Search Results for: Travel Weekly Power List

German Operator Features Trump in Ad Campaign

He’s done it again. Timo Kohlenberg, the boyish and adventurous president and CEO of America Unlimited, the Hannover, Germany-based USA specialist, has launched a promotional campaign using the highly negative impact on travel consumers of the Trump brand and, playing on the meaning of the word, “trump,” is turning it into a catchy hook that is registering with Germans.

When last we checked, Kohlenberg, who studied marketing in both London and New York before joining the family-owned firm that he now runs, was cited in the travel trade media along with other German operators lamenting the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and immigration-related proposals on travel to the United States.

A practitioner of what is described as “stunt marketing,” which is seen in everything from the splashy America Unlimited van he drives around Hannover and showcases at trade shows to a six-story banner on the side of a Hannover high-rise building, as well as his own attire, Kohlenberg has developed a new consumer-and-trade campaign hinged to the meaning of the word “trump” that has generated much notice.

The essence of the promotion, he told the Inbound Report when we asked him about it, is this: “Trump means triumph in German as well. You are supposed to focus on the real trumps in America, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, instead of talking about politics.”

Continuing, he explained, “We wanted something edgy, something where people would stop and take a second look, especially with these out-of-home components, we need to get the attention in the first place. This campaign plays with the current political issue and therefore gets people’s attention a lot.”

A staple of an America Limited campaigns seems to be the billboard, which depends upon a four-to-eight second window of a motorist’s attention. Kohlenberg has the campaign slogan and one of its images, such as the Statue of Liberty, on billboards in Hamburg, Berlin, Hannover and Frankfurt.

More important than its impact on motorists is how the campaign has been received in the new media. And it has received a substantial amount of attention in both the consumer and trade media, with the coverage usually featuring an iconic image—or “trump,” he might say—in the coverage.

Chinese More Likely to Visit USA because of Trump

According to a new Brand USA survey, Chinese travelers were the only group of visitors that claimed that the political climate in the United States under Donald Trump has made them more likely to visit than before. USA’s survey suggests that Trump’s election has led to an increased interest among Chinese people to visit the United States. Survey respondents were given a multiple-choice list factors influencing travel plans; one of them evaluated the influence of the political climate on travel decisions.

Among the countries surveyed, Mexican nationals showed the most concern, followed by Canada, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, all of them showed moderate concern. Travelers from India, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea were less sensitive to the political climate than respondents from other countries but still showed a decreased likelihood in visiting the United States. In the three-month period between December 2016 and February 2017, Chinese respondents were the only group of respondents which had gotten more likely to visit the United States because of the U.S. political climate.

The two key tables from the Brand USA survey, which was discussed at the organization’s recent board of directors meeting, follow.

Speculating as to why the survey results showed what they did, Jing Daily had this to say: “The reasons for Chinese travelers’ relative excitement about travel to the United States following Trump’s inauguration remain debatable. On the one hand, it could indicate relative confidence in a United States led by Donald Trump, but on the other hand, it could also indicate that Chinese travelers fear that the United States’ fraught relationship with China may cause heightened travel restrictions in the future—making the currently tense political climate a good reason to visit the United States sooner rather than later. At the same time, Trump’s calls for making the United States a safer place may also be resonating with Chinese tourists, who are known for being security-conscious. A perceived lower risk of terror attacks and violent crime on U.S. soil should, therefore, make Chinese travelers more interested in visiting the United States.”

Late-Breaking: NYC-Based Receptive Operator Now Has Sole Owner

Enzo Perretta buys out his TeamAmerica Partner: In a late-breaking news item, Enzo Perretta has told the Inbound Report that he has bought out his fellow co-owner, Veronique Hubert, and is now sole owner of the receptive tour operator known for its upscale products that target Italy and Spanish-speaking source markets. Hubert, who has been with the company since it was founded in 1997, was also its chief operating officer, while Perretta functioned as CEO.  

Flat Seems to be the Norm in Outlook for Japanese Travel to USA

The results of the latest Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) quarterly survey of the Japanese travel trade suggests that the outlook for Visit USA/North America traffic from the second largest overseas source market for the United States is not much different for the peak travel months of July through September 2017 than it was a year ago (April through June 2016). In fact, the numbers have not changed very much in the past three years. What changes there are in the quarterly report appear to be in the market segments within the Japanese population. (We’ve included the two most important tables from the survey below. It’s relatively easy to translate the value of the numbers in the tables; just refer to “A Note on Methodology” following the tables.)

The Staying Power of the Senior Segment: Compared to the previous quarter (October–December, 2016), the senior market is 20 points better and is the best performing segment at present. The family, students and solo travel segments have gotten stronger by 10, 17 and 8 points respectively. By improving by 4 and 2 points respectively, working women and students segments have not shown any sizeable changes. During the April–June quarter, seniors will still lead the travel demand. Incentive travel and business/technical visits will improve by 18 and 5 points correspondingly. Honeymooners will be 8 points stronger, working women will grow by 5 points and solo travelers will improve by 5 points.

A Note on Methodology: The Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) asks all member companies to register as survey monitors. JATA conducts the quarterly Survey of Travel Market Trends involving 548 registered companies and publishes the results. The Survey of Travel Market Trends is designed to grasp trends in the travel market based on responses to questions on current conditions and those anticipated over the next three months. The survey asks participating companies to rate their sales results for each destination and customer segment by choosing from three categories: “good,” “average,” and “poor.” For items outside their business scope, respondents select “do not handle.” Each share of “good,” “average,” and “poor” is then divided respectively by the denominator, which is equal to the total number of responses minus the “do not handle” (including “no reply”) responses. Finally, each share is processed into the Diffusion Index (DI) by subtracting the percentage of “poor” from the percentage of “good.” The highest possible index figure is +100, and the lowest is -100.

This was an Internet survey, conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 23, 2017. The number of registered companies surveyed was 567; the number of responding companies responding was 282. Response rate: 49.7 percent.

Q&A: The Tour and Travel Industry Speaks out about Trump and Exchange Rate

“This could be the greatest time for travel businesses to reinvent themselves.” With IPW in Washington, D.C. just seven weeks away, every sector of the tour and travel industry faces significant challenges stemming from the current global political climate and a strong U.S. dollar. In this environment,  NAJ’s Inbound Report called upon a panel of thought leaders representing a cross section of the to ask them for their comments and ideas on how the plan to adjust their marketing strategy in this era of a strong U.S. dollar and sensitivity to the USA’s new Administration.

Q: “How does the US politically sensitive environment and exchange rate change your International sales tactics?” Answers were as follows. (Some responses have been edited for the sake of brevity.)

• “While cyclical trends affecting travel intentions and expenditures in different world regions can lead to mixed results on a country level, the overall international market still increased over past performance in 2016. Therefore, we aim to amplify the diversity of our international market mix through a number of tactics including out-of-home media, social media, tourism trade events and conferences, global communications, marketing partnerships, and more.”—Fred Dixon, president and CEO, NYC & Company

• ‘We are more than ever looking for avenues that will allow us to communicate the open and welcoming nature of Houston. Public relations and social media outreach efforts are key to our efforts. In terms of the exchange rate, we are focusing on value. Houston has always been an affordable destination and that matters more than ever now.”—Jorge Franz, senior vice president of tourism, Visit Houston

• “We tend to concentrate on the positive that the guest receives value for their money by staying at the Hotel Beacon. For example one of the things we offer is free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and we have kitchenettes in all of our rooms and suites.”—Tom Travers, general manager, Hotel Beacon, New York City

• “In 2016, New York City had the lowest crime rate on record and there were again no major terrorist incidents. …People need to be clear about the Trump Administration’s travel ban proposals. If implemented, it would affect an infinitesimally small percentage of the world’s population. We are open and welcoming to the rest. This is our message.”—M. Elaine Kellogg, executive director, business development, Gray Line City Sightseeing New York

• “If anything, it has made us work harder and invest more in our key international markets. We also rely on our international office representatives to provide us with market intelligence so we know how to best communicate our messages.”—Rafael Villanueva, senior director of international sales, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

