Is “Flat” the New “Up” in Measuring Inbound Visitors to USA?
Once again, there is more evidence that the international inbound travel industry in the United States finds itself working hard just to stay in place. In the latest monthly report based on its Travel Trend Index (TTI) and Leading Travel Index (LTI), the U.S. Travel Association tells us that international inbound travel contracted once again in July, falling by 1.2 percent. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) latest monthly figures covering travel from overseas—total international arrivals to the USA, which include traffic from Mexico and Canada, take a little longer to configure because NTTO uses a different methodology—showed zero movement in July and +1.2 percent year-to-date for the first seven months of 2019. (Keep in mind that an anticipated decline in Canadian traffic is likely to push the +1.2 percent closer to the zero mark.)
The decline follows a disappointing June performance which saw the sector’s six-month trend fall below zero for the first time since September 2015. The Leading Travel Index (LTI), the predictive component of the TTI, projects international inbound travel growth will remain negative over the next six months (declining by 0.4 percent).
China is Down: While the NTTO figures show a consistent, if surprising, increase in visitation from the UK and Japan, arrivals from China were down through July, with year-to-date arrivals (vs. 2018) down 3.7 percent. For the rest of the Top 15 Overseas Source Markets, year-to-date figures contain no surprises, even if the drop-off in traffic from Argentina is substantial, as the country’s economy is falling into what could be a deep recession.
Will Brand USA’s Travel Week Europe Success Mean a Conflict with Other Shows?
(BTW, Show is Now Booked through 2025.)
The answer is “No.” That’s what Tom Garzilli, Brand USA’s chief marketing officer, made clear last week when he discussed the matter during a conversation after he was asked the question by Graham McKenzie, managing director of the UK trade journal TravelMole, while appearing on the latter’s podcast. In the following exchange, excerpted by INBOUND, Garzilli makes it clear that he does not see the new show—it’s already been extended through the year 2025, it was announced last week—in conflict with others. The exchange, which took place during Brand USA Travel Week in London, follows:
McKenzie: Brand USA Travel Week—this is a new event, pretty much competes head-on, you would think, with World Travel Market, ITB, Unite, which is run by the Visit USA Association. Are you seeing it as competition—as an alternative? What’s been the rationale behind this week.
Garzilli: I think, ultimately, that Travel Week is really the convergence of two strategies … two needs. One is our look at Europe as a single market—look at that more and more as its own market, as opposed to some of the individual countries. When you look at Europe in its totality, its visitation, it is, in reality is a far bigger market than China—and others, in terms of spend. So, we started looking at that and how to best accomplish focusing on (this) and, at the same time, we are adding and creating value for all of our partners throughout the U.S. There are things that we can do to help them where they can’t really do certain things on their own. For many years, we bemoaned the fact that it is hard to find a voice for the United States in these markets, outside of these big trade shows.
It’s nothing against those shows Those shows do what they need to do. They’re selling the world to the world, kind of. We’re selling the world in the case of WTM to the UK and Ireland. And in the case of ITB, to Germany and Austria. We feel that we want to bring the U.S. to Europe, and we want to have an opportunity to bring all of Europe here. So, Travel Week doesn’t just represent the UK and Ireland. Travel Week is buyers from 20 countries across Europe.
McKenzie: Do you think it will impact on IPW in terms of buyer … and media attendance?
Garzilli: No, not at all. I hope not because IPW is as important to us at Brand USA as anything we do. And what I think is unique about IPW is that’s the only time the world comes to the United States. I don’t even think they’re comparable experiences to IPW … for the world. I do think it (Brand USA Travel Week) will give us an opportunity to offer an alternative to our destination partners for the in-market shows that are big and unwieldy …
McKenzie: What about the regional shows like Travel South, Florida Huddle, Go West. Do you think it’s going to have an impact on them?
Garzilli: No. I feel … you can only get to so many people, you can only have so many partners in one place at a given time. I think that the more we can focus our USA … on this market, for example, and we can really be marketing in this market, that gives the regional groups a chance to give a little more attention to their members. Our goal is not to disrupt those things. We think it will actually add some interest … the more we engage buyers here the more they’re going to want to come to the USA to experience it. That means IPW. That means Travel South and the other regional shows.
