Experts Agree: Brazilians Eager to Travel
The anticipation was fed earlier this week, on Sept. 13, when the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) lowered its COVID-19 travel advisory for Brazil by one notch as the pandemic wanes in Latin America’s largest economy.
Brazil is now ranked as Level 3, or “high,” according to an update posted on the agency’s website. Travelers are still advised to avoid nonessential trips to the country, and make sure they are fully vaccinated if they do visit. The CDC had been recommending travelers avoid Brazil for more than a year. Were it not for the technical measures used by the CDC, the environment for travel to the USA from Brazil would probably be somewhere on a “10” on a scale of one to ten.
Consider the news bytes from two authoritative reports out of Brazil.
1. Conversion‘s E-commerce Sectors in Brazil Report, Tourism showed that tourism was the economic sector with the highest growth rate in July, compared to June.
⦁ Not only has the size of the industry begun to recoup, the data from Conversion’s E-commerce Sectors in Brazil Report indicated that more than nine out of ten Brazilians (91.9 percent) told researchers that they intend to take a leisure trip after vaccination and/or the end of the pandemic.
⦁ And of that 91.9 precent, 78 percent said that they intend to travel by plane after taking the second dose of the vaccine or completing the immunization. (The survey was carried out among 271 Brazilians connected to the Internet in order to better understand the growth of tourism and what are the expectations of tourists in relation to the future of their travels.)
⦁ Unemployment and the decrease in income of a large part of the population were some of the factors that impacted various sectors of the economy during the most critical periods of the pandemic, in addition to social isolation. As a result, tourist activities were strongly affected—according to data from the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), they already add up to a loss of R$ 395.6 billion ($76 million) from March 2020 to June this year.
⦁ Many Brazilians are eager for the end of the pandemic to return to a more active travel routine. If before the social isolation it was already very good to travel, the expectation of being able to return to tourism practices makes 31 percent of those interviewed say that they will travel more than before the pandemic, whenever possible; the number is even higher among adults up to 30 years old, reaching 48 percent.
⦁ When asked about travel during the pandemic, about half (50.9 percent) of respondents said they were somewhat afraid of traveling, while 29.2 percent said they were not afraid of traveling.
⦁ However, some attitudes about safety procedures have changed, as the survey told us that 60.15 percent of Brazilians said that, even after the end of the pandemic, they will no longer use services from companies that do not follow the health safety protocols for preventing covid-19.
2. More data to shore up the optimism came from The Brazilian Overview Monthly Report for August. (The Overview is a joint project of Brazilian travel trade publisher, PANROTAS and FecomércioSP, a São Paulo-based business research organization.)
“Dear international partners and friends around the world,” José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of PANROTAS, announced in presenting the report, “Brazilians are ready to fly international again, and are already doing it, to destinations that are open for us, such as Mexico, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Egypt and, very soon, Canada (in September).”
⦁ A challenging scenario when there is an unemployment rate of 14.6% for a total of 14.8 million people out of the workforce. Although the number of formal job creation has been very positive throughout this year,
⦁ While he pointed out that readers should be aware that Brazil an unemployment rate of 14.6 16 percent for a total of 14.8 million people out of the workforce, the country’s two major consumer confidence indexes have gone above the 100 standard and the numbers of both seem to be on a growth curve.
⦁ A key measure cited in the report is that the country’s largest tourism source market in Brazil, São Paulo has 70 percent of its population vaccinated with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and has begun vaccinating teenagers between 12 and 17 years old on August 15th. (The vaccination rate in the rest of Brazil is still at 50 percent.)
⦁ Answers from the second edition of the Insights for Tourism survey by TRVL LAB and ELO research and analyses make it clear: Brazilians want and will travel at the end of 2021 and in the summer of 2022. According to the survey:
—61 percent of Brazilians are planning leisure trips in the six months after fully vaccinated. –
—54 percent are planning to travel this year, in the second half. –
—75 percent will not reject the national preference: sun and beach. –
—81 percent indicate relaxing and resting as the main reason for the trip and
—64 percent want to have fun. Leisure travel dominates, with international travel being planned for 2022.