• No matter the scenario, as tourism industry professionals, our job is to double down, step up to the plate and make sure the customer experience is as welcoming as possible. The exchange rates have been affecting the business for quite some time. A shrinking dollar means a higher demand for value and additional reasons to justify their expenditure on a unique experience. Our marketing budgets have become more fluid so we can respond to opportunity. The rules are different. With any revenue generating touch point – from front desk to sales and marketing must be empowered to enhance conversions.”—Robert Graff, vice president of marketing, Papillon Group

• The exchange rate is by far more topical and important to their travel interests and options. Now, more than ever, we need to be present in key markets to protect our market share and to make sure everyone realizes the USA and our destinations are open for business and travelers are welcome. Day-to-day life hasn’t changed and visitors have more options and experiences than ever before. It is more often value for the experience than value for the dollar.”—Brian Said, vice president, global development, Choose Chicago

• “ We will continue to focus on the abundance of choice for all budgets to address exchange rate concerns along with the variety of affordable activities: a day at the beach, a museum visit, a signature food truck experience, to name a few. The silver lining to the current exchange rate is that our resources go further in many of our key international markets, which allows us to do much more in promoting Los Angeles as a premier travel destination.”—Kathy Smits, vice president, tourism, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board

• “At the current time, the Florida Keys & Key West tourism council has not made any changes to its international marketing strategy. We continue to monitor indicators, but key international markets–especially Germany–are strong and do not seem to be impacted.”— Stacey Mitchell, director of sales, Florida Keys and Key West

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Q: How have you adjusted your marketing to communicate a positive message to international trade?” Answers were as follows.

• “With recent events related to the two proposed travel bans and surrounding rhetoric, we have launched the ‘New York City – Welcoming the World’ campaign and messaging. The campaign, valued at $3 million (USD), landed in the UK in March, and later in spring it will be seen in Germany, Spain and Mexico..”—Fred Dixon, president and CEO, NYC & Company

• “We are back to basics. In my opinion, face to face contact matters more than ever right now.” —Jorge Franz, senior vice president of tourism, Visit Houston

• “We really haven’t adjusted our message to international travel trade. We are simply reinforcing the message above and asking our partners to clearly communicate these accurate and positive points to their clients. —M. Elaine Kellogg, executive director, business development, Gray Line City Sightseeing New York

• “We have stayed on the message that NYC is a safe and great place to visit.”—Tom Travers, general manager, Hotel Beacon, New York City

• “We haven’t adjusted our messaging all that much. Las Vegas is a welcoming destination and we continue to promote our brand promise of Adult Freedom, where you can escape reality and partake in whatever that phrase means to you. It is also a place where you can get the most bang for your buck and our value proposition still resonates well with the international audience. Las Vegas is an escape and the gateway to the many national parks.  All of these messages continue to be strong today.” —Rafael Villanueva, senior director of international sales, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

• “Organizations have seats or rooms to fill, revenue managers have to adjusting pricing based on demand. When demand is weak, that means every hotel can drop their price. This is where relationships come to play and the sales and marketing role becomes even more critical. Companies need to provide flexibility, value, encourage advance and pre-bookings and provide operators with targeted promotions and specials. This could be the greatest time for travel businesses to reinvent themselves. Smaller, nimble and responsive companies will benefit the most.“ —Robert Graff, vice president of marketing, Papillon Group

• “We highlight value for money, that we are open, welcoming and now is a great time to visit. Many markets are enjoying amazing airfares and long haul carriers are helping mitigate the exchange rate fluctuations. Travelers are savvy and have access to information that can help them find ways to still take a trip within their budget by taking advantage of pubic and often free activities, bundled attraction passes that provide savings, travel in shoulder periods, connected yet diverse neighborhoods, etc to maximize their time. Once in Chicago, travelers are delighted to find that they are in a major American City with a variety of experiences thus providing more value.” —Brian Said, vice president, global development, Choose Chicago

• “We have not adjusted our marketing to the trade at this point. What we have begun to do is speak directly to our elected officials to make sure they realize the economic impact that international visitors bring to Corning and the Finger Lakes, and that replacing these visitors is not likely, or even desirable. I do reach out directly to the international trade partners to ask if there are any opportunities that CmoG can take advantage of in partnership with them. We all want to succeed in this challenging time, and we can only do it by working together.” —Sally K. Berry, tourism sales and marketing manager, Corning Museum of Glass

• “Los Angeles celebrates diversity and rolls out the red carpet for visitors and this will not change. Residents hail from 180 countries and speak more than 220 languages in our city; we come from everywhere and welcome everyone. Our President & CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. captured this sentiment and expressed his gratitude to our travel trade partners in a personal video message that we shared across our key international markets. Our trade partners are instrumental in promoting L.A. globally and we wanted to ensure this message was effectively communicated. Our international offices and representatives continue to work closely with the industry to promote L.A.’s most defining features: creativity, openness, variety and diversity.” —Kathy Smits, vice president, tourism, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board

• “Our international messaging has and will always be positive. Florida Keys travel points focus on the convenience factor for a subtropical islands vacation that can easily be reached via major U.S. international airports. We also highlight the more laidback atmosphere of the Keys and how longer vacations can be easily paired with major attractions in Orlando, or other Florida destinations, for operators seeking diversified sun vacations for their clients.” — Stacey Mitchell, director of sales, Florida Keys and Key West

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And this: After answering the two questions, Robert Graff e-mailed us from his cell phone with this quick after-thought that is worth mentioning: “An increase airline capacity to the USA, combined with Low airfares, are also helping us keep USA vacation cost in check.”

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New Brand USA Campaign Designed to Send Visitors beyond Gateways

Brand USA has a new campaign, “See How Far You Can Go—a new interactive website feature that it launched last week aimed at getting more international travelers to come to the United States by engaging them through interactive features on its website (VisitTheUSA.com), and challenging site visitors to see how far they can go” while at the site.

The new interactive campaign will launch in 11 major international markets:  including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the UK. Combined, these markets account for nearly four out of every five (79 percent) international visitors who come to the United States, according to the latest data available from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. Under a goal established several years ago, Brand USA would like to bring 100 million visitors to the U.S. by 2021.

The campaign will target various forms of social media and feature unique video content captured from a first person viewpoint designed to make the experience more relatable and shareable. It will focus on a trio of aspects, including possibilities, proximity and personas, with the latter encompassing excitement, local and escape.

Brand USA will look to showcase the many and often unknown possibilities overseas visitors will have within a few hours of their gateway into the U.S. That component is targeted toward “people who are in a situation where their pockets are challenged or they perceive that their dollars won’t go as far,” Brand USA President and CEO Christopher Thompson told the trade publication, Travel Pulse.

“Whatever is motivating them as far as the persona, it [the campaign] invites them to picture themselves in the middle of that and it’s a social-first approach, meaning that the creator actually has them in the middle of one of those experiences,” added Thompson.

Brand USA hopes is that its website users will not only be drawn to the content but share it as well. “That third party validation of the experience is way more compelling than any way that we could tell the story,” said Thompson.

UP IN THE AIR

New Air Service to the USA

—Miami is hot as Avianca Brasil (Oceanair Linhas Aéreas S.A.) has announced that it will launch daily passenger service between Miami International Airport and Sao Paulo on June 23, 2017. The flights will be served by Airbus A330-200 aircraft that seat 238 passengers. Miami will be the first U.S. destination and only the second outside of Brazil for the airline, which has operated freighter service at Miami since 2015.. MIA currently serves an average of 71 weekly non-stop passenger flights to eight cities in Brazil, which is the most of any U.S. airport. Avianca Brasil is the fifth passenger airline to schedule a launch into the Miami market this year. Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris began four weekly flights to Guadalajara and daily flights to Mexico City on February 1st. Volaris was followed three days later by Canadian airline First Air, which began charter passenger flights from Ontario on behalf of Celebrity Cruises. On April 6, low-cost transatlantic airline WOW air launched three-times-a-week service to Reykjavík, Iceland. Aer Lingus will launch first-ever service from Dublin, Ireland in September, with three weekly flights.

