Apple’s New iPhones, Greece vs. Overtourism and Travel’s Popular Experiences

Skift Take

Today’s podcast looks at what the new iPhone offers travelers, how Greece is tackling over tourism, and ranking top travel experiences.

Rashaad Jorden

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, September 10, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Apple revealed more details on Monday about how it’s incorporating generative AI into its latest iPhones. Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes delves into how the new products could help travelers. 

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro have been built with a dedicated camera button that can activate a tool to ask AI about visuals. Dawes notes the new iPhone can obtain information such as hours and ratings when pointed at a restaurant. In addition, the iPhone can save details about an event appearing on a flier to its calendar. 

However, Dawes reports a demo didn’t show whether the camera works for recognizing landmarks or translating text. 

Next, the Greek government has announced two new measures to combat overtourism, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said recently that cruise passengers that step foot on the islands Santorini and Mykonos would be charged around $20 during the peak summer season. Revenue from the cruise fee would be used to mitigate the impact of the increased traffic. 

In addition, Mitsotakis announced that new short-term rental leases will be banned in three of Athens’ central districts for at least a year. The prime minister added the government will expand the ban to more districts if the number of short-term rentals exceeds a certain figure. 

Finally, Viator has unveiled data revealing the most popular travel experiences. Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill provides information about Viator’s findings.

The data showed a surge in interest in hands-on experiences, with bookings for photography tours, sports lessons and painting classes all registering a 50% year-over-year increase. In addition, nearly half of Viator’s top experiences involved open-air activities like kayaking and mountain biking.

Viator also revealed that bookings to cities with cooler climates — in particular, Helsinki and Stockholm — are booming as well as those to popular Asian destinations, such as Beijing and Osaka.