RTO Summit Show Goes on the Road

Detroit is hosting expansion of Connect Travel’s RTO Summit Series: Through all the trials of the global pandemic, Connect Travel has continued to operate a suite of successful events, including some that bring together the travel industry with receptive tour operators (or RTOs) in different parts of the country—such as New York City, Orlando and Los Angeles. 

RTO Summit brand, which has a history of 20 years of planning and organizing successful events, is branching out (or inward, some might say) with its RTO Marketplace International August 8-10 in Detroit. To find out how Connect Travel got to Detroit (and will be reaching other places and market segments), INBOUND* has talked with Shari Bailey, vice president at Connect Travel, and Betsy Cooper, Connect Travel’s senior director of TourOperatorLand.com and partner engagement, who works with RTOs on a daily basis.

One of the benefits of listening: The Staying Connected webinar series was part of the process.  Bailey, with Cooper helping her, developed and conducted some 50 webinars in which, overall, thousands of different tourism industry professionals discussed what they were doing, recommended steps that others could take to turn the corner to recovery, and discussed how to help each other on issues that ranged from those that were easy-to-understand to those that were impossibly complex.

Participants included RTOs, DMO officials, domestic tour operators and some of the best problem-solving minds in the industry. There was a lot of input, Bailey and Cooper told INBOUND, on Connect Travel’s RTO Summits. As 2020 became 2021, Connect has been able to co-locate some of its products—such as the Connect THRIVE Summit (June 4-5)or the eTourism Summit (June 6-8)—with IPW, which launches June 4-8, 2022 in Orlando.

Bringing the Brand to Detroit: Simply stated, the RTO Marketplace International 2022 is the answer. Explains Bailey: “Bringing suppliers, international buyers, receptive tour operators and domestic travel providers together in one place provides a travel ecosystem of opportunities which are far greater than what a single show could offer.”

Put another way, the RTO Marketplace International does not necessarily segment RTO activity geographically (i.e., into Summits in Los Angeles, Orlando and New York, where many RTOs have headquarters) but brings the RTO professionals and their colleagues nationwide to Detroit.

(An added benefit to the timing: Because some international tour operators still have print products with their programs and tariffs included, while others want to put the latest information on the same to their websites, RTO Marketplace International will provide a setting for last-minute program changes on inclusions.)

Already a success in 2022 with the RTO Summit West March 22-23 in Los Angeles and the RTO Summit East Feb. 28-March 2 in New York, the Summit series returns to a fully packed calendar with the RTO Summit South this Sept. 13-14 in Kissimmee.

And, INBOUND learned, get ready for an RTO Summit Southwest. In discussing Connect Travel events and the segmentation and internationalization of the RTO Summit brand, Cooper told us that already beyond developmental stages is an “RTO Summit Southwest” that will take place this autumn. Dates are November 14-16, 2022 in El Paso, Texas. The event will target professionals sourcing business in the Southwestern U.S.

For more information, contact: 

Shari Bailey (sbailey@connecttravel.com) or Betsy Cooper (bcooper@connecttravel.com)

* (Full disclosure: Connect Travel publishes INBOUND.)  

Monthly Overseas Visits to US Top 2 Million

The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) data for April 2022 and for the whole year (January through April) are here. In order to make sure that our numbers here at INBOUND are reliable, we went to Warren L. “Skip” Hull, vice president of CIC Research, Inc., which works for NTTO on data and analyses for the agency, and asked him for comment on what the latest numbers mean.

Following are his quick overview of the data, which are presented in more detail in the tables showing us the Top 20 Overseas Source Markets for inbound travel to the USA, as well as arrivals numbers arranged according to major world regions.

Overview:

● April 2022 was a milestone month with more than two million overseas inbound visitors to the U.S.  This was the first month to exceed two million overseas visitors to the U.S. since February 2020.

● During the first 18 months of COVID in the U.S. the inbound travel markets that demonstrated greater overall resilience were South America, the Caribbean, and Central America.