In order to give some kind of cogency to the factors that—standing alone—might be interesting and arresting to the reader, we will try to present them in a way that helps the reader make this all make sense on their own.
“Dear international partners and friends around the world,” José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of PANROTAS, announced in presenting the report, “Brazilians are ready to fly international again, and are already doing it, to destinations that are open for us, such as Mexico, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Egypt and, very soon, Canada (in September).”
⦁ A challenging scenario when there is an unemployment rate of 14.6% for a total of 14.8 million people out of the workforce. Although the number of formal job creation has been very positive throughout this year,
⦁ While he pointed out that readers should be aware that Brazil an unemployment rate of 14.6 16 percent for a total of 14.8 million people out of the workforce, the country’s two major consumer confidence indexes have gone above the 100 standard and the numbers of both seem to be on a growth curve.
⦁ A key measure cited in the report is that the country’s largest tourism source market in Brazil, São Paulo has 70 percent of its population vaccinated with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and has begun vaccinating teenagers between 12 and 17 years old on August 15th. (The vaccination rate in the rest of Brazil is still at 50 percent.)
⦁ Answers from the second edition of the Insights for Tourism survey by TRVL LAB and ELO research and analyses make it clear: Brazilians want and will travel at the end of 2021 and in the summer of 2022. According to the survey:
—61 percent of Brazilians are planning leisure trips in the six months after fully vaccinated. –
—54 percent are planning to travel this year, in the second half. –
—75 percent will not reject the national preference: sun and beach. –
—81 percent indicate relaxing and resting as the main reason for the trip and
—64 percent want to have fun. Leisure travel dominates, with international travel being planned for 2022.
While short-haul travel and destinations at favored by those Brazilians who do travel, the report tells us that, should their borders open, “we are also ready to go to the United States, Portugal and Argentina.”
Germany’s 2021-to-2019 Comparison Hurts
The past couple of weeks have continued the battering the tourism industry in Germany, as a business report on business travel had numbers that were worse than they’ve ever been and, as for the retail sector, about the best that can be said is that year-on-year sales decreases are not as bad as they could have been.
And then, there was an indirect judgment on the condition of the largest EU country market for overseas traffic to the USA came last week in Hanover, Germany when it was announced TUI—Europe’s largest tour operator—had named a new chief executive for its flagship unit, TUI Germany. Stefan Baumert is taking on the responsibility for the company’s tour operator business in Central Europe, which includes the country markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland.
Baumert succeeds Marek Andryszak, who is leaving TUI, at his own request, at the end of the current financial year on September 30. Andryszak was a 15-year veteran of the TUI Germany, having joined the company in 2006 as vice president of aviation trading. With Baumert, TUI has apparently decided to stay with a familiar face at the top of the unit. Baumert has been with the company since 1999.
Andryszak’s self-inspired departure notwithstanding, it was no secret to anyone who follows the German travel trade news, that he had a problem with German travel agents. They didn’t like his style which, news accounts suggested, was that of someone who is remote. In any event, he is gone, and TUI has his problems still. Just take a look at the last monthly report, for August, of the “ta.ts travel agency mirror.” (“ta.ts” stands for Travel Agency Technologies & Services GmbH, which is based in Frankfurt.)
Agency Sales—the Numbers. The tat.ts report uses data from invoiced values from August 2021, vs. those of 2020 and those of 2019. The 2020 numbers are as low as they could possibly get, as they reflect a market that was hardly active—one that was in the midst of the worst part of the global pandemic.
With the above as preface, here are the key findings:
⦁ The total invoiced sales of the travel agencies recorded in the “ta.ts travel agency mirror” in August 2021 were up 84.0 percent compared to the same month of 2020. Compared to August 2019, the total invoiced sales are down 62.2 percent.
⦁ The billed tourism turnover in August showed an increase of 96.5 percent vs. 2020.
⦁ Compared to August 2019, the billed tourism turnover is down 56.6 percent.
