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Trip.com Group Reveals What Travellers Want This Summer: Shorter Trips and Cooler Escapes

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Over 40% YoY increase in bookings for short trips, as holidaygoers seek quicker escapes, cooler weather and family travel this summer

SINGAPORE, June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 2026 is fast shaping to be another record year of travel, as jetsetters seek to tick off their holiday checklists and fulfil their wanderlust. Looking back at the first half of 2026, Trip.com Group found that users from Mainland China, the United Kingdom and Malaysia were the most avid about clocking their miles, travelling up to 2,800km on average, which is equivalent to the distance between Beijing and Manila, or London and Tenerife.

Across regions, cosmopolitan hubs and mega cities continue to be tourism hotspots, with the top-ranked cities by flight bookings being Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei[1].

The second half of 2026 will continue to be a busy travel period, as many welcome the summer vacations, sunny weather and the school holidays. Outbound flight bookings from regions like Europe, East Asia and Southeast Asia are seeing double-digit growth year-on-year (YoY) this summer and school holidays, based on Trip.com Group’s data, and driving this increase are some key trends observed this summer, including demand for quick getaways, family holidays and coolcations[2].

Quick Getaways Dominate Vacations This Summer

Quick escapes are the way to go this summer. The average trip duration of bookings made during this period ranges from 2.92 days to 3.8 days, with short-haul flights forming the majority of bookings. This is especially prominent in Europe, where short-haul flight bookings are seeing a YoY increase of 73%.

Long weekend travel, a form of quick getaway where people combine one to two days of annual leave with a long weekend, continues to be popular. This summer, bookings for short trips of 4 days or less are showing YoY increases above 40% in the East Asia and Europe regions, and above 15% in Southeast Asia. This incline is expected to grow further into the second half of 2026, especially for East Asia and Southeast Asia regions, suggesting that quick getaways will continue to dominate travellers’ itineraries for the rest of the year.

Family Travel Takes the Lead

More travellers are choosing to go on family trips this summer, taking advantage of the school holiday break. Hotel bookings by families with children aged 12 and below this summer have increased across regions, and more than doubled in markets like Mainland China, South Korea and Japan, based on Trip.com Group data.

A recent Trip.com Group survey also found that travelling with family is ranked as the most appealing experience, placed higher than a trip with a partner, friends or solo travel. This trend is even more pronounced in markets like the UK, Germany, Singapore and South Korea, especially among older Millennials or those aged 35 to 44 years old.

What this means is that family-first experiences are becoming a top priority for travellers, whether it is selecting convenient flight timings or having family-friendly food and activities nearby in the accommodation they choose. Having the right accommodation for the trip is particularly important to Gen Zs and Millennials, and factors they look out for include having family-friendly options and whether the hotel is near to child-friendly attractions[3].

In Southeast Asia, some of the top-booked attractions this summer include family-friendly experiences such as Bali Zoo in Indonesia, as well as Desaru Water Adventure Park and Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm in Malaysia, while theme parks like Universal Studios Japan, Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland are highly popular choices in East Asia.

Coolcations See Hotter Demand

As global temperatures rise, travellers are increasingly swapping the sun and sand for cooler weather and activities. Data from Trip.com Group shows a 74% YoY increase in searches for cooler destinations and coolcations since the start of this year[4].

Topics like “escape the heat”, “summer escapes” and “cool summer retreat” are trending, as travellers prioritise experiences away from the crowds and sweltering heat. Trip Moments, Trip.com’s community platform for travellers to share experiences and seek inspiration, has seen a 15.4% YoY increase in content last summer that spotlights cool summer getaway destinations, as well as tips and tricks to beat the heat[5].

Beyond popular coastal cities like Palma Mallorca, Izmir, Malaga and Porto, global flight booking searches for European destinations such as Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland and Wales are seeing significant increases this summer, compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, cooler destinations in Asia like Inner Mongolia, Sapporo and Yunnan, are experiencing a growing interest from international travellers. Notably, Ulaanbaatar and Sapporo, with comfortable temperatures averaging around 15°C to 25°C this summer, are among the top 10 most-booked cities for South Koreans, showing strong triple-digit YoY growth.

For cooler getaways this summer, Trip.com users can easily get recommendations on top-ranked destinations for summer water activities or cool water escapes via Trip.Best, a data-backed travel guide and inspiration for accommodation, attractions, destinations and more.

Less Thinking, More AI Planning

Travellers are no longer planning their trips by scouring the internet for information, but leaving the hard work to AI, Trip.com Group’s recent report found. With readily available AI travel tools such as TripGenie and Trip.Planner, users can get customised itineraries and assistance in a matter of seconds, and this is shifting behaviours. Google search interest for “help plan my trip” grew by 190% YoY, while TripGenie‘s AI-assisted order volume on Trip.com increased by around 400% year-on-year, indicating a deeper reliance on AI for inspiration and bookings.

