Kuoni up for Sale—Carlyle Group among Those Interested
The Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm, the Carlyle Group, is among the firms interested in acquiring the Kuoni Group as the latter seems to have given up on staying in the travel industry despite its efforts last year to re-capitalize and grow its business by offloading its European tour operator enterprises and stick to its core products. Among the buzz and news bytes circulating in the European trade and business news media on Jan. 4-5, the following points were established:
—The Zurich-based Kuoni Group—founded in 1905 by Alfred Kuoni, it is continental Europe’s oldest tour operator—is for sale, as the company hired two banks last month to review its plan to break up and sell its operations;
—Those firms apparently interested in Kuoni include the Swedish company EQT, BC Partners, Permira, Partners Group, and the Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, the Carlyle Group;
—Because of its spotty financial performance in recent years, it appears unlikely that the selling price for Kuoni would exceed or even reach its current market value of $1.1 billion; and
—Any deal might not go anywhere should it fail to receive the approval of approved the Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation, an entity set up by the founding family and which has a 25 percent voting stake that enables it to block any transaction.
Too Little, Too Late? Who’s Affected? Once considered a blue-chip investment, the Kuoni brand has hobbled along in recent years, selling off various parts of itself that were not a part of the B2B travel experience. This activity peaked last year when the company sold off its European operations to DER Touristik, Germany’s third-largest tour operator. Kuoni held onto AlliedTPro (the combined T-Pro and Allied Tours companies, which it acquired 2000-2002) and GTA, as well as brite spokes, the experiental travel brand that Kuoni launched in 2013. All three are based in New York City. Their fate is uncertain, regardless of who acquires Kuoni.
The Carlyle (Travel) Group? The global venture capital firm has aggressively pursued investments in the travel business in the past several years. In 2010, it acquired a majority interest in CVC, the largest travel company in Brazil. Last fall, it acquired two leading travel companies in Peru— Nuevo Mundo Viajes, an outbound company, and Condor Travel, an inbound operator—to form a single regional company, Nuevo Mundo. Earlier, in May 2014, Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Bonotel Exclusive Travel, the Las Vegas-based receptive tour operator that markets upscale product. Carlyle has also invested in Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency.
—The Zurich-based Kuoni Group—founded in 1906 by Alfred Kuoni, it is continental Europe’s oldest tour operator—is for sale, as the company hired two banks last month to review its plan to break up and sell its operations;
—Those firms apparently interested in Kuoni include the Swedish company EQT, BC Partners, Permira, Partners Group, and the Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, the Carlyle Group;
—Because of its spotty financial performance in recent years, it appears unlikely that the selling price for Kuoni would exceed or even reach its current market value of $1.1 billion; and
—Any deal might not go anywhere should it fail to receive the approval of approved the Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation, an entity set up by the founding family and which has a 25 percent voting stake that enables it to block any transaction.
Too Little, Too Late? Who’s Affected? Once considered a blue-chip investment, the Kuoni brand has hobbled along in recent years, selling off various parts of itself that were not a part of the B2B travel experience. This activity peaked last year when the company sold off its European operations to DER Touristik, Germany’s third-largest tour operator. Kuoni held onto AlliedTPro (the combined T-Pro and Allied Tours companies, which it acquired 2000-2002) and GTA, as well as brite spokes, the experiental travel brand that Kuoni launched in 2013. All three are based in New York City. Their fate is uncertain, regardless of who acquires Kuoni.
The Carlyle (Travel) Group? The global venture capital firm has aggressively pursued investments in the travel business in the past several years. In 2010, it acquired a majority interest in CVC, the largest travel company in Brazil. Last fall, it acquired two leading travel companies in Peru— Nuevo Mundo Viajes, an outbound company, and Condor Travel, an inbound operator—to form a single regional company, Nuevo Mundo. Earlier, in May 2014, Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Bonotel Exclusive Travel, the Las Vegas-based receptive tour operator that markets upscale product. Carlyle has also invested in Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency.
