Tripadvisor Faces Important Questions

Ben Drew recently announced he’s stepping down as Viator president. Executive Editor Dennis Schaal explores what that means for Viator’s parent company Tripadvisor, which is considering a potential sale.  

While Schaal writes the impact of Drew’s departure is unclear, one travel industry executive said it would make a potential buyer of Tripadvisor take a deeper look at Viator’s prospects as well as its leadership structure. Tripadvisor has yet to comment about who might succeed Drew.  

Tripadvisor has also floated the idea of spinning off Viator in recent years. 

Next, the U.S. airline industry is asking the federal government to halt additional flights to China, citing what it believes are Beijing’s “anti-competitive policies,” writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Mahirisi. 

Four aviation industry groups signed a letter urging Washington to pause an increase in flights between the U.S. and China. U.S. airlines have argued they’re at a disadvantage because they can’t fly over Russian airspace while other Chinese competitors can. U.S. and Chinese carriers have been able to operate up to 50 weekly flights between the two countries since March 31, roughly 100 fewer than prior to the pandemic.   

Finally, as several Western destinations are still waiting for Chinese group tours to return to pre-Covid levels, Canada has found ways to deal with the ongoing absence of Chinese groups. Destination Canada CEO Marsha Walden addressed that topic and more in an interview with Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. 

Walden said China’s ban on group tours has enabled Destination Canada to focus more on attracting fully independent travelers, who she said are likely to spend more. Walden added that Canada has had success coming out of the pandemic attracting visitors from the U.S., Mexico and Europe. 

Walden also discussed soccer’s 2026 World Cup, an event Canada will co-host with the U.S. and Mexico. She said she had confidence that the Canadian government could reduce visa wait times before the tournament.