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The Vaccine Impact

It took almost the entire calendar year of 2010 for pharmaceutical companies to get a virus that works. It will be this month or next when the first recipients will have their upper arms ready for the small prick of the needle that delivers the vaccines that have been developed to contain and eventually eliminate the COVID-19 virus. The new vaccine has been heralded as a savior for the world’s travel and tourism industry. Relief is on the way.

For the millions worldwide who have been laid off, furloughed or otherwise re-routed from their careers in tourism as a result of the COVID-driven global pandemic, the presence and potential of a vaccine will help to facilitate a shift in attitude: Instead of wondering, with little hope, if they would ever get back to the industry they know, there is now the hope that they might be able to return to selling, marketing, promoting and operating the tourism product.

What does all this mean? Here are some thoughts.

• If there has been one lesson that the team at Connect Travel’s INBOUND Report has had underscored and amplified for them in the past nine-plus months, it is that the professionals and managers who lead the industry remain the most resourceful and innovative of professionals of any other economic sector.

• Realizing the interdependence of the industry’s many components, tourism managers have pressed for, and receive from, federal government lump-sum payments and loans totaling in the scores of  billions of dollars to help long-haul carriers weather the pandemic storm.

• Receptive tour operators, both small and mid-size, have been especially hard hit by the pandemic. But many are family owned and/or have small staffs. They cannot just lay off, furlough or make themselves part-time. So, as have many other components of the tourism industry, receptives have been reducing expenditures by operating remotely—”attending” virtual meetings and making sales calls online.

• Strapped for cash, international tour operators have already started selling, and seeking deposits for, long-haul travel (not just for 2021 and 2022) in 2023! Even before the word “vaccine” became common parlance in the industry, receptive tour operators and their partners began bravely preparing product for Q2 ‘21and Q3 ‘21, gambling that progress on getting the pandemic under control would be made. Such activity turns out to have been a good bet: once more destinations and activities roll out more product, these operators and their partners will already have had their pipeline open and ready to operate.

• No business, no matter how big they are, has been immune from the pandemic’s economic squeeze. TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, recently announced that it was delaying payments to hotels. (This suggests, naturally, that if TUI is feeling the financial crush, then others must be feeling it as well. And they are.)

• Destinations accustomed to the revenue stream driven by international visitors found themselves with no long-haul air service to bring customers and clients to the USA. As a result, over the course of this past summer and into the fall, some DMOs and airlines have been successful in patching together short-haul “travel bubbles” that emphasize in-country or close-in regional travel product.

• If they’ve left the tourism industry, where are they going? We can’t come up with a reliable figure on the matter but, on the basis of the number of personal notices we’ve seen on the social media, it seems that more than a few former travel sales managers or directors have found a new job and home within the large services sector that include, for example, insurance, real estate and health care facilities (Does the latter suggest the hotel GMs and/or COOs at attractions and travel experiences have what it takes to long-term health care facilities, retirement homes or retirement communities?)

• Beyond Zoom. While the Oxford Dictionary has other English words as candidates, the mostly widely-known new word in the tourism industry is Zoom. Some businesses and organizations have taken the use of Zoom to new and higher levels in pacing, timing and fresh dialogue. Go to YouTube and take a look and listen at anyone of the three dozen or so programs in Connect Travel’s series of virtual roundtables on far-ranging subjects particular to the travel and tourism industry.

Connect, which last month in Orland held the first-of-their-kind series of tourism industry in-person and live marketplaces and conferences, is working on state-of-the-art meetings that incorporate some of the features that were well-received in Orlando into its schedule of events for 2021.

• Safe Bets—China and the UK: For 2019, before the pandemic crisis threw itself at the global travel and tourism industry, China and the UK, were the number three and number two overseas source markets for inbound tourism to the USA. The UK is about to inoculate its citizens with vaccines that neutralize COVID-19 virus, and Americans will be next. Most recent surveys of UK travelers tell us that there is a tremendous amount of pent-up demand for travel to the USA. Meanwhile, the people of China, which has reduced COVID-19 to a point at which new cases are near or at zero, are—by all indications—ready to resume long-haul travel. The key to opening the sluice gates for tourism from China and the UK to the United States will be airline lift capacity.

• To be continued … Join the dialogue by writing us and letting us and our readers know what you have been doing to respond to the damage of the global pandemic and how you have prepared for a return to (a new) normal. Just leave a reply below.

NTTO: Monthly Arrivals Creep Upwards

With an ever-so-slight increase—some so small in size that the changes involved might be deemed statistically insignificant—the number of visitors from some traditionally strong overseas source markets crept upwards during the month of October. If indeed the increases in travelers from the UK, India and Argentina are miniscule, one can readily respond: Well, at least the numbers did not decrease from the previous month.

For the record, the U.S. had 4,712 arrivals from the UK in October (vs. 3,980 in September); India’s arrivals last month totaled 15,785 (vs. 14,589 for September); and Argentina registered 9,213 arrivals in the U.S. last month vs. 3,731 for September).

How is this happening? It appears that major air carriers have been able to add/re-start a small number of routes as some national travel bans have been lifted or eased a little. Meanwhile, the number of arrivals from Caribbean and Central American markets could likely be an instance of roundtrip leisure travelers from the United States, along with a smaller number of travel bans in these nations.

Where there is hope: Nine months ago, no one in the global or U.S. travel and tourism industry was prepared for the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus and the global pandemic that it has fed. At the same time, we believe that it is fair to suggest that most of us did not expect hear of reports that approved vaccines to combat the virus would be ready this month.

We have no special insight or information that suggests when the impact of widely available vaccines might spread its impact throughout the distribution chain from source to consumer. But as the data below suggest: It won’t be soon enough.

We Have an Int’l Air Connectivity Crisis

Because of COVID-19, traditional, large cities suffer, while cities with large numbers of domestic connections now dominate. One of the great challenges to the international airline industry wrought by the COVID-19 crisis is the weakened connectivity of the major airports and the major airlines that serve them. Without an action plan to address the question of connectivity (and the gaps that have weakened it), the situation is bound to get worse for those who plan, and plan on, the connections that are critical for international long-haul travel.

This is the strong impression one receives in reviewing the findings of a report that was released at the recent 76th Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).  Originally planned to take place in Amsterdam in June 2020, the meeting was pushed back to the end of November in Geneva.

The IATA report released data declaring that the COVID-19 crisis “has had a devastating impact on international connectivity, shaking up the rankings of the world’s most connected cities.” As evidence, it cited the following:  

—London, the world’s number one most connected city in September 2019, has seen a 67 percent decline in connectivity. By September 2020, it had fallen to number eight.  

—Shanghai is now the top ranked city for connectivity with the top four most connected cities all in China—Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.  

—New York (a 66 percent decline in connectivity); Tokyo (down 65 percent), Bangkok (down 81 percent), Hong Kong (an 81 percent drop-off) and Seoul (a 69 percent decline) have all exited the top ten.  

—Cities with large numbers of domestic connections now dominate, showing the extent to which international connectivity has been shut down. The following table compares the year-on-year ranking difference in major cities—from September 2019 to September 2020.  

Commenting on the findings, Sebastian Mikosz, IATA’s senior vice president for member external relations, said in a statement: “The dramatic shift in the connectivity rankings demonstrates the scale at which the world’s connectivity has been re-ordered over the last months. But the important point is that rankings did not shift because of any improvement in connectivity. That declined overall in all markets. The rankings shifted because the scale of the decline was greater for some cities than others. There are no winners, just some players that suffered fewer injuries. In a short period of time we have undone a century of progress in bringing people together and connecting markets. The message we must take from this study is the urgent need to re-build the global air transport network.”

Measuring Air Connectivity: IATA’s air connectivity index measures how well connected a country’s cities are to other cities around the world, which is critical for trade, tourism, investment and other economic flows. It is a composite measure reflecting the number of seats flown to the destinations served from a country’s major airports and the economic importance of those destinations. 

COVID-19 impacts on connectivity by region

(April 2019-April 2020, IATA Connectivity Index measure)

Africa suffered a 93 percent decline in connectivity. Ethiopia managed to buck the trend. During the first peak of the pandemic in April 2020, Ethiopia maintained connections with 88 international destinations. Many aviation markets reliant on tourism, such as Egypt, South Africa and Morocco, were particularly severely impacted.   

Asia-Pacific saw a 76 percent decline in connectivity. Stronger domestic aviation markets, such as China, Japan and South Korea performed better among the most connected countries in the region. Despite the relatively large domestic aviation market, Thailand was severely impacted perhaps because of the country’s high reliance on international tourism.  

Europe experienced a 93 percent fall in connectivity. European countries saw significant declines across most markets, although Russian connectivity has held up better than Western European countries. 

Middle East countries saw connectivity decline by 88 percent. With the exception of Qatar, connectivity levels reduced by more than 85 percent for the five most connected countries in the region. Despite border closures, Qatar allowed passengers to transit between flights. It was also an important hub for air cargo. 

North American connectivity declined 73 percent. Canada’s connectivity (-85 percent decline) was hit more heavily than the United States (-72 percent). In part, this reflects the large domestic aviation market in the United States, which despite a significant passenger decline, has continued to support connectivity.  

Latin America suffered a 91 percent collapse in connectivity. Mexico and Chile performed relatively better than the other most connected countries, perhaps due to the timing of domestic lockdowns in these countries and how strictly they were enforced.  

Before the pandemic

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth in air connectivity was a global success story. Over the last two decades the number of cities directly linked by air (city-pair connections) more than doubled while over the same period, air travel costs fell by around half. 

The top-ten most connected countries in the world mostly saw significant increases over the 2014-2019 period. The United States remained the most connected country, with growth of 26%. China, in second place, grew connectivity by 62 percent. Other standout performers in the top ten included fourth-place India (+89 percent) and ninth-place Thailand (+percent). For more information: Full Air Connectivity report (pdf)

UK Market Notes

#1. Magazine boosts role of operator—says package holidays are cheaper. The widely read UK consumer magazine Which?—it refers to itself as a “consumer champion”—gave a boost for tour operators in a recent issue. Its research on the cost of a holiday indicated that the use of package holidays is cheaper than those put together on a “do-it-yourself” basis. In addition to the matter of overall cost, Which? said that a packaged holiday offers greater protection to the consumers than do-it-yourself booking offer.

As reported by Travel Weekly UK, the Which? study said that package holidays were better value in eight out of 10 cases. The magazine studied the price of the cheapest packages available online from five UK airports from both Jet2holidays and Tui and compared them with the cost of identical DIY holidays. “Holidaymakers opting for packages could save hundreds of pounds on the cost of their trip, while also avoiding the risk of losing their money if they can’t travel due to government restrictions, lockdown or if their airline or hotel goes bust.” For more on Which? and its work, visit https://www.which.co.uk/.

#2. USA is one of the top preferences in a survey of would-be travelers. The at-home travel agent group, Not Just Travel, has reported that it has experienced a 5 percent year-on-year increase in bookings on the back of a weekly spike in demand. While we don’t know what kind of methodology the group used in its survey, it is safe to say, on the basis of trade media accounts elsewhere, it is probably correct. There have been numerous testimonials from travel and tourism professionals suggesting that there is a substantial pent-up demand on the part of travel consumers. Not Just Travel reported a 62 percent increase in inquiries for the week ending Nov. 27, crediting the spike to positive news revolving about COVID-19 vaccine trials and the Christmas holidays ahead of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. Not Just Travel said that it is probable that the traditional post-Christmas peak booking period is being pulled forward as a result. (The early weeks/weekends are known simple as “The Peaks” for the UK travel industry.) The activity is good news for U.S. destinations and travel suppliers, as Not Just Travel reported that the top destinations booked for 2021-22 are the United States, Canary Islands, Dubai, Lapland and Maldives.

#3 Are cut-rate deals a sign of growing consumer confidence? The UK travel trade publication Travel Mole reports a “Glimmer of hope for operators as cut-price deals drive bookings upturn … as operators and airlines have released a fresh wave of cut price deals as hopes rise that consumer confidence may slowly be returning.”

TM said that, while the immediate picture remains bleak, with much of the winter market having  been written off, “a rush of Black Market offers,” coupled with vaccine developments, a reduced quarantine period and news that consumers even in the harshest of post-lockdown tiers can travel overseas, has given consumers and operators a lift.

Overall, TM reported, Wendy Wu Tours, Virgin Atlantic Holidays, Newmarket Holidays, Icelandair, Cathay Pacific, Ryanair, TUI, On the Beach, EasyJet Holidays, and Virgin Atlantic, to name a few, have offered deals. “Operators hope the introduction of cut-rate price packages and flights, at a time when consumer morale is showing sign of improving, will clinch sales,” reported TM, with many bookings, it seems, for Q2 and Q3 dates.

