Coronavirus Update
Click here to access the U.S. Travel Association’s programs and toolkits designed to help travel suppliers cope with the coronavirus impact on travel and tourism.
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Inbound Traffic to Increase Thru 2024
The Big Picture is an Optimistic One, Says New Study: About the only downside to the latest forecast of international visitors to the United States thru the next five years (including 2020) by the Travel Market Insights (TMI) group is that it came out in early course of the coronavirus crisis and all the damage that it has wreaked upon international travel through the world. With that in mind, one can still take some solace in its big picture numbers.
They include the following:
• Record visits are projected for every year starting in 2020.
• Most concerns that negatively impacted inbound visits since the last peak in 2015 won’t completely dissipate, but the level of concern should soften.
• By 2024 nearly 91 million international visitors will travel to the U.S.
• By 2024 there will be 14 countries that will report over 1 million visitors. The international visitor export opportunity will continue to be diverse and larger than ever.
Country-by-Country Increases: TMI’s outlook roughly tracks with that of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office data for the same period. TMI adds a twist here and there. Keeping in mind the corona virus caveat, here is how TMI sees the increases expected for the USA’s key source markets through 2024
“Headlines and growth are important but looking at the volume in 2024 provides a different ranking perspective,” says TMI’s Scott Johnson, noting that—as illustrated in the chart below—the UK will remain the top U.S. country for visits through 2024.
“Heads in Beds” tally shows a different impact: “’Heads in beds,’ as they say is a key indicator,” Johnson explains. Looking at arrivals from this perspective, he tells us that China is projected to book the most room-nights in 2024 primarily due to their length of stay in hotels. And the UK, a close second, has a slightly higher propensity to stay in hotels than the average overseas visitor (81.4 vs. 76.2 percent).
Overseas Countries Rank by Room Nights in 2024
Not All Visitors Come to See the Mainland: About one out of every ten international visitors to the United States each year do not visit the “Mainland” each year. (Mainland USA includes the states in North America, which excludes Hawaii, Guam, and other like parts of the United States.) However, this varies by country of origin and the popularity of Hawaii and Guam has an impact. The TMI forecast provides some interesting data on this point.
The chart above shows the total projected volume of visitors from each country in 2024 as well as the projected Mainland USA volume by the same countries.
—Two key visitor markets, Japan and South Korea, register a sizable shift in visits when reported as Mainland USA visits.
—Less than four in ten (38.4 percent) of the visitors from Japan visited Mainland USA in 2018, the lowest of any reported country.
—South Korea, at 51.7 percent, was the second lowest and Australia, at 79.0 percent, registered the third lowest percentage of all the countries to visit Mainland USA.
—The above points comprise an important consideration for these three significantly sized markets when ranking countries by visitor volume.
Tools for DMOs Researching International Markets: TMI’s Scott Johnson tells INBOUND that orecasting by destinations are more complex because of the diversity in geography, product, air lift/capacity by primary and feeder airports, product awareness and promotion, VFR (immigration), universities, and demand. Some key things to consider that are destination-specific indicators:
1. Purpose of Trip. Often visits are reported as business and leisure. This generally works for domestic visitors, however, international markets (depending on the destination) call for more depth in the breakdown by purpose of trip. For example, leisure combines vacation/holiday with visiting friends and family (VFR). If VFR is 30 percent of your leisure visitors and VFR is trending down or up to the U.S. it will impact your destination more or less than the U.S. overall. Every destination has a country-specific visitor mix that may include more vacation than VFR, or more business than convention etc. To enhance your destination’s forecast, it is important to know your destination’s visitor mix by country.
2. Ports of Entry. Today airlines are shifting routes rapidly. Other than a few unique destinations, most visitors use various entry points. Portmapping of your primary airports and feeder airports by country provides depth in projecting visits – especially in understanding shifts.
3. Hub Impact. Airports focus on maximizing the number of people paying to fly into and out of their airport and mostly report data in terms of people (passengers). Understanding your primary airport(s) goals and tracking the airport data by visitors along with the entry of people is vital. For example, a route from the UK to your destination could have a portion of passengers that are only using the airport as a gateway to pass on to another destination. Knowing if the people (passengers) visit your city/state overnight is key in understanding how the airport data reflects a shift in visits.