Beyond pre-trip planning, travellers also see AI as a useful companion during their trip. The use of core TripGenie tools, such as hotel comparison, menu assistance, and live translation, increased by around 300% year-on-year. While travellers in highly connected, short-haul travel markets such as Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Malaysia, tend to interact with TripGenie more often per trip for in-destination inspiration and attraction guides, travellers in parts of Europe and North America typically engage AI earlier in the planning cycle, consulting TripGenie weeks in advance.

This signals a growing shift towards the use of AI as an integral part of travel planning and the travel journey, making it even easier for people to explore the world in 2026 and beyond.

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About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group is a global travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users through the aggregation of travel-related content and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps, websites and 24/7 customer service centres. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group is on the mission “to pursue the perfect trip for a better world”. Find out more about Trip.com Group here: group.trip.com.

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[1] Based on Trip.com Group flight booking data from 1 January to 31 May, 2026.

[2] Based on Trip.com Group flight booking data for the following time periods and regions: 1 June to 31 August, 2026 (Europe), 1 July to 31 August, 2026 (East Asia), 1 to 30 June, 2026 (Southeast Asia).

[3] Based on a OnePoll survey commissioned by Trip.com Group among women who have travelled in the last 2 years or intend to travel in the next 2 years. The survey was conducted from February to March 2026 and polled 3,500 women in total across Germany, Hong Kong (SAR), Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

[4] Based on Trip.com Group’s search data from January 2026.

[5] Based on data from Trip.com’s community platform, Trip Moments, from June to August 2025.

 

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China Southern Power Grid: Powering Asia-Pacific Prosperity Through Energy Cooperation

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SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The following is a news report from Xinhuanet:

The Asia-Pacific Media Forum opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on September 5 under the theme “Building a Path to Shared Prosperity for the Asia-Pacific Community: Media Consensus and Action.” Qian Chaoyang, Chairman and Party Secretary of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. (CSG), attended the forum and delivered remarks.

The Asia-Pacific region is a major engine of global economic growth, and clean, low-carbon, secure and efficient energy is essential to keeping that engine running smoothly. The region accounts for a significant share of global energy consumption. Its countries vary widely in their energy resources but have strong potential to complement one another, creating substantial opportunities for greater regional energy connectivity. CSG has consistently supported efforts to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future and has worked to become an important force in advancing energy connectivity across the region.

CSG highlighted progress in six areas across the Greater Bay Area: power supply, grid reliability, clean-energy integration, transmission technology, artificial intelligence and regional cooperation. Total electricity consumption across the Greater Bay Area exceeded 700 TWh, ranking ahead of the world’s other major bay areas; a stronger power grid, with average annual outage time per customer of less than 30 minutes and power supply reliability maintained at a world-class level; cleaner power, with approximately 180 billion kWh of clean electricity transmitted to the Greater Bay Area annually through the West-to-East Electricity Transmission project, installed renewable energy capacity exceeding 93 GW, and clean energy accounting for more than half of total installed capacity; more active innovation, with world-leading expertise in areas including complex large-scale power grid operations and flexible ultra-high-voltage direct-current (UHVDC) transmission; a smarter power system, with CSG’s proprietary power-sector foundation model, “Big Watt • Yudian,” receiving the top award at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference; and more open collaboration, with CSG launching and regularly convening the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Power Enterprise Summit and establishing the Greater Bay Area Power Development Cooperation Organization to advance open, mutually beneficial regional power cooperation.   

CSG is also contributing to the development of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future by sharing its experience in building, operating and governing the “electricity-powered Greater Bay Area,” as well as its experience in regional cooperation. The company has built 17 high-voltage power transmission links with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar and is exploring the development of a regional electricity market in the Lancang-Mekong region. More than 84 TWh of electricity has already been exchanged across national borders, with clean energy accounting for more than 90% of the total.

Pluz Energía Perú, operated by CSG, ranks first in its local market for power supply reliability, while power outages in three demonstration zones established in partnership with Laos have declined by 70%. CSG has also hosted the Global South Power Partnership Development Forum and signed more than 50 partnership agreements. The company has trained nearly 2,000 energy professionals from partner countries and implemented a number of small-scale, high-impact community projects, including the Vinh Tan Light initiative in Vietnam and the Dok Champa project in Laos.

Looking ahead, CSG said it plans to work with regional partners to capitalize on complementary energy resources and expand cross-border energy cooperation across the Asia-Pacific.

The forum brought together more than 400 representatives from over 40 countries and regions, as well as United Nations agencies and international organizations.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/china-southern-power-grid-powering-asia-pacific-prosperity-through-energy-cooperation-302871476.html

SOURCE Xinhuanet

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Frost & Sullivan Appoints Janesh Janardhanan as Global Partner and Head of Subscriptions

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Janardhanan to lead the strategic direction, commercial growth and global expansion of Frost & Sullivan’s analytics, subscription and Growth Generator platforms

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 7, 2026 /CNW/ — Frost & Sullivan, the global analytics and growth advisory firm, today announced the appointment of Janesh Janardhanan as Global Partner and Head of its Subscriptions business. In this role, Janardhanan assumes P&L leadership of the company’s global subscription portfolio, encompassing its analytics business, its subscriptions platform, and its Growth Generator data platform.