#4. And now the glum news: A study of travel anxiety study has found that 70 percent of Brits feel nervous about the future of travel with COVID-19 still around. In what should come as no surprise to anyone in the tourism industry, the specialist travel insurance company Medical Travel Compared surveyed some 2,000 holidaymakers from across the UK to reveal the future of travel in a COVID-19 world. In a news release the company attached some numbers regarding everything from catching the virus abroad to having to quarantine upon arrival,

According to Medical Travel Compared: Despite the increase in COVID travel fears, just 1 in 4 Britons are concerned about having to quarantine when they arrive back home from a holiday abroad. Even fewer (6 percent) fear being tested for COVID-19 in an airport. Low morale around travel is evident, with the survey revealing that 48 percent think they won’t be able to travel as often as they would like to in the future as a direct result of the pandemic. 

The research also unveiled what parts of traveling abroad the UK has missed the most this year. Tops was the weather—63 percent state they miss this aspect of travel the most. Exploring new places (62 percent) and downtime away from the day-to-day/a chance to relax and unwind (54 percent) took second and third places. 

China Experiencing Domestic Travel Boom

Should bode well when international recovery comes. The recent release of the official public holidays calendar for China has apparently kicked off a boom in the booking of domestic holiday travel by Chinese travelers. Like the would-be holidaymakers in most countries, the Chinese are sitting atop a cauldron of pent-up desire to travel. However, they cannot satisfy that desire through international travel, most of which is subject to country bans. As well, most major air carriers have had to cut back on routes and flight frequencies because of the reach of the COVID-19 virus and global pandemic that it has caused.

But Chinese travelers seem to have enough in-country destinations and experiences to satisfy the desire to travel for the time being. In addition, China, where the COVID-19 virus was first reported almost a year ago, has in place a strict set of practices and controls, and in the words of one report, “has all but declared victory” over the virus.

As a result, there are reports, such as that from Trip.com, the country’s largest travel company, that bookings for smaller, private group tours during the Lunar New Year holiday soared 160 percent on one day compared with a normal day. The OTA also indicated that searches for independent tourist itineraries related to the three-day New Year’s Day holiday from January 1 to 3 soared 120 percent compared with a normal day. And online travel operator Tongcheng-Elong said searches for tickets for travel, tourist attractions and other related products had surged 300 percent from normal as of Thursday afternoon.

What’s selling? Private tour groups are gaining in popularity with Chinese tourists as they feature limited numbers of tourists, usually family members or friends. Most of those booking private group tours for the break are families with children or senior members, Trip.com said.

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The developments above tell the U.S. travel marketer or DMO promoter hoping for the Chinese market to come back is: Be prepared. Should the USA be able to open up to greater numbers of Chinese travelers (and other international travelers, for that matter) because of a reduction in COVID-19 virus levels at home, it seems likely that there will be a sufficient number of Chinese travelers ready and willing to visit.

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Trip.com’s Big Picture: Meanwhile, China Travel News reported that the Chinese domestic business of Trip.com Group continues to show strong recovery momentum:

—China domestic air ticketing business achieved positive year-over-year growth for the third quarter of 2020.

—China domestic hotel reservations achieved positive growth, with mid-to-high end domestic hotel reservations reaching double digit year-over-year growth exiting the third quarter of 2020.

—Net revenue for the third quarter of 2020 was $805 million, representing a 48 percent decrease from the same period in 2019 and a 73 percent increase from the previous quarter.

—Accommodation reservation revenue for the third quarter of 2020 was $365 million, representing a 40 percent decrease from the same period in 2019, and a 98% increase from the previous quarter, primarily due to the recovery of China domestic market.

—Packaged-tour revenue for the third quarter of 2020 was $48 million, representing an 80 percent decrease from the same period in 2019, and a 151 percent increase from the previous quarter, primarily due to the easement of cross-region travel restrictions in China since mid-July.

—However, as a result of the continued negative impact due to COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company expects net revenue to decrease by approximately 37 percent to 42 percent year-over-year for the fourth quarter of 2020.

“In the third quarter of 2020, the global travel industry continued to be under significant pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in China, we have already seen most of our major business segments return to pre-COVID level of activities in recent months,” said James Liang, executive chairman of Trip.com Group.

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Lastly, this item: Illustrating how some nations are establishing “travel bubbles” with neighboring or nearby countries, Japan and China have resumed business travel ties, with travelers using Tokyo’s Narita Airport making about 20 flights to and from Chinese cities that are operated weekly—and vice versa. (Japan has taken the same measure with Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.)

German Market Notes

#1. No change in anemic sales numbers: Retail sales in the travel and tourism industry continue to show the industry’s performance as weak as it has been since the beginning, nearly 10 months ago, of the global pandemic brought on by the COVID-19 virus.

—The total invoiced sales of the travel agencies recorded in the “ta.ts travel agency mirror” in November 2020 are minus 92.2 percent compared to the same month last year.

—The billed tourism turnover shows a minus of 93.2 percent in November. Air traffic revenue is down 93.8 percent. The other sales are minus 82.6 percent and the number of tickets is minus 93.7 percent. Sales from the tourism sub-division cruises were down 89.4% in November.

—Viewed cumulatively, the total invoiced travel agency turnover in the months from January to November is minus 77.0 percent. Tourism recorded a minus of 73.6 percent, while air traffic recorded a minus of 82.4 percent. The other sales show a minus of 64.2 percent and the number of tickets a minus of 78.5 percent. The cruises segment recorded a decrease of 70.0 percent.

2. Is TUI Too Big to Fail? Carrier gets another bailout package to stay afloat: Hanover-based TUI, the largest tour operator in Europe, was able last week to secure a financial package of 1.8 billion euros ($2.2 billion) with private investors, banks and the federal government. Deemed absolutely essential to the company’s cash flow situation—it had been announced earlier that TUI was suspending payments to some hotels—and, ultimately, its very survival.  TUI had already received a total of 3 billion euros ($3.65 billion) in state-backed loans in two stages earlier this year.

No one seems to be criticizing the deal, as Germany’s integrated economy, along with the reach of TUI through every level of the distribution model, makes it an essential part of the nation’s overall economic health. Likewise, from a corporate perspective, it is especially important to the economy of the UK, where TUI UK is the country’s largest tour operator. And one must not forget that the UK is still suffering from the failure in September of last year of Thomas Cook, which was the nation’s third-largest tour operator at the time it shut down. 

#3. Nowhere to go. The situation is especially difficult for German travelers. Though travel agents and tour operators are working to move incremental product for Q1 and Q2 in 2021—hoping that a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus will save the rest of next year—there is little opportunity in the present for Germans to holiday internationally because of travel bans. One tally late last week (the number changes almost daily) put the number of countries that Germans can visit at 44.

There is no travel permitted at all—to or from—between Germany and the USA. The situation is very much the same for other global source markets or countries who depend on German visitors. These include Canada, China, Japan, India and Australia. Check here to see what the international travel map looks like for German travelers.    

#4. Adieu. The tour operator Fox-Tours Reisen, the travel agency brand of Berge & Meer Touristik, is gone from the market after a run of 23 years. It will be merged with the parent company. In a letter to travel agencies, the company said, “We will inform you separately about the exact date of the entry of the merger in the commercial register and the associated entry into effect of the merger.”

Connecting with Tour Operators +

At last week’s “Connect with Tour Operators Virtual Roundtable, viewers and listeners were treated to a lively dialogue covering what changes and adaptations they’re making in the midst of the current environment for doing business in the travel and tourism. The group discussion included: Marina Petrova, Founder, places.events; Tereza Reis, president, Personal RGE Tours; Dave Falsetti, regional director-Americas, musement; and moderator,Shari Bailey, vice president, Connect Travel, and general manager, Connect Travel Events.

There was a decided emphasis in much of the webinar on customer preference, facilitated in part by Marina Petrova’s presentation that was based primarily on Google analytics.

Top Takeaways

#1. Both the research as well as anecdotal accounts from tour operators tell us that customers are searching for attractions and activities that are “near me.”

#2. Travelers are bored. Scores of inquires going to Google show that travelers are asking “What to do when they are bored.”

#3. With travelers becoming more interactive in their online searches, it is important to have the conversation with them have as many touch points as possible.

#4. Tour operators, destinations and travel sellers of all kinds are hearing that the need for flexible cancellation policies; what suppliers are going about sanitizing and cleaning their locations and facilities.

#5. Because travelers are looking for new options, tour operators are building new contracts, and are eager to hear from DMOs and travel suppliers. So, please, they should send them information on re-starts, changes, safety protocols and additions to their product inventories. Now!

Selected Quotes

Maria Petrova: “We now live in a world of data. There is so much information that we can tap into like Google search queries or data from social media platforms, and it’s not as if we are not crossing any privacy boundaries because it’s aggregate data and it still allows us getting the information about what’s out there.”

Dave Falsetti: “Although there are re-bookings, I think people are waiting, still, to see kind of what happens with next year because the demand is there, and everyone’s ready to jump into it. So, maybe they’re not looking for 2022 because they want to come—still next year. That’s what we’re seeing from the tour operator side.”

Shari Bailey: “As we go through these conversations week after week, the number one thing that we’re hearing is that people want to travel, but they want to feel safe, and they’ll travel when they feel safe.”

Tereza Reis: (On her company’s weekly training webinars) “Well, in the beginning when we started in March, we thought we were going to do those webinars until maybe June or July. Well, we’re still doing it.  We had one yesterday. We have them every Wednesday.”

Tereza Reis: “We just do international markets. They need to get the getaways into the U.S. and the major cities. So, when they come from Europe or Latin America, they need to come to one of the main destinations. But what we’ve been seeing lately is …they are asking for more destinations close by the main destination. Let’s say, if they’re going to New York, well now they’re talking about exploring the Hudson Valley, the Finder Lakes.”

Marina Petrova: “What we see now is exactly what Tereza was saying: I think one of the reasons for that is, also, because people want to stay busy. They want to explore—but there are so many things that are closed now; that’s why they are looking at “What else I can do near me?’ “

Dave Falsetti: “You need to offer more product in these secondary and tertiary markets …I saw there was a 50 increase in the Corn Palace! So, people are going to places that, historically, probably aren’t the destination that you would assume that people are going to, but you never know what people are looking at.”

Tereza Reis: “With a vaccine so close to becoming a reality, people are now bringing back whatever they had for 2022 to 2021, which is good news. I think we’re starting to see the light in the end of the tunnel. I think we still have a few months ahead. They’re going to be challenging, but at least now we can see the light. So, we need to keep going, to keep doing whatever we’re doing.”

Maria Petrova: “If people are bored, offer them something—some things to do—and get them to your attraction—if you’re open.”

Click here to listen to and/or watch the webinar.

Brazil Update-COVID 19 v. Jogo de Cintura

“Who could have imagined a year like this?” José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of the Brazilian travel trade publisher and event producer, PANROTAS, asked rhetorically in a message accompanying last week’s delivery of the latest Brazilian Overview Monthly Report published jointly by PANROTAS—the Brazilian trade media and event company—and FecomercioSP, the São Paulo-based business and economic research organization.

“And here we are, in December of 2020,” Alcorta added. “Our industry has been through a challenging and defying period, which served once more to emphasize the power of all travel professionals—each one of us who helps building this sector every day. Each one of us that have been dedicating our lives and our careers to a better travel and tourism industry and who can be defined as resilient, passionate, adaptable and persevering.”

“Resilient, passionate, adaptable and persevering?” Powerful words, but unsurprising to anyone who’s followed the course of the travel and tourism industry in Brazil over the past decade or so. They sound very much like the components of the qualities of “jogo de cintura”—peculiar to the country’s national character. The Cambridge Dictionary describes the Brazilian Portuguese expression jogo do cintura as: “clever or skilful/skillful actions to achieve something or deal with a problem.”

A Second Recession: This year, 2020, could well be described as one in which the Brazilian travel and tourism industry’s jogo de cintura has been on display. Entering the year, the nation was experiencing a still-fragile recovery from its worst economic recession ever (from the end of 2014 to the beginning of 2017—so severe that it was referred to simply as “La Crise,” or “The Crisis”) when it fell into yet another recession when its economy contracted in both Q1 and Q2. This coincided with the explosion of the COVID-19 crisis. (As of this writing, Brazil ranks second, behind only the United States, in the number of COVID-19 deaths.)

Despite all of the above, the November issue of the Brazilian Overview Monthly Report was able to point to some encouraging developments for the nation’s economy and for the travel and tourism industry in particular—a testimonial, in part to the Brazilian jogo de cintura:

—GDP growth in Q3 was 9.47 percent compared to Q2 and, consequently, taking the country out of the technical recession.

—Emergency government assistance from the Brazilian government has already benefited 67 million people with total of $33 billion expended by October.

—According to a study by Fecomercio-SP, e-commerce in the state of São Paulo grew six years in six months amid the pandemic.

—The Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) registered a slight decrease of 0.7 percent in October, but has 107.6 points, a level considered optimistic.

—The Retail Businessmen Confidence Index (ICEC) had the fourth consecutive increase and reached 96 points in October, the highest score since April.

Travel & Tourism Industry Notes:

—There is great expectation for the high summer season, between December and March, (Summer in the southern hemisphere summer is December through March) which, the Overview says, promises to fill hotels and resorts.”

