Trade Talk: From installment payments to vacationing on a farm
● Aussies not traveling abroad, and fewer are traveling at home. Hit hard by the pandemic, traveling Australians seem to have lost their desire to so, the findings, according to a new survey of 1,000 Australians by Hipcamp, a Sydney-based provider of outdoor stays. According to most accounts, it will be next year before international travel to and from the country starts up again. In the midst of such a situation, the survey found:
—61 percent of Australians say they have NOT booked a holiday for the next six months!
—Although nearly a quarter (24 percent) of Australians cite staycations as the most viable holiday plan for the next six months, no one seems too excited about them.
—Asked if they thought a staycation could “actually bring them joy” in the next six months, 37.2 percent of Australians said “No” and 31.9 percent said ‘Meh,’
—The above showed a combined national total of 69.1 percent of Australians who simply aren’t staycation inspired. Visit here for more details.
● Good News from Brazil: From the Washington Post: “As vaccinations accelerate and the coronavirus retreats, Brazil finally allows itself to hope for better days. This month, for the first time since the pandemic arrive, Amazonas state had a date when it did not register a single Covid death.” Read the full article here.
● Dallas and Hotelbeds to promote weekenders: VisitDallas, the DMO that promotes Dallas as a business and leisure destination, has signed an agreement with Hotelbeds, the world’s largest bedbank, to drive domestic in-bound tourism to the U.S. city. The campaign is designed to drive domestic leisure tourism to Dallas, with a particular focus on weekday and long weekend visits. Throughout the promotion travel advisors will be introduced to the incredible opportunities that the Texan city of Dallas has to offer: its wide offer of art, culture and music, sporting events, gastronomic offerings, and the city’s unique culture.
● Adventure Travel Association highlights the “experience the cattle and other creatures” on a farm vacation in Alabama’s Black Belt: “I don’t like people to feel rushed,” Christopher Black says about the access he provides to his 200-acre Black Angus cattle farm through experiential tours. “I want you to take your time, enjoy what you enjoy. If you want to sit on the edge of the field and look off into the distance, you can do that.” It’s why he went so literally with the name of his operation: Connecting with Birds & Nature Tours. “Connecting with the healing power of nature is a big part of it.” For the complete article, click here.
● Just in time for its annual trade show two months from now (Sept. 18-22 in Las Vegas), the U.S. Tourism Association’s IPW has selected Global Tourism Sports & Entertainment (GTSE) to be its first official Sports and Tourism Representation Ambassador. The new partnership is hailed by both organizations as an opportunity to drive a recovery toward travel’s pre-pandemic economic impact figure.
“With both transportation and sports news more globalized than ever, the natural intersection between sports and tourism continues to grow, as sports leagues build their fan bases across borders and oceans,” said U.S. Travel’s president and CEO Roger Dow. “Continuing that integration makes sense for the development of both economic sectors, and this partnership will be valuable in facilitating that process.”
● Installment or “Buy now, pay later” payments for travel are growing increasingly popular. Long a staple in some travel markets—particularly in South America—paying for the cost of a holiday over, say 12 months, is “increasingly becoming a way that consumers want to pay,” says Tom Botts, chief commercial officer for Uplift, which bills itself as “the largest player in the space.” Adds Botts: “It is becoming an expectation of consumers wanting this payment option, not only for retail, but also for travel.”
Commonly referred to as “buy now, pay later,” such solutions are positions as a way to enable travel consumers to purchase airline tickets, cruises, vacation packages, hotels and other travel products via payment plans that can span from a few months up to more than a year. Buy now, pay later customers typically receive credit decisions almost instantly, with interest rates determined based upon their credit histories. Payment terms range from as short as three months to as long as 18 months, said Botts.
In April, Uplift added Southwest to existing airline clients United, Frontier, Alaska, Allegiant, Lufthansa and Aeromexico and approximately a dozen others. For the complete article, visit here.
