Inbound Travel news

Behind China’s Cloud is a Sunny Sky

May 10, 2022 by Tom Berrigan

A report on the Spring 2022 Chinese Traveler Sentiment Report

The sunny sky behind the cloudy sky is what international leisure travel marketers to China point out in a new report—the Spring 2022 Chinese Traveler Sentiment by Dragon Trail International, the global marketing and promotion company based in China and the UK. ForwardKeys joined in furnishing the survey with additional insights that were mostly focused on domestic travel in China. The Sentiment Report is the fifth edition of the product. The last report was a little more than six months ago. Some of the findings of both are paired in some charts or tables in order to illustrate differences.

Discussing the Sentiment Report In a webinar, Sienna Parulis-Cook, Dragon Trail’s director of marketing and communications, said that its team of surveyors “asked about overall travel sentiment, opinions on China’s quarantine-on-arrival policy, appraisal of outbound destinations, domestic travel trends, and more.”

“Although feelings of caution and hesitancy surrounding travel have risen during this period of outbreaks and lockdowns around China,” she added, “there has also been an increase in those who say they are eager to travel. At the same time, we’ve observed softening attitudes towards quarantine policies, and improved perceptions of travel safety for every single country included in our survey.”

The Basics, or Why It’s So Challenging Right Now. Not necessarily in any particular order, they are:

● Outbound group and package tours have now been banned for more than two years (since January 2020).

● Outbound travel for non-essential reasons has been repeatedly discouraged.

● New passports are not being issued except for essential travel reasons.

● Flight tickets are far more expensive than ever.

● Flights are limited in number, and flights are often canceled.

● China’s COVID-driven shutdowns and other restrictive steps remain.

However …

● Some major cities in China are taking small steps to reduce the number of days that arriving/returning air passengers must spend in quarantine.

● Domestic air travel has been active—active enough that airports and airlines would not require much of an adaptation period to get back to flying.

● Since late last November, a number of Asia-Pacific nations have opened partially opened up for travel. They include Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. (Info from ForwardKeys)

—Finding: travel remains on hold for most, but the needle has moved up, as the number of those who are “eager to travel” is on the rise.

—Finding: Quit quarantining!

—Finding: It’s clear that a reduction in, or elimination of quarantines for those returning home would have an impact the answers to the question, “What would make you consider outbound travel?”

—Finding: Once the pillar of international tourism packages and itineraries, group travel is passé, and FIT is so “today.”

—Finding: The preferences for travel have remained about the same since last September.

—Finding: The preferred outbound destination for Chinese travelers is … *

* It should be pointed out that just 24 percent have international travel experience.

Note on methodology. The Spring 2022 Chinese Traveler Sentiment Report by Dragon Trail Research involved 1,011 survey responses from mainland Chinese. The survey was conducted via Tencent on March 9-14, 2022. All survey respondents have an interest in traveling, with 24 percent having outbound travel experience. They come from 49 first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities. By age group, 16 percent are Post 00s; 35 percent are Post-90s; 29 percent are Post 80s; 15 percent are Post 70s; 5 percent are post 60s and older.

Mean, Median + Other Statistical Weapons

April 12, 2022 by Tom Berrigan

Every once in a while, we have to remind INBOUND readers of the trove of government data available and the different ways that one can use it to better understand international visitors to the United States. You can find one example (what follows is the short form) of how monthly data on the ages of visitors—and where they are from—can help you better fine-tune your marketing and promotional mailings, texts and online posts, etc. and improve your chances of actually having their collateral read!

In the following table—it was generated from data that one can find at https://www.trade.gov/i-94-arrivals-program —you can see that there are subtle regional differences in the age bracket numbers of key demographic groups. This could suggest that, if one wanted to prioritize an ad campaign by age groups, you should probably begin gathering your own lists by targeting those groups. And so on. (BTW, the table below was compiled from fairly current data—that is, for the month of February, 2022.)

If you find that you want to launch a data collection and mining program, you might want to contact David Huether at the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). He is deputy director for research, and he can probably help you point your venture in the right direction. You can reach him here: David.Huether@trade.gov. In the meantime, start studying the numbers. After a while, they just might start talking to you!

Visitors to the U.S. by World Region/Country of Residence & Age

February 2022

World Region	Ages 18-24	Ages 25-34	Ages 35-44	Ages 45-54	Ages 55-64	Ages 65 and +	Mean* Age	Median* Age
Western Europe	39,538	91,281	79,237	81,508	61,367	38,259	40.7	40.0
Eastern Europe	2,418	6,839	7,433	5,466	3,611	2,466	40.1	39.0
Asia	11,041	27,790	15,739	15,151	21,769	17,755	44.6	43.0
Middle East	3,119	7,196	7,367	6,404	4,967	3,630	41.8	41.0
Africa	947	2,369	2,555	2,088	2,033	1,594	44.2	43.0
Oceania	1,458	4,188	3,947	3,551	2,742	1,815	42.0	41.0
South America	25,063	48,490	55,840	47,727	32,939	23,485	39.1	39.0
Central America	5,071	12,515	16,862	13,811	8,928	7,825	41.0	41.0
Caribbean	4,461	11,333	14,463	13,671	10,426	6,557	42.9	43.0
Total Oveseas	97,364	93,116	212,001	203,443	189,377	148,782	103,386	40.9

* “Mean” vs. “Median”: The mean (or average) of a data set is found by adding all numbers in the data set and then dividing by the number of values in the set. The median is the middle value when a data set is ordered from least to greatest. The mode is the number that occurs most often in a data set. (Created by Sal Khan)

Western Europe includes: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, plus.

