Travel's Reopening and Coronavirus Recovery

While travel is resuming in the West, it is retreating in the East as Asian countries struggle to kickstart international tourism safely amid surges in Covid-19 cases, clusters and, most worrisome, more contagious variants. A sad reversal of fate.

The branded-is-better argument between major hotel companies and smaller, boutique brands heated up during the pandemic. If a hip brand like Virgin Hotels sees some merit in at least an occasional branded partnership, the global giants clearly have a winning argument at the negotiating table.

Malta remains optimistic in spite of its exclusion from the UK's initial safe travel list last week. Herd immunity is under a week away and pent-up summer bookings signal a potential boon for the tiny archipelago amid fierce regional competition ahead.

Business trumps geopolitical tension: Chinese companies like Atour can bring in more cash to expand back home by listing on the U.S. stock market rather than in China.

It's another defining year ahead for the travel industry as recovery begins in some parts of the world — the WTTC's new leadership has the opportunity to reshape how success in travel is measured and to push for a more sustainable industry post-recovery.

The boomer generation is one of the travel groups often underserved, but Alaska Airlines is trying to change that in a fun and economical way. Other airlines need to pay attention and come up with ideas to reach this revenue-driving generation.

Casino companies like Wynn Resorts accelerating their push into online gaming isn't a sign sprawling gaming resorts are endangered species. This is about reaching customers who aren't the type to spend a few days in Las Vegas or Macau.

Choice Hotels saw occasional bursts of profitability during the pandemic while competitors lost hundreds of millions of dollars. The company doesn’t plan to just stick to its reliable drive-to and leisure travel playbook, however. Expect more upscale hotel deals on the horizon.

Marriott's bigger portfolio in greater China than its competitors delivered the company somewhat of a financial win. But don't expect everything to return to normal on the rebound: Marriott learned how to run hotels with fewer employees during the crisis, and that's likely to be the new status quo.

Nobody is anticipating any major financial windfall news from Marriott this week, but shareholders still want to hear where future growth is coming from during an investor update. All-inclusive resorts and home rentals, relatively new divisions of the company, will certainly be on the list.