We also know that the Travel Week—while it is a big thing we’re doing—is not the big thing. It’s going to be a tent-pole event around a lot of other things. Again, we’re not going to be able to do a Travel Week in every country. So, in between Travel Weeks, we’re going to be out in these countries, showing them the different kind of experiences (the USA offers).
Meanwhile, Mark Your Calendar for the Next Six Years—as UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands are slated to host Brand USA Travel Week Europe between 2020 and 2025. The dates and locations were announced at the beginning of the inaugural Brand USA Travel Week Europe which took place Sept. 9-12. They are (subject to change):
2020: United Kingdom
2021: Germany
2022: United Kingdom
2023: France
2024: United Kingdom
2025: Netherlands
A Brand USA Week Photo Sampler
Here is just a small sample of images from Brand USA Week Europe’s first day.*
* Photos courtesy of Brand USA
Brand USA Week—The Bailey Perspective
Shari Bailey is vice president of Connect Travel (publisher of the INBOUND Report) and a veteran of more than two decades in the U.S. travel and tourism industry, working in both its public and private sectors, and she has stopped counting how many trade shows she has either attended or been a part of on the event management side of the business. Few in the industry have as much familiarity with trade show staging and management, or in selling at a show as a supplier—an ideal person, we thought, to get some feedback on the just-concluded and Brand USA Travel Week Europe, which was held last week in London. We spoke with her about the event a few days ago and it was time well spent. Some excerpted parts of our conversation follow.
INBOUND: How does Brand USA Week Compare to other travel trade shows in general?
Shari Bailey: In talking with the other suppliers who were there, it is clear that it was very well received. People really, really liked the format. It was more personal. It was smaller. (The last tally we saw had it at 179 European buyers, and 97 U.S. exhibitors.) Yes, they brought in European operators. But their numbers were not huge; it was all the people you needed to see in one place under one roof. They felt that the format was more intimate, much more personal. You get to spend more time with people (appointment sessions were 20 minutes long) and to talk with operator companies that you wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk with at some of the larger events.
INBOUND: So, the longer appointment sessions and the smaller crowd, seemed to work well?
Shari Bailey: It was definitely a good use of time. People really enjoyed it. The key takeaways were: It was a more personal setting; because it was just Europe, people weren’t fighting for attention with other countries—it was very localized and focused on European business; it was an intimate setting in which U.S. supplier companies were able to spend time with European Buyers throughout the entire event; not just during the appointments but during the enrichment sessions and evening events as well. The participants were able to speak with operators that they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to spend time with. There was a good showing from Eastern Europe which, generally, you don’t get to see at other events. So, in addition to their tried-and-true markets, U.S. suppliers also got to explore new ones.
INBOUND: Were the tour operators there mostly familiar faces or new faces?
Shari Bailey: It was a mix. There were certainly operators who people knew and had worked with before. But there were additional companies—specifically the Eastern Europeans—that, because of the time or expense involved in traveling to the U.S. for shows suppliers don’t get to see as much. Or, if they’re at World Travel Market or ITB, those shows are just so big that they just don’t get the chance to see everybody they would like to.
INBOUND: What was the sense you got as to how the outlook is for travel to the U.S. from Europe?
Shari Bailey: I think that it looks strong. The first day of the event was primarily for suppliers and it was comprised of market updates from all of the European regions—who was up, who was down, who was flat and what it looked like moving into next year—and everything looked very positive for travel.
INBOUND: Any red flags, any concerns expressed about the impact of Brexit?
Shari Bailey: No, no flags that really came up at the show. There were some enrichment sessions on Brexit, but the overall feel was “We don’t know until we know.” Yes, it’s going on. Yes, we have to watch it closely, but we still don’t know what’s going to happen with that.
You have to remember that, for people who live in the region, taking a vacation is ingrained in their behavior. They have a lot of vacation time and they like to travel. So, what it may affect is the length of time they’re gone … or the category of the hotel they might stay in. Or, it may affect the spend more than it affects them actually going on vacation, but they’ll still travel.
INBOUND: Is the currency exchange rate and the strong U.S. dollar having an impact?
Shari Bailey: Not really. I think that people recognize that the U.S. has a strong dollar right now, but the U.S. is also one of those destinations that’s on a list for people to go to. It’s the same with Brexit and how it’s affecting travel there: You’re still going to travel—you just may not travel two times to the United States—it might just be one and, then, a short-haul holiday that’s closer to where you live. And when you do go to the U.S., it might be for a shorter period of time, and your activities may change a bit.