Airline Market Share From Mexico

Starting April 1st, Aeromexico began non-stop daily flights between Mexico City and Detroit. (Delta Air Lines also flies daily between the two airports). Detroit becomes Aeromexico’s 18th U.S. San Jose, California will become the 19th on July 1st. And starting 1 May the carrier will also offer daily flights between Monterrey and Detroit.

—British Airways recently launched service over a 5,365 mile route that will connect London Gatwick to Oakland, California. †

—On April 3rd, LOT Polish Airlines launched its first flight to the U.S. West Coast, beginning a four times weekly service between Warsaw Chopin Airport and Los Angeles (LAX). No other carrier currently operates on the nearly 6,000-mile connection. And starting April 28, the airline will begin a four times weekly service between Warsaw and Newark’s Liberty National Airport, a route it has served in the past. †

—Norwegian launched service March 28th between Copenhagen and Oakland –a 5,460-mile connection. The twice-a-week flight becomes Norwegian’s 8th mainland U.S. destination, joining Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York JFK and Orlando, Norwegian now provides 10 weekly flights between Europe and Oakland. †

—On March 29th, SATA Azores Airlines launched twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) operations between Barcelona and Boston. The 3,880-mile connection is flown via Porta Delgada, where passengers change from the A320 flying in from Spain to an A310 with continues onto the USA. Barcelona currently has four non-stop U.S. flights—to Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia and Newark. †

—Surinam Airways returned to Orlando Sanford on April 3, launching weekly service from Aruba, with the flight originating from Paramaribo. Flights operate into Sanford on Mondays arriving at 16:30, with the return flight to Aruba departing on Tuesdays at 16:00. †

—Virgin Atlantic Airways has begun several UK-USA flights from Manchester. On March 28, the airline started three weekly service to San Francisco, the first ever direct route to Northern California from the North of England. The following day it started a twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) route to Boston, which will compete with Thomas Cook Airlines’ twice-weekly operation. And on May 25, the airline will begin daily flights to New York JFK from Manchester, as it replaces the existing Delta Air Lines service. †

 † Source: anna.aero

From Jing Daily: Why Targeting Chinese FIT’s Are Difficult for Tourism Businesses

From Jing Daily: Why Targeting Chinese FIT’s Are Difficult for Tourism Businesses

by Daniel Meesak, April 7, 2017

The rise of the Chinese free independent traveler (FIT) has become a common theme across travel conferences and events for many good reasons. The promise of a way to bypass bargain-oriented Chinese tour operators, and the idea of an affluent, more “sophisticated” Chinese clientele is certain to generate excitement among tourism businesses around the world. For smaller tourism businesses in particular, Chinese independent travelers could represent the first real step into the booming Chinese tourism market, which so far, has mostly benefited leading brands and multinationals that have secured spots on Chinese tour operators’ itineraries. It all sounds incredibly appealing, but how does one find FITs and keep them?

The elusive Chinese independent traveler continues to baffle companies that seek to attract them to their establishments, with good advice scarce and result-oriented marketing services difficult to find. In many cases, the sheer amount of research, time, and budget required to make an active push into China’s growing FIT market makes it a prospect not worth pursuing until either the market is bigger or the barrier of entry is lower.

“For a marketer faced with the challenge to grow the number of Chinese customers, options can almost seem overwhelming.”

Targeting Chinese independent travelers isn’t difficult for these smaller players because of a lack of choice. For a marketer faced with the challenge to grow the number of Chinese customers, options can almost seem overwhelming. Should I invest in one of the many Chinese tourist certification programs available from a large range of companies—none of which represent the Chinese government—which tout intangible benefits that may or may not strengthen my position in the Chinese market? Should I promote the business at one of China’s many travel trade fairs? Are our rooms or services bookable on Chinese platforms such as Ctrip and Qunar, and if not, how do I accomplish this? Perhaps I should run some marketing campaigns on Chinese social media such as WeChat and Weibo, as well as on China’s leading search engine, Baidu?

In many cases, the sheer amount of research, time, and budget required to make an active push into China’s growing free independent traveler (FIT) market makes it an elusive prospect not worth pursuing until either the market is bigger or the barrier of entry is lower.

The good news is that some of the key components (almost) required to receive Chinese independent travelers have gotten easier to implement in recent years. China’s competitive payments processing industry has pushed UnionPay, AliPay, and Tencent (WeChat Pay, TenPay) to work closely with overseas payment services providers to make their services easier to implement for businesses around the world.  A diverse and exciting portfolio of bookable properties to show to their growing number of FIT customers has also driven China’s online travel agencies to make it easier for foreign businesses to get listed on their marketplaces.

Even so, implementing these key components of a Chinese-serving business may seem like a waste time and money. A business with zero reviews on Chinese travel platforms is hidden deep in the search results, and potential customers will—as can be expected—prefer more well-established options.

“ … some quick internet searches will lead the humble marketer to realize that setting up a page on China’s Facebook is nowhere near as easy as setting up a Facebook page.”

The question, of course, comes down to marketing—and that’s where things get difficult. The power of Chinese key opinion leaders (KOLs) in driving consumers to certain businesses and brands is undisputed, and WeChat has quickly become the marketing tool of choice for China marketers around the world. Yet, while WeChat, described as China’s Facebook or WhatsApp, may seem like an easy inroad to B2C marketing in China, some quick internet searches will lead the humble marketer to realize that setting up a page on China’s Facebook is nowhere near as easy as setting up a Facebook page.

Likewise, while reaching out directly to a non-Chinese KOL for some commissioned, sponsored blogging may be straightforward, simply finding a relevant Chinese KOL—not to mention successfully contacting them—poses a serious challenge. Even the most obvious and seemingly easiest option of them all, pay-per-click search engine advertising, reveals a plethora of challenges in China.

For WeChat, Tencent provides a relatively straightforward process for setting up an official account, the WeChat equivalent of a Facebook page. However, what isn’t made obvious is that such pages are limited to reaching international WeChat users, i.e., WeChat users outside of mainland China. To set up an Official Chinese Account, a Chinese business license is required, a severely limiting requirement for any business without a corporate presence in China. The only option available to remedy this problem is to hire one of the many digital marketing agencies in China that cater toward foreign businesses, which will use its (or one of its associated businesses’) business license to register a WeChat account in their client’s name.

Such services naturally come at a cost, part because of the Chinese agency will be legally responsible for content posted to all its associated WeChat accounts, and ties its client’s WeChat presence to a Chinese agency. With the agency being the legal owner of the WeChat account, changing marketing agency down the line can be either costly or impossible—not an ideal negotiating position. Even with the account set up, the marketer is posed with the same challenge as with listings on China’s travel platforms: how does one generate excitement and grow followers?

For Baidu search advertising, there are similar problems that arise. Setting up a Baidu account requires an initial payment, and unless an operator has a so-called ICP license—which, for a business, requires a Chinese business license—will require working with intermediaries just like in setting up a WeChat account.

Lastly, reaching and signing KOLs in China will more than likely require going through one of China’s many KOL agencies, some of which are catering to a foreign clientele. While independently seeking out and contacting KOLs is certainly an option, the language barrier and walls raised by agencies representing KOLs make it a challenging venture. Additionally, identifying relevant KOLs that are well-read among the intended market segment in China may require plenty of local expertise.

Looking beyond the digital channels and instead toward more traditional marketing options for travel businesses reveal an industry still very much centered around B2B relationships and a focus on Chinese group travel. China’s leading outbound travel events are all exclusively B2B, providing little opportunity to reach China’s experience-seeking independent travelers.

As with any booming industry, “get rich quick” schemes in the form of “get Chinese tourists quick” are many, often promising different types of magic bullets that cut through the complexities of operating in a complicated and highly regulated market. With exaggerated and unverifiable claims, Chinese tourists and customers are often promised after getting some certifications, creating some social media accounts, or perhaps getting featured on the provider’s online platforms on “the Chinese internet.” As can be expected, the first part of the “get rich quick” scheme often involves paying a fee. No refunds.

The reality, unfortunately, is that a sophisticated approach is necessary to reach China’s sophisticated independent travelers—and that requires time, money, or both.

