Patrick Whyte

Even with the drop in value of the pound making it much more attractive to travel to the UK, business travel seems to be suffering. This could be because of the perceived fragility of the country both economically and politically.

Tour operators have longed for Turkey and, to a lesser extent, Egypt and Tunisia to return to their previous popularity. All of these destinations offer better value to consumers than Spain, which is at close-to-full capacity and more expensive. Their return is also good news for the people who rely on tourism for a living.

Being a pure play flight seller is a business approach that has probably had its day (unless you can guarantee huge volumes). Lastminute.com Group's diversification strategy over the last few years makes sense but if it is going to work it will take time.

It seems like there is a renewed appetite among Europe's big airline groups to reduce the number of players in the market. They may find it hard to do while fuel remains cheap, but when it starts to creep up, more deals will likely occur.

While TUI's CEO is right to point out the macro benefits of tourism in Spain, the company ignores the myriad of local issues in places such as Barcelona and Majorca that are turning locals against mass tourism. It is a self-interested issue to address for virtually the entire travel industry.

InterContinental's new CEO Keith Barr seems happy — for now — to carry on with the work done by his predecessor. While rivals have explored other areas, IHG keeps doing the same thing, although it is developing a new midscale brand. Only time will tell which strategy is right.

SeaWorld is still struggling and Merlin is probably hoping it can bag a bargain. Watch this space.

It looks like tighter restrictions on outbound investment are starting to hinder dealmaking at HNA. Although the Rezidor deal may still go through, you've got to wonder what it means for the rest of 2017 and beyond.

In a short period, the number of companies at the top of the business-to-business travel market has shrunk dramatically. The deal continues Webjet's transition from a regionally focused consumer travel company to a global travel business; other acquisitions will follow.

Cruise.co's mix of reviews and vacations has helped fuel its rise. Its private equity owners obviously want it to get even bigger and to do so it needs to buy up the competition.