Anxiety Over Key Inbound Markets’ Future
When will China, Japan, others open up? See the NTTO numbers below.
First, a few key observations.
● Data for arrivals from the Top 20 overseas source markets for travelers to the United States for both the month of March, as well as year-to-date arrivals through the month March (i.e., the Q1 numbers for 2022) from the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) are now being studied by the numbers crunchers and tekkies in the marketing departments of those who market the USA abroad.
Right away, the analysts take a look at the first ten of the Top 20 country source markets, which tell us that the Top 10 is beginning resemble the Top 10 of 2019, before the worldwide tourism business cratered in the wake of COVID-19 virus outbreak
● The news tell the international travel and tourism industry for the USA that key markets that have driven the overseas market are “back in action.” Familiar countries are back on top: the UK, Germany, Brazil, India and France. And if those who market and promote Visit USA
● That it is, the traditional Top 10 out of the Top 20 are beginning to look familiar. First is the UK which, in February, had some unusually strong numbers. Analysts and industry leaders had been predicting such, as British travel agencies and tour operators had been reporting strong pent-up demand for travel abroad: i.e., the UK, Germany, Brazil, India, Italy and France were top markets.
● However, the once-strong Asian markets of Japan, China and South Korea—previously in the Top 10—are missing. These three markets are still static, at best. From what we’re seeing and reading, it looks as if China will not improve its level of nonessential outbound international travel until Q4. In Japan, the situation is still crawling along at such a weak pace that the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) quarterly forecast has not been published since December 2019.
The key NTTO data follow:
Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Countries
For Month of March 2022
| Country of Residence & Rank | Number of Arrivals | % Change vs. same period 2021 |
| 1. United Kingdom | 220,692 | 3632.9% |
| 2. Germany | 87,609 | 1764.0% |
| 3. Brazil | 78,787 | 1528.2% |
| 4. India | 71,373 | 158.3% |
| 5. France | 69,509 | 2173.8% |
| 6. Colombia | 65,197 | 25.1% |
| 7. Spain | 48,379 | 836.7% |
| 8. Italy | 36,682 | 868.4% |
| 9. Argentina | 35,063 | 118.5% |
| 10. Ecuador | 31,547 | 39.0% |
| 11. Chile | 29,339 | 169.0% |
| 12. Ireland | 27,396 | 5817.1% |
| 13. Australia | 27,294 | 1642.9% |
| 14. Dominican Republic | 26,701 | (0.2%) |
| 15. South Korea | 24,887 | 361.6% |
| 16. Peru | 23,658 | 49.0% |
| 17. Israel | 22,759 | 174.6% |
| 18. Netherlands | 22,218 | 1148.2% |
| 19. Guatemala | 17,524 | 15.7% |
| 20. Japan | 17,414 | 212.8% |
| Total Top 20 Overseas Countries | 984,028 | 314.0% |
Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Countries
Year-to-Date Through Month of March 2022
| Country of Residence & Rank | Number of Arrivals | % change vs. March 2021 |
| 1. United Kingdom | 469,519 | 2355.0% |
| 2. Brazil | 221,925 | 1467.8% |
| 3. India | 188,317 | 103.1% |
| 4. France | 182,346 | 1459.7% |
| 5. Germany | 178,848 | 1092.8% |
| 6. Colombia | 175,241 | 61.5% |
| 7. Spain | 115,416 | 660.7% |
| 8. Argentina | 104,527 | 124.0% |
| 9. Chile | 99,165 | 157.3% |
| 10. Italy | 80,164 | 664.3% |
| 11. South Korea | 73,779 | 258.8% |
| 12. Ecuador | 71,723 | 47.2% |
| 13. Dominican Republic | 69,827 | 18.9% |
| 14. Peru | 68,744 | 102.6% |
| 15. Australia | 61,666 | 1224.2% |
| 16. Ireland | 56,621 | 3511.0% |
| 17. Costa Rica | 53,732 | 74.1% |
| 18. Netherlands | 50,727 | 831.5% |
| 19. Guatemala | 47,473 | 57.6% |
| 20. Israel | 47,087 | 253.4% |
| Total Top 20 Overseas Countries | 2,416,847 | 289.8% |
Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by
World Region of Residence
For Month of March 2022
| Region | Number of Arrivals | 2022 Share | % Change vs. same period 2021 |
| Western Europe | 610,520 | 44.2% | 1853.1% |
| Eastern Europe | 46,670 | 3.4% | 284.9% |
| Asia | 173,645 | 12.6% | 235.6% |
| Middle East | 52,948 | 3.8% | 183.4% |
| Africa | 18,604 | 1.3% | 204.0% |
| Oceania | 31,923 | 2.3% | 1316.3% |