“Engaging with the local Chinese diaspora is an excellent way to avoid the pitfalls of marketing in China and encouraging organic growth in the Chinese market.”

In the end, the safest and perhaps cheapest way to gain success with Chinese independent travelers is to simply provide a memorable and unique experience because that’s what they’re looking for in the first place. Chinese KOLs are critical to a successful marketing mix in China since word-of-mouth is king in the Chinese market, making delighting Chinese travelers all the more important for future success in the market. Another aspect that is often forgotten is that the perhaps most experienced Chinese travelers live abroad—as international students or expatriate workers—and serve as highly regarded KOLs. Engaging with the local Chinese diaspora is an excellent way to avoid the pitfalls of marketing in China and encouraging organic growth in the Chinese market.

However, all is not lost. The number of Chinese independent travelers going abroad is growing each year, and eventually, they’ll discover any great tourism business around the world. Making a well-informed and cost-efficient active push into the market as its growing is the challenging part, but it can also be immensely profitable.

IN MEMORIAM

Dave Thornton, 70, a leading figure in the New York State travel and tourism industry for four decades, died suddenly on April 1st at Kingston (New Yok) Hospital. Thornton and his business partner, Charles Daley, owned and operated Destinations of New York State, one of the largest DMOs in the Northeastern U.S. The company organizes motorcoach and tour operator sales blitzes and International promotional sales missions throughout North America for New York State tourism suppliers and other DMOs. Thornton was a familiar figure at IPW, as Destinations of New York State attended the annual event for more than 30 years. Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Sherian; two daughters—Sarah of Boston and Andria Thornton of Pleasant Valley, NY; one: Larry and his wife Leann Thornton of Saugerties, NY; one sister, Joan Foley of Saugerties, NY; a sister-in-law, Nadine Thornton of Fairborne, Ohio.

HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry

Art Jiminez has joined Reno Tahoe USA as the agency’s executive director of sales. Jiminez, who was most recently vice president of marketing for Travel Leaders Group in Las Vegas, previously served for more than 15 years as senior director of leisure sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Stefanie Schulze zur Wiesch, TUI Germany’s former head of strategy and marketing chief, has taken over responsibility for TUI’s holiday homes activities with the task of developing the new TUI Villas program and has also become CEO of Atraveo, a holiday homes portal.

Clodagh Oxley is leaving her position as executive director of the Visit USA Committee Ireland to become marketing manager for the Talbot Hotel in Carlow, which is about 45 miles southwest of Dublinl.  Clodagh had served the committee for the past five years. Previously, she had worked for five years in sales and marketing for Delta Air Lines.

Salvatore Carusone has been named purchasing manager, West Coast USA & Western Canada, at Sunhotels in Las Vegas. He joins the company from Holiday Professionals, where he was product manager West Coast. Carusone’s career also includes tenures in managerial posts at Kuoni and Kuoni-owned GTA.

Alan Humason has been appointed executive director of the Mendocino County Tourism Commission. A veteran of more than 15 years in the marketing/communications industry, Humason most recently served as executive director of Yolo County Visitors Bureau.

Götz Ahmelmann has been named chief commercial officer at airberlin, replacing Julio Rodriguez, who has gone on to Niki, the low-cost Austrian airline. For Ahmelmann, the move marks a return to a position he already held (2014-15) before moving to Etihad Airways, where he served as vice president, European Equity Partners at Etihad Airways for two years. Ahmelmann has also served in senior sales positions for Lufthansa.

 Surviving Every Meeting Organizer’s Nightmare: 9 Things We Learned

By Jake Steinman, Founder and CEO, NAJ Group

I want to share our experience from eTourism LABS on March 14-15 in Philadelphia–where over 30 percent of the speakers had flights cancelled due to a late winter blizzard that dumped up to a foot-and-a-half of snow in parts of Pennsylvania, shut schools, cancelled flights and wreaked havoc. We learned several things that you may want to pass along to your convention sales team, hotels or anyone who works with organized meetings.

On Monday, March 13, as I was flying to eTourism LABS conference and logged on to my inflight Wi-Fi, email alerts began popping up every 10 minutes from presenters whose flights had been cancelled. By the time I landed five hours later, it appeared that 17 out of 43 speakers were not going to show. In short, it was every meeting planner’s nightmare. Meanwhile, attendees and the remaining speakers began emailing and calling us to see if the event was even still going to be held.

We contacted our hotel procurement expert to see if it was possible contractually to cancel and she responded that our agreement indeed contained her favorite “f-word” (Force Majeure) so we could cancel at any time since airlines announced that 6,000 flights had been cancelled the day before the storm.  Well, I can tell you it wasn’t my favorite f-word!  The hotel pick-up manifest showed that most of the attendees had arrived, so we decided to live stream speakers in and hope for the best. It was now 14 hours until show time.

Our team—Sofia Williamsson in San Francisco and Florian Hermann on-site in Philadelphia—immediately moved  to upgrade the hotel Wi-Fi to ethernet level and began communicating with speakers about their abilities to make their presentations via Skype. They then worked with the hotel’s AV team—who knew nothing about Skype– to practice toggling between Skype and live presentations.

The next morning we determined that all but six DMO and Attraction attendees somehow found their way to Philadelphia and, by the end of the day, delegates from all three tracks reported no serious Skype delays in the program—though quality of transmission varied depending on the strength of the speaker’s Wi-Fi connection.

We want to help other meeting planners and schedulers with what we learned from our own live streaming experience with eTourism Labs in Philadelphia by sharing the following:

Nine Things We Learned:

1. Attendees are very understanding as long as you provide them with a plan of action. We gathered everyone together following breakfast to announce the following: (a) There would be 17 Skype presentations and to expect uneven connectivity; (b) Lunch that day would be on us and DMOs and attraction attendees would receive a $400 credit towards any of our other events, and (c) If it was necessary to terminate Skype presentations due to connectivity programs, attendees would discuss the previous topic until it was time for the next presenter on the schedule.
2. Hotel Flexibility. The hotel was in a flexible mood about adjusting F&B and room night minimums.
3. Skype Video call technology has advanced a great deal both in features and call quality since it was purchased by Microsoft.
4. Upgrade Your Bandwidth. Upgrade to the fastest level of Wi-Fi possible at your hotel to ensure top connectivity on your end. They probably won’t charge you for it.
5. Test Presentations. Test the presentation and connection in advance. The Wi-Fi on the remote presenter’s side also needs to be strong. We found that the presenters with the strongest W-Fi connections came across the clearest. You should advise them to test Wi-Fi strength in various locations from which they will be broadcasting.
6. Be Your Own IT Support. Don’t expect the hotel AV staff to know anything about Skype or to help in connecting you to presenters. Instead, work with them to quickly toggle presentations between remote and in person.
7. Streamline Presentations for Digital Viewing. Two of our remote presenters were able modify their PowerPoints to make them more visible on Skype. By eliminating charts, graphs and tables and including slides containing fewer words, their presentations resulted in greater clarity and effectiveness. Their original presentations would be made available later to anyone completing our post event survey.
8. Record Presentations. Though we did not use this function, one can easily record a Skye presentation for future distribution by going to the “More Options” button and choose “Start Recording.”
9. Recognize Trade Offs. One drawback: Skype presentations with embedded videos had problems transmitting sound. We had the presenters send us links to videos and had to toggle between the two by minimizing the video and Skype presenter.

Other alternatives to Skype are Google Hangouts, Facebook Live, Periscope and even Apple Facetime, which can all be used if you’re desperate and just need a talking head. (Note that Turkey’s president, Recep Erdoğan, repelled an entire military coup using Facetime.)

Everyone from our team agreed that attendees bonded more with each other as well as with presenters and sponsors, as the sense of shared hardship due to Mother Nature’s elements was outside anyone’s control.

A Multi-Stop, 45-Day Path to Booking Travel

UK, USA and Canada’s Travelers Booking Path Detailed by Expedia: Were the residents of the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada considered a single country, the result would comprise a market of nearly 420 million people. This factor is one of those that made delegates to NAJ’s eTourism Labs last week in Philadelphia take notice as Derek Price, director, North America, Expedia Media Solutions go through a presentation filled with slides containing data that compared the booking path, as well as other behaviors, of travelers from the three countries based on its own research and that of other sources.

