Kenneth Schwartz, a highly respected and warmly regarded tour and travel industry figure for some 40 years, passed away on Dec. 26, 2016 in Los Angeles at the age of 67 following a lengthy battle with cancer. A Pennsylvania native and a 1971 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Schwartz moved to Boston where he began his pursuit of a career in the travel industry. His most recent position, of 16 years, was with Meeting Point North America. He retired in June of 2016. An enthusiastic traveler himself, he was also passionate about history and politics; read widely, and was an exceptionally gifted conversationalist. He is survived by his husband of 39 years, Thomas Camacho; his dog, Scout; mother, Claire Schwartz; brother Phillip Schwartz and sisters Robin Friedman and Betsy Silverman. A private memorial service is being planned in Los Angeles in late January. Contributions in Ken’s name can be made to the Los Angeles LGBT Center: https://lalgbtcenter.org/kenschwartz

Info Bytes from the World Travel Market Global Trends Report 2016

The UK traveler’s likes, dislikes, concerns, use of brochures—and more—are summed up nicely in the WTM Global Trends Report 2016 that was released during last week’s 2016 WTM in London. While the summary findings of the report are generally published on online news channels and trade publications at the time of their release, much of the material is overlooked—usually until weeks or months later, when a travel supplier or DMO marketer is researching data on the UK traveler. We’ve reviewed the 64-page report and culled from it what we believe are the most useful findings, which follow.

Of Immediate or Overall Concern:

—When asked about Brexit, (the name given to the June 23, 2016 vote by Britons to leave the European Union) the top worry–cited by 44 percent of holidaymakers surveyed—was the pound sterling-euro exchange rate and how that will make holidays in EU destinations more expensive.

—The second concern, cited by 43 percent, was a more general worry about overall holiday costs rising.

—One third of those surveyed mentioned the potential loss of European Health Insurance Cards, and a quarter said they were concerned about longer passport queues at airports.

—However, just over a third (35 percent) had no concerns surrounding Brexit, while

—Almost half (43 percent) said they would like to see a return to the traditional blue UK passport when Britain does leave the EU.

—42 percent believe the June 23, 2016 Brexit referendum vote has had a negative impact on the UK’s reputation as a holiday destination.

—Almost half (47 percent) predict Brexit will have a negative impact on their organization and 30 percent will seek to increase prices

 

WTM GLOBAL TRENDS REPORT: Mega Travel Trends from the World’s Largest Trade Show Producer

Supersonic Flights Returning in 2018?

Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of senior industry executives, according to a WTM Global Trends Report, believe supersonic flying is likely to become a mainstream form of transport for travelers. Concorde, the first supersonic passenger jet, retired from service in 2003, following the tragedies of a Paris crash in 2000 and the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Now, several aeronautics firms are working on supersonic technology which could halve flight times and open up new long-haul destinations. NASA and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are developing aircraft under the joint “Quiet Supersonic Technology” or QueSST project. They plan to build jets that fly more quietly than Concorde, which was famed for its loud sonic “boom” as it broke the sound barrier. The new planes could take to the skies as early as 2020 if the project receives funding as planned.

Banning Sale of Booze on Flights?

The issue of alcohol on flights and air rage is becoming increasingly concerning, with the number of “dangerous” in-flight incidents on UK airlines rising fourfold in three years, according to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA says UK airlines reported 85 air rage incidents in 2013, but the figure soared to 386 last year. Also:

—Figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also show air rage is a global problem. Last year there were more than 10,854 incidents worldwide, equating to one incident for every 1,205 flights. The previous year, there were 9,316 incidents.

—More than a quarter of holidaymakers (27 percent) have experienced a disruptive passenger on a flight.

—Almost three quarters (73 percent) agreed with the recent decision by airline Jet2.com to ban the sale of alcohol on board in the mornings.

—A significant proportion (11 percent) involved physical aggression towards passengers or crew or damage to the aircraft.

—Alcohol or drug intoxication was identified as a factor in 23 percent of cases, though in the vast majority of instances these were consumed prior to boarding or from personal supply without knowledge of the crew, said IATA.

—As part of the budget carrier Jet2.com’s clampdown on bad behavior, over 500 passengers have been refused travel since 2015, with over 50 of these given lifetime bans.

Will a Cap on Tourism Solve Overcrowding?

In the matter of developing sustainable tourism product, three-quarters of the senior industry professionals surveyed for this year’s Global Trends Report agreed with the statement that “tourism caps are a practical solution to the problems of overcrowding.” Last year, when the same statement was put to respondents in the survey, 65 percent agreed. The increase highlights a growing problem faced by destinations and attractions that are becoming a victim of their own success and are finding themselves having to cope with overcrowding. Also:

—Of the 75 percent of respondents who agree with the measures, 30 percent said tourism caps are “somewhat useful.”

—27 percent think they are “quite useful.”

—8 percent find caps to be “extremely useful’ in dealing with the problem.

—Only 5 percent said tourism caps are ‘not at all’ a practical solution to overcrowding and 11 percent said caps are “not very” useful.

The 2015 report highlighted a marked difference between the number of industry professionals that thought tourism caps were a good idea in theory, and those who approved the measure in practice. However, this year’s results show this gap is narrowing.

—When asked whether caps would be a good thing for their own city, company or destination,

 —61 percent of those who took part in the 2016 research agreed.

Only 8 percent said caps had no benefit to their own city/company/ destination.

—5 percent said a cap was “not very” useful.

—Last year only 36 percent agreed that a cap would be a good thing for their own city, company or destination, with 34 percent disagreeing.

Fear of Terrorism

Terrorism is the number-one concern for British holidaymakers, and travel industry officials say terror attacks have had the greatest impact on their business in the past year.