| South America | 292,465 | 21.2% | 106.0% |
| Central America (Excluding Mexico) | 74,177 | 5.4% | 18.1% |
| Caribbean | 78,814 | 5.7% | 49.1% |
| Total Overseas | 1,379,766 | 100.0% | 263.3% |
Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by
World Region of Residence
Year-to-Date Through March 2022
| Region | Number of Arrivals | 2022 Share | % Change vs. 2021 |
| Western Europe | 1,362,579 | 39.6% | 1258.9% |
| Eastern Europe | 112,322 | 3.3% | 229.2% |
| Asia | 455,457 | 13.2% | 159.0% |
| Middle East | 134,508 | 3.9% | 169.8% |
| Africa | 48,100 | 1.4% | 118.6% |
| Oceania | 70,987 | 2.1% | 931.8% |
| South America | 822,950 | 23.9% | 142.7% |
| Central America (Excluding Mexico) | 227,571 | 6.6% | 68.0% |
| Caribbean | 203,096 | 5.9% | 63.0% |
| Total Overseas | 3,437,570 | 100.0% | 247.9% |
INBOUND reminds the reader that, if you find that you want to dig deeper in your data collection and analysis program, you might want to contact David Huether at the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). He is deputy director for research, and he can probably help you point your venture in the right direction. You can reach him here: David.Huether@trade.gov.
Brand USA Lives to Market Another Day
There will be no doubt—in a little more than five weeks when the USA’s largest international travel marketplace, IPW, hosted by the U.S. Travel Industry Association (US Travel) and led by marketer-in-chief Brand USA—that the U.S. inbound travel industry is, at last, fully open for business.
After canceling the event for a year in 2020, the industry got behind US Travel and took part in IPW last September in Las Vegas. But that get-together, operating at about a third of capacity, seemed at times, more like a statement of defiance in support of the industry for those who showed up: suppliers and buyers alike wearing masks everywhere; in their booths, people trying to maintain a proper distance and not shaking hands (heresy for a business founded on handshakes); “infection checkpoints” to start the day that made the convention center seem hostile and larger than it is; and social functions that just didn’t have that friendly, noisy, rambunctious mix of a multilingual and multicultural crowd that is endemic to IPW.
In other words, it was a tough sell to get people to Las Vegas and work the show. But, fortuitously, it seemed to pay off. A month after IPW, the Biden Administration announced the November 10 elimination of travel bans for EU nations and other key country markets. And since then, bit-by-bit, the walls of bans throughout the world have come tumbling down. There are still some tough regions (APAC countries come to mind), but US Travel is looking at a date book that is at, or just beyond, 7/8th full.
No mistake who this new IPW booth belongs to—Brand USA
A Brand USA State of Mind: It’s a challenge for anyone (including INBOUND’s editor) who’s ever worked on Capitol Hill or in the Federal Estate to explain just how difficult and magnificent it is to pull off what US Travel’s outgoing president, Roger Dow, US Travel’s executive vice president of public affairs and policy, Tori Emerson, and the entire US Travel lobbying team have pulled off. Perhaps a miraculous medal of some sort is in order.
What they did was get bipartisan backing for inclusion of $250 million for Brand USA in the March Omnibus Appropriations Act that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law.
Here’s what Brand USA faced. Under the terms of the Travel Promotion Act of 2010, which established Brand USA as our country’s DMO, the agency is allowed to match private sector contributions of up to $100 million—with up to $100 million in fees collected from travelers to the United States from Visa Waiver nations (there are 40 of these).
Snapshot: Before $250 million in Recovery Funding
Prior to the Congressional relief funding, Brand USA faced a sort of Catch 22 situation. As Aaron Wodin-Schwarz explained at Brand USA’s recent board of directors meeting, on the one hand, Brand USA’s federal matching fund come from charges on Visa Waiver travelers to the United States—only no one was traveling to the USA. On the other hand, because of a tourism industry shutdown, there were few partners who could afford contributions to Brand USA.
