SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2025--
Expedia Group today announced a series of strategic travel partnerships aimed at expanding its footprint to additional markets in the Middle East, spanning advertising, technology and supply partnerships, alongside the launch of its travel agent program, Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP), part of the company’s B2B network, into the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The partnerships underscore the company’s commitment to empowering Middle Eastern partners with access to its global traveler audience, increasing their visibility, and driving incremental revenue growth.
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Expanding the Travel Agent Footprint in the UAE
Expedia TAAP – part of the company’s B2B network, Private Label Solutions – is launching in the UAE, unlocking its intuitive booking platform for travel agents in the Middle East region to meet the rising demand in the region.
Expedia TAAP empowers travel agents to boost their earnings with access to its vast travel inventory and a seamless booking experience. Travel agents earn commission on total booking value and grow their business with user friendly tools, marketing materials, and more.
Other areas of Expedia Group's B2B network have operated in the Middle East for more than 10 years with key partnerships including Rezlive, Halalbooking and Blackrock Technologies.
Advertising the Middle East to a Global Audience
Expedia Group Media Solutions, the world’s travel media network, provides travel partners, brands and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) with targeted solutions to reach, engage, and convert hundreds of millions of travelers worldwide through innovative advertising products. For partners in the Middle East, the media network offers a powerful platform to connect with travelers through compelling content wherever they plan and book their journeys. With industry-leading measurement and reporting tools, advertisers can optimize campaigns and maximize impact. New partnerships include:
Giving Partners More Control Through Travel Technology
Expedia Group also announced new technology partnerships with leading airlines and hotels, enabling its Middle Eastern partners to capture more market share and gain visibility to Expedia Group’s global traveler base:
“We're excited to collaborate with key players in the Middle East travel industry," said Rob Torres, Senior Vice President, Expedia Group Media Solutions. "By combining innovative technology solutions, an expanding travel agent network, and impactful advertising partnerships, we’re helping travel partners in the region extend their reach, enhance the traveler experience, and showcase their destinations to a global audience. We’re proud to support our partners in driving growth and delivering meaningful results in this important region.”
Expedia Group also continues to invest in the traveler experience in the region, now offering packages (flight + hotel) on the Expedia UAE and Saudi Arabia points of sale to help travelers enjoy the best traveler experience and also save both time and money.
Expedia’s proprietary flight price tracking tool is also now available on the Expedia app. Taking the guess work out of deciding when to book, the feature notifies travelers when flight prices change and uses data to help travelers decide when to book. Additionally, an Arabic-language version of the UAE and Saudi Arabia sites will soon be available to enhance the traveler booking experience.
Learn more about partnering with Expedia Group here.
About Expedia Group
Expedia Group, Inc. brands power travel for everyone, everywhere through our global platform. Driven by the core belief that travel is a force for good, Expedia Group™ helps people experience the world in new ways and build lasting connections. They provide industry-leading technology solutions to fuel partner growth and success, while facilitating memorable experiences for travelers.
The Expedia Group family of brands includes Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Expedia® Partner Solutions, Vrbo®, trivago®, Orbitz®, Travelocity®, Hotwire®, Wotif®, ebookers®, CheapTickets®, Expedia Group™ Media Solutions, CarRentals.com™, and Expedia Cruises™.
© 2025 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Expedia Group and the Expedia Group logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. CST: 2029030-50.
For more information, visitwww.expediagroup.com.
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Expedia Group Expands Presence in the Middle East Through New Travel Partnerships
Expedia Group Expands Presence in the Middle East Through New Travel Partnerships
NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.
Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.
Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.
“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.
About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.
Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.
The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.
Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.
In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.
“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.
Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.
The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.
Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.
"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.
There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.
The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."
Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.
Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.
Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.
Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