INBOUND: I once read the results of a survey showing that British consumers would rather give up just about any other activity than travel.
Shari Bailey: Right. For a country that has as many vacation days as they do, it’s always been ingrained in them that they take vacations. It’s not necessarily a privilege. It’s a right, and using that vacation time is important to them. And they’re going to do it. They’ll find a way to do it—within the funds that they have and the exchange rate they have.
INBOUND: How about the question of what people traveling to the U.S. are looking for?
Shari Bailey: I think that the big talk is “Living Like a Local.” People want experiences, not just to attend something. They want to be involved in it. So, when they’re looking at travel, it really is: What would a local do? How could I be involved in that? What’s off the beaten bath? Those are really big. And from the Scandinavian-Nordic region, sustainability in their travel is something that people are looking at more.
INBOUND: It sounds like you must have been really busy at the show. Did you have a full appointment schedule?
Shari Bailey: Yes. And having a 20-minute appointment really gave people enough time to sit down and talk a bit about what they were looking at for next year. We did appointments for three days, and there was a maximum of 12 appointments a day. So, for the entire event, you could have up to 36 appointments. We were full. Most people were. And Brand USA did a great job at managing the ratio—making sure that they had the right number of buyers and suppliers there that supported the atmosphere they were going for.
INBOUND: Is it safe to say, then, that you’ll be back next year?
Shari Bailey: Oh yes. As far as Connect Travel goes, we were there supporting our partner, Brand USA, in their new endeavor. We were very pleased with the event. And we’ll certainly will back to support them in any way possible—again.
Before the event even kicked off, Chris Thompson (Brand USA president & CEO) got up and said that they were so sure that this was the right type of event and investment for the U.S., that he announced the next six years of the show and its location. *
###
* Location of Brand USA Week
2020-2025
2020: United Kingdom
2021: Germany
2022: United Kingdom
2023: France
2024: United Kingdom
2025: Netherlands
Which European Tourism Executives Earn the Most?
The people at the German travel trade publication FVW wondered just how much the best paid tourism industry executives in Europe receive in salary. So, they did some research and the result, which we share with you, is the table below.
China Market Notes
Reflecting its Growing International Profile, Ctrip Changes its Name to Trip.com Group Limited. Already the largest OTA in China and one of the largest in the world, Ctrip, which turns 20 years old next month, is changing its name to Trip.com Group Limited. Said James Liang, the company’s executive chairman: “The new name reflects the services and products we provide, and can be easily remembered by global users. In October, we will celebrate the 20th Anniversary. Over the next decade, we will strive to become one of the most innovative and respected companies in the global travel industry.”
Package Travel Sales Increase: Of interest to those in the group travel sector—midst some powerful, record-breaking financial results for the second quarter of 2019 that accompanied its name change announcement—was a note that packaged-tour revenue for the second quarter of 2019 was $153 million, representing a 25 percent increase from the same period in 2018, primarily driven by significant traffic from offline stores and high demand of customized tours. Packaged-tour revenue for the second quarter of 2019 remained consistent with that for the previous quarter.
New research has determined that one-third (16.3 percent) of respondents chose an adventure trip for their last holiday. The 2019 study found that 2.7 percent of departures could be categorized as “hard adventure,” while 13.6 percent pursued “soft adventure” experiences. The China Adventure Tourism Market Study—it came from Bannikin Travel and Tourism, a travel consultancy based in Toronto and Hong Kong that conducted the study—surveyed more than 300 Chinese travelers over the age of 18 who had taken a trip in the past year. “This report delves deep into who Chinese adventure travelers are—their planning habits, income, spending habits and dream destinations,” said Natasha Martin, managing director of Bannikin Asia. “We’ve never had better insight into how to market toward the Asian travel market and break into one of the largest tourism spends out there.”
The survey was sent with the objective of discovering how many Chinese travelers actively seek out adventure while on vacation. Here are some of the report’s main findings:
—The total adventure market size for China (based on accommodation spending only) is $8.2 billion per year.
—Adventure travel spend from China represents 0.64 percent of total international tourism spend.
—The top destinations for adventure travelers were United States, Thailand, Australia and Japan.
—Time in nature, camping and backpacking are some of the most popular activities for Chinese adventure tourists.
—72 percent of Chinese adventure travelers spend between 4-10 days abroad, lower than Western adventure travelers.