What the recovery funding will mean—a quick summary Part I
—Brand USA will submit a plan to Congress for allocating relief funding by May 5.
—The plan is a framework that will guide Brand USA’s decision making over the next 2.5—three fiscal years and provide a bridge back to normal operations.
—Each fiscal year will have its own detailed business plan with marketing objectives and budge AND annual report to Congress.
—The framework includes: methodology for market and channel selection; typical programs; and more.
—The legislation does not affect Brand USA’s underlying mission and funding model.
What the recovery funding will mean—a quick summary Part II
—For planning purposes, let’s assume that the $250 million in funding will be/have been received by the end of April.
—$50 million of the funds require matching funds, and Brand USA’s team expects to receive these funds in Fiscal Year 2023 once they are matched.
—Here is a breakdown of the $250 million in federal government revenue over three fiscal years:
● FY 2022, (ends at conclusion of October 31, 2022) $40.5 million
● FY 2023, $139.5 million
● FY 2024, $70 million
FY 2022 Expense Budget
| Scenario | Readiness Spend | Recovery Spend | Federal Relief Spend | Total |
| Board Approved Budget | $23,120,000 | $53,780,000 | x | $76,900,000 |
| Proposed Budget with $250 million Federal Relief $ | $23,120,000 | $53,780,000 | $40,503,259 | $117,403,259 |
Emerging from the Pandemic, Brand USA is Still Valued by its Partners: In going through the ratings of the organization’s Annual Partnership Perception and Performance Evaluation, Cassady Bailey, vice president partner engagement, was able to tell board members that the measures of “Partnership Value and Maintaining Partnership” have remained in the over-90 percent ratings, although there was some slippage last year, from 94 percent to 90 percent in partners’ value of membership. Of course, the year was the trough year for the pandemic. (The survey was conducted January-March.)
Perception of Brand USA
(Top 2 Boxes—Agree)
| Year | Partnership Value | Maintaining Membership |
| 2016 | 96% | 100% |
| 2017 | 94% | 81% |
| 2018 | 94% | 99% |
| 2019 | 92% | 94% |
| 2020 | 94% | 91% |
| 2021 | 90% | 95% |
Note: Perception of Brand USA’s partnership value increased among state DMOs remained at 100 percent among partners contributing $1million or above.
(Click here and you can connect to the complete proceedings of the Brand USA board of directors meeting discussed above.)
Partner of the Week – TourOperatorLand.com
Featuring Shasta Cascade-CA/UpState CA
Discover California’s best kept secret – live like a local in the Shasta Cascade region!
Those who discover the Shasta Cascade region of upstate California are true nature lovers, outdoors people, and all-around savvy travelers. It takes a spirit of adventure to explore beyond California’s golden gates and flashy theme parks to journey into the land of glaciers, volcanos, caverns, and waterfalls. Exploring the far corners of California will give you bragging rights to memories reserved for those who dare to blaze their own trail.
For starters, the tourism counselors at UpState CA suggest that first-time visitors try these:
● Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding
● Lassen Volcanic National Park
● McCloud Falls
● Mount Shasta
● Lake Shasta Caverns and dinner cruise
And if you’re returning to explore still more—and there’s a lot to be explored—you’ll probably want to visit these:
● Castle Crags State Park
● Shasta Dam
● Lake Almanor
● Lava Beds National Monument
● Trinity River Rafting
To make sure that you put together a first-rate package that will be sure to satisfy your clients, you should contact the UpState CA professional whose job is to be your connection and help you.
Verified Destination Contact
Lisa May
Director of Tourism Development
Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association
Phone: 530.515.8485
Email: lisa@shastacascade.org
Following are examples of royalty-free, high-res photos, courtesy of
UpState CA that you will find available at TourOperatorLand.com
Want to see more? Then, click here (UpStateCA) or at the UpState CA pages at TourOperatorLand. For more information on how to partner with TourOperatorLand.com, contact Betsy Cooper, Director of TourOperatorLand.com and Partner Engagement.
and/or 415.728.1085
Brazil and its Pandemic Profile
None of the USA’s international travel source markets has been hit as hard and as squarely in its performance as was Brazil’s. One can argue about the measures that statisticians would employ in making such a case, but not here. The data don’t lie.
We’ll illustrate.
First, the worst of the damage to Brazil and its travel and tourism is behind us now. It was just years ago in April 2020 that the worldwide industry began to shut down as the COVID-19 driven pandemic began, wreaking havoc everywhere and causing millions of deaths—and many more millions of severely ill people—worldwide.