—CVC, the largest travel company in Brazil (as well as the nation’s tourism sector generally) are benefiting from the decision by the company, just as La Crise was winding down, to add 100 new travel agencies annually in the country—focusing on rural and less populated areas—has increased interest and demand in the target areas. While CVC fell short of its initial goal, it still has nearly 1,300 agencies across the country. And the move was illustrative of what one might describe as a result of “jogo de cintura.”

—The CVC move has helped to stimulate demand, especially for domestic product, and the country’s major carriers—Gol, Azul and LATAM—anticipate operating between 60 to 80 percent of their domestic networks this summer.

—On the international market, Brazil has not generated any significant traffic to the United States, although there are a handful of flights by LATAM operating. At the same time, more than 100 countries are open to traffic from Brazil. (Compare this to Germany, which has a little more than 40 international destinations open to flights.)

—Overall, demand for all product is encouraging, and Q3 product improved over Q2, but is still well below pre-pandemic levels. Operators, too, reported that, while there was activity in Q3, sales were well below what they were prior to the pandemic.

—Of interest is a brief note in the Overview that “national charters are being seen as one of the ‘in-things’ of the summer, but there is no forecast and charters for international flights.”

—In sum, as 2020 is ending, the tourism industry is not where it wants to be, but, thankfully, it is not where it was when the year began.

Hodge Podge: Appointments & Changes

Deb Hickok, president and CEO of Explore Fairbanks, is stepping down after more than 20 years on the job. In a letter dated November 17, 2020, Hickok advised the organization’s board of directors of her resignation effective June 1, 2021 when she will “pursue the next chapter of opportunities.” “Deb’s announcing her exit more than six months in advance will allow ample time for an orderly implementation of that plan and the successful hire of a new CEO,” said Ashley Bradish, chair of the board of directors. Prior to joining Explore Fairbanks, Hickok spent a number of years in Pennsylvania, where she had her own consulting firm and also served at the Bucks County CVB, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce/Division of Tourism.

Anne Sayers has been named Acting Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. She takes over from Sara Kain Meaney, who held the post for two years and who has “accepted an executive leadership role outside of state government.” Sayers joined the department two years ago. Previously, she has held leadership positions for several high-profile non-profit organizations, including a stint of nearly 13 years as program director for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.

Niels Bartel has taken over responsibility for TUI.com and the branch sales of TUI Germany as director, digital commerce & own retail. He succeeds Matthias Gehring, who is leaving the company at his own request. Bartel started his TUI career in 2001 after studying controlling. After taking on operational responsibility at TUI Interactive, his path led him to Wolters GmbH. Bartel has been responsible for the strategy team at TUI Germany since 2020. In his new role, Bartel will continue to develop the Group’s online growth and the future strategy of the TUI branches.

Karen Goldberg has been appointed senior vice president, brand strategy & business development, of the newly-created division Four Hundred by Design effective immediately. She joins from Virtuoso Travel, where she had been managing director, hotels & resorts-New York, for Virtuoso Travel. Goldberg brings over 30 years of hospitality experience and strong industry relationships to Four Hundred, which is private membership lifestyle management company and is known for known for servicing some of the high profile and influential people. Four Hundred Travel is a full service, Virtuoso-accredited travel platform, and is headquartered in Manhattan, NYC.

Ryan Johnson, former World Travel Holdings sales and operations chief, has been named managing director of luxury tour operator Destinology. The appointment follows the online luxury operator’s acquisition this past October from Saga by Stewart Travel owner Brooklyn Travel Holdings. Johnston spent almost ten years at World Travel Holdings and previously held roles with MyTravel, Gold Medal Travel Group and Airtours.

Dr. Stefan Kreuzpaintner will assume responsibility for the worldwide sales activities of Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines on January 1, 2021. In addition, he will join the Executive Board of Lufthansa Airlines as chief commercial officer at the beginning of 2021, assuming responsibility for the Munich hub of Lufthansa Airlines. Kreuzpaintner succeeds Heike Birlenbach as head of sales. Birlenbach takes over the newly created Resort Customer Experience Lufthansa Group Airlines on January 1, 2021.  Kreuzpaintner has worked for Lufthansa since 2003. He began his career in Frankfurt as Network Manager. In 2012, he took over the sales management of all Lufthansa Group airlines in Madrid for the Spanish and Portuguese markets. In 2015 he moved to Brussels Airlines in Brussels as vice president pricing, revenue management & distribution. In May 2017, Kreuzpaintner returned to group headquarters as vice president sales Europe, Middle East & Africa of Lufthansa Group Airlines.

Danny Crowe, group marketing director for JG Travel Group, is leaving the company to start at new job at a marketing agency. Crowe has been with JG Travel Group for 18 months, overseeing marketing for the brands Just Go Holidays, National Holidays, Omega Breaks, Cruise Connections and Albion. He will join the Go Inspire marketing agency in January. Sales and yield director Matt Herbert, who joined earlier this year from the tour operator Shearings, will oversee JG Travel’s marketing and public relations.

Keith Backsen has joined Destinations International as chief sales and services officer on January 1, 2021. This is a new position at Destinations International that will oversee the membership and partnership departments. Backsen has more than 30 years in the travel and tourism industry, with over 18 years working for destination organizations. His most recent position with the industry was as president and CEO of the Omaha CVB (Visit Omaha). Prior to Visit Omaha, he was the vice president of sales and services for Visit Spokane where he oversaw all sales initiatives

Paul Proly has joined Xplorie as the company’s newest destination manager. He joins the company from Central Florida’s Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, where he was director of sales. Proly will be playing an integral role in launching Xplorie’s latest product, the Xplorie Enabled Voice Assistant. Proly’s more than 20 years of experience in the tours and activities industry includes tenures with industry leaders such as The Walt Disney Company and Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction.

Zoe Harris will be joining On the Beach (the UK’s third-largest tour operator) as chief marketing officer in January from GoCo Group where she is CEO for Look After My Bills. She was previously chief marketing officer for GoCompare. Harris joined GoCo from magazine and newspaper publisher Reach PLC where she was group marketing director for nearly six years. On The Beach said it had conducted “an extensive search process” across Europe following the departure of its former chief marketing officer Alistair Daly in March 2018.

Nils Jenssen, managing director of Reisecenter (Travel Center) alltours, has left the company at his own request and for private reasons. Jenssen had come to an agreement on the departure with the company’s partner and owner of alltours, Willi Verhuven. Jenssen has been the managing director of Reisecenter alltours GmbH since May 2015. Some 200 alltours travel centers belong. Jenssen will continue to fulfill his contract until he leaves. Alltours is one of the five largest tour operators in Germany and one of the top ten in Europe. 

Rodrigo Sienra, has been named general manager for Brazil for Delta Air Lines. He replaces Fabio Camargo, who is leaving the company. Sienra takes the lead in Delta’s commercial efforts, reporting to Luciano Macagno, Delta Air Lines executive director-Latin America, Caribbean and South Florida. Sienra, who has been with Delta for six-and-a-half years, was previously sales manager.

Beth Gendler has been named future president and CEO of Alabama’s Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. She’ll be taking on the new position upon the retirement next year of long-time CEO Herb Malone. Gendler, who has been a part of the organization for 18 years, currently leads the organization’s sales/meetings and sports commission efforts. Malone helped create the organization in 1993 after local community and business leaders envisioned an official tourism marketing organization for Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and the Fort Morgan peninsula.

Dawn McGowan has joined the North American team of Nina & Pinta, a London-based managed travel consultancy. The company has offices in Raleigh Durham, N.C.; Toronto; and the Washington D.C. area. Of the appointment, Nina & Pinta partner Jo Lloyd, said, “Dawn’s specialization in the hotel, extended stay and serviced apartments areas will serve our current and future clients well, and we are also excited for the boost she will bring to our team as an experienced sales professional.” McGowan most recently served as vice president of global sales for WWStay, a travel technology provider.

Debora Wright has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge (Visit VBR). For many travel and tourism professionals in the U.S., Wright’s name has been synonymous with the destination. One reason is that she has been with the organization since it was known as the Roanoke Valley CVB, joining it in 1993. She served as director of marketing for many years until she was appointed vice president of marketing and communications in 2013, where she served until her new job.

 Posted Industry Jobs

From SearchWide Global:

—Destination Madison is searching for a new president and CEO. Click here for more information.

—The Bermuda Tourism Authority is looking for a chief sales and marketing officer. For additional details, click here.

—The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a director of sales. Click here for more information.

—Visit Orlando is searching for a new president and CEO. For more information visit here.

—The city of Fort Smith, Arkansas has an opening for an Advertising and Promotion Commission executive director. For additional details, click here.

— Brett/Robinson Vacation Rentals on the Alabama Gulf Coast has an opening for a director of operations. Visit here for more details.

— Sports Facilities Management is searching for a senior project manager to join its facility planning and finance support services team. For more details, visit here.

—The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a new president. Click here for more information.

—A new president and CEO is being sought by Destination Madison (Wis.). For additional details, click here.

—The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a president and CEO. For more information, visit here. 

—The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau is looking for a new president & CEO. Click here for more information.

—The Virginia Tourism Corporation (it is the state’s DMO) has an opening for a director of research and market intelligence. Click here for more information.

—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts as an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here

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From Indeed.com: We’ve taken a look at this site (click here) which says that it has 680 jobs listed (although many are duplicates), including a fair number in the travel, tourism and related industries. A sampler of what to expect is below.

—Partnership manager, USA: Opening for senior manager, Japan and Korea at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: click here.

—Opening for partnership manager USA for Tiquets. Based in Philadelphia, PA. Click here.

—Opening for tourism partnership manager at the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Click here.

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 brief sampler of some of those jobs listed.

—Chief experience officer at Brightline Transportation in Miami, FL. Click here.

—Travel and tourism lecturer at Eden Brown Education, Lancashire, GB. Click here.

—Travel Program Administrator, Bass Pro Shops, Bass, MO. Click here.

China Expert Sees 2022 Outbound Recovery

“China will reclaim its top position as main source market for international tourism,” exclaimed Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, CEO of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). Citing the work of CONTRI Analytics, the research part of the organization’s apparatus, Arlt said in a statement accompanying the release of a new report that China’s outbound travel will reach a full recovery by the end of 2022.

Essentially shut down earlier this year by the impact of a global pandemic brought on by the COVID-19 virus, outbound travel from China has a bright outlook, suggested Arlt, noting, “Travelers from Mainland China can be expected to be responsible for more than a million border crossings, with the Special Administrative Region Macau as main destination. However, a number of other countries in Asia welcome Chinese visitors again, including Thailand, Laos, Japan, Singapore and others. Chinese citizens within the Schengen region in Europe can also travel between European countries.”

“Obviously China is the ‘tallest within a group of dwarfs’ in this development,” he added. “In November 2019 more than ten million Chinese traveled abroad and other source markets also sent out millions on international business and leisure trips. However, it is important to notice that the often-cited ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ looks very much like a Chinese lantern.”

Next Year Looks Better and the year after should see a full recovery! For the whole year of 2020, COTRI ANALYTICS expects a number of 18 million Chinese international trips, most of which however happened in January, representing about 10 percent of the number for 2019.

For 2021, COTRI Analytics forecasts around 100 million international trips of Chinese citizens.

According to Arlt, “There are many million Chinese waiting eagerly to travel abroad again. With CoViD-19 almost defeated in East Asia and vaccines hopefully becoming available in a few weeks, we should see a wave of Chinese outbound travelers starting Chinese New Year travelling to Asia and after Easter to Europe. It will take time to get visa regimes and air connections back on track, that’s why we only forecast about 100 million trips in 2021. In 2022 however, we are very likely to see a new record number of outbound trips.”

Said Arlt: “China will recover quicker than other source markets and Chinese travelers will look for new, less crowded and friendly destinations offering quality products adopted to their specific demands, which will be different in post-virus times compared to previous years. Destinations and service providers better start now to prepare for these ‘new’ Chinese guests.”

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And then there is this, from pandaily.com:

“As travel bans were lifted and people settled into the post-pandemic new normal, China’s tourism has been revived by citizens eager to make up for the trips they missed during the lockdowns. Premium quality tourism products and themed tours are taking China’s tourism by storm, according to the 2020 Domestic Tourism Revival Report jointly released by research institution China Tourism Academy and travel agency Trip.com.” (Click here to read the complete article.)

When, Oh When, Will “It” Restart?

The discussion at last week’s “Connect with Tour Operators” virtual roundtable focused very much on when the travel and tourism industry in the United States might restart in 2021. Sponsored by Connect Travel, the roundtable also spent time during which participants paid attention to the importance of

international visitors to the United States. The three panelists who took part in the event included: Umang Malbari, president, Discover Destinations; Chris Pilley, CEO, Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, LLC; and Jeremy Butzlaff, President, MTRWestern. Moderating the panel discussion was Shari Bailey, vice president of Connect Travel, and general manager, Connect Travel Events

Key Takeaways from the Roundtable

1.There is a “pent-up demand” for travel among clients of the operators. Both U.S. residents and international visitors, especially those from Europe, who are accustomed to taking two or three holidays every year, can’t wait to “break loose.” Along with the pent-up demand, there is a level of frustration among potential travelers, many of whom are experience some degree of a lockdown in their home countries.