4. Residency is Key. There are over 200 types of visas people can use to enter the United States. Only 14 are used to consider a person a visitor. To be a visitor the person also must stay in the U.S. at least one night. In addition, to ensure marketing is targeted appropriately, a person entering the U.S. is also tracked by where they live, earn their income, and are influenced rather than their flight departure point. The same basic rules apply for a visitor to a destination. Once again, airport and airline data focus on people on the plane and landing at the airport, no matter their visa type, if they stay overnight, or by what country they live in. In addition, most international visitors travel to more than one city and state during their U.S. visit. Understanding your destination’s visitor patterns by residency builds understanding in projecting shifts to your destination
For more information on TMI’s forecast, contact Scott C. Johnson: SCOTT@TRAVELMI.COM.
An IPW Extra—Happy Birthday Brand USA
Agency Sees 10th Anniversary of its Creation as an Opportunity to Inform, Reach Out: Delegates to this year’s 52nd annual IPW in Las Vegas will have something unique to celebrate. As Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, noted at the organization’s board meeting last week in Washington, D.C., this year marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of Brand USA—it is still known legally as the Corporation for Travel Promotion—which was created on March 4, 2010 when President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation that created the public-private sector agency.
President Barack Obama Signs Legislation Creating Brand USA
While the rest of last week’s board meeting was heavy on details of Brand USA’s myriad activities in promotions, public relations and partnership building—as well as a discussion of what the organization is doing to respond to the coronavirus crisis—there was an acknowledgement that there should be an observance of the anniversary. There were occasions, after all, during the past decade, when it appeared that Brand USA might not survive attempts by some legislators to let its authorization lapse, allowing it to “sunset.”
However, since Congress approved and President Donald Trump signed into law a six-year reauthorization of the agency last December, Brand USA now faces a future in which it will be better able to think long-term, which it really hasn’t had the opportunity to do since it was created.
Thompson explained how the anniversary—on March 4th and during IPW—will provide it with an occasion that will allow it to explain its history, the growth of its portfolio of programs and its long-term strategic vision.
In order to help it do so, he said, Tracy Lanza, vice president of integrated marketing for Brand USA, had reached out to its “corral of content creators” for proposals on communicating the meaning of the agency and its anniversary. It is expected that a selection from among the three proposal finalists would be made sometime this week.
Note: In his presentation, Aaron Wodin-Schwartz, senior vice president of communications, public policy and public affairs showed a graphic illustrating the up-to-the-minute status of the coronavirus crisis, and what Brand USA has done in response, while reminding everyone that the situation it is changes “every few hours.”
Germans Not Ashamed to Travel by Air
Amidst a European environment that has given writers and editors everywhere the opportunity to use a new word combination—“Flight Shaming”—that calls upon travelers to forego air travel in favor a more environmentally sensitive mode of travel, Germans don’t seem to be interested.
In fact—at about the same time it was announced that there was 4 percent drop in the number of commercial passengers flying in Sweden—it is where the term “flygskam,” or “flight shame,” was popularized—a widely cited survey of holiday travel plans among Germans showed that the number of those who are planning long-haul travel (think USA as a destination) had actually increased this year vs. last.
That’s right. The 36th annual “Tourismus Analyse” (Tourism Analysis) from the Hamburg-based Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen (Institute for Future Studies) found that German travelers don’t much care about Flight Shaming.
As reported in the German travel trade publication FVW, interest in long-haul holidays is actually increasing with 18 percent of those surveyed planning a trip outside Europe in 2020 compared to 17.4 percent. last year. Among all subsectors of the German travel market “This segment is the clear winner,” observed Dr. Ulrich Reinhardt, scientific director of the Institute, who said that the current CO2 debate “has virtually no consequences for Germans in terms of travel. People switch their consciences off when they are on holiday, they prefer to make restrictions in their everyday life.”
The principal finding of the survey, which had 3,000 respondents, he indicated, was that the travel plans of Germans in 2020 are essentially similar to what they were at the same time last year, adding “Nearly two thirds are sitting on packed suitcases … The indicators are looking good, and 2020 could be a record year.”