In sum, the major points Price made were:one destination.

• Travel content is widely consumed in each country, and all saw double digit growth year-over-year.
• Mobile usage is growing, and in the United States mobile engagement with travel content surpassed desktop.
• Travel is a considered and time consuming purchase, leading travel bookers to make hundreds of visits to travel sites in the week leading up to a purchase.
• Throughout the booking path, OTAs have the highest engagement across travel site categories, accounting for more than 30 percent of total site visits.
• Nearly one-third or more of online travel bookers were influenced by advertising when considering more than one destination.

Following are the tables contained in some of the key slides of Price’s presentation.

For Germany, another Outlook Report and another Sigh

The spirit of bonhomie that generally prevails at tour and travel industry trade shows, as it did the week before last at ITB in Berlin, could not mask the uncomfortable reality created by some of the data released at the same time as the world’s largest travel got under way at the Messe Berlin exhibit halls.

The latest monthly figures released by the Nuremberg-based research firm GfK showed that, for both tour operators and travel agents in Germany, summer holiday bookings in February did not show any growth for the second consecutive month. And January and February are normally the two strongest booking months for summer holidays.

The GfK release came just after the issuance of the German Travel Trade Barometer—its results are based on a survey of tour operators responsible for 80 percent of wholesale USA holiday sales in Germany—which suggested an outlook for travel sales for U.S. product that is, at best, tepid, and predicting a year of no growth.

GfK’s regular monthly report is based on an analysis of sales covering 1,500 German travel agencies. Some of the specifics from its latest report include the following:

• Following disappointing figures for January, bookings remained beneath expectations in February, as travel agents increased sales by just one percent for the month.
• Even this increase was purely generated by late winter bookings that generated a sales increase of 7 percent last month. However, overall sales to date for winter 2016/17 are now 3 percent behind last year.
• The cumulated growth for summer 2017 has now dropped back to 4.5 percent as of the end of February from 5.6 percent as of the end of January, driven by strong early bookings in November and December.
• However, since summer bookings were down by 8 percent at the same time last year, overall summer sales are still running about 3 percent below the high levels of 2015.
• In terms of bookings for individual months in the summer 2017 season, June has a robust 23 percent increase in bookings—due primarily to later spring holidays this year, with May down 9 percent as a result of the same effect.
• For July and September bookings are up by 9 percent, while sales for August, the peak travel month, are flat at last year’s level.

British Operator Shuts Down; Brand Acquired by Another

Arena Travel, a specialty tour operator whose offerings include such esoteric product as an Elvis Week in Memphis package, has acquired The River Cruise Line and Diamond Rail Holidays brands from Diamond Shortbreak Holidays after the company’s failure.

The announcement followed the March 16 confirmation from Abta that Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Ltd had ceased trading due to “financial difficulties.”

Leicestershire-based Diamond Shortbreak Holidays sold city breaks, river cruises, walking holidays and coach and rail trips. An estimated 7,000 bookings affecting as many as 16,000 people were affected by the shutdown of the company.

In a statement that accompanied the announcement of the acquisition, Steve Goodenough, managing director of Arena Travel, which is based in Ipswich, said “Our aim is to provide the same rail or river cruise holiday on the same date and at the same price to as many of the 5,000 who have booked a holiday for the season ahead as possible … Thanks to the financial protection in place, customers will be covered for any loss of money.”

A Photo Sampler from NAJ’s eTourism Labs

A late winter storm last week dumped nearly a foot-and-a-half snow on parts of Pennsylvania and resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights to and from the northeastern United States. This meant that 17 speakers scheduled to appear at NAJ’s eTourism Labs event at the Hilton Hotel at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia had to cancel. Even so, nearly two-thirds of those registered to attend were able to make it to the event from all over the USA and see every speaker—in person or via Skype. Following is a sampler of photos of some of those who took part in the program, and from its opening night reception.

At the program:

At the reception, sponsored by Visit Philadelphia:

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New Budget Carrier Starts Crossing the Atlantic in June

A new transatlantic low-cost carrier has joined the international travel market. Beginning this June, LEVEL airlines, a new brand in the International Airlines Group (IAG), will fly from Barcelona to Los Angeles, San Francisco (Oakland), Buenos Aires and Punta Cana. With the launch, IAG now has five major carrier brands that also include British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling.

In a statement issued by IAG, the company noted that Barcelona is Vueling’s home base and the move will allow customers to connect from Vueling’s extensive European network onto LEVEL’s long-haul flights. While Barcelona has been chosen as the first European city for the launch of IAG’s new operation, LEVEL will, however, look to expand its flights from other European cities.

LEVEL’s fares start at 99 euros ($149) one way; tickets began going on sale on March 17 at flylevel.com. Adhering to the budget carrier model, passengers travelling in economy can chose what they want to buy based on a menu of choices. All customers will have access to next-generation in-flight technology with a wide range of on-board entertainment options. High speed internet connectivity will be available with prices starting at €8.99 ($9.66). Checked luggage (in addition to a free cabin bag), meals, seat selection and the latest movie releases will be complimentary for customers flying in premium economy.

The new carrier will fly two new Airbus A330 aircraft branded in its own livery and fitted with 293 economy and 21 premium economy seats

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said: “LEVEL is an exciting new IAG airline brand which will bring a stylish and modern approach to flying at prices that are even more affordable. It will benefit from having the strength of one of the world’s largest airline groups behind it. … It will complement our existing airline portfolio and further diversify our current customer base.”

Commenting on the announcement, Paul Dendle, longtime aviation industry consultant and CEO of the new startup, Loloflights.co.uk Ltd, wrote, “Clever move by Willie Walsh, he is a very able CEO and gives a way to counter balance to any industrial action in the old legacy airlines, by building resilience in the whole structure.”

“Amazon will buy a large operator to conquer the tourism market”

Even though Amazon had a brief fling in 2015 at offering travel packages by using product from U.S. based tour operators before abruptly abandoning the idea after just six months, the head of a French online travel price comparison company believes that the retail behemoth is going to try again.

In an interview with the French travel trade publication, tourmag, Jean-Pierre Nadir, founder and CEO of Paris-headquartered EasyVoyage (www.easyvoyage.com), said that he believes that “Amazon will buy a large operator to conquer the tourism market.”

Without saying so directly, Nadir seems to be implying that Amazon realized that it didn’t have all the components of a travel company together when it quietly launched its Amazon Destinations in early 2015 before abandoning it in October 2015. Amazon Destinations offered product to a limited number of resort destinations. Amazon also gave up on a localized hotel booking service, Amazon Local.

Today the Amazon group has a fleet called Prime Air, and says it has 16 aircraft in service. The group also operates on the ground. Nadir might be speculating that Amazon is building an operation to provide a seamless travel experience, which is what European travel giants, TUI and Thomas Cook do. Both of these companies own and operate airlines, hotels and ground transportation services as well as cruise lines.

Nadir seems serious about what he sees becoming a dominant presence in the travel market, predicting that the distribution chain will change dramatically once Amazon is operating a travel business: “Tourism professionals will no longer go to shows such as the IFTM or to congresses like Selectour but will do Amazon workshops,” he said.

The trade publication tourmag agreed, concluding its interview piece with Nadir by declaring, “If today Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon hold the keys of the web, it is only a matter of time before a next upheaval of the sector.”

