TRADE TALK & Travel Industry Buzz

● From Dezan Shira & Associates, we have their latest China Briefing, which is a nearly 3,000-word article on the latest travel trends in China. In the current issue, there is a focus on a number of topics. Two of those included are: “Family Traveling at its Peak,” and “Expect a Wave of Outbound Travel.” Click here to access to the full article. The company has offices in China, ASEAN, and India as well as Europe and North America.

Family Traveling at its Peak: Chinese travelers are instead opting for different plans based on needs and preferences, giving rise to more family vacations, healthcare tours, and research trips. In particular, “parent-child tourism” has gained momentum throughout 2021 and 2022, along with the steady revival of the national tourism industry.  

Expect a Wave of Outbound Travel: Also, according to recent forecasts, a ‘strong wave’ of outbound travel from China will start up again in 2023, returning to its pre-pandemic levels by 2024. Such predictions are backed by plans announced by the country’s aviation regulator, which has issued a five-year development plan, with a strong focus on expanding domestic flights and restoring international air travel by 2025

● No surprise, the expectations for three major Asian markets for the rest of this year are nil. From CAPA (Centre for Aviation), comes this item: “While the region had initial been expected to be one of the fastest to recover during 2021, the combination of disparate national responses to COVID-19, long border closures and other restrictions, and the imposition of burdensome travel requirements, have meant that international tourism in the Asia Pacific has remained at a near standstill.” The region’s three largest outbound travel markets—China, Japan and South Korea—have been among the slowest major markets to recover. Read the complete article here.

● United States is the top international destination among Mexican travelers, followed by Canada and Spain. New York and Miami also appear independently in fourth and fifth place alongside France. Commenting on these findings, the trade journal TravelPulse said that this U.S. travel trend demonstrates a gradual recovery of consumer confidence towards the possibility of traveling in the short term, without the risk of COVID-19. Among the reasons that motivated such trips were: the perception that the opportunity of the trip would not be repeated; escape the confinement during the pandemic, visits to relatives; and the replacement of international travels instead of nationals.

Fifty-two percent of those who traveled from the beginning of the pandemic outbreak until November 2020 hired a traditional travel agency, while the remaining 48 percent preferred online digital platforms.

These data are part of an analysis entitled “Perceptions and attitudes of Mexican travelers in post-Covid-19 times” by Dr. Francisco Madrid Flores, general director of the Center for Research and Tourism Competitiveness of Anahuac University (CICOTUR). The findings are based on a questionnaire applied to 1,355 people—between November and December 2020, with the second phase taking place in May 2021—by students from the Anahuac University and representatives of CICOTUR. Click here to read the complete article.

●Ahem. There is Room for Groups at These National Parks. Most bus drivers who take care of series that regularly visit America’s national parks can probably tell you which parks are the most visited. But what about the least visited? As you go through the list of the Bottom 15 of U.S. national parks, you might wonder why about half (7) of them are in Alaska. Anyhow, here is the bottom of the list(s).

U.S. National Park	Number of Leisure Visits (2021)
1. Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Alaska	7,362
2. National Park of American Samoa	8,495
3. Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska	11,540
4. North Cascades National Park, Washington	7,855
5. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska	18,278
6. Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska	24,764
7. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan	25,844
8. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska	50,189
9. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida	83,817
10. Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Alaska	89,768
11. Great Basin National Park, Nevada	114,875
12. Congaree National Park, South Carolina	215,181
13. Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska	229,521
14. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota	243,042
15. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas	243,291

Read the article that goes with this table here.

● Apparently, Brits are Not Fond of Travel’s Service Quality. FM Outsource, a customer care outsourcer which is based in Bury in the Greater Manchester area, have discovered that British consumers are apparently not enamored with the service component of the travel product. It asked 1,000 people about performance of 10 business sectors, including travel, banking, insurance, hospitality and fashion retail, when it comes to customer service. Those interviewed were asked to rate each sector, taking into account the experiences of people they know and those they’ve read about online as well as their own.

FM Outsource found that the travel sector was one of the most likely to be rated poor or extremely poor (29 percent vs. an average of 20 percent). The travel sector came second lowest to the utilities sector (at 32 percent). And when respondents were also asked to rate the quality of customer service delivery from good to poor based on their experience, the travel sector was again one of the most likely to be rated poor or extremely poor (21 percent vs. an average of 17 percent). Read here for the complete Travel Weekly (UK) on this subject.

● Welcome to a New Experience—Astronaut School: Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. says it has secured land to move forward with a new astronaut campus and training facility in New Mexico, near the company’s commercial operations headquarters. The land, located in Sierra County, will be home to a new, first of its kind astronaut campus, for exclusive use by Virgin Galactic Future Astronauts and up to three of their guests in advance of a spaceflight from Spaceport America. The master plan for the campus will include training facilities, purposeful accommodations, and tailored experiences as well as an observatory, wellness center, recreation activities, and unique dining options. Situated near Spaceport America, the campus will sit atop a mesa overlooking the New Mexico landscape. Click here to access the complete news release on the above.

● MMGY Global’s Path of Growth Continues: As it continues its path forward as a leading global travel and hospitality marketing firm, Kansas City-based MMGY Global has announced three changes to its global leadership team. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, industry veteran and current CEO Clayton Reid will be named executive chairman, while current president Katie Briscoe and chief operating officer Craig Compagnone will move up to the roles of CEO and president and COO, respectively. The company now has $250 million in annual billings worldwide. MMGY Global employs more than 400 team members in 13 offices worldwide. It is privately owned by Peninsula Capital Partners, members of the management team and individual investors including Reid, Don Montague and Peter Yesawich. Click here for one of the many articles found in the business sections of major news sites.