The NAJ Listening Tour, Continued
Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of the NAJ Group, which publishes the Inbound Report and hosts TheTourOperator.com website, recently conducted his final Listening Tour for the year 2015, during which he met with some 50 receptive tour operators and staff in their offices in the Greater Los Angeles area. Much of the discussion with the receptives centered on the strong and still growing market from China. Following are some of his observations from the experience.
- Receptive Tour Operators—especially the Chinese—are evolving into DMCs for areas in which they have offices: mostly Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Orlando. They would like TheTourOperator.com to connect them to DMOs or DMCs in other areas for which they receive requests.
- The Chinese market, even after running over speed bumps (the Yuan devaluation and stock market volatility), continues to boom into 2016—driven by the 10-year China-U.S. visa extension agreement made in November 2014 and the Chinese government declaration that 2016 would be the Year of USA. However, it is clear from our visits that the market has become hyper-competitive with many existing operators challenged by “under-the-radar” agents on one side and by the growth of FIT on the other.
The under-the-radar operators comprise a parallel universe in which they are hacking the market. Plying family and long time personal relationships in China, there is an entire unregulated industry in the U.S. of receptives serving their contacts in China, as well as marginal travel agents in China who obscure their identities through the practice of leasing desks from one of the major travel companies (such as CITS or CTS) in fourth tier markets, much like a hair stylist rents a chair in a salon. While they have no official ties to the home agency, their business cards usually include the logo of the home agency—thus creating a false sense of identity.
- While we were in their offices, a couple of Chinese operators received cancellations from groups that were fearful of traveling to Los Angeles after news of the San Bernardino shootings became known.
- Shooting guns and Self-Drive Tours. These two activities were mentioned by more than a half-dozen companies as one that appealed to their incentive clients, especially for Las Vegas where they have the option of Bullets and Burgers or Exotics Racing; in the latter, visitors can drive $300,000 Lamborghinis. And Chinese operators told us they now organize self-drive tours for young couples and FITs who use GPS and the Internet to get around everywhere, as well as head up caravans of 10-20 people in rental cars with a tour director in the lead car communicating to all others via walkie-talkie.
- Receptive Tour Operators, at least in major cities such as New York and San Francisco, have lost leverage with hotels. Hotel occupancy rates, as predicted by PKF Consulting, are expected to remain high through 2017, it will continue to be a seller’s market, which is not good for business in major cities, where ADRs increased 4 to 5 percent in 2015 and hotel revenue managers and GMs have all the power. Operators are now focusing on providing service.
- Operators are hedging their bets with outbound travel. It isn’t only the Japanese and Chinese operators who have been opening outbound divisions, but also traditional operators such as AmericanTours International (ATI) which, through its AAA partnerships, has established outbound programs, with founder Noel Irwin Hentschel pioneering the opening of Cuba through her long standing relationships in that country. (More than 20 years ago, she led a group of ATI’s most prominent international clients on a VIP tour of Cuba, where they had a private audience with Fidel Castro).
The Underbelly of the Chinese Tour Operator Market: To fully understand how the Chinese market works, Steinman recounted two stories from last month’s “Listening Tour” in Southern California.
The Parallel Universe: Appointments were made for us by a local Chinese supplier who also volunteered to be our guide to meet operators. One afternoon, our meetings shifted from San Gabriel to Torrance and our guide received a text from her sister-in-law asking her to stop off and pick up some Jujubes at a location near Torrance. (Dried dates, the Jujubes are a delicacy used for stuffing duck and goose.) We thought this might be a small Chinese food market, but the address pointed us to an auto repair shop. After double checking the address, we noticed the overhead pull-down door was closed, so we knocked on a side door around the corner and were greeted by a family of four, apparently owners of the repair shop, who were in the middle of lunch. They invited us in. Yes, they assured us, this was the right place. The owner went into the back and pulled out 5-10-and-20-pound bags of Jujubes that our guides were delighted to buy. He also offered us pre-packaged samples of tea made from Jujubes that he could also sell us. The garage owner told us he owned a 20-acre Jujube farm in Big Bear and did not sell on the Internet—only 100 percent word-of-mouth and off the books. It occurred to us that this was probably how the Chinese travel industry operated … with rogue receptive operators purchasing hotel product through one of the Chinese online bed banks powered by Hotelbeds, Tourico or GTA inventory: Low overhead, low risk, and flying under the radar of official governing bodies such NTA, they operate in a parallel universe that is frustrating official receptives.