New Air Service: Emirates Adds another Gateway Airport to its USA Offerings

• 
• On March 12, the Middle Eastern carrier Emirates began a daily service between and Dubai and New York Newark via Athens. Newark becomes U.S. gateway number 12 for Emirates, and is the second serving the greater New York metropolitan area, complementing its existing four-times-daily flights to New York JFK. The new service will initially face no direct competition, on either sector, although United Airlines operates seasonal service between Athens and Newark (resuming 24 May) and Delta Air Lines also flies summer-only between Athens and New York JFK (resuming 14 April). (Source: anna.aero)
• TAME Airlines (Linea Aerea del Ecuador) began flights from Equador’s capital city, Quito, to New York JFK (JFK) on 1 March. The 4,554-kilometre (2,830 miles) link replaces the carrier’s existing service between Guayaquil and JFK, a route that the airline launched March 18, 2016. No other carrier currently links Quito to JFK, which becomes the sixth U.S. airport to be served direct from Quito, with American Airlines offering a 15 times weekly link to Miami and a six time weekly link to Dallas/Fort Worth. JetBlue Airways provides an eight times weekly connection from Fort Lauderdale, while Delta Air Lines links Quito with Atlanta, also with eight weekly flights. United Airlines also offers eight weekly flights between its Houston Intercontinental hub and Quito. With the JFK connection, it means that Quito currently has 52 weekly flights to the US. (Source: anna.aero)

• Volaris has launched three new links between Mexico and the U.S. On March 1st, it began new service from Mexico City to Houston Intercontinental and New York JFK. Both of these routes are already served by Aeromexico, Interjet and one US carrier. Then, on March 2nd, it began service between Guadalajara and Milwaukee. It is also the only one of the airline’s three new US routes which does not face any direct competition. Volaris has grown its share of the Mexico-USA market to 9.2 percent as measured by seat capacity. This ranks the carrier fifth behind American Airlines (20.1 percent), United Airlines (19.3 percent), Delta Air Lines (14.1 percent) and Aeromexico (10.7 percent), but ahead of Southwest Airlines (6.9 percent) and Interjet (5.6 percent). Source: anna.aero)

• In a sign that the Brazil-USA market is recovering, Azul will increase the number of its flights between Recife and Orlando this summer. The service—which complements school vacation season in both the United States and Brazil—will take place on Mondays and Fridays from July 1 to July 31.. “The high demand on this route shows that our strategy was correct and we will continue investing and adjusting our operations in Recife whenever necessary so that we can offer the best experience to the Customers,” said Azul’s planning director, Daniel Tkacz.

HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry

Bruce Okabe has taken over as CEO of Tourism Richmond, British Columbia. He succeeds Tracy Lakeman, who stepped down from the post at the end of 2016 after serving in the position for 13 years. Prior to joining Tourism Richmond, Okabe operated his own consulting firm. Previously, he had served for more than five years as CEO of Travel Alberta.

Jay Smith is the new chair of the NTA board of directors. Smith, owner of Sports Travel and Tours in Hatfield, Massachusetts, was selected for the post after being elected as the organization’s vice chair last year. Smith has headed up his tour operator business for more than 20 years.

In Brazil, Agaxtur has announced the appointment of hiring of account executive Raphael Chrysostomo, who has 16 years of experience in tourism working for several tour operators, including Lux Travel Turismo e Viagens.

Also in Brazil, Grupo Águia has announced the hiring of Alexandre Mesquita as commercial manager of Núcleo Lazer, composed of the operators Interplanet and Planeta Brasil, for international and domestic, respectively. He will be responsible for structuring their sales departments and implementing a product marketing portal. Mesquita is former general manager of Sales of MMTGapnet.

Foreign Students Now Comprise 10th Largest Overseas Source Market for Visit USA Travel

, the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities surpassed reached 1,044,000 during the 2015-16 academic year—a number that, were foreign students a market unto themselves, would make them the 10th largest overseas source market for inbound travel to the USA. The student market would rank just ahead of Italy (1,039,000, according to arrivals data for 2015 prepared by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office) and behind the UK, Japan, China, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, France, Australia and India.

The Open Doors report, which is prepared by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State‘s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, also noted that China sends more students to the U.S. than any other country—328,547—which would make this block of students alone the No. 23 overseas source market. This would place the Chinese student market just behind the country market of Ecuador and just ahead of the country market of Denmark. Other highlights from the Open Doors report include the following:

—While students from China and India remained the leading countries of origin and accounted for 84 percent of the growth in international students in 2015-16, Saudi Arabia’s government-sponsored international scholarship program helped drive that country to surpass South Korea to become the third largest sender of international students to the United States.

—Meanwhile, the number of students coming to the United States from Brazil declined by 18 percent in 2015-16, the largest decline recorded and one that is likely due to the freeze in the Brazilian government’s Scientific Mobility Program, which previously sponsored many Brazilian students’ U.S. studies.

—California is the most popular state for international students in the USA. It hosted nearly 150,000 international students in 2015-16. Four of the top 20 U.S. host institutions for international students were located in California, with the University of Southern California ranking second, just behind New York University. New York is the second leading host state, and New York City is the leading host metropolitan area.

The tables below illustrate the growing size and reach of the population of students from other countries in the United States.

International Students Share of U.S. Higher Education

Source: 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Number of International Students in U.S. by Top 25 Countries

Source: 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

 Top U.S. States Hosting International Students

Source: 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Top U.S. Institutions Hosting International Students

Source: 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

For French, Germans & Brits, Most Important Reason for Choosing a Destination is …

Delegates to NAJ’s recent RTO Summit in Orlando received a school semester’s worth of information during the first day of the Summit, which was named International Digital Day because of the latter’s emphasis on program content designed to equip international sales professionals with more digital tools and techniques for selling their product.

Carol Johnson, TripAdvisor’s destination marketing manager, Latin America, head of destination marketing and Latin America discussed “Key Travel Trends from UK, Germany and France,” based on findings from the company’s  2016 Trip Barometer, a work that  was conducted using 34,026 participants worldwide.

The five main overall findings from the Barometer were:

—The path to purchase journeys differ by demographic. Most travelers start by deciding on their destination. Research and booking take place rapidly once travelers have committed to a trop, but female travelers tend to spend longer researching before booking.

—Culture is the most important reason for selecting a destination. However, motivations for choosing destinations differ markedly among different groups.

—While TripAdvisor is predominantly used for researching accommodation and destination information, other information sources tend to be heavily used by travelers to research either accommodation or destination information.

—Needs-based typologies demonstrate a diverse set of traveler characteristics—understanding travelers’ emotions and hoe they influence travel patterns reveals a diverse set of behaviors.

—Different types of trips lead to a different emphasis on booking behavior. On shorter breaks, accommodation is more important and tends to be researched and booked first, but on longer trips, transport is prioritized.

Johnson led delegates through various country-specific charts, graphs and tables, which used Barometer findings and other source materials. A selection of some of the illustrated material follows:

Most trips are destination led.

What Lures French Travelers? They visit a destination because …

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For French Travelers, the Top Ten Influences are …

When French Travelers do Their Booking

What Lures German Travelers? They visit a destination because …

For UK Travelers, the Top Ten Influences are …

Some quick takeaways from the TripAdvisor information on France, Germany and the UK markets.

For a complete PDF version of the TripAdvisor presentation, e-mail your request to the Inbound Report.

Day Two at NAJ’s RTO Summit Orlando—a Photo Log

Active America China Launches Bi-lingual B2B WeChat Channel

Inform, Engage, Connect our tourism community around Active America China Summit 2017

Effective Dec. 7, 2016, NAJ will launch a bi-lingual  b2b WeChat channel designed to bind tour operators, travel planners, U.S.-based Chinese Receptive operators together with North American destinations and suppliers  into a community network around Active America China Summit and TourOperatorland.com.

“We have assembled a great team to help us build the network and communicate in a way that will be uniquely entertaining, informative and engaging to our Chinese trade partners,” commented Jake Steinman, founder of NAJ and Active America China, “our goals is to grow our community of 300-500 trade buyers by March of 2017.”

—Daniel Shen’s team at  East/West Marketing, (our agents in China) will be promoting the channel to our network of over 300 Chinese-based operators who have attended Active America China since  2009 as well as to their database in the travel industry.

—Z.J.Tong’s team at China Pro Partners, will be in charge of design, production, translation and promotions to generating trade followers.

—Gayle Morris, a long-time veteran of our tourism industry whose experience includes tenures as senior sales and marketing leader at Tourism Richmond, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre and Gaylord Hotels ResortQuest division, will serve as Creative Content Strategist.