⦁ The turnover in air traffic recorded in August increased by 76.0 percent compared to 2020. In August 2019 the turnover in air traffic shows a decrease of 72.1%.
⦁ “Other”sales in August 2021 vs. 2020 were up 57.1 percent and minus 48.2 percent vs. 2019.
⦁ The number of tickets sold was up 44 percent compared to August 2020 and down 68 percent compared to August 2019.
⦁ The turnover from the tourism sub-sector of cruises was up 190.8 percent in August compared to 2020, and down 61.5 percent compared with August 2019.
⦁ Viewed cumulatively, the total invoiced travel agency turnover in the months from January to August was minus 28.4 percent compared to 2020.
⦁ For the period January to August vs. 2019, the cumulative invoiced travel agency revenue was minus 80.0 percent.
⦁ Tourism recorded a minus of 27.0 percent compared to 2020 and minus 79.1 percent compared to 2019.
⦁ Air traffic experienced a decline of 35.3 percent compared to 2020 and a decrease of 84.3 percent compared to 2019.
⦁ “Other” sales showed a decrease of 12.5 percent compared to 2020 and a decrease of 63.3 percent vs. 2019. The number of tickets was a decrease of 44.6 percent compared to 2020 and minus 83.6 percent compared to 2019.
⦁ The cruises segment recorded a decrease of 42.6 percent compared to 2020 and a decline of 81.7 percent compared to 2019.
⦁ Incoming orders for tourism in August 2021 were up 263.1 percent for the month compared to 2020.
⦁ The tourism order backlog by travel date up to October 2021 is minus 38.1percent compared to 2020.
⦁ For the cruises segment, incoming orders were up 147.3 compared to the month, the order backlog by travel date up to October 2021 was minus 36.4 percent.
⦁ Incoming orders for tourism in August 2021 were minus 61.1 percent compared to the month of 2019.
The tourism order backlog by travel date up to October 2021 was minus 9.9 percent compared to 2019. For cruises, incoming orders are down 73.8 percent in a month-on-month comparison; the order backlog by travel date up to October 2021 is minus 1.6 percent.
● “German business travel spending is at lowest since records have been kept” screamed the headline over the article in Business Travel News Europe. It pointed out that spending by German companies on business travel has fallen to the lowest level since records began almost two decades ago, according to the German Business Travel Association (VDR).
The VDR data noted that business travel expenditures totaled €10.1 billion ($11.9 billion), 81.7 per cent lower than in 2019 and the lowest figure since it started collecting data 19 years ago. The VDR report’s key numbers were as follows:
⦁ In total, there were 32.7 million business trips in 2020 (down 83.3 per cent on 2019) and 3.3 million business travelers (down 74.9 per cent).
⦁ The majority of trips (83 per cent) were domestic.
⦁ 28.6 per cent of SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) and 24.2 per cent of public sector organizations completely avoided business trips during the year. However, the article noted) trips by SMEs tended to be longer than they were prior to the COVID virus and the global pandemic it created.
⦁ As a result of the sobering numbers in the data, the added value of a business trip will be examined even more carefully in the future, with some 80 per cent of the larger and 72 per cent of the smaller companies and 81 per cent of those in the public sector expecting a permanent reduction in business travel.
⦁ 84 per cent of those responsible for business travel will include working from anywhere, increasingly also from the home office, in their planning.
Commenting on the findings, VDR vice president Inge Pirner said, “The results show painfully the force with which the COVID-19 pandemic hit companies and providers in the business travel industry. The analysis also proves once again the importance of business travel for Germany as a business location.”
Anger over UK’s Traffic Light System
Is it damaging UK outbound travel to USA? Yes.
As we prepped for publication of this issue of INBOUND, the non-stop number one travel and tourism story for both the UK travel trade and travel consumers was what is going to happen either today or tomorrow when the government is supposed to announce the results of its review of the Traffic Light System for international travel. The last review was less than a month ago, with the results announced on August 26th.