The Sad Story of Gary Huang: The other is the story of Gary Huang, a little known but once highly successful operator who built a strong receptive business through a tight network of “old friends” in China to whom he extended 90-day credit terms, which has become the norm for budget and group tour business. After several years of strong growth, his friends began paying him later and later until he got to the point where he was holding off his creditors all the way down the supply chain. They told him the only way they could pay down their debt to him was if he accommodated more of their coming tour groups. Eventually, of course, Huang had to file for bankruptcy and move back to San Gabriel where another receptive and hotelier, to whom he owned over $75,000, took pity on him and hired him. With no money and rising personal expenses–he borrowed $20,000 more from his employer for his daughter’s wedding—the financial pressures became insurmountable. One day last May, he collapsed at his desk and later died of a stroke that his friends felt was caused by unbearable pressure.
Taylor Swift’s Chinese Social Media company to present at RTO Summit Digital Day
What do Taylor Swift and Brittany Spears have in common with RTO Summit? The head of their China social media team, Adam Roseman (pictured here) will present at RTO Summit’s Digital Day on new ways tourism marketers can reach and influence China’s emerging group of FIT travelers.
Adam Roseman, is the Co-Founder & CEO of China Branding Group and its Chinese consumer brand Fans Tang, the largest non-studio provider of multi-platform Western content into the China market across online video, social media and live on the ground events, as well as the owner of China’s largest Western content data analytics platform used by customers including major Hollywood studios, talent agencies, advertising agencies and international brand marketers is now moving into the travel vertical with Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board as his first DMO client. Among the many celebrities for whom FansTang conducts social media marketing in China are Taylor Swift and Brittany Spears. See their video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVHm6louE10
Adam will be one of a host of speakers at Summit West on February 17, the first of three “Digital Days” to be held in conjunction with NAJ’s RTO Summits in 2016 designed to provide traditional tour and travel marketers with new online international marketing skills.
Other topics include “How to Use Google Predictive Analytics to Forecast International Intent to Travel to Specific Destinations from A Variety of Source Countries” to “Apps That Tour Operators Would Love…if Only They Knew about Them.” Participation in the day-long Symposium is included in the cost of registration for the RTO Summit. It is also available on an a la carte basis for tour and travel professionals who wish to attend. For more information on the program and the Summit visit:
http://www.rtosummit.com/rto-summit-west/rto-summit-west-agenda/
See the full Agenda here.
http://www.rtosummit.com/rto-summit-west/rto-summit-west-agenda/
The Inbound Report’s Top Ten for 2015
Here are the ten most visited articles from the Inbound Report during the year of 2015.
- Is Hotelbeds up for Sale? (October 28)
https://www.inboundreport.com/2015/10/28/is-hotelbeds-up-for-sale/
- Seven Trends to Watch for at ipw in Orlando (May 20)
https://www.inboundreport.com/2015/05/20/seven-trends-to-watch-for-at-ipw-in-orlando/
- Brazil Sinks into Recession just before IPW—How Will it Impact 2016-17 and Beyond? (May 27)
- Annual China Outbound Travel Trends Report from Chinese International Travel Monitor: Part 1 (July 21)
- Bankruptcy of Brazil’s Second Largest Tour Operator Sends Chills throughout Distribution System (October 7)
- New Hotelbeds Group—More Than Just Hotels (January 31)
https://www.inboundreport.com/2015/01/31/new-hotelbeds-group-more-than-just-hotels/
- Which Are the Top Buyer Delegations at IPW? The List Might Surprise You (May 27)
- DERTOUR Parent Company Acquires Kuoni-branded Travel Companies across Europe (July 1)
- TUI to Dissolve Thomson, First Choice and other Brands in Favor of Single TUI Über Brand (May 13) https://www.inboundreport.com/2015/05/13/tui-to-dissolve-thomson-first-choice-and-other-brands-in-favor-of-single-tui-uber-brand/
- IPW 2015 Report: Seven Top Takeaways (June 10)
https://www.inboundreport.com/2015/06/10/ipw-2015-report-seven-top-takeaways/
Midst “The Crisis,” Violence Accompanies Tour Operator Bankruptcy in Brazil
The year in the tour and travel business in Brazil ended much as it had been behaving through most of a tortured year—with another bankruptcy of another major tour operator: São Paulo-based Rubia Tur. After the company announced just before Christmas that it would be unable to honor New Year’s Eve packages that included air, cruise and lodging in Asia, things really got perilous, the company’s director, Pedro Cunico, said in a statement. (Rubia Tur did not offer products to North America).