2. With a possible vaccine that could put an end to the COVID-19 virus and the global pandemic that it caused notwithstanding, it appears that an impact on tourism won’t be immediate. Operators expect/hope that barriers to travel and travel-related activity to ease, and travel to re-start by the third or fourth quarter of 2021, with some product possibly launching in the second quarter; this depends on the lifting of travel bans.

3. Out of necessity, some operators began selling domestic product as the global pandemic continued in 2020. However, none expected domestic travel to comprise a significant share of their inventory. Yet, those operators who have taken to packaging and selling small, private tours, might maintain these items in their product line.

4. Nothing has warranted the attention of operators as much as the issue of safety and cleanliness. For the operators in this roundtable, the importance of these two features—safety and cleanliness—is high on, if not the top of, concerns of international travelers. Operators now include scrupulous attention to clean and safe practices in their own workplaces and among their employees; in the buses they use and the drivers and the tour guides who escort travelers; in the hotels they contract to use; and among the attractions, restaurants and activities that are a part of tours.

5. Related to the challenge of addressing safety and cleanliness concerns for operators is the frustration they all expressed over have over the absence of a single source of information on the various (and changing) regulations and different levels of requirements imposed on clients as they and the buses that carry them go through one destination after another. DMOs could be helpful, operators suggested, if they could help coordinate the information flow so that operators can more easily adhere the different regulations and requirements they find as they go from town to town and from hotel to hotel.

Selected Quotes

Chris Pilley: “It’s been a bit challenging here. But I think we’ll see a lot of pent-up demand. It might not be all there in 2021, but over the next few years there’s gonna be demand coming back.”

Jeremy Butzlaff: “For 2021 we’re looking at 25 percent of our 2019 capacity. So, it was basically going from 1.1 to 1.2 million to 300 000. That’s better than what we had in 2020, which was zero or, maybe, I think it was like 16 people … but people are anxious. They want to book. They want to go.”

Umang Malbari: “I think it’s a spring waiting to explode. People are ready to travel and I think the they want to travel. It’s there. There are just a lot of unknowns.”

Chris Pilley: “Right now our strongest market for 2021, by far, is the UK. But we’re still getting bookings from Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Italy—pretty much all of our main markets over there. It’s just not a normal volume, and yeah I think there’s just too much uncertainty.”

Umang Malbari: (Asked “Have you made decision to focus on the domestic market?) Yes and no. Domestic ball game’s a completely different ball game all together and our focus has always been more of the group side of travel. Even domestically, group travel is really not happening to the same degree as it was in 2019.”

Jeremy Butzlaff: “We spent a lot of the last eight nine months just foundationally (working on safety) What does that look like? How do we do it always as a carrier? It always starts with safety. For us, it was revamping how we train the drivers and how we get all the equipment done and maintained. And then there’s the internal safety of protecting people from COVID. How do we do that with electrostatic sprayers. And what’s our policy in the office?”

Chris Pilley: “We ended up getting some domestic bookings and that might continue some into

the future but that will be a small part of our business you know right now our focus has been

um one of the big changes is trying to get every activity company um get rates from them or we can do private tours.”

Umang Malbari: “Pretty much everybody in the travel industry right now is trying to revamp. And they’ve got a lot of extra time, so they’re all trying to develop new products. I think everyone is kind of asking ‘What else can we do rather than the major cities?’”

Chris Pilley: “Right now. I think the big enticement is allowing last-minute cancellations. They can get the thing at the cheapest price but if there’s a non-refundable 50 percent fee, they’re just not going to book it because they don’t know what’s going to come up in the next six eight to months.”

Umang Malbari: “It’s going to be really important for DMOs to continue marketing in these (overseas) destinations because we’re competing as the United States. We’re competing against the world um and for us to pull out of those destinations is going to be it’s going to be even harder to climb back out of it.”

Click here to list to/watch the video recording of the webinar.

Ready, Set … Brand USA Set to Go

Last week, the board of directors of Brand USA held its final meeting of the calendar year—but also its first meeting of the new Fiscal Year 2021. Because of the damage wrought by the COVID-19 virus, Brand USA’s directors and senior staff, like every other professional in the U.S. travel and tourism industry, had a sense that good news—really good news—was possible for the first time since the virus began laying waste to the industry early this year.

The possibility that a vaccination for the COVID-19 might soon be available to at least part of the U.S. and global populations definitely had an impact on the mood and hope of the remote board members gathering in front of terminals throughout the country.

“I’d have to say that the recent news about a vaccine is certainly, I think, better than anticipated,” said Chris Thompson, the organization’s president and CEO. “It potentially moves its impact of getting on top of the pandemic and restoring confidence both within the country and around the world maybe a quarter sooner than we had planned.”

As has every other organization in the industry, Brand USA has had to make do with less (the table at the end of this article sketches out the presentation of Don Richardson, Brand USA’s chief financial officer).

Alluding to its need to make do with less, Thompson said, “There was a deliberate attempt to scale back in activities and operations, but I can tell you that, in getting ready for this meeting. it’s been a really busy time for us, these past three months. It really had to do with a lot of the front-end loaded activity that is going to allow us, in our state of readiness, to still remain relevant.”

Tracy Lanza, senior vice president, integrated marketing, told board members “It is our intent deploy a strategy of reset and go. That’s what we really want to do. We want to be able to pick up and go when the time is right.” (Check out the extensive details in Lanza’s presentation here.)

Brand USA Marketplace Update: It has launched! Driven by the global pandemic to go virtual, Brand USA last month kickstarted its Brand USA Marketplace. 

Synchronized, as it was, to increase awareness of the (virtual) Brand USA Travel Week Europe, which took place Oct. 26-29 and had a heavy program of presentations and networking opportunities), the new, “always open” marketplace is performing well and, it is hoped, should grow steadily in the future. Said Thompson to potential users in a message that was a part of a program segment on the Marketplace: “The only way it’s going to reach its potential? It’s going to require your ongoing support, your ongoing engagement, your ongoing feedback.”

Meanwhile, the second Travel Week Europe 2020 (the first edition was held last year in London) registered some encouraging numbers, some of which follow:

Other Numbers on the Brand USA Travel Week Europe, 2020:

• 750—Total number of attendees

• 17—Keynotes, enrichment sessions and market updates

• 2,600-plus—one-on-one, pre-scheduled appointments

• 24—Live networking sessions

Still Available: Video Market & Research Updates (approximately 30 minutes long) given by in-country industry experts.

• Market Updates. These cover: Emerging Markets; France, Germany & Austria; Ireland; Italy; The Netherlands; Spain; Switzerland; and the UK.

• Research Updates: These include sessions on Europe; France; Germany; and the UK.

Some Exhibitor Survey Results

—a 99 percent of respondents said that they found Brand USA Global Marketplace helpful in achieving their goals for Brand USA Travel Week Europe 2020.

—91 percent of respondents said that they were satisfied with Brand USA Global Market Place.

—90 percent of respondents said that they were satisfied with Brand USA Travel Week Europe 2020.

—On a scale of 1-10:

• How likely are you to attend Travel Week Europe in the Future? (8.7)

•How likely are you to recommend Brand USA Travel Week Europe to others? (8.5)

• How likely are you to recommend building a pod on Brand USA Global Market Place to others? (8.0)

Some Exhibitor Survey Results

—97 percent of respondents said that they round Brand USA Global Marketplace helpful in achieving their goals for Brand USA Travel Week Europe 2020.

—95 percent of respondents said that they were satisfied with Brand USA Global Marketplace.

—96 percent of respondents said that they were satisfied with Brand USA Travel Week Europe.

—On a scale of 1-10,

• How likely are you to attend Travel Weekly Europe in the Future? (8.8)

• How likely are you to recommend Travel Week Europe to others? (8.6)

Now, let’s get back to live: The next meet-in-person version of Brand USA’s Travel Week Europe will take place Oct. 25-29 at County Hall, London.

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Key Budget Figures: A key number in the explanatory insert that Brand USA’s CFO, Don Richardson, used to discuss the organization’s budget is the $69.5 million less in total partner cash contributions and in-kind contributions than it was a year ago.

When Will it be OK to Take That 1st Trip?

Follow-up to early COVID-19 impact survey shows respondents trust themselves more than governments and public policies: In late September and October of this year, Oliver Wyman—a New York City-headquartered research and consulting firm with offices in more than 60 cities worldwide—conducted its second global survey of travelers to capture how views of travel are changing as the COVID-19 pandemic, and responses to it, evolve.

The previous survey was conducted in April/May and those results can be found here. The second survey involved more than 4,600 people across nine countries (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States), all of whom had flown at least once in 2019. A third also have traveled by air and/or rail in the past six months. The first survey was conducted after the initial peak in COVID-19 cases, border closures, and lockdowns; the second was conducted as COVID-19 cases began to grow to a new peak in Europe.

In deciding when they will be ready to travel, survey respondents are putting less weight on government and public policy and more on personal risk assessment, as compared to the May survey. Despite cases being on the upswing during the survey period, some 30 percent of respondents in France and Italy and 25 percent in the United States think it’s okay to travel now.

Oliver Wyman’s second survey took place in September and last month, involving more than 4,600 people across nine countries (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States), all of whom had flown at least once in 2019. A third also have traveled by air and/or rail in the past six months. The first survey was conducted after the initial peak in COVID-19 cases, border closures, and lockdowns; the second was conducted as COVID-19 cases began to grow to a new peak in Europe.

Findings/Exhibits

In deciding when they will be ready to travel, survey respondents are putting less weight on government and public policy and more on personal risk assessment, as compared to the May survey. Despite cases being on the upswing during the survey period, some 30 percent of respondents in France and Italy and 25 percent in the United States think it’s okay to travel now.

Exhibit 1: “When do you think it will be okay to start your first trip after the COVID-19 outbreak?”

First choice, % of total survey respondents

Source: Oliver Wyman 2020 Traveler Sentiment Survey, Oliver Wyman analysis

Leisure Travel: Interest in leisure travel remains strong, with 63 percent expecting to travel the same amount or more post-pandemic. Half or more of leisure travel respondents in Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany expect their next leisure trip post-pandemic to be international (Exhibit 2). In Europe and Asia/Australia, leisure travelers largely expect their next international trip to be within their own regions. More than half of Americans planning an international next trip, however, want to go to Europe. 

Exhibit 2: “Leisure travel: When COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted, what is your likely destination for your next leisure trip?”

% of country’s respondents

Source: Oliver Wyman 2020 Traveler Sentiment Survey, Oliver Wyman analysis

Teleconferencing is becoming the communications tool of choice, but business travelers are less convinced that teleconferencing is effective for building new relationships (Exhibit 4). For travel companies, these findings suggest that their messaging to customers will need to focus heavily on the importance of people coming together to forge or maintain relationships. 

Exhibit 3: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statements on teleconferencing?”

% of respondents, only those that travel for business

Source: Oliver Wyman 2020 Traveler Sentiment Survey, Oliver Wyman analysis

For the complete early report, which contains findings on the matters of cleanliness and safety, visit here. 

International Student Numbers Decline

More than one-third of the million-plus international students in the U.S. are from China: For the first time in decades, the number of international students studying in the United States—a lucrative market to a number of U.S. destinations—has declined.

The just-released annual Open Doors Report, which is a census produced by the Institute of International Education (IIE) of students who attended U.S. universities and colleges in the most recent school year declined from 1.095 million in the 2018-19 school year to 1.075 million in the 2019- 20. This represents a decline of 1.8 percent.

The report, which is supported by the U.S. State Department, also showed that, once again, China and India together generated more than half of the total number of international students in the U.S.

New Enrollments Drop Substantially: While the annual numbers are not that great, a statement accompanying the release of this year’s Open Doors Report last week in Washington, D.C. noted that the new enrollments of international students so far this school year, or semester, are off by 43 percent because of COVID-19 and global pandemic it has caused. Nearly 40,000 students (mostly incoming freshmen) have deferred enrollment of U.S. institutions to a future term.

Also, said IIE, of the more than 1 million enrolled international students in the U.S., 20 percent have opted for online learning this semester due to COVID-19-related shutdowns. Some international students have returned to their home countries, while others are living off-campus or under strict regulations on campus.

Economic Impact: IIE indicated that tuition and fees can mount to $70,000 a year for an undergraduate degree in the U.S. and that 56 percent of international students pay out-of-pocket for their U.S. education. Also, visits to and from the campus by family members help to make students from abroad a significant market for those destinations that are home to U.S. colleges and universities attended by the students.

To give one an idea of the size of the student market, consider the case of China. It sent 372,532 students to the United States in 2019-20 school year. This is slightly behind the 384,000 visitors sent to the U.S. by Chile which ranks No. 23 among overseas country markets for U.S. inbound tourism.

