Inside Saudi’s Big Tourism Bet and Google’s Booking Disruption

In this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast , Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko unpack one of the biggest stories in global tourism right now: Saudi Arabia’s explosive push to become a world travel hub. Fresh off a reporting trip to Riyadh, Sarah shares on-the-ground insights from Tourise—including the scale of development, the country’s prestige mega-projects, and the challenges of turning early momentum into mass-market appeal. Seth analyzes Saudi’s real tourism numbers and what they reveal about the nation’s long-term strategy. The episode also breaks down Google’s latest move into AI-powered travel booking and what it could mean for OTAs like Expedia and Booking. Plus, the hosts revisit the Marriott and Sonder fallout, debate a controversial bet tied to the Epstein files, and wrap the show with their weekly winners and losers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠EF World Journeys⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Connect with Skift: LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://facebook.com/skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/skift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.