Also according to Cunico, the tour operator’s headquarters in São Paulo was invaded by clients the week before the holidays began. “I was beaten and threatened. I had to call the police because I was scared and cornered,” he wrote. “They were aggressive and threatening people. Not only that, these same people were stopping at the door of my house.”
Cunico, who said, “I am the victim of the crisis” (“The crisis” is widely used as the expression to refer to Brazil’s overall economic condition, which comprises the worst economic recession in a half-century, as well an anemic currency and record business closures), wrote that he “will work from now to repay the agencies that were affected by this operation. Therefore, after three decades of success, we are suspending our activities and concentrating efforts to pay our customers.”
In addition to the shutdown of Rubia Tur, there have been scattered closures of small travel agencies and businesses that interact with tour operators and travel agencies for much of the year. Two months before the shutdown, Designer Tours, a well-known operator based in São Paulo that specialized in upscale tours and incentive travel, closed its doors, explaining in a statement that it was “due to the notorious economic crisis sweeping the country, the high dollar and the euro and the consequent drop of over 50 percent of sales in recent months.” (From Jan. 1, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2016, the Brazilian real fell 33 percent against the U.S. dollar.)
The bankruptcies in the tour and travel business are not unique to the tour and travel industry. According to Serasa Experian‘s indicator of bankruptcies and judicial recovery requests, a total of 627 requests were filed across Brazil in the first seven months of the year. That is the largest such number since the enactment of a law on bankruptcy proceedings in 2005.
What does seem unique to the industry is the impact of the first bankruptcy of note last spring—that of Nascimento Turismo, the second largest tour operator in the country. As was the case with other companies that deal internationally, Nascimento was buying product in U.S. dollars and selling it to clients in Brazil for reales. Eventually, they could no longer pay for the product they were selling at a loss.
Still, the closure of Nascimento was a stunner. An editorial two weeks ago in the trade journal Panrotas said, “Businesses close and open. Sales grow and fall. This is normal in the market. The surprise case of Nascimento, however, that sold until the last minute before the bankruptcy protection, shocked the industry.” It is just possible that once Nascimento capsized, other travel companies took it as a sign that it was time for them, too, to go under.
“Cautiously Optimistic” is Outlook for German Market in 2016
“Static” is the word that best describes the character of the German outbound travel market—based on the revelations contained in the new dossier report of the German travel trade publication FVW. There have been some changes of note in the Nov. 1, 2014-to-Oct. 31, 2015 business year that show change, but little from the perspective of the Inbound Report that would give encouragement to U.S. travel suppliers hoping for more significant growth in the market. (It should be noted that the last long-term forecast for inbound travel to the USA issued by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office projected that visitor traffic to the United States from Germany would increase by a modest 2 percent.)
For instance, the 56 operators who participated in this year’s FVW dossier increased revenues by 4.2 percent to €21.2 billion ($23 billion) while their customer volumes rose by 2.2 percent to 32.7 million. The 56 companies are estimated to cover about 80 percent of the total German market.