● Inbound international travel rebound/recovery from Europe and Canada began in November 2021 with the easing of COVID travel restrictions.  This recovery growth trend feels good, but we still have a long way to go.

● Travel from Asia and Oceania were deeply impacted by COVID.  The Asian market is still impacted largely due to the Chinese government’s policies to fight their domestic spread of COVID.  Oceania has begun to rebuild inbound travel volume to the U.S.

● China generated more than 2.8 million visitors to the U.S. in 2019. In 2020 travel from China dropped to 378.000.  In 2021 total travel from China was 192,000.  There were only 14,000 visitors from China to the US in April 2022.  Without travel from China, there is a large hole in the U.S. inbound travel volume.  We don’t know when the travel policies of the Chinese government will ease and travel to the U.S. will begin to rebound.

● Hull is hopeful that this summer the U.S. will grow inbound overseas travel volume to 60 percent or more of the pre-COVID 2019 volume. To reach that level more than 6.9 million overseas visitors would arrive in the U.S. during the third quarter. The first quarter of 2022 recorded 3.4 million overseas visitors.

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Countries

For Month of April 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	% Change vs. same period 2021
1. United Kingdom	328,200	4743.6%
2. France	141,421	3075.1%
3. Germany	134,973	2228.7%
4. India	102,744	205.4%
5. Colombia	96,311	56.9%
6. Brazil	93,921	1425.4%
7. Spain	75,105	1140.6%
8. Netherlands	53,031	2135.7%
9. Italy	52,147	1038.1%
10. Australia	44,000	2632.9%
11. South Korea	43,721	645.7%
12. Ireland	42,282	7923.1%
13. Argentina	41,704	181.4%
14. Dominican Republic	41,125	54.6%
15. Ecuador	36,974	32.8%
16. Israel	36,372	231.7%
17. Switzerland	35,770	2328.4%
18. Chile	31,877	859.3%
19. Japan	29,416	310.9%
20. Sweden	25,218	3834.2%
Total Top 20 Overseas Countries	1,486,312	540.5%

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Countries

Year-to-Date Through Month of April 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	% Change vs. Jan-April 2021
1. United Kingdom	797,719	2979.9%
2. France	323,767	1905.4%
3. Brazil	315,846	1455.0%
4. Germany	313,821	1409.5%
5. India	291,061	130.4%
6. Colombia	271,552	59.8%
7. Spain	190,521	797.5%
8. Argentina	146,231	137.9%
9. Italy	132,311	778.0%
10. Chile	131,042	213.0%
11. South Korea	117,500	344.7%
12. Dominican Republic	110,952	30.0%
13. Ecuador	108,697	42.0%
14. Australia	105,666	1586.1%
15. Netherlands	103,758	1227.2%
16. Ireland	98,903	4620.9%
17. Peru	93,727	27.1%
18. Israel	83,459	243.6%
19. Costa Rica	76,563	75.5%
20. Switzerland	72,221	1510.3%
Total Top 20 Overseas Countries	3,885,317	346.7%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by

World Region of Residence

For Month of April 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. same period 2021
Western Europe	1,007,677	49.3%	2540.3%
Eastern Europe	57,609	2.8%	305.3%
Asia	251,247	12.3%	311.6%
Middle East	67,577	3.3%	210.7%
Africa	22,561	1.1%	195.8%
Oceania	51,818	2.5%	2106.9%
South America	362,812	17.8%	103.1%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	107,831	5.3%	45.9%
Caribbean	114,472	5.6%	97.8%
Total Overseas	2,043,604	100.0%	348.5%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by

World Region of Residence

Year-to-Date Through April 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. 2021
Western Europe	2,370,256	43.2%	1612.2%
Eastern Europe	169,931	3.1%	251.6%
Asia	706,704	12.9%	198.3%
Middle East	202,085	3.7%	182.2%
Africa	70,661	1.3%	138.5%
Oceania	122,805	2.2%	1230.8%
South America	1,185,762	21.6%	129.0%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	335,402	6.1%	60.2%
Caribbean	317,568	5.8%	74.0%
Total Overseas	5,481,174	100.0%	279.7%

INBOUND reminds the reader that, if you find that you want to dig deeper into your data collection and analysis program, you might want to contact David Huether at the 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.