Expecting outbound to grow to half its business, Ctrip is focusing on recruiting and attracting talent outside China. Reports ChinaTravelNews, Ctrip, which is the largest travel group in China—and which recently chose to change its name—”is bullish about serving the high-end group of travelers, its outbound business and also the contribution from its international business.” In an interview with ChinaTravelNews, Jane Sun, Ctrip’s CEO, indicated that the overall revenue generated from the group’s international business is expected to reach 50 percent in the next 5 to 10 years.
“Our hotel and flight ticket sales for cross-border travel activities maintained fast growth during the quarter, more than doubling the growth of China’s outbound trips,” said Sun, adding, “we are confident that outbound as well as foreign-to-foreign international tickets will be the future drivers of our business.”
She said that in order to grow its international business, recruiting proficient local talent in each market is also going to be the key going forward and that “…we need to recruit talent at local level. So, we are putting concerted efforts to identify and recruit and train our team in each market so that we can build a strong team, understand our customers and build our product offerings that are suitable for the local customers and move methodically into each region,” she noted. “Mainly, the people will make the business penetrate further into each region.”
WeChat Weekly Rankings for the week of Sept. 2-8: A product of Dragon Trail Interactive and Dingla, these ratings give us a one-week snapshot as to what is working among users of the world’s largest social media and mobile payment app, with over a billion monthly users.
NTOs:
No. 1: Japan National Tourism Organization: Ginza Tokyo shopping guide.
No. 2: Austrian National Tourist Office: Vienna has been named 2019’s best city in the world to live in.
No. 3: Tourism Australia: Cute animals to see in Australia.
DMOs:
No. 1: Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing: Dubai travel guide for senior travelers.
No. 2: Macao Government Tourism Office: Awesome places to watch the Macao International Fireworks Display 2019.
No. 3: South Australian Tourism Commission: Amazing unknown places to discover in South Australia.
Airlines:
N.1 AirAsia: Member offers
N.2 All Nippon Airways: Lucky bags
N.3 Cebu Pacific: September offers
Attractions & Museums
No. 1: V&A Museum: Blanc de Chine, a continuous conversation.
No. 2: The Museum of Modern Art, New York: Exhibition history of MoMA.
No. 3: Louvre Museum, Paris: Emperor Kangxi and the Sun King Louis XIV.
Hotels
No. 1: Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott Hotels & Resorts launches ‘M Passport’ program.
No. 2 Hilton: 100th Anniversary | Exclusive member discount.
No. 3 Wyndham Hotel Group: Clean water project with the One Foundation.
About the data: The data is jointly collected and compiled by Dragon Trail Interactive and Dingla, a B2B travel marketing platform assisting foreign organizations build long term travel trade relationships in China.
About the Ranking:
Ranking criteria: Accounts are ranked according to the highest number of views per total number of posts published. WeChat views are “unique views”.
No. overseas National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) surveyed: 52
No. overseas regional and city Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) surveyed: 74
No. overseas airlines surveyed: 48
No. overseas cruise lines surveyed: 17
No. overseas attractions & museums surveyed: 27
No. overseas hotels surveyed: 46
For more information, contact communications@dragontrail.com
Where Did Brazilians Travel Internationally Last Month?
Hint—Somewhere in the Lower Southeastern USA: A new survey with the ranking of the most sought-after international destinations by Brazilian travelers in the busy travel month of August reaffirms the dominance of Florida as their favorite long-haul destination. The survey, conducted by Decolar—it is Brazil’s second largest travel agency, behind only CVC—considered travelers’ favorite cities according to the volume of passenger travel originating in the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Porto Alegre.
Among international destinations, there is a variety with nine different destinations around the world. Miami is the only city that appears on all lists. By region, outbound travelers from Brazil during August Brazilians preferred North America (appears nine times), Latin America and the Caribbean (six times) and Europe (five times).
Commenting on the survey findings, Alexandre Moshe, Decolar’s CEO, said: “Brazilians have diversity as a striking feature, also when it comes to tourism. While many travelers seek sunshine and resorts in the Caribbean or Miami, so many seek the riches of Europe or the bustle of New York, for example.”.