Second, in addition to the irreparable human damage the pandemic wasted, the global travel and tourism industry shrunken and emaciated. By the end of last year (2021), the number of Brazilians arriving in the United States fell to its lowest level of the 21st century. The absolute low point came a year ago—in June, 2021—when just 470 Brazilians came to the USA.
The profile, developed using data from the U.S. National Travel & Tourism Office, continues:
Brazilian Visitation to the USA
(000s)
| Year | Arrivals | Change vs. Previous Year |
| 2000 | 737 | +11% |
| 2005 | 485 | +26% |
| 2010 | 1,198 | +34% |
| 2015 | 2,228 | -2% |
| 2016 | 1,725 | -23% |
| 2017 | 1,912 | +11% |
| 2018 | 2,209 | +16% |
| 2019 | 2,105 | -5% |
| 2020 | 424 | -80% |
| 2021 | 239 | -44% |
One should note here that Brazil experienced two economic recessions in the past decade, with the latter taking place in 2021. And from the year 2013 on, the Brazilian currency, the real, has fallen in value by more than half against the U.S. dollar.
Brazilian Visitation to the USA
Month-by-Month 2020
| Month | Arrivals from Brazil |
| January | 198,284 |
| February | 152,666 |
| March | 54,665 |
| April | 796 |
| May | 2,822 |
| June | 470 |
| July | 823 |
| August | 1,863 |
| September | 1,781 |
| October | 2,225 |
| November | 2,767 |
| December | 4,527 |
Brazilian Visitation to the USA
Month-by-Month 2021
| Month | Arrivals from Brazil |
| January | 5,793 |
| February | 3,523 |
| March | 4,839 |
| April | 6.157 |
| May | 8,548 |
| June | 12,840 |
| July | 17,893 |
| August | 17.440 |
| September | 9.652 |
| October | 8,579 |
| November | 49,181 |
| December | 24,891 |
Brazilian Visitation to the USA
Month-by-Month 2022
| Month | Arrivals from Brazil |
| January | 70,214 |
| February¹ | 72,924 |
| March² | 78,787 |
¹ Final as available
² Preliminary as available
Interested in learning more about the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO)? Then contact David Huether at the agency. He is NTTO’s deputy director for research, and he can probably help you. You can reach him here: David.Huether@trade.gov.
###
On the upbeat: Taking note of the numbers, the most recent edition of the Brazilian Overview Monthly Report (BOM Report)—a joint effort of the Brazilian publishing giant PANROTAS and FECOMERCIOSP, the São Paulo-based business and economic research organization—notes that “masks mandates are falling, covid-19 is being controlled, and international travel is beginning to rebound.”
Added José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of PANROTAS,”Brazilians are planning international trips for the next months, and destinations who have stayed close do the industry players will be ahead and in the top of our minds, as well as those destinations with fewer or no restrictions. Of course, vaccine certification is still demanded, and that’s not a barrier for Brazilian travelers.”
Some of the points emphasized in BOM Report included the following:
● Air fares are on the rise as the war of Russia against Ukraine has pushed up the fuel price in the entire world, and it is not different in Brazil. The airlines have already said that ticket prices will increase. The value of the dollar against the real is already going up. Traveling will be more expensive in Brazil and abroad. And families will prioritize vacation including all its members, and package deals and opportunities.
● Because there are still fungible monies on the marketplace, it’s likely that consumers will use credits (from government tax refunds) to pay for the cost of their travel.
● With international borders having reopened, flights are coming back to Brazil, gradually, but there are still uncertainties: from the need of a negative test for travelers to coming back to Brazil to the war of Russia against Ukraine; from the high dollar price to the financial difficulties and the return of inflation.
● A presidential election and the World Cup in the same year? Already, there are reports of consumers spending to buy new televisions (and not holidays) in order to be prepared for the mega-event which doesn’t take place until Monday, November 21, 2022 to Sunday, December 18, 2022 in Qatar. This is the first time that the World Cup will be held in the Middle East. Presidential elections always seem to slow down travel and vacations in Brazil. If so, it could have a drag on what is now expected to be a busy travel year otherwise. The election itself takes place on Sunday, October 2. The BOM Report refers to the two events this year as “two carnival celebrations.”
