solutions, payment tools, and a Central Reservation Office module. This integration centralizes distribution, client relations, and marketing, providing hoteliers a unified view of the customer journey from reservation to loyalty. D-EDGE claims to offer the most comprehensive 360° solution suite in the market.

💰 In June 2025, the travel sector saw €342.5 million in funding for startups. Key investments include Chatlyn's €8 million to enhance hotel communication via AI, Ramp's €173 million for expense automation, and Expliseat's €36 million for international growth. Canary Technologies raised €69 million for hotel AI solutions, Kolet secured €8.8 million for mobile connectivity, Holidu obtained €46 million for AI and European expansion, while Truely raised €1.7 million for eSIM travel connectivity.

📱 Zhejiang, China, June 28, 2025: The Zhejiang province launched "Zhejiang Travel," an AI-powered digital platform for personalized travel experiences. Announced at the World Tourism Alliance headquarters in Hangzhou, it aggregates hotel bookings, digital payments, transport access, and personalized itineraries. Unlike Shanghai's "Easy Go" app, Zhejiang Travel integrates with WeChat and AliPay. With a 32.7% rise in foreign visitors in 2024, driven by relaxed visa policies for 55 countries, Zhejiang Travel aims to disperse tourists to lesser-known sites.

📱 Seattle, June 2025: Launching Emerald, an AI-powered personalized travel assistant available online and on WhatsApp by Visit Seattle. It provides instant, tailored recommendations, leveraging over 1,000 GuideGeek integrations. Accessible in dozens of languages, it adapts to user preferences, group size, age, and real-time constraints. Launched ahead of the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup and 2026 Nations World Cup, Seattle aims to enhance visitor experiences and showcase itself as an innovative, welcoming city.

💻 Alix Boulnois recalls living in Djibouti 30 years ago, where the Sheraton hotel, with its notable pool and American military presence, was the social hub. Digital tools are now reshaping the hospitality industry through ongoing disruptions like OTAs, Airbnb, and AI. Alix emphasizes the importance of adapting to these technological shifts to keep up with the constantly evolving sector.

📱 Mindtrip, a San Francisco start-up, launched a mobile app in June 2025, powered by AI and supported by OpenAI, providing personalized travel recommendations. Users can explore over 10 million points of interest, leveraging real-time location and preferences. Andy Moss, co-founder and CEO, highlights its ease of use. Integrated with multimodal capabilities, it enhances travel experiences by offering features like photo-based information retrieval. Available now for iOS, collaborating with destinations like California and Costa Rica.

🗺 En 2035, voyages : 2B touristes chaque année (+30% vs 2025). 75% des destinations facilitent l'accès (2033), 80% des visites sur 10% des lieux. 77% Britanniques évitent haute saison, 44% choisissent transport écolo. IA : 73% réservations en ligne (2029), 51% des Américains l'utilisent déjà. 58% préfèrent avis proches. 64% des voyageurs solo sont des femmes. En 2035, les assistants IA gèrent imprévus et réduisent la logistique des voyages.

🚗 Uber and Waymo launch autonomous taxis in Atlanta in June 2025. Users of Uber's app in Atlanta can now book Waymo's fully autonomous and electric Jaguar I-PACE without extra charges. The service, successful in Austin, Texas, features a fleet of 100 vehicles and operates in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. Uber and Waymo collaborate to leverage their strengths rather than compete, while Uber also partners with WeRide for future expansions.