Is the U.S. a Luxury Destination and, if so, Immune from Currency Fluctuations? Many in the industry had been anxious to see the results of the FVW dossier to see just what impact the decline of the euro vs. the U.S. dollar has had on business. Clearly, it could have been worse. In the one-year period used to measure the industry, the euro went from a high of $1.25 to $1.10. This is within the much larger slide from the high and low points of the euro vs. the dollar in 2014-2015: from a high near $1.40 to a low of $1.06—a decline of 24 percent. The euro, it seems, has stabilized—albeit at a lower level.
The dossier data seem to lend credence to the contention of Peter van Berkel, president of Travalco, a Miami-based receptive tour operator familiar with the German market, who told delegates at the NAJ Group’s recent NAJ RTO Summit in Orlando that receptives should recognize that the U.S. is not a budget or economy product for German consumers most affected by the weaker euro, but is a luxury product. Indeed, FVW reported that for long-haul holidays, there was a 6.9 percent increase in sales. “This higher growth for more expensive holidays,” it said, “(and) explains why tour operator revenues grew by two percentage points more than customer numbers.”
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose: Meanwhile, the ranking of the market leaders among German tour operators—though some share figures changed by percentage fractions from the last dossier ranking—remains the same as it was in the previous dossier report. The top four companies (TUI Germany, Thomas Cook Germany, DER Touristik and FTI) have half the market.
Top German Operators
| Operator & Rank | Share of Total Market |
|---|---|
| 1. TUI Germany | 16.5% |
| 2. Thomas Cook Germany | 12.9% |
| 3. DER Touristik | 11.4% |
| 4. FTI | 7.9% |
| 5. Alltours | 5.5% |
| 6. Aida Cruises | 5% |
| 7. Schauinsland | 4% |
| TUI Cruises/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises have an another 3.3% of overall share. | |
| Source: FVW dossier |
UK’s Travel Trade is “Slightly Positive” about 2016
Released just four days before the end of the year, the UK “Travel Trends 2016” report by ABTA (formerly the Association of British Travel Agents) is, for U.S. travel suppliers and receptive tour operators, a mostly encouraging portrait of the tour and travel industry landscape for the coming year. Even the downside to the report on travel by UK residents for the coming year might benefit the USA: that is, there is some concern over safety and security in the wake of terrorist attacks and activity in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which just might make some British travelers seek out the United States, which is still perceived as a safe destination.
Poring through the 26-page “Trends,” we found very little that was discouraging, in fact, with the possible exception that slightly fewer Brits plan to travel at all in 2016, but this seems to have more to do with domestic travel in the UK than it does for travel abroad. Following are the key points that we culled from the report.
FROM 2015
—During the summer travel period (July 2015 to September 2015), UK residents’ visits abroad rose by 9 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier and they spent percent more during this period.
—The most popular overseas destinations in 2015 for British holidaymakers were: Spain, France, the USA, Italy, Portugal, Greece, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ireland and Belgium.
—ABTA research shows a particular increase in the number of overseas holidays of 7+ nights … from 1.2 in 2014 to 1.5 in 2015
—The average number of holidays taken per person increased slightly from 3.0 holidays in 2014 to 3.2 holidays this year.
—However, the number of people cutting back on holidays, or not taking a holiday at all also increased: the total number of people taking a holiday fell slightly from 80 percent in 2014 to 77 percent in 2015.
FOR 2016
—The outlook for 2016 is cautiously positive; economic recovery seems set to continue and almost a quarter (23 percent) of the population are expecting to spend more on their holidays in 2016, up slightly from 20 percent who said the same this time last year, according to ABTA research.
—Long-haul holidays are no longer the preserve of the intrepid traveler. According to TUI UK, its Thomson and First Choice holidays have seen a 350 percent increase in long haul customers over the last ten years with an 800 percent increase in families taking long-haul holidays.
—Early indications from industry figures show the number of overseas holidays booked to date are up 9 percent year-on-year.
—A third (33 percent) of people aged 16-24 and 28 percent of people aged 25- 34 are planning to spend more on holidays in 2016.
—Almost one in five people (18 percent) say they will travel to a country they have never been to before in 2016, compared to 9 percent who said this last year.
