● September 16 is last day you can apply for a position on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.  Connect Travel’s INBOUND reminds its readers that—if they want to be considered for a position on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and be a part of the voice that provides advise, information and recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on issues and policies that affect the U.S. travel and tourism industry—they have until September 16th to get their application to the National Travel and Tourism Office. Learn more and how to apply here: https://lnkd.in/ejb_jnka

● Have amusement parks really become cheap day-care centers for teenagers? (From the Washington Post, Aug. 30) “Explaining the decision to raise prices at the Six Flags amusement park chain, Selim Bassoul told financial analysts earlier this month that inexpensive tickets turned parks into “cheap day-care center for teenagers.” Attendance fell as the company shed small spenders in favor of bigger-budget customers. ‘I’m migrating a little bit from what I call the Kmart, Walmart, to maybe the Target customer,’ said Bassoul, who took over the top job in November.” Click here for complete article.

● Major U.S. carriers are at the top among world’s airlines, says global ranking service. Here are some details:

—American Airlines leads the US majors in taking the top four slots in Cirium’s World Airline Passenger Ranking for 2021

—Ryanair retains its spot as Europe’s largest airline as low-cost carriers climb the ranking.

—Familiar names from Europe and Southeast Asia plunge as travel restrictions bite and long-haul markets remain weak. Click here for more news release.

● Who’s at the top of New York’s most expensive hotels? The Latin American travel trade publication, REPORTUR, carried out a survey in the main online travel agencies of the hotels with the most expensive rooms in dollars per day for the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. One supposes that there aren’t any group quotes to be had. Here are the Top 10:

1. Baccarat Hotel and Residences New York: $1,840
2. Mandarin Oriental New York: $1,725
3. The Ritz-Carlton New York: $1,610
4. The Peninsula New York: $1,517
5. The Pierre, A Taj Hotel: $1,477
6. The Plaza: $1,448
7. The St. Regis New York: $1,433
8. Equinox Hotel Hudson Yards New York City: $1,146
9. Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown: $1,132
10. The Greenwich Hotel: $1,126

Complete article is here.

● 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.

● From a recent issue of FVW|TravelTalk, the respected German travel trade publication: “Where have all the workers gone? Aviation, tourism, the hotel industry, gastronomy, trade—suddenly there seems to be a shortage of staff everywhere, while three years ago unemployment was constantly increasing. Is this impression correct at all? And if so, what are the reasons?”

● International Visitors Spent $13.2 Billion in June 2022—Another Month with a Balance-of-Trade Surplus; Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in June 2022:

—Visitors spent more than $13.2 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, an increase of nearly 95 percent compared to June 2021.

—Americans spent $12.5 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade surplus of $670 million for the month. This is the eighth consecutive month during which the United States enjoyed a balance of trade surplus for travel and tourism.

—Year to date (January through June 2022), international visitors have spent more than $68.8 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services (up nearly 105% when compared to the same period last year), injecting, on average, more than $380 million a day into the U.S. economy.

NTTO is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating international travel and tourism statistics for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Statistical System. For more monthly travel and tourism-related trade data dating back to 1999, please visit the International Travel Receipts and Payments Program.. Keep up-to-date on the travel and tourism industry by visiting and subscribing to TI News.

● New Tourism Segment? “Blended Travel” works its way into the tourism’s industry’s book of definitions. From the TravelMarketReport: “The times they are a-changin. Seasonal high peak destinations are no longer getting the cold shoulder during shoulder season—thanks, in part, to people working remotely.”

Travelers have traditionally sought out the shoulder and off-peak seasons to snag the best deals, says Ginger Taggart, vice president, brand management, Global Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts. “My view, informed by the trends revealed in Crowne Plaza’s new ‘The Future of Blended Travel’ whitepaper suggests that is all about to change.” She adds, “Blended travel—business and leisure travel together—provides greater flexibility and has empowered the traveler of today.” Click here for the complete article.

● From GlobalData’s Company Filing Analytics—it reveals that environment, social and governance (ESG), COVID-19 and geopolitics are the top three themes mentioned by European tourism companies so far in 2022, respectively, indicating that these are the most pressing issues that the continent’s tourism industry faces. As shown by the leading data and analytics company, ESG is the most mentioned theme totaling nearly 14,000 mentions in 2022 (as of July 28, 2022), demonstrating its importance. For the complete TravelDailyNews article on the issue, click here.

● Destination Canada’s Tourism Outlook Forecasts Recovery by 2025: In its most recent Tourism Outlook, Destination Canada—the country’s official tourism promotion agency—the organization said, “travel demand is high and domestic travel will continue to lead recovery, with US following closely behind. Our other international markets have been slower to recover; international arrivals from Destination Canada long-haul markets have only recovered to 35 percent of the equivalent September to April period in 2018/19.” While recovery is uneven among our markets, the Outlook explained, “momentum is building and we are forecasting that pleasure visitor segments will return to 2019 levels by 2025, with an upside to 2024 as our best-case scenario.”

● From Expedia Group Media Solutions: “The Top 5 Takeaways for DMOs from Destinations International’s Annual Convention 2022”

1. Inclusion and diversity are top of mind for DMOs in their organizations and in their marketing efforts 
2. Cultural experiences are important to visitors, and good for business  
3. The transition from destination marketing to destination management  
4. Sustainability continues to rise in importance for all destinations 
5. Pay attention to emerging platforms, including TikTok for user generated content 

For the complete commentary, by Mark Churchill, click here.

● Food as a Market in its Own Right? Top Japan chefs group to open Japanese cuisine theme park in China: (From an article published by Kyodo News) A group formed by top Japanese chefs will open a theme park in China as part of efforts to further popularize Japanese food culture in the world’s second-largest economy. The celebrity chef/company, Chefoodo said in a recent press release that it would collaborate with leading Chinese food conglomerate Bright Food (Group) Co. to bring the interactive facility to life, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn about and sample different styles of Japanese cuisine.

● According to a survey by CheapHotels.org, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, two island destinations located off the southern coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, are the most expensive places to stay in the United States this summer. The survey compared accommodation rates across all U.S. destinations during the month of August 2022. Only hotels or inns rated at least 3 stars and located close to a beach or city center were considered.

The List

1. Nantucket (MA) $525
2. Martha’s Vineyard (MA) $485
3. Montauk (NY) $416
4. Long Beach Island (NJ) $384
5. Bar Harbor (ME) $383
6. Saratoga Springs (NY) $372
7. Avalon (CA) $371
8. Huntington Beach (CA) $357
9. Kennebunkport (ME) $354
10. Poipu (HI) $353

For the full results of the survey, please visit:
https://www.cheaphotels.org/press/summer22.html