New Product
Northern New Jersey’s American Dream Now a Reality: The long-awaited American Dream shopping mecca is no longer something that will be realized sometime off in the future. It is here. Scheduled to open Oct. 25 in the New Jersey Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., the glass-enclosed 16-acre site is a combination of mega-shopping mall and theme park developed by the Triple Five Group—the same group that gave us the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Its 15 entertainment/informational experiences include a 300-foot-tall observation wheel, indoor skiing, a Legoland Discovery Center, a Sea Life aquarium and a huge DreamWorks water park. Its 3 million square feet also includes 450 shops and amenities with hotels to follow. Fashion choices range from high-end to budget. And there is also a 38,000-square-foot food court. Or, for more information, visit www.americandream.com, or call 201.340.2900
Kennedy Center’s REACH has a goal of “breaking down the barrier between audience and art.” For residents of the Washington, D.C. area as well as the millions who visit it every year, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts along the Potomac River has always been a must -visit for those seeking a performing arts experience in our nation’s capital. But the Kennedy Center itself has not really been equipped to satisfy the demand for “MORE.” Now, with the REACH, which extends the physical outlay of the Center, it has non-stop experiences that expand its reach. An example of this were the hundreds of performances, events and participatory experiences was the free 16-day festival inviting families, performing arts enthusiasts and artists to experience the flexible new space that marked the16-day grand opening of the REACH. The best way to get a small taste of what the REACH has to offer is to visit. https://reach.kennedy-center.org/about/.
Urban Putt Brings Indoor Golf to Downtown Denver: Expanding the notion of what a visitor to Denver can experience indoors is the new Urban Putt, an 18-hole mini-golf course that opened recently in the former Old Spaghetti Factory space inside the historic Denver City Cable Railway Co. building located at 1201 18th Street. Described as “a mini golf steampunk fantasy come-to-life” the 18 mini golf holes that are divided into two nine-hole courses. These include six holes inspired by such individual Colorado landmarks as Red Rocks, Elitch’s, and Denver International Airport. The Denver attraction is actually the second for Urban Putt, which opened their first urban mini golf center in San Francisco’s Mission district in 2014.
The new Urban Putt features a kitchen serving what it describes as “chef-driven cuisine” that will utilize local ingredients and a bar serving local craft beers and custom tap cocktails. Also, an original Denver street from the 1920s that provided a unique seating feature in the Old Spaghetti Factory has been moved into the dining area of Urban Putt and will again contain tables for dining and also be a space for private parties. For more information, visit: https://www.urbanputt.com/ or call 720.360.3020.
National Museum of the U.S. Army to Open Next Summer: The $400 million steel-and-glass facility, about 20 miles south of Washington, D.C., will be the Army’s flagship museum when it opens on June 4 in Northern Virginia on Liberty Drive off the Fairfax County Parkway. The facility has already selected 1,300 “micro” artifacts and 19 “macro” artifacts — including a famous World War II Sherman tank from the Battle of the Bulge and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle from the wars in Iraq — for display. Included among these is the wreckage of an engine from “Super 6-1,” the first helicopter shot down in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” disaster in Somalia in which 18 Americans were killed.
Recently, curators moved many of the specially cast soldier figures from the base at Fort Belvoir to the new museum to be installed. When the museum opens to the public, the U.S. Army will own and operate the facility while the Army Historical Foundation (AHF) will manage the Museum store, café, and catering services for special events. Within the Army organizational structure, the Museum is part of the U.S. Army Center of Military History whose higher headquarters is the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. For more information, visit www.armyhistory.org , or call 800.506.2672.
HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry
Tourism Toronto has appointed Scott Beck as its new president and CEO. Beck comes to the post from Visit Salt Lake, where he has served for 14 years as president and CEO. He will begin his new role on October 15. Before joining Visit Salt Lake, Beck worked in the hotel industry for 18 years, most recently with Ocean Properties Ltd. (OPL) as the general manager of the Salt Lake Marriott City Center. In Toronto, Beck succeeds Johanne Bélanger, who left earlier this year to take a position with Marriott International.
Allison French has been promoted to the post of senior director at Broadway Inbound. She moves up from her role as director of sales, which she held for more than six years. She joined the Manhattan-based company in 2007 as a senior account representative.
The Travel Corporation (TTC) has appointed Vicky Billing as head of UK trade sales for Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Costsaver and Luxury Gold. Billing will join on November 18 from Royal Caribbean where she is Head of Retail North and will report directly in to Rachel Coffey, director of sales and business development for the UK and Ireland. Billing will be responsible for developing and delivering a strategic UK sales growth plan for the four brands, nurturing “key existing trade partnerships and developing meaningful new ones.” She will also take the lead on the training and development of the UK sales team.