Indeed, if one were to re-visit forecasts of the heavily researched German travel market from last year, one would find that the measurable data sets are more or less the same as they were for this year. For instance:
—One-third (33 percent) of survey respondents said they are planning one trip of at least five days this year;
—Another 32 percent intend to go on several trips.
—Among the remainder, 21 percent are not sure if they are going on holiday this year
—Fourteen percent do not intend to do so.
—In 2019, 61 percent of Germans went on at least one trip of five days or more, compared to 62 percent the previous year, the survey showed. Nearly one in five (19 percent) took three trips or more.
—Nearly half (48 percent) of German travelers visited a European destination (compared to 54 percent) in 2018, while another third (34 percent) took a holiday. within Germany.
More NTOs Crowd WeChat Channels
At first blush, one might conclude that the position of Brand USA has declined or receded vs. other national tourism organizations listed in the Top 20 NTOs on WeChat, the all-purpose app with more than a billion regular users in China. But there is more to the picture than what first meets the eye.
For instance, in 2017, the first year that Dragon Trail Interactive—the global digital marketing agency which serves a broad travel and tourism clientele—tallied WeChat views for various sectors of the travel and tourism industry, Brand USA ranked No. 7 among overseas NTOs marketing to China.
In the just-released data for 2019, which showed that, even though Brand USA more than doubled the number of its posts on WeChat (76), generating more than 261,000 views, its rank among the Top 20 NT0 “WeChatters” fell to Number 14. One reason is the fact that there are simply so many more overseas DMOs that have made use of WeChat as a marketing tool and, therefore, the competition for the attention of Chinese travelers who use it has intensified.
A second factor that makes comparison difficult is that a half-dozen overseas NTOs are for countries that are regional destinations in Asia. A third reason is that airlines, attractions and regional DMOs have launched and/expanded their own WeChat presence on WeChat creating an even more competitive environment.
As the Dragon Trail report explained: “Comparing 2018 to 2019, there is modest growth for destinations, and much more significant growth in average reading rates for airlines and cruise lines. Cruise lines especially have nearly doubled their average readership in 2019 compared to 2017. The average reading rates for the top 10 and top 20 NTOs over the past three years have not been as positive, with major declines in 2018 because of a few key accounts. NTO reading rates recovered somewhat in 2019, but have still not returned to their 2017 levels. DMOs, on the other hand, have seen healthy gains in 2019 – it’s possible that Chinese travelers are now paying closer attention to more regional information regarding travel, especially for large countries like the U.S. and Canada.”
The two tables and one chart below illustrate how competitive the global WeChat tourism marketing community has become.
OVERSEAS NTOs WECHAT RANKING 2019
Data Collection Date: January 1, 2020
Ranking Criteria: Accounts are ranked according to the highest number views for all posts published. WeChat views are “unique views.”
N. Overseas National Tourism Offices surveyed: 52
2017-2019 Average Views by Category
(Top accounts were ranked by total views)
Japan Has the Blahs
Japanese Travel Trade Has the Blahs for Visit USA Business: The results of the latest quarterly Survey of Travel Market Trends by the Japan Association Travel Agents (JATA) shows that the key tour operators and travel agents who make up the pool of respondents to the current survey say that travel to the USA will be sliding slightly downward in the second quarter of 2020. This is the first such downturn, however slight it is, in more than a year’s worth of surveys. (The current survey was conducted in mid-November; it takes JATA a while to post results. The latest survey report was just recently posted.)
The decline outbound travel overall, not just to the U.S., and attributable to various factors, JATA reported. For instance, as the number of flights between japan and South Korea was reduced, demand for South Korea declined and the negative influence of the unrest in Hong Kong led to the general decline of DI (Diffusion Index—see the note on methodology at the end of this article for an explanation) for Asia, which until the previous quarter was in positive territory.
The overseas travel DI decreased 4 points from the level of the Q3 is currently at -19 level. During the next quarter (January – March), it is expected to decrease again by 4 points and reach -23. Suring the first quarter of FY 2020 (April – June), it will be one point below the current quarter’ s level, at -20.