Weekly messaging will include the following on a rotational basis…

• What’s new at Active America China Summit; Host City updates, who’s attending, Pre&Post FAM opportunities and more
• TourOperatorland.com “Destination of the Week” links
• “I Love to Win” with Active America; weekly travel incentives and giveaways, provided by Active America China supplier partners
• “Farm to Chop Stick,” group friendly restaurants that Chinese travelers love to experience
• “The Dumpling Trail,” favorite Chinese restaurants for groups and FIT visitors
• “Shopping is the Best Outlet,” and therapy too! Links to shopping vouchers from TourOperatorland
• “Dancing Destinations,” Links to US-dance videos sponsored by an AA China destination
• “Did You Know?” Relevant and fun facts and research sourced from The Inbound Report

About Active America China Summit (April 23-25, 2017, Portland, OR). Now entering its ninth year, the NAJ Active America China trade show  is the only US-based show that brings qualified Chinese tour operators to the event’s U.S. host city for to build new U.S. and Canadian product.

For more information about Active America China Summit go here: http://www.activeamericachina.net

Why a Shift in the Timing of UK Family Holidays is Possible, Maybe Probable

What began earlier this year in the UK when a court ruling nullified a fine on a parent who took his child out of school in term (while schools are in session) in order to take a holiday became a highly visible issue when the subject was featured last month in the annual World Travel Market 2016 Industry Report. And now it has the travel trade in the UK scratching its collective head as to what it will do should more families with school-age children and begin taking their holidays in-term, rather than during the once-sacrosanct term breaks for schools. The situation also affects U.S. suppliers and receptive tour operators in the U.S.—particularly in Florida, for whom UK families make the country Florida’s largest overseas source market—as the certainty of term break travel becomes less certain and predictable.

Background—The Importance of School Terms and Breaks: In England, schools nationwide pretty much have the same school year schedules, although each of the 150 Local Education Authorities (LGAs) in England set their own term dates, and some schools—including academies—do deviate from this calendar. With this in mind, the below dates can be used as a guideline. INSET (teacher training) days, five per year, may appear on either side of breaks or mid-way through the term. For most schools, the school term schedule then looks something like this:

School term dates 2016-2017

Autumn term 2016:

School starts: Monday 5 September 2016

Half term break: Monday 24 October to Friday 28 October 2016

Christmas holidays (last day of term): Friday 16 December 2016

 Spring term 2017:

School starts: Thursday 5 January 2017

Half term break: Monday 13 February 2017 to Friday 17 February 2017

Easter holidays:  (last day of term) Friday 31 March 2017 (Easter falls on Sunday April 16th 2017)

 Summer term 2017

Easter Monday bank holiday: Monday 17 April 2017

School starts:  Tuesday 18 April 2017

Early May bank holiday: Monday 1 May 2017

Half term break: Monday 29 May 2017 to Friday 2 June 2017

Summer holidays: (last day of term) Friday 21 July 2017

For the most part, the schedule above encourages most families who are going to take a holiday to do so during the breaks. If you review the schedule above, you can understand why so many British families crowd Orlando’s theme parks and Florida’s beaches at roughly the same times of the year—during term breaks. Individual schools have always been able to allow parents whose children have good attendance records and are otherwise good students to waive required attendance—but only in rare instances. For a parent to take a child out of school otherwise was to face a stiff fine. As UK travel abroad began to pick up after the Global Economic Recession of 2009-10, some Britons began to ignore term dates and started taking their families on holidays in term. The authorities did not like this and took measures to stop the practice. Consider this passage from Gov.UK on the matter of non-term holidays:

“You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school’s permission. If your request for leave is unauthorised and you still choose to take your child out of school for a holiday or another reason, you may be fined £60 ($76) per child per parent, rising to £120 ($152) per child per parent if not paid within 21 days. If the fine is unpaid after 28 days, court proceedings can be initiated.”

According to published reports last month that cited the most recent figures available, 50,414 fines were issued to parents in the academic year 2014/15, generating £3 million ($3.818 million).”

The Court Ruling that Changed Things: Last year, Mr. Jon Platt, refused to pay a fine issued by the Isle of Wight education authority and was taken to court. After the judge found in Platt’s favor, the Isle of Wight council then took the case to the High Court, which earlier this year upheld the original ruling, saying a parent could take a child out of school for a holiday if they had a good attendance record. Immediately after, there was a surge in bookings and searches for term-time family holidays. In the meantime, the High Court ruling is being appealed, leading to an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Into this setting, the World Travel Market 2016 Industry Report released last month had this to say:

“The majority of parents have no qualms about taking their children on holiday during term time, as confusion reigns about the legality of term-time fines. When asked how likely respondents were to take children on holiday during school time following a High Court ruling that a father should not have been fined for doing so, 56 percent of respondents (with children of school age) said they would take their child away during term time. The rest were split equally between being ‘not at all likely’ and ‘not very likely’ to take their kids out of school for a family holiday.”

The High Court has recently ruled in favor against fining parents for taking their children out of school during term time. How likely are you to take your children on holiday during school time? (UK holidaymakers survey)

The Final Word—a Difference, Yes … a Surge, No: Well into this mess with no definitive answer, the Inbound Report turned to Greg Evans, a long-time veteran of the UK tour and travel industry who publishes an insiders intelligence newsletter on the industry and asked him what he thought about the matter.

Evans told us: “This issue has always been high on the agenda of UK families due to the increases in holiday pricing over peak travel periods. Some parents have always taken their children out of school to avoid these higher prices and it wasn’t until around 4 or 5 years ago that the UK government implemented these mandatory fines for parents doing so.

“Whilst the isle of Wight case has set a precedent for this, when it comes to family travel to the USA this is mainly based around the central Florida market which tends to be considered a once in a lifetime trip due to the overall cost. So whilst we may see an increase in family bookings outside of school holiday periods I wouldn’t say it would be a surge.”

Back to the Basics: What is a profile sheet and how will it help me get more group tours? by Sally Berry*

A profile sheet is one of the basic means of communicating information in the group tour industry. It is a one page document that contains information, photos, contact information and any other details that tour operators might need to know.  At the major group tour tradeshows such as those of the American Bus Association and NTA (as well as international shows—see below), the profile sheet is the only document that suppliers (which includes attractions, hotels and destinations) can give to the operator. This is so the operators are not inundated with thousands of brochures and other handouts. The standard profile sheet is 8.5” x 11” and should have three-hole punches. This allows the tour operator to place the profile sheet directly into a large binder at their booth and keep your information on file after the show.

What should be on your profile sheet?  Here are the basics:
– The name of your attraction should be across the top and easy to read.
– Photos sell your product. You need hi- res photos that are large enough to show off your property. The tour operator can get a sense of what your facility looks like, and you can use the photo as a talking point.
-limit text to bullet points. People rarely read blocks of text, so use short phrases to convey what makes your attraction a must see.
– Amenities. List items such as gift shops, cafes, parking for buses, proximity to major roads or other attractions. Are you handicapped accessible?
—Map
—Distance from other locations
—Website
—Contact name
—Your photo so tour operators can remember you

Also nice to have:
—Professional affiliations such as ABA, NTA, etc.
—Social media links

Here are some examples: House of Seven Gables (www.7gables.org); Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard (www.flycreekcidermill.com); Corning Museum of Glass (www.cmog.org); and Fenimore Art Museum (www.FenimoreArtMuseum.org).

The Essentials: Let’s expand on the basics a bit to make sure you get the best use out of this one document that you can.

First, the type of paper. Don’t print on paper that can’t be written on. Shiny paper might look nice, but it keeps a tour operator from being able to write notes on the profile sheet while you are speaking. Some have told me that is the best way for them to remember information so don’t deny them the opportunity. Use a heavier stock of paper so it can withstand the wear and tear of use back in the office.

Second, make sure to use both the back and the front of your profile sheet. I am always amazed when I see a blank back side of these handouts. You are losing a huge opportunity to share more information.

Can it be more than one piece of paper? Technically no. But I e-mailed Peter Pantuso, president and CEO of the American Bus Association, and his savvy staff confirmed that is OK to have a bi-fold profile sheet, so you basically have an outside front, two inside pages and a back. I have seen variations on that with a stylish half page on the front as well; so, as long as it is just one piece of paper, it is ok.