For some in Brazil, it’s all about the A’s

The macroeconomic picture is a less-than-encouraging mix for the Brazilian outbound tourism industry: inflation is high, consumer confidence indexes are “meh,” and unemployment closed out Q1 at 11.1 percent—unchanged from the previous period and below market forecasts of 11.4 percent. It was the lowest jobless rate for a quarter ending in March since 2016 when it was also 11.1 percent.

Even with the above, the travel industry analysts who know Brazil and Brazilians, are not about to concede a mere slow recovery in our industry: i.e., read the rest of the article.

###

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—asserted that, “The international market should return to 100 percent of the pre-pandemic levels next year (2023), but Brazil already shows promising results: we are Top 4 in sending tourists to the United States (February data), Top 3 in visitors at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando parks, and frequent visitors in the Caribbean and Europe.” The numbers on international arrivals to the USA from Brazil for April 2022 show that some 94 thousand Brazilians visited the United States. This made the country the number six country market for overseas traffic to the U.S.—behind the UK, France, Germany, India and Colombia.

For the year-to-date (through April), Brazil was ranked the No. 3 country market—behind only the UK and France. (See article on NTTO arrivals elsewhere in this issue of INBOUND.)

So, what could go wrong? Or right? Here are some guesses to these two questions.

1. First, let’s not talk about jogo de cintura anymore. That’s a given. It means (according tour my favorite translation from the Cambridge Oxford dictionary, which tells us that it means) “footwork [noun] clever or skilful/skillful actions to achieve something or deal with a problem.” So, this quality is always a given in any dialogue about what makes Brazil so effective as a marketer.

2. This is a World Cup year—as in the quadrennial championship series of matches to crown the best national futbol (soccer) team in the world. This also means, according to conventional wisdom, that in most countries on earth, normal day-to-day activity will grind to a halt as teams play one another until there is one match left and two national teams play for the World Cup championship as hundreds of millions of spectators stop what they are doing to watch all of the aforementioned games and the championship. (Actually, qualifier matches began last year.)

The action takes place from Monday Nov 21 to Sunday, Dec 18, 2022.

There are no superlatives to describe just how important this competition is to Brazilians. In the history of the World Cup, no country has had as many consecutive appearances as qualifier/competitor as has Brazil, with 22. The next closest streak is Germany, with 18, followed by South American arch rival Argentina and its 13. Also, Brazil has won the World Cup more than any other nation—five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002), followed by Germany’s four (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014). Several others, including Argentina, have won it twice.

So, the question is begged? Will the World Cup have an impact on travel from Brazil? We believe that, should Brazil advance as far as the semi-final round of competition, it could keep people at home for the month or so of actual activity. Those who celebrate after everything is over probably will hold off for a couple of weeks or so. This would drive the travel into the new calendar year.

3. This is a presidential election year. In good times and not-so-good times, national elections that are open and transparent seem to keep a population’s attention fixed on the matter. Travel abroad is a less-than-commanding priority as people want to be close to the action. For Brazil, the situation is no different—probably even more so since this election year came to be, it resulted in what is already a fierce campaign between the Liberal Party’s Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent president (since 2019) Liberal Party and former president (January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2011) Luis Inácio Lula da Silva for the Workers Party.

The latter was actually jailed for the better part of a year-and-a-half on a corruption charge. A court ruling annulled Lula, as he is called, who has basically come out of retirement (he is 76 years old) to challenge Bolsonaro. A Genial/Quaest poll earlier this month said Lula has a 17-percentage-point lead. The election takes place on Oct. 2.

A note: Lula is credited with helping to increase the size of Brazil’s middle class though programs such as one that gave cash transfers that would help recipients take self-improvement steps in their life. A larger middle class also meant that more people could travel—even if it was domestic travel and was likely made possible through a year of monthly payments.