Trends in Overseas Group Travel Demand—Group Travel: Educational tours, which saw a growing demand in July – September, lost 10 points, falling down to -20 in the final quarter. In January – March, demand for incentive tours is expected to remain the same, while that for business/technical visits and educational travel are expected to decline. In the April – June quarter, the decline in demand is expected to continue upcoming
Trends in Overseas Travel Demand-FIT:
The demand for FIT tours by seniors grew by 4 points over the level of the first three months of 2019 and reached -9 level. Student and family travel have seen a significant decline of 11 and 10 points respectively. In the current quarter (January – March), demand by students and working women is expected to increase.
A Note on Methodology: The Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) asks all member companies to register as survey monitors. JATA conducts the quarterly Survey of Travel Market Trends involving 644 registered companies and publishes the results. The Survey of Travel Market Trends is designed to grasp trends in the travel market based on responses to questions on current conditions and those anticipated over the next three months. The survey asks participating companies to rate their sales results for each destination and customer segment by choosing from three categories: “good,” “average,” and “poor.” For items outside their business scope, respondents select “do not handle.” Each share of “good,” “average,” and “poor” is then divided respectively by the denominator, which is equal to the total number of responses minus the “do not handle” (including “no reply”) responses. Finally, each share is processed into the Diffusion Index (DI) by subtracting the percentage of “poor” from the percentage of “good.” The highest possible index figure is +100, and the lowest is -100.
The internet survey that produced the results above, was conducted from Nov. 5-22, 2019. The response rate among those who received the survey was 42.9 percent (276 of 644 registered companies.)
INBOUND should point out that the survey was conducted well before the coronavirus scare/crisis became a dominant concern worldwide. This will obviously have an impact on Japanese outbound travel to China. The virus was first discovered in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in Central China.
New and/or Revitalized Product
The Art Newspaper has put together an up-to-date list of new museum openings—as well as those that have been retrofitted or revitalized—for 2020 from throughout the world. Here, we’ve re-formatted the information for some of those attractions which are located in the USA.
• New OKC Museum is Free. Billed simply as Oklahoma Contemporary, a new museum dedicated to modern works, is slated to open next month in Oklahoma City. Its inaugural exhibition—Bright Golden Haze, explores the ways which artists use light to create place. Featured are works from leading artists from around the world, including Robert Irwin, Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Jen Lewin and Leo Villareal. The new facility also features a Studio School, a venue for adult and teen classes and workshops that launches this spring with more than 50 classes. Most importantly, all of Oklahoma Contemporary’s exhibitions, lectures and family activities are free and open to the public.
https://oklahomacontemporary.org/, or call 405.951.0000.
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has been undergoing a monumental makeover for the past several years, is nearing the end of what its officials say is the current phase of its Facilities Master Plan, which it calls the Core Project. By the end of the Core Project in 2020, the museum will offer 90,000 square feet of new galleries and public spaces. (The Facilities Master Plan is overseen by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry.) The museum has been, and will continue to be, open while construction goes on apace. Check the museum’s website for progress reports. Standard adult ticket price is $25, with senior, student and youth discounts and other categories offering lesser rates. For more information, visit https://philamuseum.org/visit, or call 215.763.8100.
• In the Chelsea neighborhood of southwest Manhattan in New York City, the Dia Art Foundation (It goes simply by Dia:), is enlarging its facility by consolidating three adjacent buildings at its 537 West 22nd Street site into a single space. The name “Dia,” taken from the Greek word meaning “through,” was chosen to suggest the institution’s role in enabling artistic projects that might not otherwise be realized. There is also a Dia: location in Beacon, N.Y., about 65 miles north of the Chelsea street location. Dia Chelsea is currently closed for renovation and will reopen in fall 2020. For more information
https://www.diaart.org/, or call 212.989.5566.
• The Seattle Asian Art Museum—widely known for the 1930s Art Deco building that houses it—has reopened to the public following a $56 million renovation that took nearly three years to complete. The renovated museum, which was constructed in 1933, features a new gallery, education studio, conservation center, and community room; a climate-control system so things don’t rot on the walls; a new glass-enclosed park lobby; and the restoration of one interior and two exterior fountains. Retail ticket prices range from free (children 14 and under) to $14.99 for adults. For more information, visit http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/asian-art-museum, or call 206.654.3210.
• The Momentary is a new contemporary art museum and event space in Bentonville, Arkansas, which operates as a satellite of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was established in 2011 by Alice Walton, daughter of the late billionaire Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. 62,000 square-foot facility was scheduled to open on February 22 in what was once a cheese factory in downtown Bentonville. Admission is free. For more information, visit https://themomentary.org/, or call 479.367.7500.
