Travel agents face a stark reality of unpaid labor, according to a recent survey from Klook that paints a grim picture of the industry. The survey of 2,725 travelers across 10 markets found that trip planning ranks as the least-thanked task among ten common everyday favors. The workload is heavy: 45.9% of planners spend up to 20 hours organizing a single trip, and another 28.0% spend 40 or more hours. Despite this, they face common complaints such as “why didn’t we do this instead?” (59.2%) and “I could’ve planned this better” (58.1%). More than 7 in 10 believe they deserve at least US$50/hour for their effort, with 63.3% saying trips wouldn’t happen without them. Klook is also running a promotion that will send five “travel planners” on a fully hosted 7-day trip to Switzerland in December 2026, where they won’t have to plan anything themselves.
Asia-based reservation platform GlobalTix announced a partnership with South Korean travel platform Myrealtrip. The collaboration aims to make GlobalTix’s network of over 180,000 experiences available to Myrealtrip’s 10 million users. This arrangement gives GlobalTix’s global operators direct access to Korean outbound travel demand without needing a local sales presence. GlobalTix CCO Chanel Leong said the partnership offers merchant partners a more direct route into the Korean market through a platform Korean travellers already use. Myrealtrip’s Head of Tours & Activities Business, Jinhong Kim, added that the integration allows the company to offer Korean travellers a broader range of experiences across destinations while keeping availability and bookings connected as the partnership scales.
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In related news, AirAsia MOVE and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) announced a partnership on 10 August 2026 in Kuala Lumpur to encourage international travellers, particularly from Malaysia and ASEAN, to explore South Korean destinations beyond Seoul. The initiative includes joint marketing campaigns, curated travel experiences and offers. AirAsia MOVE CEO Nadia Omer and KTO Managing Director Shin Jung Hun expressed confidence in driving greater interest in Korea’s regional destinations.
Fliggy, Alibaba Group’s online travel platform, announced on 11 August 2026 an upgraded agentic AI travel assistant. Built on Alibaba’s Qwen model and trained using Fliggy’s real-time transaction systems and proprietary travel data, the assistant differs from earlier versions by focusing on execution. It can directly execute multistep tasks such as making bookings, arranging check-ins and seat selections, handling cancellations, and managing complex requests like hotel room upgrades by communicating with hotels and coordinating options. Organized around three functions—Go Think (trip inspiration, routing, budgeting), Go Book (comparing and booking flights, hotels, and tours), and Go Sort (in-trip and post-booking support)—the assistant is embedded throughout the Fliggy app. It accepts natural-language voice or text input and works alongside existing booking interfaces rather than replacing them. Fliggy CTO Dr. Alex Chen described the upgrade as enabling more direct, actionable AI-driven support across the full travel journey. The company reported that the assistant’s usability score improved by over 70% compared to its previous version, with task completion time reduced by nearly 10%.
TourRadar launched TourRadar+, a free loyalty program that automatically applies savings of up to 7% at checkout across more than 50,000 adventures from over 2,500 tour operators in 160+ countries. The program has three levels based on booking count rather than points or codes: Level 1 (up to 3% savings, from account creation), Level 2 (up to 5%, after 1-3 bookings), and Level 3 (up to 7%, after 4+ bookings). CEO and Co-Founder Travis Pittman said the program was designed around the fact that multi-day adventure travel is typically an annual, destination-varying decision rather than a repeat booking pattern. TourRadar noted that roughly four in five repeat bookings on its platform are with operators the traveler hasn’t used before. TourRadar+ is available now at TourRadar.com.
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A study by W7Worldwide Strategic Communications Agency titled “Why Investors Choose Saudi Arabia” found that economic reforms, digital transformation, and regulatory changes have strengthened the country’s position as a foreign direct investment destination. FDI stock reached SAR 1.099 trillion by the end of 2025, up 13% from 2024, with new inflows totaling SAR 133.3 billion for the year. Total foreign investment stock across all forms reached SAR 3.323 trillion. Non-oil activities grew 4.9% in real terms in 2025, alongside 4.5% real GDP growth. Investment licenses issued rose to 24,240 in 2025 from 14,320 in 2024, a 68.5% increase. More than 676 multinational companies had been licensed to establish Regional Headquarters (RHQs) in Riyadh by the end of 2025. The study links these RHQs to relocated decision-making functions, R&D activity, supply chain strengthening, job creation, and knowledge transfer.
By sector, industrial investment led non-oil FDI with USD 18.4 billion (31% of the total), while mining attracted SAR 44 billion in newly announced investments against mineral reserves the study values at over SAR 9.4 trillion. Technology and AI projects announced at LEAP 2025 exceeded USD 14.9 billion, tourism drew 123 million visitors generating SAR 304 billion in spending, and transport/logistics saw over SAR 280 billion in private-sector investment supported by 24 logistics hubs. The study also cited the Premium Residency Program—offering long-term residency pathways for investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals, and property owners—as a key enabler supporting real estate investment, entrepreneurship, and demand for professional services. W7Worldwide concluded that Saudi Arabia’s investment attractiveness stems from an integrated ecosystem of regulatory efficiency, digital transformation, and diversified sectors rather than any single factor.