John Hollingsworth, commercial & key account manager for TUI Destinations Services (formely the Hotelbeds group department based in Cancun) will be taking over some of the duties of Alberto Cerveres, who has been promoted to country manager for all of Mexico. Meanwhile, Maria Espinosa, sales manager specialist & groups, the Americas, reports that they receive about 20 requests a day for leisure groups and incentives, about 25 percent are for North America.
The Receptive Services Association of America (RSAA) announced last month that Jane Rossmango, long-time New York habitué and formerly chairman and senior vice president of AlliedTPro and Kuoni Destination Management (USA), was coming out of retirement to take over as executive director of RSAA, which is based in Lexington, Ky. INBOUNDlearned, however, that an announcement will soon be made that she has reconsidered and will not be leading the organization.
Mary Rittmann, director of travel industry marketing at the Arizona Office of Tourism will be moving south as she has accepted a new position of Director of Public Relations and Community relations for Visit Tucson.
Kevin Streit, CEO of Kevin Streit Associates, a representation company for hotels and attractions recently attended ITB Asia, where he was the third person who found surprisingly strong US interest from Myanmar, which recently voted in a democratic government, perhaps spurring coming pent-up demand to the US.
Cynthia Schmitt, director, international tourism sales for Citadel Outlets for the past three years, announced that their parent company, Craig Realty Group, has just purchased Tanger Outlets in Barstow, California demonstrating a continuation of the consolidation that is taking place in the shopping industry. Ms. Schmitt told INBOUND that, despite the recent news about China’s devaluation and austerity, her Chinese sales continue to remain surprisingly robust.
Meanwhile, On and off the Exhibit Floor: One report said that 19 percent of European travelers will travel less in the coming year due to economic conditions. ++ WOW Air’s Engilbert Hafsteinsson, vice president, sales and marketing for budget carrier WOW Air, was touting the airline’s entry into the U.S. with flights based in Iceland and service scheduled to SFO, LAX, BOS, and DC. Fares start at $99. ++ Despite the Euro’s diminished purchasing power vs. the U.S. dollar, air carriers have continued to expand service from various cities in Germany to the USA. There is hope that oversupply may provoke price wars that will make the USA more affordable. ++ AlliedTPro’s CEO, Mark Morello and Mark Haeni, who heads up the receptive tour operator’s Miami office, said that sales for 2015 remains strong but there are concerns about 2016—especially with hotel prices increasing 6-10 percent in the USA. ++NYC & Company’s new advertising promotion: “Unlock NYC, Find a Winter Less Ordinary.” The promotion will urge visitors to take advantage of lower hotel rates and Broadway show tickets during cold winter months. Makiko Healey, vice president of tourism forNYC & Co. told us that this initiative would turn into a seasonal campaign extending into Unlock Spring, Summer and Fall for 2016. ++ Sevil Arnavutiglu-Le, regional director West Coast, Hotelbeds said that her company was for sale. She had just returned from a week of meetings in Palma De Majorca, the company’s home office, where she was told it was business as usual and nothing will change for the foreseeable future. The company has 5,000 employees worldwide.
