Week in Review

The looming threat of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown dominated the news this week – so much so that GBTA created an entire blog post devoted to a round-up of coverage on just this. Check out the latest news here.

Also this week, The Hill reported that Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said federal funding for long-distance railways and intracity public transit systems should be increased.

International SOS released an International Health Risk map featured in USA Today’s Road Warrior Voices blog. It ranks the world’s countries by the availability and effectiveness of their emergency medical and dental care. They place each country into low-, medium- and high-risk categories by assessing a range of factors.

The Star Online reported on travel trends in Asia citing GBTA data showing China is poised to eventually take over as the world’s largest business travel market.

In airline news, winter reared its ugly head again this week forcing many more flight cancellations. According to Runway Girl Network, you should stay vigilant as more airlines cap data packages in-flight. They write that airlines are pricing their inflight Wi-Fi services in several different ways, but one scheme in particular is poised to become more common, particularly in economy class on international carriers. Finally, TTG Digital reports from the Business Travel Show in London that airline fares will not follow the fall in oil prices.

In hotel news, Skift writes that the next generation of hotel WiFi is finally coming online. This is good news since a recent report covered in Hotel Marketing says almost two thirds of business travelers require a high-speed internet connection rather than food and comfort.

Rob Gill of Buying Business Travel reports that the majority of delegates at the Business Travel Show’s Hosted Buyer Pre-Show Conference said that the so-called millennial generation were generally more compliant than older workers, despite lots of speculation to the contrary in recent years. Main Street is also talking about millennials sharing four ways business travel has transformed for the millennial generation.