● The travel and tourism sector should be realistic, not euphoric. Remember, the Report reminds us: ”We are still in the pandemic.” This means that a good number of international travelers are cautious. They’re still waiting for the pandemic to end. And there are variants a plenty.
You can contact José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of PANROTAS here: guilherme@panrotas.com.br
###
And then there’s this—USA is top destination for travel-hungry Brazilians.
Who’s most eager to travel international than any other key market? Brazilians, of course. They are more excited to travel internationally and less fearful about Covid, but more concerned about border restrictions. The finding is from a survey commissioned by Wise (formerly Transferwise) and conducted by Morning Consult, which interviewed Brazilian international travelers.
Some key numbers from the survey include these:
—More than half of respondents (55 percent) are planning a trip to another country in the next 12 months; the number is 8 percent higher than in August 2021 (47 percent), when the first edition of the survey was conducted.
—In addition, one in three (32 percent) Brazilian international tourists visited another country in the last 12 months.
—The top motivations were visiting friends and relatives (44 percent) and visiting a desired location (45 percent).
—The top destinations were the USA (45 percent), Europe (27 percent) and Latin America (22 percent. The three locations are also the most sought after among those planning to travel soon, in the same order.
—Read the complete article here. It’s from Diário do Turismo.
TRADE TALK & Tourism Industry Buzz 🐝
● It’s OK to hug Mickey. We need more news like this—from ABC4 news, Salt Lake City: “In a world of dark news and endless controversy, here’s one piece of news that will make you grin from ear-to-ear — you can hug Mickey Mouse again. Disney Theme Parks have finally brought back character hugs. Guests lining up for meet-and-greets with their favorite Disney characters can now ruffle Donald’s feathers, touch noses with Goofy or enjoy a warm, hearty bear hug with Winnie the Pooh. The new announcement will allow all guests to hug costumed characters across all Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Lines.”
● Sun Country drops Hawaii flights because of pilot shortage. Sun Country Airlines is cutting all schedules to Hawaii for the rest of the year, indicating that a shortage of pilots is the reason for doing so. The carrier has also eliminated service to Fairbanks, Alaska. The airline, which is based at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, informed customers it was “regrettably electing to suspend service to Honolulu for the 2022 travel season.” Customers will automatically be refunded. Sun Country says it is hopeful for a return to Honolulu for the 2023 travel season.
● Facial Recognition in All Airports has lots of support, survey says. A.I. has begun helping out in a lot of areas that were once only handled by humans, from transportation, to factory work, to even finances. A.I. is only growing more capable and popular by the day, so how does the average American feel about it? TransImpact created a survey that asked respondents for their opinions on subjects like self-driving cars, facial recognition, and A.I. technologies in general. It ran for one day in January 2022 and received 1,000 responses in total. For complete newsletter article, read here.
● Uri Argov is back in the travel and tourism business. It has been almost five years since Uri Argov, who built Tourico Holidays into one of the largest receptive tour operators in the United States, sold it to Hotelbeds. He’s back. Argov and colleague Moti Engelman and have announced the creation of a new concept in operating that will be executed under the brand name of RoadRunAir. Given the background of the two, it makes sense. Moti has been an airline captain, senior deputy at Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority and member of El Al’s board of directors. In addition to his service in the military, Argov has been as a commercial pilot. They created RoadRunAir to fulfill the untapped demand for people to fly private and like a VIP celebrity like on multi-stop tours, but at a price point affordable to almost any travelers. To operate the business RoadRunAir has gained an Air Carrier Certificate and purchased several business jets that it will operate and fly with its own livery. Read more here.
● Major industry players are optimistic … and then some. As reported in TravelDailyNews, ITB Berlin and Statista Q looked at the future, and they like what they see. Statista’s Mobility Market Outlook (MMO) forecasts that the global travel industry will grow by a projected 48 per cent, reaching $637 billion in 2022. In 2023 it will overtake pre-pandemic levels by around five per cent, reaching almost $756 billion. In 2022, the highest growth rate is forecasted for the cruise industry (180 per cent year-on-year) and the hotel trade (57 per cent). Read the complete article here.
● Thai industry group says Chinese travelers should be back by October. Though it’s an outlook from another part of the world, it nonetheless has markers in common with those selling the Visit USA travel product abroad. The Tourism Council of Thailand is confident that Chinese tourists will return to the Kingdom in October and help boost foreign arrivals this year.