Olly Nicholls has been named chief commercial officers at Birmingham-based Attraction World. He joins the company after nine years as director of global distribution, commercial partnerships and advertising at City Sightseeing Worldwide. In this newly created role, Nicholls’ responsibilities will include leading Attraction World’s product and sales teams.
Samantha Stimpson is leaving her post as head of retail for Thomas Cook to join STA Travel Group. She’ll join STA’s senior leadership team in November as group sales and distribution director. Torey Kings-Hodkin will be resuming her position as Thomas Cook head of retail, South, from Nov. 1, reporting to Kathryn Darbandi. This follows her temporary duty in the company’s commercial side, where she most recently covered Kelly Cookes’ maternity leave as head of commercial partnerships and sales planning. Stimpson will lead a team of STA’s country managers and the director of global partners.
Stimpson will join STA’s senior leadership team in November as group sales and distribution director.
Mark Churchill has been promoted to the position of director, partner marketing, at Expedia Group. Churchill joined the company in June 2017 as senior manager, partner marketing. Previously, he worked for 10 years at Caiman Consulting, a Redmond, Washington firm that provides business consulting services
Mathew Lepisto has been named head of sales, USA & Canada, at Jac Travel. He joins the firm from TBO Holidays, where he was the New York City-based country manager for the USA. Previously, he held senior positions at WebBeds Americas, Middle East & Africa, and Hertz.
The Travel Network Group has appointed James Neal to the newly-created position of head of external marketing services, effective immediately. He joins the company from Avios where he held the position of senior marketing manager, part of the International Airlines Group. Neal has also held including senior marketing positions with Royal Caribbean Cruises, TUI and Austravel.
Phil Newcombe has been promoted to the post of managing director at Bon Voyage Travel & Tours Ltd. Previously a director at the company, Newcombe has been with Bon Voyage Travel for more than nine years. Previously, he was director of the Visit USA Association UK.
Oliver Garner has been appointed CEO of both Classic Collection Holidays and Classic Package Holidays, the online agent-only booking portal launched by On the Beach earlier this year. Nick Munday, Managing Director of Classic Collection Holidays, will step down from his role, but continue to work with the business in a new capacity as Independent Director. A veteran of nearly two decades in the tourism industry, Garner has worked at TUI Thomas Cook and Expedia, before joining On the Beach in 2014 where he oversaw the business’ launch into Sweden and Norway as well as its acquisition of Sunshine.co.uk and Classic Collection Holidays. Classic has also expanded its senior management team with the appointment of Michelle Baillie to director of agency sales and Alexandre Gavalda to director of product and supply.
Alejandro Reynal has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the Apple Leisure Group (ALG), replacing long-time CEO Alex Zozaya, who will now serve in a full-time capacity as executive chairman and lead ALG’s board of directors Reynal will oversee ALG which is comprised of a collection of leading subsidiary companies including AMResorts, Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, and Funject Vacations, as well as other entities. Reynal previously served as CEO of Atento, a global provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services.
Roberto Alvo Milosawlewitsch, currently commercial vice president of Latam Airlines Group, will move up to become CEO of the airline when current CEO Enrique Cueto Plaza steps down from the job March 31, 2020. The appointment follows a planned succession process, which began last year, which considered both external and internal candidates for the job. Robert Alvo has been with carrier for 18 years, serving in managerial positions in the areas of finance, fleet, planning and, in recent years, in charge of the commercial area.
Tom Muldoon has been appointed interim president and CEO of Discover Lancaster (Pa.). In his position, Muldoon, who served as president of the Philadelphia CVB 26 years (1985-2011) will help guide the organization as it continues its search to find a permanent successor to Kathleen Frankford, who left the position last February to join MMGY/NextFactor as vice president of marketing. Frankford had held the job for nearly seven years.
Jim Werner has been appointed chief tourism officer at Visit Philadelphia. A 14-year veteran of the organization, which was previously known as the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Werner has previously worked for several years at the Philadelphia Housing Authority as a communications specialist.