Key findings of the IIE Open Doors Report are contained in the tables below. For additional information, visit www.opendoorsdata.org.

Connecting with Canadian Tour Operators

Those who attended Connect Travel’s recent virtual roundtable webinar that focused on issues and questions having to do with the Canadian market to the United States, received a wealth of information and insight from the panelists who responded to the numbers questions that were posed to them.

Panelists included: Chloé Dumont-Samson, sales & marketing manager, Ruby Range Adventure; and Kristine Geary, president & CEO, Maple Leaf Tours. Moderating the discussion was Shari Bailey, vice president, Connect Travel, and general manager, Connect Travel Events.

Top Takeaways: For attendees of the webinar, there were the following top takeaways: 

1. Canadian Market: The Canadian market is strengthening; however, current destinations are largely domestic and the Caribbean. 2021 and onwards our panelists feel Canadians will stay in Canada or travel towards Europe once opened. It will take time for this market to return to the US. They feel strongly that once US/Canadian borders open consumers will need to once again confidence in the United States before they choose to travel.
 

2. Travel Patterns: Canadians are staying closer to home and travel volumes are low. Group travel is slow and will take longer to return; when it does, expect smaller groups. Focus on the FIT market; it is currently growing due to the increase in road trips. Our panelists feel the summer of 2021 will see a return to travel and agree that demand will be huge. 
 

3. Flexibility: Flexibility continues to be a hot topic for our panelists. Our panelists interpreted it as reviewing their own policies and making changes. Think COVID-19 insurance, waivers, medical forms, online compliance & registration. Our panelists are creating new programs for Canadians to travel in their “Own Backyard”, vacation packages that include any required quarantine, US trips to outdoor open spaces, and pre-cruise packages for Summer 2021.
 

4. Connect: While our speakers felt there is a long road to recovery, they are updating current packages and creating new ones. Reach out with product ideas and no matter what, stay connected!

Selected Quotes:

Kristine Geary: When this all started, we all thought, ‘OK,’ this is gonna be a couple weeks. And then, we thought, ‘Let’s learn how to bake bread.” Then, it got to be summer, and we were going to be outdoorsy and fun. And now everybody’s going into to fall and they’re just all. like, completely shot. We’re not gonna start the whole bread thing again. We just can’t eat that much bread.”

Chloé Dumont-Samson: (After pointing out that 80 percent of her Canadian company’s Yukon-based business comes from Europe) “I see this entire pandemic as a really great opportunity to look into the local market. By local, I mean the Canadian market. There will definitely a desire by Canadians to travel within their own country.”

Shari Bailey: “Back in May, it was February 2021—that’s when things were really going to pick up. And then we saw that slowly moving back to the end of March, maybe this summer. I think that the collective wisdom that we hear right now is that summer 2021 is what we should be looking at.”

Kristine Geary “How am I doing? Terrible. Terrible. We haven’t had a sale since March 14th. That has not changed even when things seem to be picking up. We continuously do refunds. We had a sold-out tour that was expected to go Florida in February. We have cancelled that because the clients just will not go.”

Chloé Dumont-Samson: “Being in nature. Empty spaces. Wildlife. Hopping on a canoe trip for two weeks. These ae all things that will be very interesting for people—not to say that people will not want to visit cities any more, but I think there will definitely be a hype about being outside.”

Shari Bailey: “We’ve heard this on couple of our webinars—what this extra time we have is providing us It’s providing us with an opportunity a way to review products we have and ways that we operate –across all industries, not just for tour operators, not just receptive operators.”

Contact Information:

Chloé Dumont-Samson, sales & marketing manager, Ruby Range Adventure – chloe@rubyrange.com.
Kristine Geary, president & CEO, Maple Leaf Tours – Kristine@MapleLeafTours.com.

Shari Bailey, vice president, Connect Travel, and general manager, Connect Travel Events – sbailey@connecttravel.com 

Click here to hear and see the complete webinar session.

eTourism Summit 2020 Announces Winners in Third Annual eTSY Awards

Connect Travel, owner and producer of eTourism Summit, is pleased to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual eTSY Awards. The recognition goes to destination marketing organizations and their media partners during the recent eTourism Summit, now in its 21st year.

Powered by Expedia Group Media Solutions, the eTourism Summit Excellence Awards celebrate the best of 2019-2020 tourism promotion with awards in 11 categories covering destination campaigns focused on website content, video, email, augmented and virtual reality, website, influencers and innovative approaches.   

“The quality of digital marketing in the travel and tourism industry is impressive. Every category was highly competitive,” said J. William Seccombe, president of Connect Travel. “We applaud everyone for submitting examples of great work and congratulate the winners.”

eTSY Awards 2020 judges: Monya Mandich, Brian Matson, Matt Stiker

The call for entries opened in May 2020 and concluded four months later, garnering strong interest from city, state, county, and regional DMOs and attractions throughout the U.S. Appreciation goes to a panel of expert judges: Monya Mandich, Global Vice President, Marketing at Expedia Group Media Solutions; Brian Matson, Senior Director of Strategy & Education at TwoSix Digital; and Matt Stiker, Founder of Capital M Marketing who considered budget as well as three key criteria: strategy and objective; creativity; and impact/measurability.

“With the uncertainties brought on by the pandemic, this year’s submissions demonstrated agility and creativity as travel brands continuously adapted their efforts to remain relevant and engage with consumers in meaningful ways, even when they’re not traveling,” said Mandich. “The importance of travel—now and in the future—was highlighted across the submissions and the campaigns illustrated how travel brands are using this time to reflect, improve and innovate to maintain connections and continue inspiring consumers to dream of travel, she added. 

Regarding 2020 eTSY Award entries, Matson said, “This year showcased the versatility and creativity required to execute remarkable online campaigns during an extremely challenging time. It’s great to see that so many DMOs innovated in ways that serve to inspire and elevate the marketing efforts of the entire community.”

Trade Talk

• Citing impact of COVID-19 and global pandemic, Korean Air acquires Asiana: Korean Air Lines is acquiring its competitor, Asiana Airlines, in a government-supported move that is aimed at helping the country’s two largest carriers survive the COVID-19 crisis. In a transaction worth more than $1.35 billion, Korean Air acquire 63.9 percent in Asiana—supported by the state-run Korean Development Bank. The bank said that it “realized that without restructuring in the aviation industry it is unclear whether the flag carriers would survive even after the coronavirus pandemic ends.” “With the deal,” the bank statement noted, “the integrated flag carrier will be one of the top 10 global airlines.” Meanwhile, the Hanjin Group, owner of Korean Air, said, “The main reason behind Korean Air’s decision to acquire Asiana Airlines at this time is to stabilize the Korean aviation industry, which is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

• Half-year sales for dnata Travel drop 95 percent: The big players in global tourism are posting big numbers that help to illustrate how devastating and far-reaching the global pandemic drive by the COVID-19 virus is. Recently, TUI announced figures suggesting that it will likely seek help from the German government to prevent a financial shortfall. Next, it was dnata, the Dubai-based company which is the largest travel company in the Middle East (it also has extensive holdings in the UK.)

Dnata’s travel division announced that it suffered a 95 percent slump in sales in the six months ending with September 30 as Covid-19 brought travel to a virtual standstill.

A part of the Emirates Group, dnata has brands that include Travel 2, a trade-only provider of tailor-made holidays; Global Travel Group; Sunmaster.co.uk; Travelbag, long-haul specialists; Netflights, a UK online long-haul specialist; Gold Medal, a trade only brand; and Travel Republic, an OTA serving the UK and Ireland. Revenue from the Emirates-owned tour operating business fell to $26 million from $488 million for the same period last year. In a statement coinciding with the release of the figures, the Emirates Group (dnata is a part of the group) said: “This reflects the significant refund volume and pay-out in cancelled customer bookings mainly during the beginning of the pandemic.” The sum of all the above is—this was the first half year loss recorded in more than 30 years.

• OAG strikes deal with ForwardKeys: Forward Keys, a leading global travel analytics firm that has become widely known for research models that are able to, among other features, predict air travel passenger activity using booking data and other measures, has deepened its hold over the travel industry by cementing a new deal with global flight information provider OAG, which has data sets for measures such  as on real-time flight activity worldwide  A statement from ForwardKeys said the move came following a study that began earlier this year because of the COVID-19 crisis. This review ultimately led to the long-term agreement with OAG in which the latter will provide data and, at the same time,  receive: a weekly feed of the latest worldwide airline schedules; a daily feed of schedules changes to understand volatility better; a daily feed of flight status data to track flight cancellations worldwide; and improved modelling and identification of aircraft configurations used on specific routes. 

Meanwhile, the partnership will enable ForwardKeys to provide even more accurate data to its list of clients keen for a real understanding of seat capacity figures in a world of last-minute cancellations and refunded tickets: “Seat Capacity and schedule data is a core, strategic asset for ForwardKeys. It is not only a dataset that is consumed directly by a significant number of clients via our online platforms and offline reports, but it is also used extensively in the company and is a key component for our algorithm to model and generates total air market estimates,” says Olivier Jager, CEO, and Co-Founder of ForwardKeys, which is based in Valencia, Spain. OAG is headquartered in Luton, England.

• And, most importantly, ipw is less than 10 months away:  If you missed the Tweet by the U.S. Travel Association, exhibitor registration for #ipw21 is now open. Following a well-received digital edition for 2020 held earlier this year, the next ipw is scheduled to take place September 18-22, 2021 where, US Travel said, “we rebuild, reconnect and most importantly, reunite. Register now at ipw.com. Questions? Contact the IPW Team at 202.408.8422.

HODGE PODGE: Appointments and Changes

Kyle Edmiston, president and CEO of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana, has been named chair of the board of directors of Brand USA, the nation’s national destination promotion agency. Edmiston, who was voted by his colleagues on the Brand USA board, succeeds John F. Edman, director of Explore Minnesota Tourism, whose tenure on the board had expired. Members are appointed for a maximum of two consecutive three-terms. (The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, appoints the 11-member board according to specific sectors of the travel and tourism industry. These appointees serve staggered three-year terms and work together to provide leadership and overall guidance to Brand USA’s mission and operations.) Edmiston has been with the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana bureau for nearly three years. Previously, he was assistant secretary of the Louisiana Office of Tourism.

Toronto-based VoX International has announced that Jacqueline Kuehnel has joined the company as business development director. Jacqueline brings more than thirty years of travel and tourism experience in Canada and the USA, as well as expertise in corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism. VoX International Inc. provides a wide range of public relation and marketing solutions for the travel and tourism sectors and is active within the North America market. Kuehnel has held senior executive positions with travel companies including Signature Vacations, Canada and most recently the Apple Leisure Group, USA.

Steve Allen, a former senior vice president at dnata travel and based in Dubai, has returned to the UK to join the Firebird Partnership, a start-up consultancy created to help businesses rebuild from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. He had been in Dubai for three years. Allen has had experience in both the business and leisure travel sectors, including roles as chief executive of Portman Travel, managing director of Wexas, marketing director for holiday exchange firm RCI and commercial director at Thomson Holidays.

Matthias Gehring, head of TUI.com and the travel agency branches of TUI, is leaving the group at the end of the year. Gehring is leaving for “personal reasons.” The decision was “not easy” for him, according to a German trade publication. In a statement, TUI told Gehring “We as the management of TUI Germany say a big personal thank you for your commitment to our company. We will miss you, as a person, as colleagues and as a manager.” A successor to TUI.com and the head of TUI branches will be announced shortly.

It’s now Doctor Richie Karaburun. A veteran of the tourism industry and familiar to many in the New York City area, Karaburun has earned his doctorate in marketing from New York University. He has been teaching at NYU for much of the past decade, and has also operated his own consultancy. Previously, he served as managing director, North America, of Roomer, an online peer-to-peer marketplace for travel. Prior to Roomer, Karaburun was vice president of global supplier relations at RADIUS, president at GTA North America, and vice president of product development and contracting at American Tours International.

John Hays, founder of the UK’s largest independent travel agent, Hays Travel, passed away Nov. 13 after collapsing at the firm’s head office. John Hays, 71, was the managing director of the Sunderland-based firm, alongside his wife and co-owner Irene. Well-known in the USA, the company has been in business for 40 years and it sells a considerable amount of Visit USA product. Hays Travel has since appointed Jonathon Woodall (right) as chief operating officer. Woodall joined Hays Travel in 2004 and worked closely with John Hays for more than 16 years when he has held positions including finance manager, head of Independence Group (IG) and head of commercial.

Josh Collins, well-known IT guru and speaker in the travel and tourism industry, particularly in the DMO sector, has joined destination marketing, research and IT company Entrada Insights, which is based in Salt Lake City as its head of community & education. Collins joins the company from Bethesda, Maryland-based Streetsense, a firm that specializes in brand positioning. He has also served as digital communications manager at Visit Franklin (Tenn.).