Speaking to The Nation news, Wichit Prakorbkosol, vice president of the council and president of CCT Express Co Ltd, said Thai tourism operators, who have inside sources in Chinese government agencies, learned that Beijing would allow its citizens to travel abroad starting October 1, which is China’s National Day. if the country is opened fully to foreign tourists without travel restrictions within the second quarter of this year, at least 5 million foreign tourists would arrive in the second half of the year.
“The sooner the country is opened fully, the more advantage we will have over our competitors, who are opening their countries more and more,” Wichit said.
Wichit said it is expected the inbound tourism industry would recover by 70 per cent next year compared to the pre-Covid level of almost 40 million foreign tourists in 2019 and the industry is expected to fully recover in 2024. Read here for the complete article.
● Canada Jetlines to begin operations at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The new, all-Canadian, leisure carrier has announced that it will begin operations out of Toronto Pearson International Airport with a target of this summer. ed start date in the summer of 2022. Toronto Pearson is Canada’s largest airport, and pre-COVID served 50.5 million arriving and departing passengers annually. Canada Jetlines will operate out of the airport with a fleet of airbus family aircraft, starting with the A320. Canada Jetlines will operate to international destinations throughout the U.S., Mexico, Caribbean, and domestic cities in Canada. Read here for the complete news release.
● New Illinois Campaign: Governor JB Pritzker last week joined other state officials at the Shedd Aquarium to kick off the state’s new tourism campaign, “Middle of Everything,” starring Illinois native, Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress, Jane Lynch (she was born in Evergreen Park and raised in Dolton) who is making her directorial debut with the campaign’s new TV ads. The ads will run in 20 markets across Illinois and seven neighboring states and will be seen on cable nationwide. A Spanish-language ad will also air in the Chicago market. To view the ads and other media assets for the “Middle of Everything” click here. And click here for the complete news release on the campaign launch.
HODGE PODGE: Appointments, Openings & Changes
● U.S. Travel Association National Chair Christine Duffy has announced the nomination of Christopher J. Nassetta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton, as the association’s next national chair, which would become effective in February 2023 following the conclusion of Duffy’s term as chair.
“In the spirit of transparency, we are sharing this announcement early in the process as we prepare for the change in CEO leadership at U.S. Travel in coming months, which will also ensure stability in our board leadership,” said Duffy, who serves as President of Carnival Cruise Line. “I wish to thank Chris for agreeing to his nomination as incoming national chair well in advance and for the expertise I know he will provide to our Executive Committee, board and staff, especially as a new top executive leads the organization forward.” Nassetta previously chaired U.S. Travel’s CEO Roundtable and is a member of the association’s Hall of Leaders. Per the governing bylaws of the association, the membership of U.S. Travel will affirm Nassetta’s position as National Chair, along with the association’s slate of 2023 board officers, at an annual meeting to be held in February 2023.
Ranses Matta has joined the Expedia Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) as new head of business development for the U.S. He will join the team responsible for promoting Expedia TAAP in the country.
“I am excited to join the team responsible for promoting Expedia TAAP in the USA,” said Matta, who brings with him 16 years of aviation and travel industry experience at American Airlines, American Airlines Vacations and Delta Air Lines, working with travel advisors in the U.S. and overseas. In his latest role, he was responsible for contract negotiations, strategic partnership implementation, B2B marketing, inside sales and digital travel advisor platforms for the travel trade.
Julie Greenhill, director at Greg Evans Consultancy, has been appointed chair of the Visit USA Association and Andy Facer, director at 5F Marketing, as vice-chair for the next two years. Greenhill steps up from being vice-chair of the organization, which promotes travel to the United States by Britons. Chief executive Tracey Spuyman and operations and development manager Pamela Newman are both standing down.
The San Francisco Travel Association has announced two major personnel moves: Lynn Bruni-Perkins will become the interim CMO as the as the senior vice president, global marketing, joining the executive team as the marketing representative; and Dan Rosenbaum will be promoted to senior director, global marketing, taking on additional responsibilities from Lynn in the areas of digital media and advertising. Bruni-Perkins has been with the organization for nearly 15 years, while Rosenbaum is nearing a dozen years at the association.