—Nearly a quarter (23 percent) says they will try a new resort or city (even if they have visited the country before) compared to 10 percent who said this at the end of 2014.
—All-inclusives also look to cement a strong position, with one in five people (20 percent) saying they may take an all-inclusive holiday in 2016
—ABTA Members have reported an increase in people seeking bespoke or tailor made holidays and 6 percent of people are planning to take a tailor made tour or holiday in 2016. This type of holiday is most popular with people aged 25-34 and over 65.
—The younger generation that is driving a trend towards more active holidays. Sixteen percent of 16-24 year olds and 13 percent of 25-34 year olds plan to take an activity or sporting holiday in 2016.
—Data from the research firm GfK reveals a 5 five percent increase in family bookings
Air Service between USA and China and India Becoming Less of an Issue for Travelers
Only five years ago, speakers and panelists at seminars and conferences designed to explain to U.S. travel suppliers and DMOs how to tap into the growing markets of China and India learned that the absence of adequate lift capacity between the USA and the two country markets was a challenge. No longer. Even as traffic from the two nations is, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office, projected to increase by more than 70 percent between 2015 and 2020 (from 3.74 million arrivals to 6.46 million arrivals), service is expanding to keep pace with long-haul demand. Here are some recent developments in the matter.
United Looks to Growth in China, Openings in India: Somewhat stymied in its plans to expand lift capacity between India and the United States as carriers from the Middle East—especially Etihad and Emirates—United Airlines is looking to expand its service between the USA and China. The airline already has more nonstop flights between China and the U.S. It is now looking to start service to Xian, a city of almost 8.5 million people. And, a company spokesperson said, demand for service between Chengdu and the United States—service began in the summer of 2014—is exceeding expectations and more U.S. hubs will be linked to the service once the route matures.
Meanwhile, in order to challenge the primacy of Emirates and Etihad (as well as Qatar Airlines), whose service expansion worldwide has made the UAE and its international airports a major international connection for East-West travel, United is working with Air India, its Star Alliance partner, are discussing a new codeshare for services to and from India and this should provide seamless travel to multiple U.S. airports via United’s hubs in Chicago, San Francisco and New York. United already has daily nonstop service from New York to both Delhi and Mumbai.
“This is one sure way to deal with Middle East carriers. If we put our act together, we will be able to work out a solution,” Air India commercial director Pankaj Srivastava, told the trade publication AINonline. Air India is now exploring the viability of new direct service to Washington, D.C.
Virgin America Strikes Codeshare Deal with China Southern: Virgin America airlines and China Southern Airlines have entered into a codesharing agreement to offer seamless booking and travel between China, Southeast Asia and multiple Virgin America destinations across the United States.
China Southern will place its CZ airline code and flight numbers on Virgin America flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco including Boston, Chicago, Dallas Love Field, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Newark, New York (JFK), Seattle, San Diego and Washington D.C. The agreement allows one-stop booking on a single ticket and check-in and baggage handling through to the final destination.
In a statement accompanying the announced, the two carriers said that the agreement is unique in that China Southern is the only airline offering non-stop service between Guangzhou and Wuhan and the United States. Guangzhou based China Southern already offers flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
“We look forward to welcoming China Southern guests onboard our flights as we provide them with our signature Virgin service to and from destinations across our US route network,” said Adam Green, Virgin America’s director of network planning.
NEW AND INTERESTING
Timo Kohlenberg, president and CEO of America Unlimited—it is a Hannover, Germany-based operator that has developed a reputation for new and sometimes edgy, experiential USA product—took to the social media last week to post a photo of himself along with his newest promotional idea: a Dodge Durango SUV trimmed with the company’s name and colors. Kohlenberg, who has worked for some globally famous PR agencies and who did a stint with Cunning, an advertising stunt agency in New York, told us, “We are going to use the SUV for branding opportunities. It will be placed into main pedestrian areas and used as a promotional car during consumer shows in Germany. We might also be using it for one of our outside marketing stunts that we run from time to time.”
