During its 16 months in port, Norwegian Cruise Line took a bold approach to its messaging by acknowledging consumers' need to “break free.” Watch Industry Voices: Holiday Preparedness with Norwegian’s Isis Ruiz, senior vice president and CMO, to hear how the cruise line maintained marketing momentum last holiday season and what it has prepared for this year.

The US travel industry this year remains largely impacted by the pandemic, even as travel has picked up in H2. This sluggishness is due to paused cruises, a near standstill in business travel, and restrained international travel.

Cruise, which was itself purchased by General Motors in 2016 for more than $1 billion, reportedly agreed last month to acquire AV startup Voyage. Since many AV startups lack the deep pockets and extensive resources needed to successfully bring their driverless cars to market, consolidation will likely continue throughout the industry.

Norwegian Cruise Line taps into consumers’ shared sentiment to encourage holiday cruise bookings with Isis Ruiz, senior vice president and CMO. Boston Red Sox fosters a tight-knit community during the holidays through in-person and digital engagement with Adam Grossman, CMO.

The investment comes five months after the two companies launched a pilot program using Cruise self-driving cars for deliveries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and marks Walmart’s sixth partnership with an AV company. Walmart is among several prominent companies that have made investments in driverless cars in recent weeks.

The most common form of travel was via automobile, while methods like buses, trains, and cruises were not expected to make a meaningful recovery from last year’s slump. The overall volume of travelers still lagged behind that of 2019, when 42.8 million headed out for the holiday. More like this:. Report: US Out-of-Home Ad Spending 2021. Article: A new era in retail and ecommerce is emerging.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Isis Ruiz. Banana Republic’s Jen Mullen. Guitar Center’s Jeannine D’Addario. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on Travel series:. Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority’s Kate Wik. Hilton’s Amy Martin-Ziegenfuss. Universal Parks & Resorts’ Leah van Zelm. Alaska Airlines’ Natalie Bowman. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on CPG series:. Nestlé USA’s Alicia Enciso.

Major blockbusters like “Black Widow,” “Cruella,” and “Jungle Cruise” were released via Premier Access over the past year. The challenge: Theaters complained that the simultaneous release strategy hampered further success at the in-person box office.

The NHTSA says it identified 11 crashes since 2018 where Teslas which were using the Autopilot function or a similar Traffic-Aware Cruise Control feature struck first responder vehicles. The investigation includes Tesla Y, X, S, and 3 models with Autopilot capabilities manufactured between 2014 and 2021—about 765,000 vehicles in total.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said the vehicle’s cruise control systems could be activated by accident, resulting in cars speeding up unexpectedly. Tesla says owners can upgrade their vehicles’ cruise control software remotely. How we got here: Tesla has seen its share of struggles in China, which it considers to be its biggest market for future growth.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Isis Ruiz. Banana Republic’s Jen Mullen. Guitar Center’s Jeannine D’Addario. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on Travel series:. Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority’s Kate Wik. Hilton’s Amy Martin-Ziegenfuss. Universal Parks & Resorts’ Leah van Zelm. Alaska Airlines’ Natalie Bowman. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on CPG series:. Nestlé USA’s Alicia Enciso.

No industry has been as devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and its effects as travel. Airlines, car rental agencies, hotels and resorts, online booking services, cruises and destination marketing organizations, and business travel support services found their operations ground to a near-halt for much of Q2 2020, and the situation has barely improved in H2.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for traveling dropped off significantly, especially in the US and UK, two of the hardest hit countries. The situation is exacerbated by a halt in business traveling and cruise ships worldwide.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s Isis Ruiz. Banana Republic’s Jen Mullen. Guitar Center’s Jeannine D’Addario. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on Travel series:. Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority’s Kate Wik. Hilton’s Amy Martin-Ziegenfuss. Universal Parks & Resorts’ Leah van Zelm. Alaska Airlines’ Natalie Bowman. Watch episodes from our Spotlight on CPG series:. Nestlé USA’s Alicia Enciso.

Walmart invested in self-driving vehicle delivery startup Cruise. The San Francisco-based startup operates a fleet of electric self-driving cars. Walmart began working with Cruise in November when it launched a delivery pilot in Scottsdale, Arizona. The retail giant says its investment in Cruise will help it develop a “fast, low-cost, and scalable” delivery ecosystem.

Cruise line operators understandably experienced some of the steepest cuts. According to ad sales research firm MediaRadar, cruise companies were spending just $1.2 million per week on ads in the last two weeks of March, compared with $12 million to $15 million per week in January and the first week of February.

Many of Barclays’ cobranded cards are with companies like airlines, resorts, and cruise lines, and it only lists one retail-focused cobrand on its site, a partnership with Barnes & Noble. Bringing in Gap helps Barclays become less reliant on the travel industry’s recovery.

Cardholders earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on United purchases and 2 miles for every $1 spent on all other travel—including airfare, trains, local transit, cruise lines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, resorts, ride-sharing services, and tolls—as well as dining and streaming services. Customers also earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

Travel: Includes airlines, car rental, hotels and resorts, cruises, and destination marketing organizations; includes leisure and unmanaged business travel. Other (industry): Includes categories that fall outside of those mentioned, such as real estate, manufacturing and industrial, education, and government. Overview of Our Digital Ad Spending Numbers by Industry.

We define travel to include airlines, car rentals, hotels and resorts, online travel agencies, cruises, and destination marketing organizations, inclusive of leisure and business travel.