TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

The airline industry had promised that there would be no discrimination between vaccinated and non-vaccinated passengers who tested negative for covid. The good resolution is cracking: Qantas and Air New Zealand only want to carry vaccinated travellers. A breach in the legality of the process? In any case, Pandora's box has been opened: AirAsia has just followed suit, and other airlines are sure to follow...

Asian countries are realising that it is finally time to reopen up to the outside world. All the more so as their economies are increasingly suffering from forced isolation, which has more to do with a collective popular psychosis than with any real Cartesian reasoning... A turning point?

SAP Concur and VoyagExpert, who have already formed an alliance for business travel booking, are now extending their partnership to include expense reports. Sébastien Delannoy, Senior Director Business Development Northern Europe at SAP Concur, provides an update on this new agreement and on developments in the market.

Australia is finally backtracking on its desire to remain isolated from the rest of the planet until 2022. The inflexible Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison finally seems to be relenting, while Qantas is working on the resumption of some international routes, including London to Europe.

After repeatedly announcing and then delaying the reopening of Bangkok and the rest of Thailand, it seems that the kingdom is finally ready to welcome foreign visitors once again. This time, the month of November should mark Bangkok's return to the international stage.

Russia is continuing to encourage travellers to return to the country. Since August, it has been offering a tourist visa valid for six months and authorising more entry points for visitors.

According to a study published on Monday by Uber, travel has been picking up for several months now, particularly for business purposes, and especially in Paris and the Ile-de-France airports.

The "Barometer of Walkable Cities", the result of an online questionnaire conducted between December 2019 and March 2021 by the "Place aux Piétons" group, shows which French cities are doing well and which are doing badly when it comes to making their cities accessible to walkers. In general, walkers have a negative impression of the city.

On Tuesday, Expensya announced its integration into the TravelPerk offering, for all-in-one management of business travel.

Vaccinated French business travellers will no longer have to undergo a PCR test when travelling to the UK from October. But the rest of the UK - and Scotland in particular - may not follow suit. The desire for simplification would be spoiled, to say the least...

The US government has confirmed that the country will once again be welcoming non-essential foreign travellers from 1 November. There is one absolute rule: only people vaccinated against Covid-19 will be admitted...

Worldwide acceptance, à la carte benefits, choice of VISA and BNP as partners, enhanced loyalty: Mehdi Hemici, Senior Vice President Loyalty and Partnerships at Accor, presents the new ALL-VISA payment card.

CWT has concluded its recapitalisation with its financial partners, who will become the new owners of the business travel agency.

TripActions has just announced the launch of a new VIP offer, based on the expertise of business travel agency Reed & Mackay, which it acquired last spring.

This year's edition of Univ'AirPlus 2021 will focus on the theme of 'travelling better', approached from three angles: CSR, duty of care and the digitalisation of travel.

On the 20th anniversary of the tragic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is looking back at the impact of this attack on both security and the development of air traffic. Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General, took the opportunity to make a plea, reminding us that the current crisis in air transport, linked to the covid pandemic, is much more serious. And that, this time, government policies have a lot to do with it. 

A study by Delta Air Lines shows that the risk of contamination is 0.05 % on board aircraft when pre-flight tests are carried out.

For a country as dependent on exports as Japan, the closure of the Japanese archipelago for a year and a half now - with the notable exception of the Olympic Games in Tokyo - is a disaster for the business community.

Held from 5 to 8 October at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, IFTM Top Resa is a key event for all those involved in business travel. Register free of charge for the show!

American Express GBT and Cvent have joined forces to strengthen the CSR aspect of hotel sourcing through an enriched and more efficient information-gathering process.