Giovanni Pedaccini has been named as the new commercial manager at Airport Dimensions, a global lounge and airport experience specialist. Pedaccini has worked on major consultancy projects for airports across the world. He initially worked for Mott MacDonald as an analyst, and then with Atkins as a planner, where he was involved with the latest Masterplan for Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Lissette García Arrogante has been appointed tourism and culture director for the city of Miami Beach.  Familiar with the position because of her work—she has worked as a contemporary art advisor for nearly nine years—García Arrogante also served as director, cultural resources & Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

Kari Tarnowski has joined the American Queen Steamboat Company, part of the Hornblower Group, as senior vice president of marketing. She previously served as vice president of marketing for Crystal Cruises. As senior vice president of marketing, Tarnowski will be responsible for the organization’s overall marketing strategy, including multi-channel customer demand generation, brand positioning, public relations, customer insights, guest feedback, loyalty and retention, competitive analysis and partnership marketing. Tarnowski joins Hornblower Group with her more than two decades of strategic marketing experience in the cruise and hotel industries.

Posted Industry Jobs

From SearchWide Global:

—The Bermuda Tourism Authority is looking for a chief sales and marketing officer. For additional details, click here.

—The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a director of sales. Click here for more information.

—Visit Orlando is searching for a new president and CEO. For more information visit here.

— Brett/Robinson Vacation Rentals on the Alabama Gulf Coast has an opening for a director of operations. Visit here for more details.

— Sports Facilities Management is searching for a senior project manager to join its facility planning and finance support services team. For more details, visit here.

—The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a new president. Click here for more information.

—A new president and CEO is being sought by Destination Madison (Wis.). For additional details, click here.

—The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a president and CEO. For more information, visit here. 

—The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau is looking for a new president & CEO. Click here for more information.

—The City of Omaha has an opening for the position of director, parks, recreation and public property. Visit here for additional details.

—The Virginia Tourism Corporation (it is the state’s DMO) has an opening for a director of research and market intelligence. Click here for more information.—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts as an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here

Inbound Travel—Is the Worst Behind Us?

At least one industry expert’s reading of the data tells us yes: “The market bottomed out in April 2020. The rebound, although subtle in May, improved in June, July, and August. Month over month percent change is still down over -95 percent for most countries through August. However, the overseas volume for August of 154,000 visitors is ten times higher than the bottom in April (15,000).”

The above is just one of the different but salient notes that one picks up in reviewing Travel Market Insights (TMI), an analytic report prepared and published by Scott Johnson, TMI’s president and CEO. A one-time senior trade specialist at the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism a few decades ago, Johnson is one of those industry analysts who can look at a prism and see color combinations (in this analogy, arrivals data from the old U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office) shine through that are not readily apparent to the average eye.

Such is the case in his latest market update, “What We Know, October 2020.”  Highlights of his report follow.

—Current U.S. Visitation: The 18-24 age group and, to a lesser extent, the 25-34 age group, are down less than the average overseas visitor through August 2020. Starting with the 35-44 age cohort, each older age group is down more than the previous age group. This is evidence that the older generations are less likely to be travelling than younger travelers currently. The 0-17 age group is down even more, compared with the average overseas visitor, than any other age group. This indicates family travel is lagging the most. Current Target: Young independent travelers and young families with no children.

—Business vs. Leisure vs. Education Travel: Through August 2020 visitors with a pleasure travel visa were down less than the average overseas visitor. Through July 2020 visitors with business and education visas were down less than the average visitor, yet through August both segments lagged the average. The July bump in business and education are likely tied to “must-travel” needs for core business functions and students returning for classes. The July bump in these two segments is expected to continue to lag visitors traveling on pleasure visas through 2020.

—August 2020 continued to see extreme decreases across all world regions. Western Europe and Oceania were down more than 98 percent. The Caribbean was down the least at minus 88 percent. Through August 2020, visits to the U.S. have been cut by three quarters (down 76.0 percent). Africa and Western Europe declined the strongest (down 78 percent) and visits from Eastern Europe and Central America declined the least—down 72 percent. (For INBOUND’s complete data sets for these regions, visit here.)

TSA Checkpoint—Weekly TSA travel numbers show a continued uptick:

—On March 16, 2020 passenger volume bottomed out at 3.6 percent of last year’s “throughput.”

—On September 4, 2020 the throughput rebounded to 44.1 percent.

Note: The TSA Daily Checkpoint Throughput numbers are for all TSA checkpoint travel numbers, domestic and international.

Some Summary Points:

—The travel industry will be facing a new business environment. There will be fewer choices for air travel, at first, and direct routes to major hubs will drive visitation in the beginning.

—Overseas travelers will likely focus on a central location with side trips, which means those that communicate a safe and accessible product and are easily accessible (direct flight) will benefit the most early on.

—There are casualties in the supply chain. Destinations will need to know who the buyers are in-country, what they are promoting and what is selling, and understand how the landscape has changed.

—Younger travelers are driving the trickle of growth, while family travel is currently much lower. Vacation and visiting friends and family in “familiar” destinations will help kick off the rebound once travel is deemed safe, with business and education following.

New NTTO Data: Inbound Stays Near Zero

With no exceptions, all of the top overseas source markets that send visitors to the United States and that are important to the U.S. inbound tourism industry experienced another month of anemic activity in September. China, with an economy that has fared better than of most nations through the course of the global pandemic, took solace from a confidence-building boost in domestic travel activity due to its National Day holiday period. 

The cyclical nature of way the tourism product is marketed and purchased needs something to happen. Right now, demand is stuck. International air carriers have reduced capacity as they await the lifting of restrictions imposed upon them in order to expand service. But that isn’t happening.

In sobering terms, OAG describes the situation thus: “The last week has probably been one of the most depressing ever in the aviation industry as a series of airlines reported billion-dollar quarterly losses, major carriers announced large redundancy programs and more and more scheduled airlines revealed plans to cut capacity by up to 30 percent over the IATA winter season. The loss of another one million seats takes total global capacity down to 55.6 million, 52 percent of both the January base point and last year’s weekly total. “(OAG Oct. 26)

From the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), which posts the monthly figures for the USA’s top overseas source markets, has just released the key data for September 2020. They are, in effect, stuck in the same place that they’ve been stuck for the past seven months when travel bans and, lockdowns and closed borders came into effect.

Where, When Will You Get a New Job?

Travel and Tourism Expert has Words of Wisdom & Advice for the Furloughed, the Laid Off and the Part-Timers Looking for Work: As a part of its multi-faceted program aimed at helping the thousands of people who lost their positions at the hotels, attractions, restaurants, tour companies and other business as a result of the corona virus-driven pandemic, the U.S. Hospitality, Tourism, Travel and Activities (HTTA) Recovery Registry recently had long-time industry leader Antoine Berberi, CEO & principal at Cedar Hospitality Partners, to talk with hundreds of those seeking some help and direction in their search for a new start or re-star in travel and tourism.

Berberi, who has some three decades of experience in senior management positions at some of the best-known hotel brands in the world, fielded some 20 questions from those who attended the webinar. INBOUND took a closer look at a couple of his answers and prepared them for its readers. Slightly edited for clarity, they are below. (Jonathan Elkoubi, chief commercial officer for NYC-based VisitorTix and managing founder of HTTA.US, moderated the discussion and asked the questions.)

Question: How do you stay positive when all of the news around you is bad?

Berberi: You ‘ve got to work on keeping the noise away. It’s so noisy out there. And it’s very easy when you’re at home to start listening to everything that’s happening because you have more time. When you’re not working that’s all you’re doing. You’re on social media all of the time. You’re listening to every possible comment, and you’re getting worried because every day there is a possible comment. Every day someone says it’s the end of the world, it’s never going to come back. Then, somebody else will come in and say, no it’s positive, it’s OK. You got to stay upbeat by focusing on the positive and focusing on developing yourself. If you’re not able to know what to do, start learning. Start reading. Start working on developing a new talent. Start thinking about yourself in a positive way. Because it starts with you. And once you start feeling good about yourself, you’re going to be able to tune out all of those negatives.

Shaping a Resume: Be Specific in What You Want and What You Can Do

Question: Many people have been sending resumes to hundreds of companies and they never hear back. Do you have specific best practice recommendations to avoid finding yourself in such a scenario? … What does it have to do with something called ATS or Application Tracking Software?

Berberi: Words matter. When you have so many resumes now that are going out—recruiters are getting 250 resumes for every job opening—and the recruiters also limited time to go over all of the resumes. So they use systems, ATS or other systems. You know, people are found on LinkedIn through LinkedIn Recruiter, which really uses “bullying,” which is really all about the key words that you have on your resume. So, you have to look at what is on your resume. And do you have the right words?

Please: No Blanket Resumes

I suggest: don’t just have one resume that’s going to fit every job. Look at the job description. Every time there’s a job opening, there is a specific job description. Learn from the job description. Investigate the actual words themselves, and make sure that some of those words are actually on your resume.

Many times, we just send a resume … and I’ve seen that because I’ve done recruitment … and I knew people who were really good for the position, but their resumes never popped out on LinkedIn Recruiter. So, if I didn’t know them, I wouldn’t have been able to find them.

So, key words are so important, especially now when there is so much competition. Change your resume. It’s OK. Change some of the key words to benefit the specific job description. Put the letter that accompanies it … there’s always a way to add more things and add more files. Add a specific introductory letter that really speaks to the job description.

Study the Information on Your Prospective Employer’s Website

(On your cover letter) Don’t tell me what you’re good at. Tell me how you’re going to bring value to that specific job that they’re advertising. And the key words are all there. You know that those key words are there because they put them in the job descriptions. They’re in the company profile and culture. They’re on their website.

For example: What do you call the team members? Do you call them “team member?” Do you call them “associates?” “Do you call them “colleagues?” If you send a letter and use the same words that they’re using on their website, it gives you an edge because they start relating—you’re using the same words and the same meaning as they are. And that makes it a real connection.

Again, don’t just send a blanket resume to everybody—the same resume that looks the same to everyone. Try to modify the actual job description. You’ll learn from it. Do your homework, and send it specifically. On LinkedIn, there is also a feature where, if you’re applying on LinkedIn, you’re able to send a message to the actual recruiter. Do that.

There are a lot of ways in which you can differentiate yourself. If you’re applying for a job and it says, “Would you like to send a note to the recruiter, and this is the name of the recruiter …” Even if they’re not on your LinkedIn profile, you can send them a message. I’ve noticed that that if you send them a message specifically, they will respond.

So, when they’re getting all these 250 people sending them a resume. And then they see your name, so something’s going to trigger, “Oh, I like this guy. I don’t know where I’ve known him from (Maybe they’ve even forgotten that you’ve just sent him a note.), but you connected with them somehow. And you used the same words as the company …

Go specifically to the person who is going to make the decision. And you can always find out. Do your homework. It’s very easy. Call the company. Find out more. Get the e-mail if you can find it on LinkedIn. Be more personalized. Adjust accordingly to the job description. And you well get a call again. For the complete recording of the webinar, visit https://htta.us/

Building an Itinerary in Post-COVID Era

One of the most popular of Connect Travel’s series of “Staying Connect” virtual roundtables, this month’s “Connect with Itinerary Planning Experts” generated questions ranging from “What do we mean, when we say something is ‘unique’ to an itinerary?” to “How do we handle the challenge of ‘safe and clean’ to travelers who are used to a ‘hands-on’ experience?”

Panelists included: Karin Omojola, vice president of product, AmericanTours International and Sean Bayliss, president and CEO, International Tourism Resources Group. Moderating the discussion. was Shari Bailey Shari Bailey, vice president, Connect Travel, and general manager, Connect Travel Events,

“The rules are kind of different now; we’re all starting from the beginning again.”—Shari Bailey

Bayless’s Five Keys to Developing and Itinerary

Bayless said that, right now, there are five keys to developing an itinerary: (1) known your target market; (2) create partnerships; (3) know your strengths and develop around them; (4) prepare for trends that will be shaped by a post-COVID market (“It’s the big question everybody’s asking now how: Are we coming back? When are we coming back?); and (5) ensuring the bookability of the itineraries—“You can design the most beautiful itinerary in the world, but if it’s not bookable out there, it’s unsuccessful.”

Other Points Made along the Way in the Bayliss Presentation:

—Focus on your core strengths.

—If you’re looking at new markets, just do it slowly. Get to be established in that market before moving to another.

—Budgets are going to be tight for the foreseeable future so you know look at what you’ve got to spend and look at how you market this look at partnerships.

—Internationals are visiting for an average of 12 to 14 days; in some markets, up to 21 days. This is a long journey for them it’s normally a bucket list item. They want to see as much as possible. So partner with destinations surrounding you. Use all of your strengths. This increases the variety of the product, and it increases the international gateways where people can come in so that increases the markets you can operate in.

—Remember—a percentage of something is better than all of nothing. That is,if you partner with four other destinations and you have three nights out of the twelve three nights is better than nothing.