Jacqueline Ledo has left Copa Airlines and has become the new head of commercial for Orinter Travel and Tourism. A veteran of more than two decades in the industry Ledo, served as director of sales for Copa, where she worked for nearly 14 years. She also served for 11 years as supervisor of sales at VARIG, which operated until a restructuring made it a part of Gol Airlines.
In the UK, Vicky Billing has joined Riviera Travel as commercial partnerships manager, where she’ll further expand the escorted touring and river cruise specialist’s trade links. Billing joins from The Travel Corporation where she was head of sales UK and Europe. She is a previous Royal Caribbean head of retail, and Thomas Cook store manager. She will report to Riviera channel director Stuart Milan.
Also in the UK, Prestige Holidays has rebranded as Prestige Travel, and has a new managing director as well. General sales manager Lee Hamilton has been promoted to managing director after eight years with the operator. Commenting on the new job, Hamilton said Prestige would redouble its support for the travel and tourism trade.
Chris Woodbridge-Cox has joined New York-headquartered Finn Partners in a newly created position of senior partner—travel representation. He will head up the travel trade team based in the company’s London office. In addition to public relations, marketing and representation experience, Woodbridge-Cox has spent the majority of his career working with well-known tour operators and online travel companies, holding senior positions in the UK, France and Germany.
Allianz Partners has announced that Elena Edwards has been promoted to chief markets officer at Europe-based Allianz Partners Group and that Jeff Wright has succeeded Edwards as CEO of the U.S. business unit. Prior to his promotion to CEO, Wright was the company’s chief financial officer. Edwards will also retain her position as CEO for North America, overseeing the company’s business units in the US and Canada. Allianz Partners USA offers travel and other specialty insurance products and assistance services through partners that include major airlines, hotel companies, cruise lines, online travel agencies, tour operators, travel advisors and directly to consumers.
Nikita Jankowski recently departed Destiny USA, the mega-shopping mall in Syracuse, New York, where she was marketing director for more than three years, to launch her own full-service public relations company—Belesal Communications—which will have a strong focus on the travel and entertainment industries. Jankowski also served for nearly five years as communications director at Visit Syracuse.
Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism has an opening for a new director of communications.More details here.
—Discover Santa Clara is looking for a new CEO. More detailshere.
—Choose Chicago is searching for a senior vice president of sales. More details here.
—The National Comedy Center has an opening for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
—The Muncie Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit GreenvilleSC is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Tulsa is recruiting for an SVP-president, Tulsa Regional Tourism. More details here.
—The Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau has an opening for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Visit Albuquerque is searching for a vice president of sales. More details here.
—Destinations International is looking for a senior vice president of marketing & communications. More details here.
—Visit Wichita is searching for a new vice president of sales. More details here.
—There is an opening for the position of chief tourism development officer at OneSpartanburg Inc. More details here.
—The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director, PHL Diversity. More details here.
—The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More detailshere.
—Visit Tucson is recruiting for an executive vice president. More details here.
—The Manistee County Visitors Bureau in Michigan, is searching for a new executive director. More details here.
—Conference Direct, a provider of global meeting planning solutions, is searching for vice president of global sales. More details here.
—Meet Minneapolis has an opening for a vice president of equity, diversity and inclusion. More details here.
—The South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new CVB director. More details here.
—The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new chief financial officer. More details here.
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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 sample of some of those jobs currently listed.
—The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), International Operations department is currently recruiting for an International Travel Specialist. More details here.
—Bloomingdale’s in Long Island City, NY, is looking for a senior manager of international marketing/tourism. More details here.
—There is an opening for senior manager, marketing, at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles. More details here.
—The Borgata in Atlantic City (it is a part of MGM Resorts International) is searching for a manager of public relations. More details here.
—Legends in NYC is looking for a manager, tourism and trade sales. More details here.
—There is an opening for a Luxury Leisure Travel Manager at the AMPM Group, New York City Metropolitan Area. More details here.
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism is recruiting for an executive assistant who will report directly to the president/CEO. More details here.
—New Orleans & Company is looking for a marketing manager its tourism sales & marketing department. More details here.
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Other Openings:
—Major league baseball’s New York Yankees have posted a job description to manage their tourism efforts moving forward. They’re looking to fill the position fairly quickly. More details here.
—Several assignments, including one for a regional partnership manager, are currently available at Visit Florida. More details here.
—Travel Wisconsin is recruiting for someone to fill the position of consumer communications specialist. More detailshere.
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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. Emailtom@tomberrigan.com