The system uses the traffic light colors of red, amber and green to indicate the degree of safety each color is supposed to ensure. Green makes it the easiest for Brits to go and come. Amber is the color which currently assigned to the USA and most other countries. The third color is meant to tell the potential traveler to stay home because the country that you want to visit is too much of a COVID-19 virus risk. (Meanwhile, for Brits, the U.S. regulations do not permit British nationals travel into the USA if they have been in the UK in the previous 14 days. This rule also applies to countries in most of the EU, including Ireland, as well as Brazil, Iran, China, India and South Africa.)*
The public speculation in the British press varies. One view is that amber and green will be merged into a single color, and that red will remain as is. Another view suggests that the whole system could be scrapped by Oct. 1.
● Right Decision Could Buoy the UK Market and its Suppliers: Were such an announcement of such today or tomorrow, it would have a tremendous impact on the conduct of business next week at IPW in Las Vegas. One has to assume that the United States will ease its own CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) requirements—an action not to be taken for granted at all.
September 30th will also mark the end of the UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the program implemented by the British government during the darkest days of the pandemic that broke out a year-and-a-half ago in which the government paid 60 percent of wages up to a maximum cap figure for the hours an employee recipient was on furlough. Travel trade leaders were harshly critical of a government press release that seemed to praised the success of the program. The release pointed out that in July the number of furloughed workers stood at 1.6 million—down 340,000 from almost 2 million at the end of June and a peak of nearly 9 million at the height of the pandemic in May last year. Trade leaders supported an extension of the program.
The two developments have led to some very loud and angry rhetoric on the part of travel and tourism industry leaders. Here are a couple of samples of what one reads, sees or hears:
—Joanne Dooey, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) said at an event marking the centenary of the organization, that she expects international travel rules to be eased when ministers review the much-criticized traffic light system this month: “I do think there will be changes to the restrictions that are in place for green countries. I am confident that more things will happen.”
Dooey added, “It has been a barrier, and people are just not confident in booking to go anywhere that’s amber in case it goes red … “We need to see a return to international flying,” Dooey said. “The fear factor driven by people in power now needs to stop … Hopefully, we’ll scrap the traffic light system, because it’s not worked at all.”
— Steven Freudmann, chairman of the Institute of Travel and Tourism, which convened its annual conference on Sept. 11, lambasted images on television of long queues and delays at airports during the previous weekend, calling them a “disgrace” and an “embarrassment.”
“It’s simply unacceptable. We are supposed to be now, post-Brexit, a world leading country for trade,” he told the British trade publication, Travel Gossip, adding, “Images from over the weekend show the ‘welcome’ that we give to people coming into this country. It’s an embarrassment and, along with the traffic-light system and testing, the queues at the airport are a real disgrace. It’s an irony.”
“I’m not blaming the airports. I’m blaming Border Force and the Government’s provision to cope with the current crisis. Border Force is sadly under-supported and all the form filling and bureaucracy just adds to the wait times,” Freudmann said. He added: “We communicate with the Government and we always get polite replies, but sadly it seems that our recommendations on how to improve travel – and support the industry – just fall on deaf ears.”
The Top 20 U.S. Cities for Driving
Making Use of Destination Rankings
Top U.S. Cities to Drive in Can Also be Promoted to Trade: For the most part, the “Top 10” or “Top 20” lists that rank destinations on any number of factors (number of jogging and bike paths; hiking trails, amount of traffic congestion and/or road construction; cost of a gallon of gas; etc.) serve a purpose. They establish a ranking based on a set of factors. But who are the rankings for? And who are supposed to pay attention to the rankings as a part of their path to purchase?
KIs the Answer—Don’t Drive Yourself if You Don’ Have to? Maybe destinations can feature the absence of stress factors brought on by driving a car in promoting their product(s) to tour operators and groups. There are other good reasons, one of them being the number of people who would prefer not to drive on their own, no matter what. In the case of international visitors, the reason could be simply that fly-drive” has never been an attractive option. So, no, thank you. I’m not this kind of FIT
Then, too, consider these random factors:
● Americans rely on cars to get around, as “87 percent of daily trips take place in personal vehicles,” according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, fear of public transportation has led to more reliance on personal vehicles than usual, and car sales increased 9 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to last year.