—Self-drive will be hot. The average duration of the international trip is still going to be around 12 to 14 nights. Travel will be focused on beyond the gateways. For the short term, visitors will feel uncomfortable in built up areas; also, there’s not so much open in those areas—there’s no major shows, no concerts. So, initially they will look to go beyond the gateways,

America’s Wide-Open Spaces Will Be Popular

—An outdoor-centric itinerary allows social distancing. America is known for its wide-open spaces. Such destinations offer the perfect product for the post-COVID itinerary.

—One of the key things we’re seeing and I’m hearing from operators overseas are motorhomes. I don’t think you can rent one at this point for the whole of next year.

—Even pre-COVID, people were starting to travel in small groups—you know, three couples; two couples as friends; two families because the kids are friends; that trend is growing.

—Though there will be interest in self-drive, beyond the gateways, and outdoors, people will still want to do city stays; It’s not that people aren’t going to stay in cities. They are. Remember, the average duration is four to five days.

—Home rentals will start to become popular; it’s where people can self contain in their own group if they’re traveling with friends or if it’s two families traveling together.

—Outdoor activities will become a key focus and not just because people are looking to stay outdoors, but a lot of indoor places are still not open or they’ve got limited numbers. So if you expect someone to stay four to five nights you’ve got to create enough interest of things for them to do.

Toward a Post-COVID Market

—In recovery, we’ll grow exponentially because (of COVID and) what we’ve always called the hub-and-spoke, mentality where people will be staying in the city, but they they’re staying four to five nights; they don’t want to do every day there. Rather, they will go out on certain days and I think we call it like probably like a two-to-three-hour radius that they will drive there.

—One of the perfect examples I can look at is Las Vegas. People will stay in Las Vegas for four,  five, six nights. International travelers will take a Day trip to Death Valley, which is an hour-and-a-half to two-hour drive. They take a day trip to Zion—a two-to-two-and-a-half-hour drive, and then every other day they can still lie by the pool. The plus is they’re not having to pack and unpack because they’re not going to different hotels. They’re able to settle down in one place where they feel comfortable.

—International travelers will do a lot of investigation and you may not think they know about your secondary or tertiary sites but, believe me, they do. The internet has made the world a much smaller place.

Branding—What Are you Known for?

—Brand your itinerary to define who you are again. It’s not just about the itinerary it’s about branding your region—what are you known for what are your strengths? Is it food and wine? Is it national parks? Is it music? Play on your strengths. develop around your strengths but but then go into detail because that’s what creates the experience.

—Two good sources for starting to build or building an itinerary are TourOperatorLand.com, and Brand USA. The latter’s website is: https://www.visittheusa.com/traveltradeusa

—Take a look at the itineraries and how we have worked upon different regions strength to create different themes and those themes are everything from culinary, historic cultural, outdoors and more. Once you’ve looked at all that and you know what your strengths are you know what your market is you know what your theme is going to be then and only then develop your itinerary. When you’ve developed the itinerary, you go out marketing it … that’s great but do prepare with your region and with your partners. if you’re including hotels, attractions, sightseeing, ensure that those people know that they’re included and ensure they understand the international market.

—Then, there is the most crucial part: ensure bookability. You can create the best itineraries in the world, but if it can’t be booked, how do you prove a return on investment? How do you justify the budget? Where do you get stats and figures so you know?

Work with the Receptives

—Work with receptive international tour operators create worldwide awareness of your brand through consumer known and trusted channels. They work with the tour operators in those international markets that the public knows and trusts. They’re not only doing marketing and brand awareness of your product but they also educate they run familiarization tours. They make people aware and they ensure that people are selling your product properly through training and awareness return on investment. They ensure a conversion to book passengers and they provide statistics and tracking when you need to justify what you did to your boards, to your owner.

—A receptive tour operator at the international wholesaler retail distribution they’re your marketing arm overseas they break they branch out into secondary and tertiary U.S. destinations, so they’re not only focused on the known key gateways; they promote the entire U.S. That’s the benefit to smaller destinations or if you’re doing partnerships—they have the ability to penetrate in not only existing markets but also emerging markets with very little risk to you.

—The international tour operators are located overseas. They’re your sales team. They’re predominantly laser-based. They’re market specific. They’re focused. They’re based in the UK, Germany, Brazil, Australia … They are the experts in their market. They have market-specific knowledge and experience.

—Together, the receptive tour operator and the international tour operator will give you a streamlined approach to reaching international audiences through one contact.

“One nice thing with TourOperatorLand.com is that the itineraries are downloadable and each time someone downloads an itinerary you get an email with the contact of who downloaded that itinerary, so it gives you the ability to follow up with them.”—Shari Bailey

Some of ATI’s Karin Omojola’s Notes on “Road Tripping”

—Road trips will be the biggest trend for the domestic traveler from now till the summer of next year.

—Sixty-five person of U.S. travelers are right now planning to take a road trip within the next six months, and there will be a huge focus on outdoor activities.

—In the U.S., consumer confidence went from 35 percent in May to 49 percent in August and it’s obviously been continuously going up, which is great news.

—Road trips have been really popular with the international market even before COVID, provides and they’ll be even more popular when international travel returns.

—When it comes to domestic markets, which is the company’s focus at the moment, domestic travelers are really showing a great interest for road trips—(She calls it “road tripping”)—as they can travel with family and friends and create their own “travel bubble.”

Drive America

—ATI’s Drive America program actually empowers the traveler to take advantage of this travel trend and its newly enhanced Drive America Road Trip building platform was actually developed as a result of ATI’s long-time partnership with AAA and the Canadian Automobile Association.

—Right now, its Drive America Road Trip is being featured by the British travel publication, Travel Mole, and is actually targeting the domestic traveler,

—ATI has just launched a Drive America campaign on Travel Mole where it partnered with Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.

—The tour operator is also promoting a road trip itinerary from Las Vegas that goes to Bryce Canyon, visits Escalante National Monument and then returns to Las Vegas.

—Not confined to the popular national parks of the U.S. Southwest, ATI has a road trip itinerary that focuses on the southern coastline of the U.S.—with product that includes North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Drive Itinerary’s Flexibility

—Underscoring the program’s flexibility, as well as its natural appeal to destinations and their tours attractions is a concierge service that complements its Drive America bookings—this allows agents to add specialized services such as private guides.

—ATI, Omojola emphasized, is the only tour operator/travel company that has the flexibility offered by its Drive America program. Travel agents using the platform can log on and create new itineraries—they can start from scratch or take action in assisting a drive itinerary and then amend it so they can start a new itinerary really from any city.

—The program also allows an agent building an itinerary to change the number of days you want a client to stay in any city. They can change hotels from one that has a three-star rating to a five-star rating. As well, they can add as many attractions into a package as they would like.

—Also, end consumers of the itinerary will actually have an app on their phone in which every detail that’s actually relating to his or her drive itinerary is on that app. Overall, ATI is featuring the 31 Brand USA tours that Bayless alluded to, It also has 120 tariff tours and 400-plus client custom tours.

—With the program, ATI can promote first-tier, second-tier or third-tier destinations (“it makes no difference”) and, because of its reach, ATI and its market experts tells agents and DMOs “We are your marketing arm and we do specialize in domestic and international travel so when we collaborate … we have close relationships with the neighboring states and that’s really important when you consider multi-state drive itineraries.”

—The tour operator also offers an extensive number of day-trip itineraries.

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Readers can access a complete recording of the session at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhR1GbCz95o

German “Best Agers” Set to Travel in ‘21

Forget the rest of 2020. The generation that makes up what German travel industry analysts call the “best age” for traveling—the 50-to-70-plus segment of the country’s population—is, as Americans would say, “pumped up” for travel next year. This is one of the conclusions one draws from the results of a recent survey commissioned by the Frankfurt-based tour operator trendtours Touristik.

In fact, says the survey, more than half (61 percent) of those surveyed are staying with their holiday plans for 20201. Yes, despite the impact of the coronavirus-generated global pandemic that has virtually stopped long-haul air service to and from Germany and, at the same time, blunted travel to and among European countries, the desire of the “Best Agers” to travel remains strong.

Despite the corona pandemic, the best agers’ desire to travel remains unbroken. 61 percent of those surveyed are planning a vacation trip in the coming year. This was the result of a representative survey by the market research institute YouGov, which was carried out on behalf of trendtours Touristik among 1,632 people.

More than one in four people in Germany are now aged 60 or over.

Other key findings of the survey:

—54 percent of those between the ages of 50 and 70+ who would like to travel in the coming year are sticking to their travel plans for 2021.

—12 percent not only want to make up for the vacation they missed this year, but also want to make another trip. 

—Most of the participants in the study, 56 percent, want to travel abroad in 2021.

—43 percent of those who want to travel are planning a vacation trip within Europe.

—35 percent want to go on a trip in Germany within the coming year.

—13 percent are planning a long-distance trip. 

—Proximity to a hospital and the availability of a German-speaking doctor do not play a role for most when choosing a travel destination, with only 17 percent of people aged 70+ saying that their booking behavior had changed due to the corona to the effect that the quality of the healthcare system had become more relevant for them when planning their vacation. 

—Interestingly, the 17 percent are only one percentage point above the 50-to-59-year-olds (16 percent) and even one percentage point below the 60-to-69-year-olds (18 percent).

Observed Markus Daldrup, chairman of trendtours Touristik, a tour operator specializing in best ager trips in Germany, “The survey shows that the 50+ generation is still keen to travel despite the ongoing pandemic. That gives us hope that the booking trend will recover as soon as it is possible to travel again,”

A note on methodology: The data used were based on an online survey by YouGov Deutschland GmbH, in which 1,632 people took part between September 25 and 30, 2020. The results were weighted and are representative of the German population aged 50 and over.

Wooden, D’Allesandro Named to Hall of Leaders

The U.S. Travel Association has announced that Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association, and Ernest Wooden Jr., former president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, will be honored as the 2020 inductees into the U.S. Travel Association Hall of Leaders.

Distinguished individuals are named to U.S. Travel’s Hall of Leaders for “sustained, noteworthy contributions that have positively impacted the travel industry and raised industry-wide standards. With these two inductions, 102 travel industry leaders have been named to the U.S. Travel Hall of Leaders since it was established in 1969.

D’Alessandro has led the San Francisco Travel Association as president and CEO since 2006. Prior to joining San Francisco Travel, D’Alessandro was president and CEO of the Portland Oregon Visitors Association from 1996 to 2006 and served as executive director of the Oregon Tourism Commission from 1991 to 2006. He was recognized as State Tourism Director of the Year by U.S. Travel’s National Council of State Tourism Directors in 1995.

D’Alessandro has served numerous industry boards, including the board of directors of the U.S. Travel Association, Visit California and San Francisco’s Super Bowl 50 Host Committee.

Wooden’s career in tourism and hospitality was concluded with seven years as president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, from which he retired in June. Wooden also served as executive vice president, global brands with Hilton Hotels Corporation, where he was noted as the world’s highest-ranking African American hotel executive, spearheading initiatives for 3,000 properties in 80 countries. Wooden also held senior positions with Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Omni Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Promus Hotel Corporation.

Brand USA Global Marketplace Opens

Brand USA has launched its Brand USA Global Marketplace—a one-stop shop for U.S. travel partners and international audiences to interact. Brand USA Global Marketplace is a custom-built, always-on, virtual platform that provides access to a diverse range of U.S. destinations, attractions, and points of interest for the international travel industry. A reimagined version of traditional trade shows and industry events, the organization has designed the digital platform to solve the need for the U.S. travel community to engage with the global tourism industry while international travel is limited due to the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

 “This is a ground-breaking digital platform that will enable U.S. partners and international audiences to foster meaningful business relationships and critical connections, at a time when it is needed most,” said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, adding, “together, we’re building the future of U.S. tourism.” 

Thompson explained that, by hosting ongoing networking opportunities, enrichment sessions, and large-scale events across multiple time zones, Brand USA Global Marketplace encourages the international travel community to engage with U.S. destinations on an ongoing basis.

150 Partners Anticipated

Approximately 150 U.S. partners—ranging from destinations, regional marketing organizations, transportation services, attractions, hotels and hotel groups, to receptive tour operators—are expected to join the platform. The high-caliber of U.S. partners will attract key international audiences who are interested in the U.S. and its diverse destinations, products, and services. 

Added Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer of Brand USA, “Our industry is resilient, and when it is safe to do so, the world will travel to the United States again. In the meantime, Brand USA Global Marketplace will inform and support our partners and keep the U.S. top-of-mind among trade, media, and consumers. Brand USA Global Marketplace will ensure a ‘quick start’ back into global markets as soon as it is viable, stimulating active consideration and future travel bookings. We are all determined to welcome the world back to the United States when the time is right.” 

5 Portals Featured

Featuring five portals—each designed for virtual exploration of the 50 states, five territories, and District of Columbia—Brand USA Global Marketplace provides registered users with travel itineraries, destination marketing collateral, and insights from industry experts. The Main Stage serves as a place for educational seminars, while the USA Partner Pavilions—featuring geographically-driven partner Pods representing the entirety of the U.S.—and Buyer Pavilion will facilitate one-to-one meetings.