The appointment reflects Frost & Sullivan’s continued investment in its recurring-revenue subscription offerings, which provide clients worldwide with continuous access to intelligence, growth opportunity analytics, and decision-support tools. Janardhanan will be responsible for driving the strategic direction, commercial performance, and global expansion of these platforms.

“I am honored to take on the leadership of Frost & Sullivan’s Subscriptions business at such a pivotal moment,” said Janesh Janardhanan, Global Partner and Head of Subscriptions, Frost & Sullivan. “Our analytics, data, and Growth Generator platforms sit at the heart of how clients identify and act on their next opportunities for growth. My focus will be on deepening the value we deliver, scaling our platforms globally, and ensuring our subscribers stay ahead of the transformations reshaping their industries.”

Janardhanan brings extensive experience in commercial leadership, analytics, and growth strategy to the role. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School (GMP) and holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

Under his leadership, Frost & Sullivan’s Subscriptions business will continue to expand its coverage, enrich its content and data assets, and strengthen the technology platforms that power insight and growth for organizations across the globe.

About Frost & Sullivan

For more than six decades, Frost & Sullivan has helped clients accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation, and leadership. The company’s Growth Pipeline as a Service provides corporate leadership teams and their growth strategy partners with continuous research, insight, and analytics that drive transformational growth strategies. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

Your Transformational Growth Journey Starts Here: Schedule Your Growth Pipeline Dialog™ with the Frost & Sullivan team.

Media Contact:

Kristina Menzefricke
Marketing & Communications
Global Customer Experience, Frost & Sullivan
kristina.menzefricke@frost.com

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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Sony Electronics and Hello Kitty Team Up for Limited-Edition Headphone Collection

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Sony Store-exclusive bundles pair select Sony headphones with custom Hello Kitty accessories featuring thoughtful, character-inspired design details

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Electronics Inc. today announced a limited-edition collaboration with Hello Kitty, one of Sanrio’s most beloved and recognizable characters. Available only through the Sony Store, the collection pairs select Sony headphones with exclusive Hello Kitty collaboration merchandise, bringing together Sony’s premium audio experience and Hello Kitty’s iconic charm. Pre-orders begin later this holiday season1.

The limited-edition collaboration is available with the following Sony headphones:

WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Canceling HeadphonesWH-CH730N Wireless Noise Canceling HeadphonesWH-CH530 Wireless Headphones

Available with select pink/sand pink and black colorways of the WH-1000XM6, WH-CH730N, and WH-CH530 headphones, each collaboration bundle includes a Sony Store exclusive Hello Kitty carrying case and tote bag2. Designed to hold headphones and added space for everyday essentials, the carrying case blends Hello Kitty’s signature charm with Sony’s premium, minimalist design aesthetic. Thoughtful details throughout the collaboration celebrate Hello Kitty’s world and her connection to music, entertainment, and everyday creativity, while each headphone model is paired with its own uniquely designed tote bag for everyday use.

Bringing together Sony’s audio expertise and Hello Kitty’s timeless appeal, the limited-edition collection celebrates self-expression, entertainment, and personal style. The exclusive accessories allow fans to enjoy Hello Kitty’s iconic world not only while listening to music, but also as part of their everyday routine at home and on the go.

To receive updates on this collaboration bundle, please visit https://cloud.email.sel.sony.com/HelloKittyxSony 

About Sony Electronics Inc.

Sony Electronics is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world, with a portfolio that encompasses electronics, music, motion pictures, mobile, gaming, robotics and financial services. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution, and customer service. Sony Electronics creates products that innovate and inspire generations, such as the award-winning Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras and revolutionary high-resolution audio products. Sony is also a leading manufacturer of end-to-end solutions from 4K professional broadcast and A/V equipment. Visit http://www.sony.com/news for more information.

About Sanrio

Sanrio is the global lifestyle brand best known for Hello Kitty, who was created in 1974, and home to many other beloved character brands such as My Melody, Kuromi, LittleTwinStars, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, gudetama, Aggretsuko, Chococat, Badtz-maru and Keroppi. Sanrio was founded on the philosophy that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration to offer quality products, services, and activities that promote communication and inspire unique consumer experiences across the world. Today, Sanrio’s business extends into the entertainment industry with several content series, gaming offerings, and theme parks. Sanrio boasts an extensive product lineup that is available in over 130 countries. Sanrio hopes to bring smiles to everyone’s faces with their vision of “One World, Connecting Smiles.” To learn more about Sanrio, please visit www.sanrio.com and follow @sanrio and @hellokitty on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, and subscribe to the Hello Kitty and Friends YouTube Channel.

1 The collaboration will be available in limited quantities in select countries and regions. Available headphone models will vary by market and may include the WH-1000XM6, WH-CH730N and WH-CH530
2 Availability of collaboration bundles and headphone models varies by country/region.

 

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SOURCE Sony Electronics, Inc.

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