Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, May 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Google has started placing ads for travel companies within the search results of some generative AI search engines, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.
Startups that have developed their own AI search engines can now display ads within their normal search results via a connection with Google’s Ads program. Dawes notes one of the startups — iAsk — showed sponsored links from travel companies in response to Skift’s questions about travel.
Those questions triggered sponsored results from several travel companies, including Tripadvisor, Viator, and American Airlines.
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Next, Disney announced on Wednesday that it would build a Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, its first-ever theme park in the Middle East, writes Middle East Reporter Josh Corder.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an interview on CNBC that Disney has already begun designing the park. However, he didn’t reveal an opening date. Iger also said in a statement that the project will be “distinctly Emirati.”
The new theme park will be located on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s hub for entertainment venues. The project will be financed by Miral, a government-backed developer in Abu Dhabi.
Finally, Contributor Dave Levinthal delves into how much the Trump campaign spent on hotels during the 2024 presidential election and where its staffers stayed.
Levinthal reports the Trump campaign spent more than $1.7 million each at Hilton and Marriott properties. That’s significantly more than anywhere else during the presidential election, including Trump-based hotels and resorts. The campaign spent more than $266,000 at Trump properties throughout the U.S.
The Trump campaign reported spending more than $4.76 million on expenses it disclosed as “lodging” and several thousands of dollars more on related expenses like hotel parking and meeting room rentals.
The Trump Effect keeps track of the U.S. president’s impact on the travel industry.
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