In the Networking Lounge, participants will have the opportunity to engage outside of scheduled sessions. Video On-Demand allows for self-guided discovery with three screens showing a variety of travel entertainment, educational, and featured programming. To simulate the relational exchanges that occur at industry events, registered users will also have access to a Virtual Briefcase and Business Card Jar, among other networking tools. 

Brand USA Travel Week Europe Takes Place in Days

The second edition of Brand USA Travel Week Europe will be the first event to take place on Brand USA Global Marketplace. Connecting Europe with the U.S. travel industry, the four-day initiative (October 26-29, 2020) will offer U.S. partners and European buyers the opportunity to schedule one-to-one appointments, and attend enrichment sessions that provide marketing insight from thought leaders in the industry. Additional information about Brand USA Travel Week Europe 2020 will be released in mid-October 2020, followed by announcements for events tailored for Canadian, Mexican, and Australian audiences in Winter 2021.

Contacts:  

Public Relations – Brand USA Global Marketplace

Brand USA

GlobalMarketplacePR@TheBrandUSA.com

Anjelica Magee

Brand USA

202.536.2063

AMagee@TheBrandUSA.com

Colleen Mangone

Brand USA

202.536.2060 Ext. 376

cmangone@thebrandusa.com

Helen Ames

FINN Partners

212.715.1646

brandusa@finnpartners.com

Key Points on Study of São Paulo Trade

Tour Operators Make up Almost One-Fifth of Trade: The São Paulo State Tourism Secretariat, through the Tourism Coordination and the Tourism Intelligence and Economics Center (CIET), has just released the survey “Agência de Viagens Paulistas – Análise Mercadológica.” (Roughly “São Paulo Travel Agencies—Market Analysis.” The term “Paulista” is a shortened form of the city and state’s proper name for its citizens and residents—in much the sense that “American” is a shortened form, for many, to use for people of the United States of America.)

Preface—Why This Matters: It is important to recognize the singular importance of such a study, as São Paulo is the largest (44 million people) of Brazil’s 26 states. Its principal city, São Paulo, with a population of approximately 12 ¼ million, is the largest in the nation and one of the largest cities in the world. It is also the business and industrial center of Brazil. Were it a nation, the state of São Paulo, with its GDP of $472 billion, would rank it 26th among the world’s nations. (Brazil is ranked #12.)

Location of Brazil’s state São Paulo is Highlighted

Preface, continued: Also, the two major consumer confidence measures for the Brazilian economy—The Consumer Confidence Index (ICC), The Retail Businessmen Confidence Index (ICEC)—are based in the city of São Paulo. As the authoritative monthly overview of the Brazilian travel and tourism trade put out by the publications PANROTAS and FecomercioSP explains it, “Although the indicators are from the city of São Paulo, they follow the trend of what is happening in the rest of the country since the largest city in Brazil represents 11 percent of the national GDP.”

The following points come from the study (Caution—this is a google translation), as reported by the Brazilian trade journal Diãrio do Turismo.

—The objective: The of the work is to delimit the commercial characteristics of the State’s travel agencies. The questionnaires were answered in July, allowing an overview of how the segment is organized in the State, in addition to the impacts of the coronavirus on sales expectations at the height of the pandemic.

—Careful Look: “This result demonstrates that the tourist destinations in the State will need a more careful look at the increase in demand that we are generating”, understands the Secretary of Tourism, Vinicius Lummertz. “Sales will take place directly between the customer and attractions, hotels and other services. Something that already happens, it is true, but now we have the exact dimension of how much.” Most tourist cities are visited by São Paulo residents itself, autonomously, in their own car, without the intermediation of agencies.

Regarding the location of the most commercialized by the agencies:

–54.16 percent are national destinations outside the State of São Paulo;

-24.96 percent in São Paulo; and

-20.88 percent international travel.

Potential: The “sun, beach and nautical” segment is the most worked by the agencies, with 67.8 percent of responses. In sequence, “ecotourism, adventure and rural” appear, with 49.9 percent, “theme parks,” 49.7 percent, “business and events” and “cultural,” 46 percent. The results, according to the Secretary of Tourism of São Paulo, demonstrate the potential to be explored by the State of São Paulo, which has beaches, theme and natural parks, Atlantic Forest, mountains and rural attractions, in addition to leadership in business trips and in the cultural calendar.

Worrisome Brits Right to be Worried

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the United Kingdom has been the most reliable generator of overseas visitors to the United States. Last year, 2019, was no exception when the UK market sent some 4.8 million travelers to the USA, accounting for nearly one out of every eight of those visitors who came to the United States from abroad.

If there were declines in the annual number of Britons who took their holidays in the U.S., those declines didn’t last—as was the case in the downturns following 9/11, the Great Recession of 2008 and some weak economic numbers in the mid-teens.

Always, always, the USA’s neighbors across the Atlantic Ocean proved resilient and, indeed, stubbornly determined to take their holiday in the USA.

So, it was a bit troubling last week when a new survey told us that, as of now, Brits are holding off on their holidays for 2021. In fact, just one in ten adults in the UK were planning a trip abroad in the next six months. (What information we have from decades of covering the UK is not sorted in a way that gives INBOUND the ability to say so with certainty but, our sense tells is that such an outlook is unprecedented.)

The survey—it was conducted last month by YouGov—reported a decline of 12 percentage points to 34 percent in the proportion of UK adults planning a domestic holiday in the next six months. (It should be noted that the survey was conducted before the latest development, or lack thereof on Brexit, the UK withdrawal from the EU.)

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Another view: Seemingly overlapping the release of the results from the YouGov report were the numbers from another survey conducted of Mail Metro Media readers as part of the media group’s partnership with the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (ATAS). The responses were gathered from respondents who all intend to travel in the next three years. The survey indicated that holidaymakers planning touring and adventure getaways in 2021 are prepared to spend more to ensure safety as the sector is “likely to bounce back” long-term. (It was not exactly spelled out how it was determined a respondent was “likely to bounce back.”)

Some of the findings from the Mail Metro Media study included the following:

—Seven in 10 people were yet to book a 2021 holiday, but that they intend to take an average of 2.1 holidays next year.

—Under 34s plan an average of 2.1 holidays, with 27 percent of that age range intending to take three or more; the 35-54 age group plan 1.9 holidays with 24 percent hoping for three or more; and the 55+ category plan 2.2 holidays next year, with 35 percent planning three or more.

—Respondents said they would spend an average of £2,200 ($2,870) per person per week on accommodation and flights, with only 20 percent focused on getting a deal and 40 percent saying safety was more important.

—Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said they were happy to spend a bit more in 2021, particularly the younger age group; 27 percent said they were happy to spend more. Of the 35-54s group, 26 percent said they would spend more and 12 percent of the over-55s were prepared to spend more.

—According to the survey, the preferred average group size for an escorted tour was nine people.

Where would they be interested in visiting?

What does all this mean? Mail Metro Media’s travel account manager, Robertina Tompa, said the data showed a “huge appetite for this type of holiday” as results showed 41 percent of respondents would consider a touring holiday next year, compared to 31 percent who would not consider one and 28 percent undecided or unsure.

She said the touring and adventure market is “likely to bounce back” in the long term, but noted the sector faces “concerns” about group travel that “need to be addressed for the recovery process.”

Hodge Podge: Appointments & Changes

Kelly Schulz has been named senior vice president, communications and public relations at New Orleans & Company. Previously, she served as vice president and CEO, operations—as well as vice president of communications—for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is headquartered in Memphis. Kelly is returning to New Orleans & Company, where she was vice president of communications for more than eight years (2006-2014). She has also served as director of communications for Meeting Professionals International.

Victoria “Vic” Isley has been selected as president and CEO of the Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. She replaces former CEO Stephanie Pace Brown, who left the organization last July to become executive vice president of SMARInsights, and Indianapolis-based research and marketing firm. Most recently, Isley served as chief sales and marketing officer for the Bermuda Tourism Authority for more than six years. Isley began her career in tourism in the mid-1990s at the Durham CVB as the director of marketing and communications. She’s since held senior executive positions at Tampa Bay CVB and Destination DC in Washington, D.C. She also served as chief operating officer at Destination Marketing Association International (now Destinations International).

Intrepid Travel has named Matt Berna its managing director of North America to oversee and expand its Canadian and U.S. operations, including the development of more trips for domestic travelers. Berna comes to the post rom Peak DMC, where he was general manager of global sales. Previously, he was president of AmeriCan Adventures for nearly 10 years. Intrepid Travel is the largest small group adventure travel company in the world. The company offers more than 1,000 escorted tours worldwide, including product in the USA and North America. Tours are offered under the brands Intrepid Travel, Peregrine Adventures, Adventure Tours Australia, and Urban Adventures

After nearly 30 years in the airline segment of the travel and tourism industry—almost 15 years at British Airways—George Bequinot has joined Hablo, a technology platform that connects the travel industry by streamlining communications and driving business between travel agents, tour operators, destinations and private sector travel brands worldwide. The company Is schedule to launch next month. Most recently, Bequinot was partnership manager at British Airways, where he served for nearly 15 years.

Jean Hébert has been renamed chair of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO). The action took place at the organization’s annual general meeting at which Scott Stewart was elected as vice-chair. Formed in 1997, TICO is a not-for-profit corporation wholly financed by Ontario-registered travel agents and wholesalers

Cory Jobe has been named president/CEO of the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau. He comes to the bureau from Chicago’s Navy Pier, where he has been vice president of marketing and communications. Previously, he served as director of the Illinois Office of Tourism. Jobe succeeds Brett Stawar, who had left in August for a similar post in Port Aransas/Mustang Island, Texas.

Georgia Mariano, who recently left Brazilian operator Fllytours Viagens where she was product manager/project manager, has been named product manager for Diversa Turismo do Grupo ARBO. Mariano is well known in the USA, especially in Florida, where she worked with U.S. travel suppliers to bring business to Brazil. She had been with Flytour/MMT Gapnet for nearly 14 years.

Jens Bischof has taken over as chairman of the management board of Cologne-based Eurowings and, as a result, becomes CEO of the second largest airline in the Lufthansa Group. Bischof was previously CEO of the SunExpress airline, also a part of the Lufthansa Group. He succeeds Thorsten Dirks, who is now responsible for IT, digital and innovation in the Lufthansa Group executive board.

Seniors travel specialist tour operator Saga Travel has appointed Nick Stace as its new CEO. Currently the company’s chief strategy officer, Stace takes up the role immediately, overseeing Saga’s Cruise and Tours businesses. He replaces Robin Shaw who left Saga back in June. Stace will retain his responsibility for strategy, along with focusing on ensuring a safe return to service for the cruise line – as soon as government restrictions are lifted. Before joining the company, he held a series of senior leadership roles across charities, consumer-facing organizations and financial services – as well as in regulation. He also served for a while as strategic communications director in the Office of the Prime Minister during the period when Gordon Brown was UK prime minister.

Krystelle Kubicki has been named by specialist ski travel company SNO as head of marketing to head up spearhead its online growth strategy and expansion into beach holidays. Kubicki comes to the London-based organization from STA where she was digital marketing manager. She has also served as marketing manager for Iglu. SNO is planning a soft-launch of mid and high-end beach holidays in 2021.

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber has announced that Michael R. Burns, the current vice president of sales for the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau, will serve as interim president after the recent retirement of Mike Carrier.

From Hannover, Germany-based TUI, the largest tour operator in Europe, has come the announcement of a Transformation of the TUI Group, which involves a Supervisory Board new set-up of Group Management as of January 1, 2021. Highlights include the following.

* Sebastian Ebel becomes new chief financial officer.

* CFO Birgit Conix has decided to leave TUI at the end of the year.

* Peter Kruger assumes responsibility on the executive board for airlines, cruise business, hotel joint ventures and M&A.

* CMO Erik Friemuth leads extended department with marketing, tui hotels & resorts brands and group responsibility for sales and customer operations.

* David Schelp joins the Group Executive Committee as CEO of the growth segment TUI Musement.

Posted Industry Jobs

From SearchWide Global:

—Visit Orlando is searching for a new president and CEO. For more information visit here.

— Brett/Robinson Vacation Rentals on the Alabama Gulf Coast has an opening for a director of operations. Visit here for more details.

— Sports Facilities Management is searching for a senior project to join its facility planning and finance support services team. For more details, visit here.

—The Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a new president. Click here for more information.

—A new president and CEO is being sought by Destination Madison (Wis.). For additional details, click here.

—The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a president and CEO. For more information, visit here. 

—The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau is looking for a new president & CEO. Click here for more information.

—The City of Omaha has an opening for the position of director, parks, recreation and public property. Visit here for additional details.

—The city of Fort Smith Arkansas is searching for an executive director of its Advertising and Promotion Commission. Click here for more information.

—The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new president and CEO. For details, visit here.

—The Virginia Tourism Corporation (it is the state’s DMO) has an opening for a director of research and market intelligence. Click here for more information.

—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts as an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here.

—Visit Santa Clara is searching for a president and CEO. Click here for more