The Inbound Report

Covering the Inbound Tourism Industry Since 1996

Panel of Receptive Operator CEOs Highlights First Day Program of RTO Summit East

by

A free-wheeling discussion by CEOs of key receptive tour operators (RTOs) in the U.S. will be a highlight of the NAJ Symposium on day one of NAJ’s two-day RTO Summit East April 17-18 in New York City at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel. Other features of the April 17 program—the two-day RTO Summit has already sold out, with more than 100 suppliers and 63 receptive tour operators registered—include the following:
 
The panel discussion, appropriately entitled “in Conversation with …” will be a broad-ranging dialogue that brings together prominent receptive tour operator CEOS—Faisal Sublaban, CEO, Bonotel Exclusive Travel; Mark Morello, CEO, AlliedTpro; and Jack Lok, founder and advisor, Universal Vision (formerly L&L). Other features of the April 17 program—the two-day RTO Summit has already sold out, with more than 100 suppliers and 63 receptive tour operators registered—include:
 
—Introducing: The Facebook Live Fam Tour
 
—Receptive Insight Roundtables: (confirmed as of April 2)
• Esther Roth, senior group manager, AlliedTPro
• Suzi Steiger, president, RMP Travel
• Yves  Fore, vice president, U.S. operations, America and Beyond
• Jack Lok, Founder L&L,
• Eric Hofer, director, AmericanTours International East
• Tomás Rey, president, Rey Royal
See the complete list of receptive tour operators who are attending by clicking on:
 
For the list of travel suppliers and DMOs attending, click on:
  

Some New York Eateries & Bars Now Have “Pay to Pee” Apps

by

As reported by the New York Post, restaurants and bars in New York City have developed new ways (and apps) to generate incremental revenue, including: an app that helps users connect with a place to go to the bathroom; a service that enables restaurants and hotel lobbies to rent out table-top “office space” during off-hours so that individuals can work with their laptops or notebooks; and another service that enables individuals passing through, or waiting to leave, the city a place to temporarily store their bags or luggage. Some providers are looking to realize thousands of dollars weekly or monthly by signing up to provide one or more with of the different services. One startup in the field offers commissions to tour operators, Airbnb hosts and hotels for suggesting its services to their guests. Read more here:

https://nypost.com/2018/03/25/restaurants-make-big-bucks-off-people-who-arent-eating-a-thing/

Celebrating IPW 50 Years: What Was Your Most Memorable Moment?

by

As we head toward Denver, May 19th, and the 50th iteration of IPW—the most important event on the inbound tour and travel industry’s calendar—the INBOUND Report shares recollections of and about the event from those who have been a part of IPW (formerly Pow Wow) over the years.

 This week, we feature two tour and travel industry professionals—each of whom attended more than 20 IPWs: Robert Graff, vice president, sales and marketing, Papillon group; and Audrey Bialas, director of sales, Visit Hershey & Harrisburg.

 Robert Graff: “IPW? Oh my gosh, when I flash back, it’s to the days when we called it Pow Wow. I’ll never forget first getting involved in the industry, attending ipw, PowWow then, in Dallas (1988). They brought in Tony Orlando to perform. And here you have in a ballroom all guests sitting down there, all the various buyers and operators and Tony Orlando started singing ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon.’ And every person sitting in the audience took their napkins and tied them together and you had over 700-800 napkins all tied up on every table, connecting every table there as he sang ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon.’  And I thought ‘Wow, if this is my introduction into the industry, this is a part I really want to be tied to.’”

 

Audrey Bialas: “I’ve been to twenty, twenty-five—lot, and I think my most memorable moment was the White Party in Miami Beach.  Everyone was dressed in white and we were on the sand when the sun setting and it was just one of those ‘wow’ moments.”

 

Filed Under: ipw

New Air Service

by

The end of March marks the beginning of the peak airline travel season (S18) and a number of carriers last month began new international services—some of which had been announced before. Some of the new routes include the following:

 

  • Southwest Airlinesbegan new flights from Sacramento, to o San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale to Aruba; Indianapolis to Cancún; and San Diego to Puerto Vallarta.
  • Aer Lingus began its much=heralded non-stop service between Philadelphia International Airport and Dublin Airport on March 25, 2018. Service will be operated four times weekly from Dublin, which offers pre-clearance for U.S. Customs and Immigration.
  • Also, on March 25, American Airlines began year-round, non-stop service between Zurich and Philadelphia International Airport.
  • Hong Kong Airlinesbegan service on March 25 to from Hong Kong to San Francisco. This is the airline’s third destination in North America, following the successful launch of services to Vancouver and Los Angeles in 2017.
  • Lufthansahas begun service from its Frankfurthub to San Diego.
  • Norwegianhas introduced a route from London Gatwick Airport to Chicago O’Hare (ORD). The new service will operate daily.
  • Spirit Airlineshas begun daily flights between Fort Lauderdaleand Guayaquil, Ecuador
  • United Airlinesbegan flights between Denver and London HeathrowMarch 24, marking a return to the route for which has not served the connection since October 2010. This is currently the carrier’s only direct link to Europe from its Colorado hub.

(The above are from anna.aero and other sources)

Say What? 14 Million International Visitors to US Face Social Media Screening

by

The Stupidest Idea We’ve Ever Heard of … In what INBOUND believes is, for the tour and travel industry, the stupidest idea we’ve ever heard of, the U.S. State Department has proposed a regulation that would seek more information from international travelers to the USA and, in doing so, has prompted enormous criticism at home and abroad. Specifically, the proposal would ask visa applicants to provide details on the social media accounts they have used in the past five years, as well as telephone numbers, email addresses, and international travel during the same period.
 
The proposed regulation would not affect countries that are a part of the Visa Waiver Program—there are 38 nations in the program—but would affect such key overseas source markets such as China, India and Brazil, as well as all of South America except for Chile. The proposal, which comes from the state department, would require most visa applicants to give details of their Facebook and Twitteraccounts.
 
Those affected by the proposed regulation—some 14.7 million people a year—would have to disclose all social media identities used in the past five years. The information would be used to identify and vet those seeking both immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
 
Less than Two Months to be Heard: If approved by the Office of Management and Budget, the new rule will expand the vetting process applied to those flagged for extra immigration scrutiny –a policy implemented last year—to every immigrant visa applicant and to non-immigrant visa applicants including business professionals and tourists. The State Department published its notice of request for public comment in the Federal Register on March 30. The comment period on the proposal concludes on May 29, 2018. The notice posted by the State Department indicated that  it wants to expand the information it collects by adding questions to its Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (DS-260).
 

 

An industry service provided by

Staff

Tom Berrigan, Managing Editor/Producer
Contact us!

Connect Travel

15 Technology Parkway South
Suite 205
Norcross, Ga 30092

Accessibility by WAH