● Driving your car is expensive. While driving offers a more isolated commute, it is often a major hassle and expense. Drivers annually spend an average of more than 310 hours on the road. That’s nearly 13 days. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and the collective tab comes to about $1,400 per driver each year.
● Road quality is another big factor in how pleasant one’s driving experience is. America’s highways and bridges are underfunded overall, with a backlog of hundreds of billions of dollars in repairs needed, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. The World Economic Forum ranks U.S. roads at 17th in quality out of 141 economically developed nations, too. It’s clear there’s room for improvement.
Some cities are better for those behind the wheel, though. In an effort to give a ranking of places based on which are easier to drive, WalletHub, a personal finance website based in Washington, D.C. and owned by Evolution Finance Inc., has come out with a ranking of the top cities to drive in (remember, this can also read with top cities to take a bus tour in) and, for the most part, no city with more than a population of more than a million is in the Top 20. (To get a better grasp of the numbers here, check out the Methodology that is explained following the table below.)
Methodology
—In order to determine the best and worst cities for drivers, WalletHub compared a sample of the 100 most populated U.S. cities across four key dimensions: 1) Cost of Ownership & Maintenance, 2) Traffic & Infrastructure, 3) Safety and 4) Access to Vehicles & Maintenance. Our sample considers only the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.
—We evaluated those dimensions using 30 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for drivers. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the state level only. For metrics marked with two asterisks (**), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.
—Finally, WalletHub determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
Patricia Rojas-Ungár—A Remembrance
Only in rare instances does one feel such a profound sense of grief that comes with the passing away of an individual who might not have been a family member or a friend, but whose work, good deeds and personal warmth touched many people in a special way. The death on August 26th of Patricia Rojas-Ungár triggered a deeply profound grief among those whose paths have intersected with hers during her brief but extraordinarily productive life, which ended at the age of 47, and even for those who did not know her, but knew of her.
Her work in official Washington comprised some 20 years—more than a decade of them as vice president of public affairs at the U.S. Travel Association, which she left to join the Outdoor Industries Association. Then, last year, Rojas-Ungar joined Strategic Marketing Innovations, a firm that supports companies, universities, and academic institutes secure federal funding for research and development, and technology procurement. as vice president of government affairs.
In Washington, she was but one of small number have who worked in both Houses of Congress.
Rojas-Ungár was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT). Her work on the Committee focused heavily on legislating and overseeing the implementation of a variety of travel security programs including Global Entry, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and U.S. VISIT. She was also involved in the development of travel security provisions included in legislation to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
Rojas-Ungár brought valuable knowledge of the U.S. House of Representatives with her to in her work for Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D, CA-34) and for former Representative Ken Bentsen (D, TX-25).
It was during her tenure as U.S. Travel’s top government affairs official that the organization arranged for a first-ever White House meeting with a sitting President, Barack Obama. It was also during her tenure at U.S. Travel that Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Travel Promotion Act of 2010, which resulted in the creation of Brand USA. There were countless other achievements that were part of her job—significant enough that she became a point person in Washington for those seeking to establish contacts, or to ask her to come and speak to their group.
She was no stranger, of course, to the many travel-related organizations that populate Washington, D.C. Her work with them and at their conferences and meetings meant that she made scores of trips to cities throughout the U.S. explaining issues that confront the U.S. travel and tourism industry. Here, she is taking part in one of those events—a seminar at Connect Travel’s 2018 RTO Summit in New York City:
In our nation’s capital, acknowledgment and honors quickly came her way. Rojas-Ungár’s efforts earned her unanimous recognition as an effective and respected lobbyist. As recently as last year, she was named a top lobbyist by the news publication, The Hill. She was also recognized by Washingtonian Magazine, CEO Update and Association Trends. In 2011, she was named by the Washingtonian as one of DC’s “Top 40 Under 40.”