—Of the British holidaymakers who went abroad this year, 38 percent said the threat of terrorism was a concern, with 9 percent admitting to being ‘extremely concerned’.

—On the plus side, 40 percent said they were not concerned at all–despite several high-profile terror attacks in the past year.

There is clear evidence global terror incidents, such as the Nice Bastille Day massacre, the Istanbul Ataturk Airport attack and terror campaigns in Tunisia, have affected tourism.

—More than three quarters (76 percent) of key industry executives said terrorism has impacted their business in the past year.

—Of the 76 percent, one in three said terrorism had a “significant” impact, while 43 percent said it had ”some” impact.

—Only 24 percent said terrorism had no impact at all.

 

The Print Brochure May be on the Way Back

The use of the traditional holiday brochure as part of the booking process appears to be making a comeback, with a third of holidaymakers saying they relied on brochures this year. More than one third (34 percent) of those who booked a holiday in the past year used a brochure as part of the process and comparative figures from 2015 and 2014 show that – far from dying out – the holiday brochure is enjoying resurgence.

Source: UK holidaymakers survey cited by WTM Global Trends Report 2016, in conjunction with Euromonitor International

The results suggests that those operators that are looking to ditch the brochure for good could be missing out on potential business. Thomson and First Choice plan to ditch brochures entirely by 2020, with managing director Nick Longman saying things have moved on since the days when people used to “spend hours flicking through the brochure and decide where they wanted to go.”

To see more, you can access the full WTM report here: file:

file:///C:/Users/Tomas/Desktop/WTM%20INDUSTRY%20REPORT%202016.pdf

 

Gary Esolen, leader of the Greater New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation for 10 years beginning in 1991, passed away on Sept. 19th. He was 75. Esolen was a graduate of LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, where he earned a Master’s degree in English. He later became an assistant dean at Cornell University and then a writer and teacher in upstate New York before moving to New Orleans. He was the founder editor and publisher of Gambit, a weekly newspaper that featured news, political gossip and reviews and commentary on entertainment, restaurants and music.

Esolen left Gambit in 1987 and took a position as co-chairman of the Greater New Orleans Marketing Committee. In 1991, he was named executive vice president of the organization. After he left the group, he continued to write. He was also an actor, poet and playwright. He was described by his wife and business partner, Valeri LeBlanc, as “a big man with big vision, great understanding and a huge heart and New Orleans was a place that matched that. It has all those characteristics that fit him perfectly.”

 

Tour operators seeking to assure clients that what they are paying for is all-inclusive can look forward to new challenges as hoteliers are seeking still more ways to increase revenue streams and increase per capita spending by hotel guests. According to HotelNewsNow, which covered the just concluded Hotel Data Conference in Nashville, some hoteliers are turning parking into a revenue generator, while another is strategically employing the use of food trucks at certain hotel-or-resort sponsored functions.

Highlights of what hotels are doing or contemplating—they come from a session that was tagged as “Beyond rooms and F&B: Total revenue management practices”—include the following:

—Hotels can learn lessons from how music festivals and amusement parks manage to create tiered experiences based on how much consumers are willing to pay. Said Isaac Collazo, vice president of performance strategy and planning, InterContinental Hotels Group, “At music festivals, you can buy a regular ticket or a VIP ticket. In hotels, we don’t really think about things that way. We need to figure out what’s a VIP item we can charge for. It helps make the experience better and makes money for the hotel.”

—Marcus Hotels & Resorts has been successful finding “untapped revenue” by hiring a corporate director of parking, which helped turned a cost center into a revenue generator. “On pricing, we’re just doing the same for parking as you do for hotel rooms,” said Linda Gulrajani, the company’s vice president of revenue strategy and distribution. “You do competitive shops and see what’s in the market. One problem is a lot of (automated) parking machines don’t do dynamic pricing, and it’s great to price special events differently. But you end up doing a bunch of manual work with labor hours to make that money.”

—Omni Hotels & Resorts is creating new at its golf resorts and spas, as an Omni panelist said that people are willing to pay for if a hotel or resort is able to “offer value for experience.” She said there is great revenue potential, particularly with golf, if companies are better able to dissect data and look for opportunities to increase rates.

—Marcus’ Gulrajani said her company was able to better incorporate F&B revenue into its golf experiences by buying a food truck to use at a course that had no clubhouse dining.

—Marcus has also had success selling roof space for cell towers. “Make sure you don’t sign a noncompete contract,” Gulrajan said, explaining some companies will ask for that in negotiations. “But it’s pretty much pure profit.”

—Paul Breslin, principal at Horwath HTL, told attendees that his company has been successful leasing out retail space, while Omni has experienced revenue growth by opting to lease out restaurant spaces instead of keeping F&B operations in house.

Jerry DiPietro, a much-loved and highly regarded long-time tour and travel industry professional, passed away on Sept. 12th. DiPietro, 73, had a long career in the tour and travel industry. He began in the spring of 1969 as an operations analyst supervisor at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, later moving into sales as a manager of both group and individual sales. He soon became director of sales and then moved on to senior sales and managerial positions at Dunfey/Omni Hotels in New England. He acquired his own 46-unit motor lodge in Cape Cod, Mass., which he operated for more than a decade. At about the same time, in 1980, he established his own receptive tour operator company, Tourco, based in Hyannis, Mass., which he and his wife Marian, operated for nearly 30 years. After he closed the company, he served in a senior sales positions with to join the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, closing out his career last year with the Venetian/Palazzo in Las Vegas. He remained active, however, consulting and representing different companies. He continued to show up at NAJ events and other industry functions.