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1. Countries update US travel advisories
Several countries — including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and Finland — have updated their travel advisories for the United States under President Trump's administration, the Washington Post reports. The warnings revolve around strictly enforced entry policies at the border, risk of detention and categorizations of sex for transgender and nonbinary travelers.
Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta, a senior lecturer in tourism and society at the University of Tasmania in Australia, told the newspaper that the U.S. policies "reinforce narratives of exclusion rather than openness," which could have an effect on inbound tourism numbers.
"As more and more countries update their advisories, we will see the negative sentiment toward tourism in U.S. grow," he said.
2. India considers reducing tariffs on US imports
India is open to cutting tariffs on 55% of U.S. imports that could be worth up to $23 billion in order to mitigate President Trump's reciprocal worldwide tariffs set to go into effect on April 2, Reuters reports. India could be subject to tariffs ranging from 5% to 30% on U.S. goods that it imports.
Trump said on Monday that he might exempt or soften reciprocal tariffs for some countries, the Wall Street Journal reports. He also said the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.
3. Hoteliers endorse more adoption of AI
Hoteliers and technology experts at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference said the hospitality industry needs to come to terms with how to use artificial intelligence as its applications become more widespread, HNN's Natalie Harms reports.
Discussions at the conference centered around how hotels can use AI to optimize business and how consumers are using it to plan their travel.
"I think if you're not using it, you're missing superpowers," said Gretta Brooks, CEO and founder at SalesBoost, on the "AHLA ForWard: The Real Deal AI" panel.
4. Heathrow execs defend fire response time
Heathrow Airport executives defended their response time to a fire that shut down the airport for about 18 hours this past Friday, the Associated Press reports. More than 1,300 flights were canceled after a fire knocked out one of its three electrical substations.
There was pushback from the British government, claiming the airport could've kept running with its other energy sources. John Pettigrew, chief executive of energy-supply network National Grid, said "each substation individually can provide enough power to Heathrow."
Surinder Arora, founder and chairman, Arora Group, said the fire and power outage that closed Heathrow should be investigated by the U.K. Transport Select Committee.
“Given the number of serious questions that need to be answered, a full investigation must be held at the earliest opportunity and at the heart of that must be how Heathrow can be so reliant on any single site or source for power,” Arora said in a statement. “[We have] questioned the capabilities of Heathrow’s management for many years, and this is the latest exposure of showing how charging airlines and passengers the highest airport fees in the world does not tally with the best airport operations in the world.”
5. UK's Home Office ends asylum hotel contract
The United Kingdom's Home Office — which is a government department responsible for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism and police — removed Stay Belvedere Hotels from government asylum operations, The Guardian reports. Australia-based Corporate Travel Management will take over operations.
According to the news outlet, the Home Office said it canceled its contract with Stay Belvedere due to concerns about its performance and behavior as a government supplier.
“Since July, we have improved contract management and added more oversight of our suppliers of asylum accommodation," said Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum at the Home Office. “We have made the decision to remove Stay Belvedere Hotels from the Home Office supply chain and will not hesitate to take further action to ensure Home Office contracts deliver for the U.K.”