Her life, her achievements and the example she set for others were not limited to a professional sphere. Alma Patricia Rojas-Ungár was born December 2, 1973, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to Elvira Guerra and Jaime Rojas. Patricia earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Houston in 2001. Early in her career, Patricia worked helping children in Brazil, then continued on in Houston working with inner-city youth at I Have a Dream-Houston as a project coordinator.
Somehow, midst all the tumult, the challenges and never-ending demands of work, Patricia Rojas-Ungár found time to find love and become a mother, to husband Michael and twins Vivienne and Noah. And she continued to excel.
So now, Patricia Rojas-Ungár has left us. As the British poet Shelley would have written it slightly differently in Adonais of his friend John Keats, who died at an-all-too-young age, had she been the loss:
“She is made one with Nature: there is heard
Her voice in all her music, from the moan
Of thunder, to the song of night’s sweet bird;
Hers is a presence to be felt and known
In darkness and in light, from herb and stone …”
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Shortly after the passing of Patricia Rojas-Ungár, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, shared information with INBOUND on contributing to a fund in her honor which will assist with the future education needs of her young children, Noah and Vivienne. A close family friend of Michael and Patricia’s has established a GoFundMe page for this purpose. U.S. Travel and many of its staff, as well as Dow and his wife, Linda, have already made contributions. For those who may wish to do the same, you may do so at the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-ungar-family
HODGE PODGE: Appointments, Openings and Changes
Beginning October 1st, Stefan Baumert will take over as CEO of TUI Germany. Baumert assumes responsibility for the company’s tour operator business in Central Europe with the markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. He succeeds Marek Andryszak, who is leaving TUI at the end of the current financial year on September 30th. Baumert began his professional career at TUI in 1999 after studying business administration and has since worked for the group in various management positions in Germany and London.
Aniseh Dalju, Marie Martin, Brandon Furyk, Greg “Fish” Fischbein and Jordan Allen, in collaboration with the team at Long Beach, California-based Onward (group travel services) are launching their new brand—Onward Expeditions. Expeditions, which is focused on curriculum-based student group travel—working together with faculty throughout the country and abroad, taking the curriculum beyond the classroom. “We are a diverse and passionate team,” said Dalju, “creating exceptional travel experiences. No matter size or scope, we consider all the details, crafting the right travel solution for you every time.”
Brian McCartin, president & CEO at Tempe Tourism Office, has announced his retirement. He joined Tempe in 2017 following his 14-year tenure at Travel Portland. Michael Martin, long-time executive vice president, has been named interim president/CEO.
Birmingham, UK-based Attraction World has recruited Ella Sopp as its new head of business development. Sopp will be responsible for “building new relationships across the travel distribution sphere,” including OTAs and in-destination partnerships. She brings more than 13 years of industry knowledge to the B2B tours and attractions supplier as the company continues to reshape its management team. Sopp has previously held senior roles with industry media outlets such as Arival, Tourpreneur, Tnooz (now Phocuswire) and Travel Technology Europe. Attraction World connects travel brands in over 80 countries., and has enabled over 3 million customers to pre-book attractions and destination experiences worldwide.
Andrew Ortale has been appointed as the new chief sales officer at VisitPITTSBURGH. Ortale’s appointment marks a return to Pittsburgh for the seasoned veteran, as he previously served as national sales director for VisitPITTSBURGH from 2000-03 before taking on a senior sales position with Visit Orlando. Previously, he worked for ASIS International from 2017. Prior to that, he served in senior positions at National Trade Productions. (2012-15).
Thomas Osswald has been named the new managing director for the German travel agency franchise system Derpart (it is part of DER Touristik Group). His appointment follows the decision of Aquilin Schömig and Andreas Neumann decided to leave the company at their own request. The business economist and travel agent Thomas Osswald began his career in 1994 in the travel agency franchise sector in various managerial positions at Lufthansa City Center Reisebüropartner GmbH and became its managing director in 1999. From 2006 onwards, he was in charge of franchise management at TUI Deutschland for several years. From 2009, Osswald held various managerial positions at the Amadeus subsidiary i: FAO Group and at the parent company Amadeus, including as Director Commercial the areas of Key Customer Relations, Commercial and Key Account Services and currently the Strategy TMC Partners area at Amadeus IT Group.
