Decoding Travel: A Year-In-Review of Travel’s Top Stories

Decoding Travel: A Year-In-Review of Travel’s Top Stories

Welcome to the latest episode of Travel Tech’s Passport Podcast! In this episode, Travel Tech President and CEO Laura Chadwick looks back at the top moments from this year’s Passport Podcast. This episode includes clips from Brandon Palumbo, Director of Policy & Governments at Travel Tech, who discussed airline competition and mergers; Carroll Rheem, Founder and CEO of Iolite Group, who explored the state and future of AI in travel; Jessica Martinez, Senior Director of Government Relations at the Blockchain Association, who shared her insights on stablecoin and the GENIUS Act; and Matt Zito, Managing Partner of TSi, who discussed the role of start-ups in the travel tech industry. Check out these articles to learn more about the articles discussed in this week’s episode: * Frontier Airlines Offers to Buy Spirit Airlines, Again [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/business/frontier-spirit-airlines-merger.html] (The New York Times) * Traveler Technology: State of AI [https://drive.google.com/file/d/16P1A3r1pNSdF8bp1UhVwFa8b9qG5lQ0a/view?usp=sharing] (Iolite Group & Phocuswright) * Crypto Industry Reaches Milestone With Passage of First Major Bill [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/technology/crypto-industry-milestone-legislation.html] (The New York Times) * What investors get wrong about travel startups [https://www.phocuswire.com/what-investors-get-wrong-about-travel-startups?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&oly_enc_id=7108A7367267B7R] (Phocuswire)

Investing in the Future of Travel: Start-Ups, Policy, and What’s Next

Welcome to the latest episode of Travel Tech’s Passport Podcast! In this episode, Travel Tech President and CEO Laura Chadwick is joined by Matt Zito, Managing Partner at Travel Start-ups Incubator (TSi), to discuss the role of start-ups in the travel tech industry and Travel Tech’s Start-Up Membership Program [https://traveltech.org/start-up/]. The conversation covered advice for start-ups pitching to investors, what investors in the travel industry should know, the future of AI in travel technology, the public policies impacting start-ups and more. Check out these articles to learn more about the articles discussed in this week’s episode on travel tech start-ups and investors: * The Venture Capital View on Generative AI in Travel [https://skift.com/2025/05/20/cara-whitehill-skift-data-ai-summit-speaker-preview/] (Skift) * What investors get wrong about travel startups [https://www.phocuswire.com/what-investors-get-wrong-about-travel-startups?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&oly_enc_id=7108A7367267B7R] (Phocuswire) * Travel Tech Applauds Signage of Pro-Innovation Tax Reforms into Law [https://traveltech.org/travel-tech-applauds-signage-of-pro-innovation-tax-reforms-into-law/] (Travel Technology Association)

Traveling with Stablecoins: The Future of Global Payments on the Go

Welcome to the third episode of Travel Tech’s Passport Podcast! In this episode, Travel Tech President and CEO Laura Chadwick is joined by Jessica Martinez, Senior Director of Government Relations at the Blockchain Association, to explore the future of travel through the lens of stablecoin and the impact of cryptocurrency on the travel industry. They discuss what a stablecoin is, the passage of the GENIUS Act, the impact of stablecoins on travel, global payment methods, and more. Check out these articles to learn more about stablecoin: * What are stablecoins? Everything to know about the crypto being debated in Congress [https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/business/stablecoins-crypto-genius-act] (CNN) * Crypto Industry Reaches Milestone With Passage of First Major Bill [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/technology/crypto-industry-milestone-legislation.html] (The New York Times) * The rise of cryptocurrency in travel [https://www.phocuswire.com/cryptocurrency-rise-travel?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&oly_enc_id=7108A7367267B7R] (Phocuswire) Learn more about the Blockchain Association resources and upcoming event: * The Blockchain Association [https://theblockchainassociation.org/] * The Blockchain Association’s Crypto Here For Good [https://theblockchainassociation.org/crypto-here-for-good/] * The Blockchain Association’s upcoming Policy Summit [https://www.theblockchainassociationevents.org/event/policysummit2025/home] More About Jessica Martinez Jessica is the Blockchain Association’s Senior Director of Government Relations, representing the crypto industry on the Hill. Most recently, Jessica served as the Staff Director for the U.S. Joint Economic Committee under Chairman Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), where she oversaw a diverse team and directed high-impact research and reports on critical economic issues. Before returning to Capitol Hill, Jessica was a partner at a government relations and strategic communications firm specializing in technology innovation.

From Planning to Personalization: AI’s Growing Role in Travel

Welcome to the second episode of Travel Tech’s Passport Podcast! In this month’s episode, Travel Tech President and CEO Laura Chadwick sits down with Carroll Rheem, Founder and CEO of Iolite Group and former Director of Research at Phocuswright, to discuss timely topics, including the current AI landscape and major AI developments in travel, the positive impact that international travel to the United States has on our import-export balance and Travel Tech’s upcoming Start-Up Summit for pre-seed and seed-level travel tech innovators. Check out the stories covered in this month’s episode: * Traveler Technology: State of AI [https://drive.google.com/file/d/16P1A3r1pNSdF8bp1UhVwFa8b9qG5lQ0a/view?usp=sharing] (Iolite Group & Phocuswright) * AI Developments in Travel: Skift Timeline [https://skift.com/2025/02/21/ai-developments-in-travel-skift-timeline/] (Skift) * Policymakers weigh in on the future of US AI regulation [https://www.emergingtechbrew.com/stories/2025/03/11/kamala-harris-jay-obernolte-us-ai-regulation-humanx-2025?mbcid=38961134.385753&mblid=fdaca40aee77&mid=64e59e5d63a46b37b74108e0c9c6bb15&utm_campaign=etb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew] (TechBrew) * What's Holding Back Investment in the Travel Industry [https://skift.com/2025/03/04/whats-holding-back-investment-in-the-travel-industry/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] (Skift) Don’t miss out on the top stories featured in the Passport Podcast and be sure to subscribe to Travel Tech’s weekly Passport Newsletter at traveltech.org/subscribe [https://traveltech.org/subscribe/].

Assessing the New Trump Administration, New Congress and its Potential Impact on the Travel Tech Industry

Welcome to the first episode of Travel Tech’s Passport Podcast! In this month’s episode, Travel Tech President and CEO Laura Chadwick sits down with Brandon Palumbo, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at Travel Tech, to discuss the effects of the new Trump administration on the travel technology industry, focusing on AI regulation, airline deregulation, and antitrust enforcement. Check out the stories covered in this month’s episode: * 2024 Was the Year of Airline Regulations. In 2025, Many Could Be Scrapped. [https://skift.com/2024/12/29/2025-airline-regulations-could-be-scrapped/] (Skift) * Frontier Airlines Offers to Buy Spirit Airlines, Again [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/business/frontier-spirit-airlines-merger.html] (The New York Times) * JD Vance rails against ‘excessive’ AI regulation in a rebuke to Europe at the Paris AI summit [https://apnews.com/article/paris-ai-summit-vance-1d7826affdcdb76c580c0558af8d68d2] (Associated Press) Don’t miss out on the top stories featured in the Passport Podcast and be sure to subscribe to Travel Tech’s weekly Passport Newsletter at traveltech.org/subscribe [http://traveltech.org/subscribe].