Brits Booking Winter Sun Holidays
Brits by the Millions Booking Winter Sun Holidays. The peak holiday booking season by British travelers that takes place in January has passed. Brexit—the departure of the UK from the European Union, which had been hanging over the travel and tourism industry, it seemed, like the Sword of Damocles—is a reality. Also, data from a new survey conducted by ABTA shows that it is indeed true that Brits are not about to give up their holidays—including their winter holidays, for those who take them.
More than six million Brits have And, as usual, Orlando remains the top long-haul holiday sunny destination.
Some selected points noted in the ABTA survey:
—Overall, more than two-fifths (44 percent) of people have taken, or are considering taking, a winter holiday this season.
—Nearly six million people have sought, or are planning to seek, warmer climes
this winter.
—The Canary Islands remain the top destination for British tourists looking for sunnier weather, with Fuerteventura, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria experiencing strong bookings.
—Dubai and Egypt are proving popular mid-haul choices, and southern Turkey is opening up with more flights to Antalya and Dalaman throughout the winter season.
—Orlando, Cape Town, Mexico and the Caribbean (whether for a cruise or a visit to a destination), including Barbados, Jamaica and St Lucia, are the long-haul destination favorites.
—Winter sun seekers are also investigating destinations such as Morocco, Cyprus and the Algarve..
—As for the winter sun destinations are the most preferred option (25 percent), the second most popular trip is a city break (21 percent), with 25 to 34-year-olds being the most likely to take one (28 percent).
The Package is Alive and Well
—Package holidays continue to dominate the overseas UK holiday market; indeed, half of the holidays people take each year are package breaks—a figure that has held steady since 2014.
—Also, more than half of holidaymakers (51 percent) say they have booked a package because it was the best option for the price.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Downsizing
—TUI has sold its vacation rental tour operator business, TUI Wolters, as it continues a strategic direction to focus on its core business with hotels, cruises and destination activities. The short-term rental business Oyo Vacation Homes has acquired TUI’s vacation homes and tour operating business. The TUI Wolters business adds 17,000 holiday home units to Oyo’s portfolio. Oyo signed a strategic alliance with Germany-based travel aggregator e-Domizil, which itself just agreed to acquire TUI Wolters. TUI Wolters comprises a holiday home OTA platform, and a roundtrip and vacation homes-based tour operator.
“At Oyo, our acquisition strategy is focused towards building on our existing capabilities and with e-Domizil as a partner, we have found synergies to strengthen our presence across Europe,” said Tobias Wann, global CEO for Oyo Vacation Homes. A quick review of the Oyo website shows that it offers a substantial amount of USA product.
—Miami-headquartered Despegar, one of the largest OTAs in Latin America, has acquired Best Day, a leading travel company in the Mexican market, reinforcing its position as an industry leader vis-à-vis Brazilian giant CVC. With an investment of US $ 136 million, Despegar has purchased 100 percent of Best Day Travel Group (BDTG) and closed an agreement that includes BDTG operations in all markets where it is present: Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Dominican Republic and Argentina. With this acquisition, Despegar expects to increase its revenues by 25 percent and strengthen its leadership strategy in the region. Alejandro Calligaris will remain CEO of Best Day for three years. According to Best Day, during 2019 the company recorded estimated unaudited proformance revenues and an Ebitda of approximately $140 million and $8 million, respectively, with online sales representing approximately 70 percent of the total.
In a move designed to increase business in the USA, Diversity Travel has joined Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest independent travel agent group. Diversity, which has offices in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the U.S. (Arlington, Virginia) provides services to not-for-profit, academic and charitable organizations and institutions. Commenting on the move, Christopher Airey, managing director of Diversity Travel, said: “We are extremely excited to have joined Advantage Business Travel. We feel that this partnership will enable us to offer clients an even wider range of choice when booking their travel, ultimately improving their overall experience. We’re looking forward to sharing knowledge and best practice within the Advantage Business Travel network.” As a collective, Advantage says that its members produce over £4.5illion ($5.8 billion) of travel sales annually.