Third, keep it timely. If you are going to feature exhibits and shows with specific end dates, be aware that your document will need to be updated each year. Some companies choose to work with an evergreen product that needs be updated only every few years. Others want fresh profile sheets with new programming featured. Either way works, and it’s just a matter of your budget. And if you know your offerings far enough in advance to be able to promote them!

I have seen QR codes being used more frequently and I do have a suggestion there. I took an educational session at the NTA Exchange one year where a speaker suggested having the QR code go to a video, instead of just a website. It delivers more impact—I have used that tactic before to take a quick snapshot of the QR code on my own profile sheet and show an operator our group tour video. Much easier than dragging a tablet around!

Some Notes on International Meetings: I find profile sheets to be very helpful at international shows as well. However, you should have a different profile sheet with information that international receptive operators will need to know, that might not be pertinent to domestic group operators.

Some examples include

—Do you have FIT rates available?

—Do you have information in multiple languages? Many attractions will print visitor maps or have audio guides in multiple languages

—Can you translate the profile sheet into the languages of your clients? Although most of our European tour company contacts speak English, we have found it is very helpful to have our international profile sheet translated into Mandarin for our Chinese contacts. Perhaps, if a majority of your international clients speak another language, it is worth the investment to translate your profile sheet. It is an easy way to show that you understand the market and its needs

Handing out one sheet of paper with your contact information on it is always a benefit over multiple documents. Everyone has to go home after the show and sometimes bigger visitor guides and excess information get left behind. A profile sheet is a small document that will make it back to the tour company office and continue to work for you.

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* Sally Berry is tourism sales and marketing manager at Corning Museum of Glass. A long time veteran of the tour and travel industry, she is credited with increasing the profile of the museum on both the U,S. domestic and international travel marketplace and in developing itineraries with other attractions and destinations in New York State and Pennsylvania that are “beyond the gateways.” Among her many industry roles, Berry is a member of the NAJ Group’s Strategic Advisory Committee. This article just recently appeared in her blog, TheAttractionsCoach.com.

Department of Delusion? Where Does the Optimism Come from in Germany?

U.S. travel and tourism industry professionals who sell to the German market must be confused. Despite statistical as well as anecdotal references over the past month that might cause some receptive tour operators and travel sellers to cut back on their available offerings, in Germany itself, the country’s largest tour operator has increased Visit USA capacity for 2017, and air service between Germany is on track to increase.

While the Inbound Report has no special insight to suggest which of the views on the outlook for Germany is correct, we can present this brief summary of the gloomy and rosy views of what to expect next year for the fourth largest overseas country source market for visitors to the United States.

The Gloomy View

—In its current, posted long-term forecast for international arrivals to the USA, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office has projected that 2016 will end with a three percent decline in arrivals from Germany compared to 2015. Its outlook then calls for mere one percent annual increases through 2019.

—Germany’s travel trade news media have been consistent in their reporting of accounts on the part of tour and travel industry leaders that are—while not dire—are less than sanguine about prospects for an increase in Visit USA business.

—There seems to be a consensus opinion among market experts that, because of the antipathy toward President-elect Donald Trump expressed by many Germans, a number of German travelers will simply cancel bookings to travel to the USA and/or change their travel plans for 2017 to take their holidays elsewhere.

—Overall, the retail travel trade in Germany is coming off a 12-month window that the market research organization GfK has described as a “lost year” for business. And its report that early bookings for summer travel for 2017 were up by one percent are little solace when one notes that a one percent increase over a terrible year is still below the pace for a normal year.

The Rosy View

Airlines must believe that the traffic will be there. In recent months, there have been the following announcements:

-Lufthansa‘s budget airline Eurowings will launch flights with its fourth A330 from Cologne/Bonn to Orlando and Seattle starting next July. There will be twice-weekly services to Orlando and three flights a week to Seattle.

–Other Eurowings USA destinations for next summer will include Boston, Las Vegas and Miami.

–Condor will add another Pittsburgh to its U.S. destinations next June with twice-weekly flights from Frankfurt. This news followed announcements earlier in the year in which the airline said it would begin service to San Diego and New Orleans.

-Delta Air Lines will expand its Germany flights to eight daily next summer with the start of seasonal summer flights from Detroit to Munich next May 2017.

In addition to increased air service between German and the USA, Tui—the Europe’s largest tour operator and largest purveyor of USA product to German travel agents and consumers—has added to its Visit USA inventory. For its summer program 2017 Tui has added some 200 new hotels and 30 round trips. In New York, there is now a dedicated service center right on Times Square, where guests are cared for two days a week.

And then there is the view among some travel trade professionals that schadenfreude might bring to the USA some visitors from Germany who are skittish about traveling to the once popular destinations of Turkey, northern Africa or elsewhere in Europe because of fears triggered by terrorist attacks in those areas. For, despite the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, the United States is still regarded as a safe destination.

More Later

In the tour and travel industry, no one really has the final word on whether the outlook for Visit USA business from Germany is truly rosy or truly gloomy until travel arrangements have been booked. But we will have a better idea of what the travel trade in Germany believes it will be this month as the major and mid-sized tour operators have their year-end financial reviews with reporters and business analysts.

HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry

Allison Raskansky has abruptly left her job as vice president, SPEEDVEGAS, the Las Vegas attraction that puts customers into ultra-fast autos on a custom-designed racetrack. “Resigned on Friday” she posted to friends on a social media site earlier this week, following up quickly with “Resigned from SPEEDVEGAS Friday, December 2” just to make sure, in case anyone didn’t get the message. Raskansky, a veteran of nearly three decades in the travel and tourism industry, was on the job for nearly two years. Earlier stops in her career included tenures in senior sales and marketing positions at Hualapai Tourism and Sundance Helicopters.

In the UK, Colin O’Neill, the long-time business development director of Advantage Travel is leaving his position early next year. He has been with the company for 16 years. Managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said said that she will be recruiting a replacement for Colin, “however in a slightly different role.”  O’Neill was appointed to his current role in 2013, looking after member business development, PR, events and central staff training and development.

From France, HRS Hotel Global Solutions—the hotel reservation services with offices in New York City, London, Paris and elsewhere, has announced the appointment of John Baird Smith as head of management in France, replacing Emmanuel Ebray, who will now be in charge of the company’s Singapore office. His appointment will be effective Jan. 1, 2017.  Prior to joining HRS, Smith held the position of director, France at Airplus International; He also worked as a senior account executive within the Carlson Wagonlit Travel business network.

At Explore Minnesota Tourism, Beth Helle has been appointed senior manager, partner relations. She joins the state agency from her post as director of brand strategy at Meet Minneapolis. Halle began her career in travel and tourism more than 20 years ago as tourism account executive at Mall of America.

In Germany, the travel agency chain LCC (Lufthansa City Center) has announced that managing director Klaus Henschel (left) will be retiring from the company in mid-2017. He will be replaced by Andi-Julia Leta (right), currently sales director of the company, which has more than 600 travel agencies worldwide, with 300 in Germany alone. Henschel spent 18 years at the top of LCC and for four years he was also responsible for the international franchise chain.

Following the surprising departure of Jaan Albrecht who was named CEO at Saudia. Jens Bischof has been appointed CEO of Sun Express. Bischof leaves his post as head of sales for the Lufthansa Group and chief operating officer for its Frankfurt hub.

In Brazil, Dyrana Oliveira has taken over as manager of the Rio branch of the tour operator MMTGapnet, replacing Julio Sousa. Oliveira a former executive of the now-defunct tour operator Nascimento, was most recently with Hello Brazil, a marketing and representation company. She will respond to Deco Borges, regional manager of MMTGapnet.

Grupo Trend (the Brazilian operator’s U.S. brand is Trend Travel USA) has announced the hiring of Tiago Mucsi as sales manager, São Paulo. Musci, who has more than a decade of experience in the travel and tourism industry, was most recently commercial manager for Visual Turismo. He was also a supervisor for the tour operator Nascimento.