So, we ask: will this have any impact on international travel. Not really. As we studied this issue, we realize that the system that defines the Brazilian economic structure is one that is tied to social classification. There are several different concepts of social classes in Brazil, but that which is most widely followed or adopted by the market classifies society in letters from A to E. This definition is based, overall, on the household’s gross monthly income.

4. Those who work the international travel market and Brazil, in particular, know the system well. This is why one tourism industry professional told me seven years ago at an industry function that their then-new strategic move was to target the two percent of Brazilians who are able to act on their travel plans regardless of the economic currents that affect most of the country’s population. He was obviously referring to the A’s. So, even if there are winds of change, there are still about 4.3 million A’s who are ready to travel … no matter what.

TRADE TALK & Travel Industry Buzz

● From the Washed Ashore Project: Sculptures of colorful marine animals are traveling across America—and every bit of the body of the artwork was once trash along the Oregon seashore. The Washed Ashore Project  is trying to communicate the message of ocean conservation through art—saving beauty by creating beauty. Pacific Ocean plastic was picked up and sorted by volunteers, and, finally, formed by artists into works that are currently touring in Tennessee, Michigan, and elsewhere. The Project first began in 2010, and since then they have cleaned 300 miles of beaches, and processed 60,000 pounds of trash to create 86 works of art. Visit here for more on the subject.

● Another by-product of COVID-driven hardships is this, as described in Sixth Tone: China stopped approving passport applications for “non-essential reasons” in 2021 as part of the country’s virus-control campaign. Citizens are now only granted a passport if they have an urgent need to travel abroad, such as an offer from a foreign university or employer. The policy — which is designed to prevent imported COVID-19 infections by restricting international travel — has led to a dramatic drop in new approvals. In the first half of 2021, China only issued 335,000 passports — two percent of the total for the same period in 2019.” Click here for the complete article.

● A recent survey conducted by Morning Consult for U.S. Travel Association revealed the inbound pre-departure testing requirement imposed by the federal government is having a “devastating impact” on travelers’ likelihood of visiting the United States this summer and remains a major barrier to economic recovery.

The survey—it included interviews with vaccinated international travelers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and India—found that pre-departure testing requirements are a deterrent to travel and are making it significantly less likely that people will choose to visit the U.S.

—Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) who are unlikely to travel abroad in the next 12 months cited pre-departure testing requirements as a reason.

—More than half of international travelers (54 percent) said the added uncertainty of potentially having to cancel a trip due to U.S. pre-departure testing requirements would have a big impact on their likelihood to visit the U.S.

—A large majority of adults surveyed (71 percent) agree they prioritize traveling to destinations without cumbersome entry requirements, including 29 percent who strongly agree.

For the complete US Travel release on the subject, click here.

● Ever since TUI’s 2018 acquisition of Musement and the latter’s inventory of what we used to call attractions & tours, the competition among suppliers to provide easier-to-access and more highly targeted products has never slowed. Just recently, tours and activities e-commerce platform Klook has announced an expanded integration with travel search engine KAYAK. The two players say it gives users one of the largest inventories of things-to-do across the Asia-Pacific region. Users will get access to a wider range of attractions and experiences with over 490,000 activities in over 1,000 destinations on KAYAK’s Things-to-Do vertical. “We’re excited to be expanding our integration with Klook which will enable KAYAK users to have greater access to an extended variety of attractions and experiences,” said Elia San Martin, vice president and general manager APAC, KAYAK. Since the integration of car rentals last year, KAYAK users have access to Klook’s car rental coverage that spans over 9,000 destinations. For a more complete article on the subject, click here.

● Booking horizons show signs of stabilizing. This is one of the major findings of “Travel’s Resilience and Trends Shaping Recovery”—recently released study from Skyscanner—tells us. As confidence accelerates, explains the study, people are becoming more comfortable booking travel further ahead. Although conditions aren’t the same as before COVID, we’re seeing booking horizons move closer to 2019 levels. The Americas and Asia-Pacific follow a similar trend, which Skyscanner explores in the report. In sum, “Overall, while shorter booking horizons remain popular, travel demand is strong and summer is likely to be a positive one for airlines.” For more, and to access the complete report, click here.

