App Archives - Com Namibia

Eurostar Launches Its Official ChatGPT App

September 8, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Eurostar lance son application officielle dans ChatGPT - DepositPhotos.com, jonkempner

Hurtigruten

Eurostar announces the worldwide launch of its official app within ChatGPT, making it the first railway company to offer this kind of service in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Available this summer, the app enables travelers to search for Eurostar journeys directly from ChatGPT.

Users can obtain real-time information on schedules, travel times, and available fares, then be redirected to eurostar.com to complete their booking.

The experience is built on natural-language interaction, both in writing and speaking. After linking their ChatGPT account to the Eurostar app, users can express their requests conversationally.

It is thus possible to search for a trip between Paris and London for a weekend, compare the schedules between Brussels and Amsterdam, or identify an itinerary for a European trip. Eurostar’s stated objective is to give travelers quick access to the main information needed to plan their journey.

This new feature complements the company’s existing channels, namely its website and its mobile app.

AI, a Growing Search Channel

For Eurostar, launching this app also responds to the evolving traveler search behaviors. The company has been noting for several months an increase in traffic from AI platforms to its website.

Between January 2025 and June 2026, this traffic has grown by fivefold. By June 2026, ChatGPT alone accounted for 85% of the traffic generated by AI applications to eurostar.com.

The impact on sales remains, for now, limited but measurable. Between May and July 2026, bookings on eurostar.com made from an AI application represented between 0.8% and 1% of total bookings.

For the company, these figures nevertheless signal the emergence of new user practices in trip planning, with travelers now using conversational interfaces to search for information, compare options, and build their itinerary.

New Features Under Consideration

Eurostar already plans to gradually evolve its ChatGPT experience. Several avenues are currently being studied, including discovering destinations, visualizing the network, inspiration for future trips, and easier access to certain fare offers.

The company also indicates it wants to explore the possibilities offered by other conversational assistants as these new uses develop.

“Research habits are evolving rapidly, and travelers are increasingly using conversational interfaces to plan their trips,” notes François Le Doze, Eurostar’s Commercial Director.

“By launching our app in ChatGPT, we are choosing to be present where our customers already search for information and plan their journeys.”

Published by Amelia Brille TourMaG.com Editor
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Radisson Hotels Launches Its App on ChatGPT

September 8, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Radisson Hotel Group s’associe à Accenture pour lancer une application de découverte hôtelière sur ChatGPT - Depositphotos.com @BongkarnGraphic

Hurtigruten

Radisson Hotel Group is accelerating its digital strategy by investing in a new distribution channel: conversational artificial intelligence.

The hotel group, supported by Accenture, is launching the @RadissonHotels app within ChatGPT, designed to simplify the search and selection of a property.

Accessible via a conversation with ChatGPT, the app covers more than 1,000 hotels across more than 100 countries. Travelers can express their request in natural language, specifying their destination, dates, needs, or preferences.

A user can thus search for a hotel for a family weekend in Amsterdam or request a property in Paris with a gym and a spa, for example. The tool then offers a selection of hotels that match the entered criteria.

Real-Time Rates and Availability

The app displays real-time availability and rates, along with key amenities and detailed information about the offered properties. An interactive map also helps locate the selected hotels.

For now, the booking journey continues on the Radisson Hotels website. Once a choice is made, the traveler is redirected to the group’s platform to finalize the reservation.

This approach aims to shorten the path from inspiration to purchase, as artificial intelligence tools progressively gain a place in travel planning.

Radisson Positions Itself in “Agentic Commerce”

For Radisson Hotel Group, this launch marks a new step in the development of agentic commerce, which means evolving commercial journeys toward experiences more guided by artificial intelligence and the intentions expressed by consumers.

The group notably relies on a study from Accenture indicating that 87% of travelers would be willing to use an AI-powered travel agent to find the best option. According to the same study, 71% expect that at least half of their hotel or air travel spend will be influenced by AI in the next twelve months.

Radisson Hotel Group also notes an evolution in the points of contact with travelers. Traditional channels, notably organic traffic and direct traffic to its website, must now contend with new entry points such as ChatGPT.

“AI is profoundly transforming the way travelers search for and book their hotel stays, and we are determined to be at the forefront of this evolution“, declares Gianni Di Fede, Chief Commercial Officer of Radisson Hotel Group.

Technology Connected to the Group’s Data

The development of this application began with Radisson Hotel Group’s use of an MCP accelerator integrated into Accenture’s AI Merchant Center. This platform enables structuring and preparing content, availability, rates, and reservation data so they can be leveraged by AI systems.

Accenture also assisted the group in designing the user experience across different devices. Directly connected to Radisson Hotel Group’s systems, the app is thus able to present up-to-date information to users.

In the long term, the setup could be enriched with new features. Radisson Hotel Group is particularly considering greater personalization, the integration of loyalty programs, the ability to book directly within ChatGPT, as well as the management and modification of reservations and AI-assisted concierge services.

Published by Amelia Brille TourMaG.com Editor
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United Airlines Upgrades Its App to Manage Disruptions

September 8, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

United Airlines enrichit son application mobile avec une nouvelle fonctionnalité - Depositphotos.com, rss.vladimir@gmail.com

Hurtigruten

United Airlines now allows passengers whose flight has been disrupted and who have been rebooked on a later departure to join a waitlist for up to three earlier flights.