Partner of the Week: Visit Bellingham
Connect Travel’s TourOperatorLand.com Partner of the Week
Bellingham is located in Washington State’s northwest corner – just 90 miles (145 km) north of Seattle and 55 miles (88 km) south of Vancouver, British Columbia. As Whatcom County’s largest city and county seat, Bellingham provides an urban vibe in an otherwise predominantly rural environment. Bellingham consistently ranks among the top 10 cities with the cleanest air nationwide, as one of the best places to live, best places to retire, and “hippest, healthiest, and most adventure-packed” small cities in America.
Drive up the Mt. Baker Scenic Highway
For more information, visit https://www.touroperatorland.com/destinations/bellingham_wa
Hodge Podge: Appointments & Changes
Larita Clark, who had been acting CEO and CFO of Chicago’s Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority—a commonly referred to as McPier—has officially been named CEO of the agency, which oversees Chicago’s Navy Pier and is one of the most visited attractions in the entire Midwest and is Chicago’s most visited tourist attraction. The authority also operates McCormick Place, one of the nation’s largest convention center complexes. Clark succeeds Lori Healy, who announced her resignation from the post last September. Clark has been with McPier for almost 10 years.
John Reyes has been appointed as the new senior Vice President and Chief MCI Sales Officer for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. His responsibilities include oversight of all sales functions in the MCI area including citywide and single property bookings and events. He joins from Visit Sacramento, where he was chief operating officer. Previously, he had served as executive vice president and chief sales officer for the San Francisco Travel Association
Mary Kay Vrba, president and CEO of Dutchess Tourism for more than 25 years, has decided to retire effective July 20, 2020. Commenting on the announcement, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “Throughout her tenure at Dutchess Tourism, Mary Kay Vrba has been a master of telling the story of Dutchess County.”
Leslie Johnson was recently named director of sales at VISIT Milwaukee. She joins the agency from the Paloma Resort Properties in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where she was vice president of sales and marketing. A veteran of more than 20 years in the travel and tourism industry, Johnson has served in senior management positions at several popular hotel properties, as well as Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.
Charlotte WWiebe has been appointed as TUI´s new group sustainability director, taking over the role from Jane Ashton, who leaves the company to take on a new challenge outside TUI. Charlotte previously held the function of HR Director and Member of the Management Board at TUI Nordic, where she had been driving change at one of TUI’s centers of excellence for innovation since 2010.
Former Thomas Cook executive Georg Welbers takes over the marketing and sales department at Alltours on April 1st. At Thomas Cook, Welbers was, among other things, managing director of Öger Tours, managing director for marketing, sales and e-commerce and most recently director Omnichannel. In summer 2019, he switched to the management team of Schülerhilfe, an education services company in Gelsenkirchen.
American Airlines has promoted Christian Weiß to regional sales manager Central & Eastern Europe. He will report to Cristián Lizana, who was recently promoted to regional director Europe sales. Weiß has been with American for nearly 17 years. He began his career with the company in July 2003 as part of the sales support team in Germany.
Gov. Steve Sisolak has named Brenda Scolari to head the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. In announcing the appointment, Sisolak described Scolari as a 30-year marketing professional in both the private and public sectors who has, “an intimate understanding of what makes Nevada’s culture and Native American communities special as well as what drives consumer behavior and travel interest.” She has been acting director since December 2018.
At Attraction World, the theme park and attraction ticket specialist, Ryan Clayton has been named business development executive and Zoe Whitehead has een appointed as trade marketing manager. Clayton previously worked for Thomas Cook for 14 years in various roles including sales consultant and business development manager. Whitehead joins from Polka Dot Travel where she was social media manager.
Charles Harris has been promoted to the post of chief marketing officer & executive vice president of public affairs at Visit Anaheim. Harris, who has been with Visit Anaheim since early 2014, was previously senior vice president of marketing. Previously, Harris, who had also operated his own photography business, was vice president of marketing for Luxe Hotels.
Adam Armstrong has been named as the new global chief executive of Contiki. He joins from his position as senior vice president & managing director of Silversea Cruises–Australia & New Zealand. A veteran of more than 20 years in the travel and tourism industry, holding various leadership positions within the cruising category across Europe, Asia, USA, Australia and New Zealand. He will be based in Geneva with a starting date yet to be announced.