Air & Space Museum’s Major Redesign to be Completed by July 2016: The Smithsonian Institution‘s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.—it usually ranks as the most visited Smithsonian attraction every year and is the stop-off point for thousands of tour buses weekly—will be celebrating its 40thbirthday with the reopening of the Boeing Milestones of Flight gallery on July 1, 2016. The event will mark the completion of the first renovation of the museum’s cavernous main hall and its Milestones of Flight, which is undergoing an extensive redesign. The expanded gallery will “trace the interconnected stories of the world’s most significant aircraft and spacecraft,” museum officials have said. For more information, visit https://airandspace.si.edu/.
“Homies” Launch New San Francisco Walking Tours: Recently launched in San Francisco is San Francisco Native Tours—a new walking tour company that focuses on locally-led walks around the city. Stuart Watts and Trevor O’Donnell, the two native San Franciscans who created the business, say that they strive to be different from many other walking tour companies by only hiring native guides who have grown up in the city, being actively involved in the local community, and keeping the group sizes small and friendly. The new company offers a number of small group walking tours around the Financial District, North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, SOMA, Haight, Castro and Mission districts of San Francisco. The list of available tours is evolving and expanding as the company grows. All the tours are themed, guided by a native of the city, and many include a culinary aspect, either food, drink, or both. For more information, visit www.sfnativetours.com.
Fall 2016 is Target for Opening of African American Museum in Washington, D.C.: The National Museum of African American History and Culture is scheduled to open by fall 2016. The final Smithsonian Institution museum on the National Mall, it is located on five acres adjacent to the National Museum of American History and is not far from the Washington Monument (literally, in the same block) and White House. The building, four-stories below ground, four stories above, and has a collection that comprises 33,000-plus objects that includes slave shackles and Louis Armstrong‘s trumpet as well as monumental pieces like a Jim Crow-era railway car and an Angola prison tower that were installed before the museum was completed. The museum is designed to tell the story of African Americans from the diaspora to present day. Opening date and celebrations are yet to be announced. For more information, visit: www. http://nmaahc.si.edu/.
Orlando’s Wet ‘n Wild to Go Dry: Regarded as the first water park in the United States, the Wet ‘n Wild Water Park on Orlando’s International Drive and just a minute or two away from Universal Studios, which owns it, will shut down at the end of 2016. In its place, Universal is opening Volcano Bay, described as “a new water theme park experience” in 2017. Wet ‘n Wild Orlandowas founded in 1977 by SeaWorld creator George Millay. The success of the attraction resulted in the construction of several otherWet ‘n Wild-branded parks across in 1998, Millay sold off his interests in his parks. The Orlando location was purchased by Universal. For more information, visit
www.wetnwildorlando.com, or call 407.351.1800.
HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry
Gina Mann has been named vice president groups & events for Speedvegas, the exotic race car attraction scheduled to open this spring in Las Vegas. Prior to her appointment, Mann served as executive director of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in Las Vegas.
Previously, Mann held several senior sales positions at different organizations, including an 11-year tenure (2000-2011) as sales executive at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Thomas Cook France-Jet Tours has appointed Bruno Abenin as director, development and franchise Affiliates. Abenin has held several managerial positions with Voyages FRAM over the past 15 years. The financially troubled French four operator was recently acquired by Karavel-Promovacances, a private equity firm.
Jasmin Howanietz has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the Waldorf Astoria New York. A member of the sales team for more than 10 years, Howanietz was most recently director of sales for the property. Prior to joining the Waldorf Astoria New York, Howanietz was the senior national sales manager at both the Hilton New York and Hudson Hotel as well as managerial sales positions at the Intercontinental New York Barclay.
Don Parkinson has been appointed by Kentucky’s new governor, Matt Bevin, as secretary of Tourism, Arts and Heritage. Parkinson is a longtime KFC/Yum executive with extensive experience in marketing, food service and the arts. He succeeds Bob Stewart, who had been secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, under the state’s previous governor, Steve Beshear.