Florian Renner this week takes over the management of the North America product at FTI in Zurich. The USA specialist was most recently the strategic head of The Brand USA, the marketing organization of the United States, at the Munich-based Lieb Management agency. Long-distance travel manager Matthias Huwiler sees Renner as a “great gain for our product area.” “We are certain that his know-how makes him an ideal team leader to set important impulses for the strategic direction for trips to the USA and Canada”, says Huwiler.
Renu Snehi has been named senior vice president of global brands for Travel + Leisure Company. with the mission of overseeing the company’s multi-brand commercial strategy. Bringing 20 years of experience with top brands in the global hospitality industry to Travel + Leisure Co., Snehi joins the company following the acquisition of the renowned Travel + Leisure brand earlier this year. In her role, she will be responsible for global branding and brand communications for the Company’s three lines of business: Wyndham Destinations, Panorama, the world’s largest affiliate travel company; and Travel + Leisure Group.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has appointed Anne Sayers as the state tourism secretary, a post she’s held as interim director since November. Sayers replaces Sara Meaney, who resigned from the post. Sayers had been deputy secretary under Meaney since 2019 when Evers took office. Previously, Sayers had been deputy state director. Prior to that, she was director of marketing and communications for the International Crane Foundation.
Paul Mason has been named senior manager of global trade at the Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. He joins from Wyndham Resorts & Hotels. Mason was with the company for nearly 19 years, most recently as director, wholesale account management and distribution.
Space Perspective, the world’s first luxury spaceflight experience, announced that travel industry veteran Edyta Teper has joined the company as head of global sales-trade partnerships. In this role, Teper will be responsible for overseeing global sales for travel trade partnerships. She will lead sales efforts and collaborate with the marketing team in new business development. Teper, who will report to Sandy Heydt, chief marketing officer, joins the new company from Virgin Voyages, where she was a senior sales executive.
Bob Hackett has been named executive director at Travel South Oregon. He joined the organization in 2017 following 19 years as marketing manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also served as a visiting instructor of Willamette University and at Oregon State University.
Jasmyn Goodwin has been promoted to vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Omaha. She joined the organization 14 years ago and has been serving in this position on an interim basis for the past year. Working at Visit Omaha for the past 14 years, Goodwin has served as the organization’s director of marketing, managing a team of content creators and VisitOmaha.com, the city’s official tourism website.
Florian Storp has left his position as managing director of American Express Global Business Travel (GBT). In doing so, he also leaves vacant his position as vice president of Central and Eastern Europe.
With Storp’s withdrawal, American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is not only losing its long-time managing director in Germany, Storp’s position as vice president Central and Eastern Europe is also vacant. The departure of Storp comes as a surprise. On request, there was no information about a possible successor both as Germany’s managing director and as the person responsible for Central and Eastern Europe.
Marie Loyola has joined the Paris-based Article Onze Group, a European marketing and public relations group, where she will promote the southern states of the USA along with Travel South USA on the French and Belgian markets. Previously, she was with the Office du Tourisme des Visit USA Committee France.
Nuitée Travel has announced the appointment of Yasir Talib as senior business development manager. Talib brings more than 15 years of expertise in the B2B travel distribution field. In his previous roles, he served as Senior Sales Manager in different companies like Kuoni / GTA, G2 Travel and ATI. Talib is a New Yorker home-based in the suburbs of the city, and he will strengthen the commercial team led by Fabiana Ferreira, global director of sales. Nuitée is a B2B company that began operations in 2017
Christina Erny has been promoted from director of marketing to vice president of marketing at the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic marketing initiatives and overseeing programs related to integrated marketing, research, advertising, media buying and negotiating, official publications and collateral, web strategy, social media and event marketing, as well as lead the day-to-day operations of the marketing and communications teams. Erny has been with the bureau for more than a decade. She joined in 2011 has public relations and social media coordinator.