Jason Dunderdale has been named head of UK sales for FCM Travel Solutions. the corporate travel business of the Flight Centre Travel Group, which is headquartered in Brisbane and operates a network spanning over 90 countries across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Dunderdale joins from car rental provider SIXT, where he was head of travel sales UK & Ireland for the last three years. He takes on the role at FCM from Graham Ross, who was promoted to UK general manager earlier this year.
Brian Simpson, former editorial director for the travel trade publication TravelPulse Canada, has joined CAA Club Group as manager, travel technology. Simpson will help manage the adoption, maintenance and future development of current and future technology tools used by CAA Club Group’s retail and call center travel agents in South Central Ontario and Manitoba. With more than three decades of experience in the travel and tourism industry, has held positions in different sectors of the industry, including technology support at Core Travel Technologies and a 24-year career at Sabre/Travelocity.ca, as well as his tenure at TravelPulse Canada.
Lucy Ellingham has been hired as a new business development manager for the UK-based luxury tour operator Lusso Travel. She was previously partner area sales manager at Kuoni working with key trade accounts and partner stores.
Fernando Candela has replaced is replacing Vincent Hodder as CEO of Level. Level is the low cost airline brand of IAG, operating long-haul flights from Barcelona and Paris Orly, and medium-haul from Vienna and Amsterdam. It serves nine North American destinations. Candela was previously director of planning and management control at Air Nostrum.
Tracey Brouillette has been named director of national accounts for Visit Spokane. Previously, she was with the Hiltons of San Diego Complex where she was assistant director of sales for more than six years. Prior to that, she was senior sales manager at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
AmériGo a European tour operator which specializes in product in the American continent, has hired Élodie Jankowski as commercial director for the South-East region of France. She will be in charge of thirteen geographical departments.
Alistair Rodger has been named the new head of European agency sales for the GDS operator Travelport. He joins the company from Hotelbeds Group, where he was retail director in the bedbank’s UK operation. Previously, he was chief commercial and operating officer at The LateRooms Group.
Happy Work Anniversaries to:
Richard Champley for 16 years at U.S. Department of Commerce (National Travel and Tourism Office)
Matt Manuel for 12 years at Caravan Travels & Tours
Leslie Brewer for 12 years at Biltmore
Bob Thibault for 7 years at Greater Palm Springs CVB
Lisa Scalzo for 1 year at Group Travel Network, Inc.
Source: LinkedIn
Posted Industry Jobs
From SearchWide Global:
—Crayola Experience is looking for a head of marketing at its Easton, Pa. location. For more information, click here.
—Apple Leisure Group has an opening for senior director of supplier strategy & investment. For more information, click here.
—Discover Puerto Rico is searching for a leisure sales director. Click here for more details.
—Visit Milwaukee has an opening for its next director of sales. Click here for more information.
—An international hotels and resorts company is seeking a Regional Director of Sales and Marketing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. For more information, visit here.
—Visit Dallas is looking for a president and CEO. For more details, click here.
—The Miami Beach Convention Center (Spectra) has an opening for a director of sales. Click here for more information.
—Visit Sacramento has an opening for a director of sales. Click here for more information.
—The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation is looking for a director of national accounts, West Coast. For more information, click here.
—Great Wolf Resorts is looking for someone to fill the position of vice president of sales. Visit here for more information.
—Destinations International is searching for a senior director, strategic alliances. For details, visit here.
—Visit Mesa is looking for a director of national sales. For more information, visit here.
—Destinations International is seeking to hire a senior director, strategic alliances. For more information, click here.
—The Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new executive director. Click here for more information.
—Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is looking for a president & CEO. For more information, click here.
—The Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau is searching for a vice president of business development. For more details visit here.
—Experience Prince George’s (Maryland) has an opening for a sales manager. For details, click here.
—Meet Minneapolis is searching for a senior director of destination sales. For details, check here.
—The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau has an opening for a vice president of people strategies. Click here for more information.
—A leading hotel management company based in Dallas is searching for a national revenue & sales reporting manager. For more information, click here.
From HARP wallen Global Executive Recruitment and Search:
—Based in Greater London, a specialist cruise company is searching for a trade partnerships manager. For more information, visit here.
—There is a field-based/remote location for a specialist cruise company searching for a business development executive. For more details, visit here.
—A tour operator based in the Greater London area is looking for a senior marketing manager. For additional details, click here.
—An iconic travel brand based in Hampshire, England, has an opening for a public relations director. Click here for additional information.