● In a different take than one normally hears when its business news about Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, a recent AP item pointed that “quasi-public agencies that usually promote tourism and economic development separately in Orlando on (have) announced they are joining forces to market the region together under a single brand. With a tagline of ‘Unbelievably Real,’ the branding plan will be aimed at tourists, meeting planners, conventioneers, business relocation specialists, site selectors, business owners and company CEOs.” Some $23 million will be spent on the initiative this year. Read here for the complete article.

● Least-expensive and most-expensive airports to fly from. For its report on the subject, FinanceBuzz compared domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. using data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

And the airport with the most affordable airfare in the country? That honor goes to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the average fare to depart was $233.36. The second cheapest airport to fly from is also in Florida — Orlando International Airport (MCO) had an average fare of around $241.01.

Lowest average airfare—Top Five:

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL)

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

Miami International Airport (MIA)

Tampa International Airport TPA)

Highest average airfare—or Bottom Five:

41. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

42. Portland International Airport (PDX)

43. Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)

44. San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

45. Dulles International Airport (IAD)

For the complete article, as well as the list of affordable/less affordable airports in the nation, visit here: https://financebuzz.com/us-airport-cost-rankings

Partner of the Week – TourOperatorLand.com

Visit Sarasota County: Florida’s Cultural Coast

Sarasota County is a picturesque destination. Its autumn sunsets rival the most alluring colors of autumn leaves.  Walk barefoot on its beaches to thoroughly enjoy one of these farewell-to-summer sunsets.  Then decide tomorrow’s adventure as you enjoy your evening culinary delight. This is Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast — where any season can be your favorite time to visit!

Ideas for First Time Visitors:

—ANY Sarasota County Beach – Enjoy the sunset!  Will you see the Green Flash? Drum Circle at Sunset is popular at several beaches on varied days. 

—St. Armands Circle 

—Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

—Paddleboarding, Kayaking or Canoeing 

—The Ringling 

Ideas for Repeat Visitors: 

—Historic Spanish Point 

—Selby Gardens 

—Der Dutchman Restaurant

—Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe 

—Myakka State Park 

 

Verified Destination Contact

Amanda Walker
Meeting Sales Manager
VISIT SARASOTA COUNTY
Phone: 941.955.0991 x.117
Email: awalker@visitsarasota.org

Verified Destination Contact

Kelly Defebo
Director of Sales
VISIT SARASOTA COUNTY
Phone: 941.955.0991 ext. 106
Email: kdefebo@visitsarasota.org

Following are examples of royalty-free, high-res photos, courtesy of Visit Sarasota that you will find available at TourOperatorLand.com.

Want to see more? Then, click here (www.visitsarasota.com) or at the Sarasota pages in TourOperatorLand. For more information on how to partner with TourOperatorLand.com, contact Betsy Cooper, Senior Director of TourOperatorLand.com and Partner Engagement.

bcooper@connecttravel.com
 and/or 415.728.1085

Meet Betsy in person in Booth 2026 at the upcoming IPW in Orlando

HODGE PODGE: Appointments, Openings and Changes 

The board of directors of VISIT PHILADELPHIA® has announced that Angela Val has been selected to lead the organization as its new president and CEO beginning June 27, 2022. Board Chairman Manuel N. Stamatakis said the new role is a homecoming for Val, who spent 17 years at the beginning of her career with VISIT PHILADELPHIA, contributing to its growth and ultimately concluding her first tenure with the organization in 2016 as chief external affairs officer. Val is currently the chief operating officer of Tempest, an integrated marketing agency helping Destination Organizations and Convention and Visitors Bureaus across the country strengthen their local communities.

Jody Bell has been named director of sales, theatre, for Stellar, a widely known New York-based ticketing service for some 150 partners providing theatre, event and online-featured entertainment as well. Bell has more than a dozen years of experience in the field, including tenures such as operations manager and theatre marketing manager at RMP Travel, director of group sales at Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, and most recently as director of partnership and events at Ampla, a FinTech platform designed for consumer brands. 