Matt Bolas has been appointed executive director the Bristol Regional Tourism Marketing Corporation, which overseas tourism promotion for an area that includes Bristol, which straddles that state line separating Virginia and Tennessee, and is considered by many to be the birthplace of American country music. A native of Kingsport, Tenn., Bolas has more than 20 years of experience in the tourism industry, including 18 years as executive director of Discover Bristol and two years as sports marketing manager at Visit Kingsport.
Angela Indemaio has been appointed to the new position of sales coordinator at Blue Man Group. She comes to the company from her post as a tour and travel sales manager at New York Cruise Lines, Inc., where she spent nearly eight years.
Marcie Ellison Outerbridge, vice president of Ellison Travel & Tours—a major force in the North American student and youth market, with three offices across Canada—has been appointed vice president of the Student Youth Travel Association (SYTA). Outerbridge, who has been with family operated Ellison Travel and Tours for nearly 17 years, has been an active SYTA member during most of that time.
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Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Visit Milwaukee is searching for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Visit Dana Point, California, has an opening for an executive director. More details here.
—Discover The Palm Beaches is looking for an associate vice president of group sales. More details here.
—Discover The Palm Beaches is searching for a director of events, tradeshow & strategic sales partnerships. More details here.
—The Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau, which represents an area of coastal communities in northwestern Michigan, has an opening for a new executive director. More details here.
—The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a senior vice president of convention sales. More details here.
—The Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade is searching for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
—The Roebbelen Center @ the Grounds, a multi-purpose event facility on 60 acres situated between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, is seeking a general manager. More details here.
—In Arlington, Texas, there is an opening for president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. More details here.
—Freeman is searching for a vice president, national graphics. More details here.
—Visit Dallas has an opening for a senior vice president/chief marketing officer. More details here.
—Destination Door County (Wisconsin) is looking for a president and CEO. More details here.
—In Oregon, the Josephine County Visitor Association’s Destination Marketing Organization, Experience Grants Pass, us searching for an executive director. More details here.
—The Oklahoma State Fair is seeking a president and CEO. More details here.
—There is an opening for a chief executive officer at Explore Skagit Valley in Washington State. More details here.
—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts has an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here
—Georgia’s Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority is searching for a conference sales director. More details here.
Also, Visit Dallas, one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth, has the following job openings. For more details, click on the individual links: Administrative Assistant; Diversity & Inclusion Resource Manager; Event Manager; Sales Coordinator; and Site Coordinator.
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From LinkedIn Jobs: Known to many across the board in the travel and tourism industry, the LinkedIn list (click here) has numerous job opportunities posted. Following is a brief sample of some of those jobs currently listed.
—Sky Land and Ocean Travel in Philadelphia has an opening for a virtual travel coordinator. More details here.
—Barefoot Wanderlust Adventures has an opening for a travel specialist who can work from a remote location. More details here.
—New York City & Company has an opening for a coordinator, global communications. More details here.
—Delta Air Lines is searching for a specialist, reservations strategic initiatives. More details here.
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From Indeed.com: We’ve taken a look at this site (click here) which says that it has hundreds of new jobs listed, including a fair number in the travel, tourism and related industries. A sampler of what to expect is below.
—The Miles Partnership has an opening for a Travel Media Sales and Marketing Executive. Location: Remote. More details here.
—The city of Eustis, Florida is looking for an events & tourism manager. Salary range is $50,361 to $75,670 a year. More details here.
—The Philadelphia office of Tiquets, the global ticket booking company for attractions, is looking for a U.S.-based supply coordinator (the company is headquartered in the Netherlands. More details here.
—The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is looking for a vice president of guest experience. The salary range is $130,000 – $157,000 a year: More details here.
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Have a job to offer in the travel and tourism industry? Let us know and we’ll post your notice—no cost to you. Email tom@tomberrigan.com