Daniela Bergamini has been appointed as the new marketing and sales manager for Sea World in Brazil. Bergamini worked for the last eight years at Imaginadora, which represents theme parks in Brazil, involved in the promotion of several clients.
Juliana Pisani has been named marketing director at Universal Parks & Resorts. She will be responsible for marketing for Latin America and will work with the team of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the region, Marcos Barros. Previously, Pisani served for more than five years as chief marketing & innovation officer KFC Brazil.
Joachim Schreiber is the new senior sales and marketing manager at the Düsseldorf-based tour operator Anex Tour. A long-time veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Schreiber was most recently director of supplier relations at Invia Travel Germany. He succeeds Casten Burgmann, who had been with Anex since January 2017, and is leaving the organizer at his own request. He would like to face a “new professional challenge.” He is joining the management committee of a European investment company.
Erin Johnson has been named as marketing director
at Travelopia, the widely known collection of specialty tour operator
brands. She will oversee its tailor-made division. Currently Silversea UK &
Ireland’s marketing director, Johnson will be leaving the luxury cruise line
after three years and will start with Travelopia on March 2. Johnson’s role
will cover the Hayes & Jarvis, Sovereign, Citalia and Austravel brands with
Johnson reporting to commercial and brand director Helen Adamson.
Erika Moore has been named vice president of travel solutions for the United States and Canada for Sabre. She will be responsible for regional sales and account management teams. Previously, Moore served nine years with Travelport, where she had risen to the post of vice president and general manager of U.S. Sales for Travelport.
Industry Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Topeka has an opening for a new president, who will also serve as senior vice president of the Greater Topeka Partnership. You’ll find more details here.
—Visit Santa Clara is searching for a president and CEO. Clickhere for more information.
—Travel Portland has an opening for a vice president of community engagement and diversity, equity and inclusion. Click here for additional details.
—The Galesburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau in Illinois is looking for an executive director. For more details, click here.
—The Spartanburg (S.C.) Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a chief tourism development officer. Visit here for more information.
—Travel Portland is searching for a vice president of community engagement & diversity, equity & inclusion. For additional details, click here.
—Visit Pittsburgh is searching for a new president and CEO. For more information, click here.
—Discover Lancaster is searching for a new president and EO.Clickhere formore details.
—In Little Rock, Arkansas, the DMO there is searching for a senior sales director. For more information, visit here.
—The Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau is looking for a new president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Pensacola is looking for a new president and CEO. For more information, visit here.
—Travel Marquette is searching for a group marketing sales manager. Click here for more information.
—Visit San Antonio is looking for a director of market strategy. For more details, click here.
—There is an opening for a director of sales and catering at a Great Wolf Resort.Click here for specifics.
—Visit Orlando has an opening for a director of visitor services. For more information, visit here.
—The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (Explore St. Louis) has an opening for a vice president of sales. Click here for more information
—The Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for a president and CEO. For more information, visit here.
—The Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for its next chief executive officer. For more details, click here.
—Brent Robinson Vacation Rentals on the Alabama Gulf Coast has an opening for a director of marketing. For additional details, click here.
—The El Paso Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a director of convention development. Click here for more details.
—An international hotels & resorts company has an opening for a regional director of sales and marketing; the position is based in Vancouver, B.C. Visit here for details
—A hotel management company is searching for a remote director of revenue management for the Embassy Suites brand who will oversee two recently renovated hotels. For more information, click here.
—The Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new executive director. Click here for more information.
—The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau has an opening for a vice president of people strategies. Click here for more information.
—A collection of resorts at 17 locations in the U.S. is searching for national sales managers who will be part of a national sales force targeting group business for all markets. For more details, click here.
From HARP wallen Global Executive Recruitment and Search:
—There is an opening for a head of luxury travel at a West London location. Click here for details.
—In the London/South East area, a well established and respected travel marketing and PR company is seeking a public elations manager with experience in the travel sector, to manage PR activities for two key clients. Click here for more details.
—In South West London, an award-winning international travel business looking for an inside sales executive. 12-month FTC. For additional, information, click here.
—In the Northern Home Counties, a luxury tour operator is looking for a marketing planning manager; will be reporting to the Head of Marketing. For details, click here.