Visit Greater Palm Springs has announced the hiring of Carolina Viazcan as vice president of sales. Viazcan brings more than 20 years of tourism sales experience to the role, most of which is in Greater Palm Springs. Most recently, Viazcan was director of sales & marketing at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California, where she has worked since 2010 in a variety of sales leadership roles. During her tenure, Viazcan led recovery efforts through the pandemic and directed sales and marketing efforts during a property renovation. Prior experience includes PGA National Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, and La Quinta Resort & Club.

Danillo Barbizan has been promoted to the position of sales manager for Delta Air Lines in Brazil. Barbizan replaces Rodrigo Sienra, who has moved on to a position at CVC Corp. Barbazan began his career at Delta in 2009 when he took on a job through Ancoradoura—at the time it was Delta’s general sales agent. In 2015, he joined the carrier’s sales team as area manager for offline markets. He was promoted to manager for the corporate market in 2018.

Traxo, Inc., provider of real-time corporate travel data capture, has announced the expansion of its sales department. Joining the Traxo sales team are Aash Shravah and Sarah Smith. The mission of both is to help corporate travel departments worldwide obtain full visibility into all of their employee business travel bookings and expenses, regardless of where or how the travel is booked. Aash Shravah, the new vice president of sales for the eastern region, is based in the New York City area. She brings to Traxo more than 25 years of corporate travel experience, having been responsible for sales at several large TMCs. Based in Malaysia, Sarah Smith joins the Traxo sales team as Global Enablement Manager, filling a new position at the Company. With more than 14 years experience working with and for several global TMCs and travel consultants, including Portman Travel, Radius Travel, Clarity, CTM, and PTC, she will support the sales team in responding to the recent surge of interest in Traxo’s services.   

In Colorado, the Telluride Tourism Board of Directors recently named Kiera Skinner as the new executive director, Skinner is a longtime Telluride local with years of experience working in tourism in several mountain communities. She has served as director of marketing and public relations for 12 years. A graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, Skinner lives in Telluride with her husband, Matt, and two children, Kyle and Camille. She has spent over a decade with the tourism board, where she first served as director of marketing and public relations, starting in 2010. Previously, she worked for ResortQuest International. Skinner also opened and launched the Lumiere hotels in Mountain Village and Purgatory Resort.

Kelsey Rush, the current vice president of marketing and communications for Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports, has been named the organization’s president and CEO in waiting. She will assume her new role in July 2023 after the retirement of current president and CEO Don Staley, who announced his intention to step down from his job earlier this year. Rush first joined the Tourism and Sports organization in 2010 and served for nearly five years as director of event operations and sports marketing. She also served as vice president and marketing director of the Bryant Bank in Tuscaloosa.

GOL Linhas Areas has announced a change in its leadership management. Celso Ferrer, current chief operating officer, will assume the executive command of the Company as of July 1st. Paulo Kakinoff, who has been CEO of GOL for 10 years, will join the company’s board of directors Ferrer has been GOL’s our vice president and chief operations officer since March 2019. He has been with GOL for 16 years and served as our vice president and chief planning officer from February 2015 to the present. Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, GOL primarily serves domestic markets in Brazil, but it also has significant flight capacity to Florida.

Christopher Heywood has been for some time the “go-to” person for the global tourism community’s media and communication needs when it comes to New York. And now Heywood, NYC & Company’s executive vice president, global communications for more than 15 years, has announced that his last day on the job will be on June 30, 2022. “I felt like the moment was right to step aside and begin to focus on the next stage of my career,” Heywood said. Before arriving in New York City. Before his move to New York, Heywood spent more than eight years as manager or corporate communications at the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has named 26-year industry veteran Alex Batista vice president of convention sales. A 26-year veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Batista will assist Senior Vice President of Convention Sales & Services Carol Motley in creating initiatives to draw meetings and conventions business to Miami and Miami Beach. Batista most recently held the position of complex director of sales and marketing for the Eden Roc and Nobu Resorts in Miami Beach and has also served in roles with such brands as Marriott, Hilton, Kimpton and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in the Miami and Miami Beach area.