The aim is to offer greater flexibility to travelers facing a change to their schedule, without requiring them to relinquish their confirmed booking.

Practically, the traveler selects up to three earlier flights within the United app. The airline then automatically monitors the availability on these flights.

When a seat becomes available, the passenger receives an SMS informing them and can then choose to take the earlier flight. Until that decision is made, their initial booking remains confirmed.

“This feature illustrates our commitment to making travel smoother and less stressful for our passengers“, explains Jennifer Schwierzke, Vice President of Customer Operations, Strategy & Execution at United.

A rollout ahead of a very busy weekend

The new service comes as Labor Day weekend approaches, traditionally marked by strong air travel activity in the United States.

United expects more than 3.4 million passengers between September 3 and September 8, 2026, about 300,000 more travelers than last year.

The airline also notes that more than 85% of its passengers use its mobile app on travel day, making this tool a central channel to manage the various stages of the journey.

The new feature complements the self-service options already offered by United in case of disruption.

Passengers can notably be automatically rebooked on another flight, receive vouchers for meals or accommodation when eligible, and track their checked baggage from the app.

The app becomes a central tool in the passenger journey

United has also strengthened several features of its app in recent months.

American travelers can notably use Digital ID in Apple Wallet, based on information from their U.S. passport, to facilitate certain steps of the airport journey, notably enrollment in the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID service.

United has further integrated TSA wait-time estimates at its major U.S. hubs into its app. A feature designed to help travelers anticipate their security screening more effectively.

The company also offers new tools to ease connections. The app shows the route to the boarding gate, the estimated walking time, and flight information.

With ConnectionSaver, passengers can also be notified when a departure is likely to be delayed, enabling them to board despite a tight connection.

Finally, United has integrated Apple’s Share Item Location feature. Travelers equipped with an AirTag or other Locate-enabled accessory can share its location with the airline’s customer service to facilitate searches in case of delays or issues with baggage routing.

Published by Amelia Brille TourMaG.com Editor
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New Summer Features for the IGN Maps Mobile App

August 15, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Outdoor enthusiasts and fans of local discovery have their ideal travel companion.

The IGN has significantly enriched its public mapping service by launching a major update, designed to facilitate the exploration of France and its overseas territories.

This «Summer Pack» notably stands out by offering a new ultra-precise high-definition map called “Plan IGN HD”.

Available exclusively on the app, it covers more than two thirds of the French territory, including DROM, and reveals with remarkable clarity the relief, the built environment, and the vegetation to provide a highly immersive reading of the space.

In addition to this technical advance, one of the most awaited features by the hiking community is added: the ability to overlay the routes of marked hiking trails (PR) and long-distance trails (GR) on any map background, including aerial photographs.

A comprehensive tool, blending guided hikes and the local cultural calendar

L'application mobile Cartes IGN passe en mode estival avec son nouveau « pack été ». Extraits du nouveau Plan IGN HD - Illustration : IGN

In addition to refining the geodetic display, the platform becomes a genuine travel guide thanks to the deployment of a thematic layer named “Idées rando”.

This contains over 6,000 walking, horseback riding, or cycling routes carefully selected and accompanied by a detailed editorial presentation to help each user choose according to their desires and physical level.

The other strength of this summer edition lies in the ongoing integration of local events provided in real time by the various French tourist offices.

Whether it is traditional markets, open-air concerts, or village festivities, the app brings together a wealth of ideas for cultural and festive outings across the entire national territory to help plan holidays while discovering the richness of each region’s heritage.

Also read: Cartes IGN: a free app to explore France

Thailand: What We Know About THIM, the New Travel App Set for October 2026

June 20, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Thaïlande : que sait-on de THIM, la nouvelle appli pour les voyageurs annoncée pour octobre 2026 ? - Photo Appli ios

Top of Travel

Thailand continues the digitization of its entry procedures.

According to several Asian media, including The Straits Times, the Thai Immigration Bureau is preparing the deployment of THIM (Thailand Immigration Management System), a new mobile application designed to simplify and speed up the entry formalities for international travelers.

Presented at the AWS Summit Bangkok 2026, the application should enable travelers to input their information before arrival, notably through automated passport reading and the creation of a reusable digital profile. According to The Straits Times, THIM is part of the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) system, which has become mandatory for foreign visitors.

« The THIM app would complement the TDAC portal, which until now did not have a mobile app version. It would serve to optimize immigration procedures in Thailand », also explains Nicolas Lepage, head of Sales and Communications at Action-Visas.

The THIM app already available on Android and iOS

The app is already available on the Thai Immigration Bureau’s iOS and Android stores. Descriptions published on these platforms highlight the management of digital arrival cards, traveler registration, and the reception of travel-related notifications.

For now, Thai authorities have not published a detailed deployment schedule. Several local media, however, mention an experimental phase starting on October 1, 2026.

At this stage, no official communication suggests that the TDAC web portal will disappear in favor of the mobile application. Observers instead expect the coexistence of the two channels to allow travelers to choose between a traditional online process and smartphone-based usage.