Co-sourcing cuts agent turnover. MakeMyTrip eyes India IPO. Japan’s new pre-screening. Sakura trends. – WiT

Specialized co-sourcing cuts travel agent turnover by 95%, says 24/7 TPD

Colombia-based 24/7 Travel Partner Desk (247 TPD), a co-sourcing firm operating exclusively in the travel sector, reports that its specialized model reduces agent turnover by 95.3% compared to the industry average, a finding drawn from data across more than 20 client companies worldwide. The stakes are high – replacing a single agent can cost between 50% and 200% of their annual salary, on top of lost institutional knowledge, lower team morale, and degraded customer experience. 247 TPD’s model is built on three pillars, which are travel-specific agent training, multilingual human-centred service using the Gallup methodology, and positioning itself as a partner rather than a traditional outsourcer.

The company argues that specialized co-sourcing is particularly well-suited to travel’s inherent volatility – seasonal fluctuations, variable revenue, and shifting traveler preferences – and supports retention through continuous training, one-to-one coaching, and Performance Improvement Plans. The approach mirrors a broader trend in financial services, where 84% of firms plan to reassess their operating models by integrating co-sourcing to boost efficiency and strategic control.

MakeMyTrip eyes India listing to fuel growth in core market

MakeMyTrip (MMT), which has traded on Nasdaq since 2010, is considering a secondary listing in India following an internal restructure that consolidated its Indian brands under a single entity, a move the company says could unlock capital, boost brand presence, and strengthen its market leadership. The potential IPO comes alongside active expansion efforts. MMT recently acquired Indian tour operator Flamingo Transworld to bolster its packages business and made a minority investment in a $36 million Series C round for visa processing company Atlys, with cross-selling benefits for both platforms. Financially, MMT posted a strong fiscal Q3 2026, with revenue up 11% to $296 million, gross bookings up nearly 12% year over year, and adjusted net profit rising $6.5 million to $51 million.

Japan to launch JESTA travel authorisation system by 2029

Japan is introducing JESTA, the Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, by March 2029, requiring pre-screening for foreign nationals from visa-waiver countries, joining a growing list of similar schemes including the US ESTA, UK ETA, and Europe’s upcoming ETIAS. Alongside JESTA, Japan is also considering raising its international departure tax, currently set at 1,000 yen (~$6.70) per passenger since 2019, to bring it in line with global standards, as well as increasing visa processing fees, which have remained unchanged since 1978.

Cherry Blossom travellers ditch crowds for second cities and screen-inspired destinations

Trip.com Group data shows cherry blossom travel is diversifying sharply in 2026, with nearly one in three sakura-related bookings now going beyond Japan’s classic Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka “Golden Route.” Screen tourism is a key driver. Netflix K-drama Can This Love Be Translated? has sparked a 66% month-on-month rise in train bookings to Kamakura, plus 55% growth in hotel bookings and a 64% jump in attraction bookings for Kamakura and Enoshima. Secondary Japanese cities are also outpacing Tokyo’s 31.5% year-on-year booking growth, with Sendai up 90%, Sapporo up 56%, Fukuoka up 55%, and Okinawa City up 66%. Beyond Japan, South Korea and China now rank among the top five globally for cherry blossom-related searches, with flight bookings to South Korea’s Gyeongju and Jeju Island surging 207% and 143% year-on-year respectively, while Chinese destinations like Guizhou, Wuhan, and Shanghai are rapidly gaining traction.

On the demographic side, 63% of sakura trips are booked by female travelers, with the majority aged 25–49. Notable growth is emerging at the edges: bookings for travelers over 60 are up 29.5% year-on-year, while trips with young children have surged 150%. Singapore ranks third globally for cherry blossom-related searches on Trip.com’s platform. Despite the broader diversification, Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden retains the top spot globally for sakura-related attraction bookings.

OpenAI’s checkout retreat signals AI won’t displace travel intermediaries anytime soon

(via Phocuswire)

OpenAI is pulling back its Instant Checkout feature from ChatGPT, originally built on a co-developed Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe and launched in September with brands like Shopify and Etsy, shifting it instead to ChatGPT apps, where travel players including Expedia, Booking.com, Skyscanner, and Accor already operate. The move is being widely read as a reality check on AI’s ability to collapse travel’s distribution chain. Phocuswright’s Coney Dongre noted that if even a tightly scoped commerce layer requires careful handling, the idea of AI sweeping away OTAs looks “far less inevitable,” given that travel transactions sit on top of pricing volatility, fare rules, ancillaries, cancellations, and post-booking servicing.

Markets agreed. Expedia and Booking Holdings stocks rose on the news, with Mizuho Americas analyst Lloyd Walmsley calling it a “Waterloo moment” for AI disruption of e-commerce and turning bullish on OTAs. Trivago CEO Johannes Thomas added that travel’s real complexity begins at the decision-making stage, requiring trust and transparency AI has yet to reliably deliver, while a BCG report warns OTAs may still need to fully reinvent their models — though the broad consensus is that AI will reshape discovery without eliminating the need for intermediaries, and may actually make experienced middlemen more valuable the closer it gets to the messy core of travel commerce.