At the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, Scott Wright was recently promoted to the post of senior vice president, sales. Wright has held various senior-level positions at the bureau, which he joined at the very beginning of the year 2000.

Rachel Healey, former business development manager of Tradewind Voyages, has joined Virgin Limited Edition— Sir Richard Branson’s collection of luxury retreats and hotels from around the world—as senior sales manager. Healey joined Tradewind as UK business development manager in April 2020. Prior to her appointment, she was national sales manager at Uniworld, and has previously held sales roles with Abercrombie & Kent, USAirtours, Qantas Holidays and Travel 2.

The trade-only UK tour operator, Gold Medal, has appointed Sarah Lancashire as marketing director. She will report directly to managing director, Simon Applebaum, and manage inhouse campaigns, partnerships and studio teams which produce marketing collateral for agents selling Gold Medal, Cruise Plus, Pure Luxury and Incredible Journeys. Lancashire replaces Kerry Gallagher, who moved to Silver Travel Advisor in December. Lancashire spent four years with Carrier Holidays and most recently a two-and-a-half-years spell as brand and marketing manager at cruise and tour specialist Scenic.

G Adventures has appointed Hays Travel Tour Operating product specialist Jen Watson to its team of UK global purpose specialists.  Watson, who brings more than 16 years’ travel industry experience to the role, will support G’s agent partners in the north of England, Ireland and Scotland.  She joins G after 18 months managing Middle East and Africa product development at Hays. Watson has also previously worked across a range of worldwide sales, commercial and product roles for Travel 2, Walt Disney’s Epcot theme park and Thomas Cook.

Fox World Travel announced the addition of Colleen Hughes as global sales director. In her role, she will present Fox World Travel’s strategic travel management services to prospective customers. Hughes brings more than 20 years of travel industry experience to Fox World Travel—ranked number 25 in Travel Weekly’s Power List of the largest travel agencies doing business in the USA.

The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Adam Berrios to the position of vice president of sales and services. Berrios joined the bureau in March 2021 as director of sales, bringing more than 10 years of convention and visitors bureau experience to help promote Little Rock as a destination for conventions and meetings. Prior to joining the LRCVB, Berrios was senior sales manager with VisitGreenvilleSC and the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

After nine years, Howard Pickett is retiring as San Francisco Travel’s chief marketing officer. During his professional career in the tourism industry, Pickett has served in senior-level positions for some well-known products including the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Kerzner International Resorts, Inc. and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Job Postings

From SearchWide Global:

—The Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a president & CEO. More details here.

—Discover Santa Clara™ is searching for a chief executive officer. More details here.

—The Orange County Convention Center, site of the upcoming IPW 2022 in Orlando, has an opening for a deputy director. More details here.

—Longwoods International, a tourism industry leader in marketing, advertising and public opinion research, is searching for a senior vice president. More details here.

—The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new vice president of marketing. More details here.

—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 details here.

—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 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.

—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 Colorado Tourism Office has an opening for an office website marketing manager. More details here.

—Walk & Bike the Burgh Tours in Pittsburgh, PA is searching for a tour manager. More details here.

—In Atlanta, Delta Vacations is recruiting for the position of copywriter, Atlanta/Hybrid. More details here.

—The City of Scottsdale is looking for an executive director of planning, economic development and tourism, More details here.

—Visit Detroit is searching for a sales manager (Hotels, Tourism, CVB). More details here.

—Visit Seattle has an opening for a public relations manager. More details here.

—BCD Travel is searching for a senior travel consultant. The job is a remote. More details here.

—Bloomingdale’s in Long Island City, NY, is looking for a senior manager of international marketing/tourism. More details here.

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Other Openings:

—There is an opening for a senior manager of social media currently available at Visit Florida. More details here.