Eastern Europe includes: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine plus.

Asia includes India: Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, PRC (excluding Hong Kong), Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam plus.

Middle East includes: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates plus.

Africa includes: Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa plus.

Oceania includes: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand plus.

South America includes: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela plus.

Central America includes: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, plus.

Caribbean includes: Antigua-Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, plus.

More Number: international data just made available via the U.S. International Trade Administration include the following;

● Non-U.S. Citizen Air Passenger Arrivals to the United States from foreign countries, totaled 2.891 million, +193 percent compared to March 2021 and (-44.4 percent) compared to March 2019.

● On a related note, overseas “visitor” arrivals (‘I-94’/ADIS (Arrival and Departure Information System). totaled 1.379 million, the fifth consecutive month overseas visitor arrivals totaled over 1.0 million. (See March 2022 I-94 Advance Release by visiting the I-94 Program Page)

● Top Countries of Total International Air Traffic Passenger Enplanements to and from the United States were Mexico 3.37 million, Canada 1.49 million, the United Kingdom 865k, Dominican Republic 790k and Germany 464k (Note: Air travel to/from Europe totaled 3.0 million passengers, up 862% over March 2021).

● Top U.S. Ports serving international locations were New York (JFK) 1.84 million, Miami (MIA) 1.74 million, Los Angeles (LAX) 1.08 million, Newark (EWR) 840k and Chicago (ORD) 547k.

● Top Foreign Ports serving U.S. locations were Cancun (CUN) 1.27 million, London Heathrow (LHR) 789k, Toronto (YYZ) 673k, Mexico City (MEX) 596k and Paris (CDG) 420k.

Interested in an interactive data visualization of these statistics? Please visit our I-92/APIS International Air Passenger Monitor for a more comprehensive and customizable experience.

Complete Issue March 30, 2022

March 29, 2022 by Tom Berrigan

A New Normal Emerging in Arrivals to USA

The timeliness of the preliminary monthly data on overseas arrivals to the United States makes them all the more welcoming to those who use and study the numbers. Thanks to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), the key figures for those who want to get “real time” numbers on inbound travel to the United States—or close to it for the month of February 2022—have numbers that are indeed, almost, out in real time. So, here are some current notes on the latest (February 2022) NTTO Top 20 Country Markets for arrivals:

● The news tells the international travel and tourism industry for the USA that key markets that have driven the overseas market are “back in action.”

● That it is, the traditional Top 10 out of the Top 20 are beginning to look familiar. First is the UK which, in February, had some unusually strong numbers. Analysts and industry leaders had been predicting such, as British travel agencies and tour operators had been reporting strong pent-up demand for travel abroad.

● Overall, the data would be much stronger were China and Japan to open their own boundaries more. However, this doesn’t seem immediately likely, although INBOUND has noticed that there have been suggestions that even China, with its zero tolerance for COVID-19 infections, might ease some of its restrictions, as the absence of inbound travel is hurting some destinations in the country that depend on tourism.

● It is too early to tell if the Russian invasion of Ukraine (it began on Feb. 24) has had an impact—either overall, regionally or at the country-specific level—on arrivals from abroad to the United States.

● Even though most European markets have been posting numbers that are similar to the pre-pandemic marketplace—they generate nearly 40 percent of overseas arrivals to the USA—the market(s) comprising South America-Central America-the Caribbean have remained strong. This strength will likely fade once China and Japan start posting pre-pandemic arrivals numbers.

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Counties

For Month of February 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	Percentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom	152,058	3410.1%
2. Brazil	72,924	1969.9%
3. France	70,022	2684.2%
4. India	51,841	113.1%
5. Colombia	51,121	119.4%
6. Germany	49,317	1349.6%
7. Chile	36,196	187.8%
8. Argentina	34,941	197.3%
9. Spain	33,921	933.5%
10. Ecuador	24,992	73.5%
11. Peru	24,399	220.7%
12. Dominican Republic	22,818	44.7%
13. Italy	20,455	703.7%
14. Ireland	17,912	4794.0%
15. South Korea	17,577	262.4%
16. Australia	16,492	1377.8%
17. Netherlands	15,659	1174.1%
18. Panama	15,059	203.7%
19. Costa Rica	14,928	175.3%
20. Israel	14,888	1382.9%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries	757,520	410.9%

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Counties

Year-to-Date Through Month of February 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	Percentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom	248,827	1783.2%
2. Brazil	143,138	1436.5%
3. India	116,944	79.7%
4. France	112,837	1206.9%
5. Colombia	110,044	95.2%
6. Germany	91,239	786.3%
7. Chile	69,826	152.7%
8. Argentina	69,464	126.9%
9. Spain	67,037	569.8%
10. South Korea	48,892	222.3%
11. Peru	45,086	149.8%
12. Italy	43,482	549.0%
13. Dominican Republic	43,126	34.8%
14. Ecuador	40,176	54.4%
15. Costa Rica	40,060	113.4%
16. Australia	34,372	1012.0%
17. Guatemala	29,949	99.9%
18. China, PRC	29,393	463.8%
19. Venezuela	29,366	57.3%
20. Ireland	29,225	2544.8%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries	1,442,483	269.0%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by World Region of Residence

For Month of February 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. 2021
Western Europe	429,568	41.0%	1824.6%
Eastern Europe	30,695	2.9%	244.0%
Asia	112,253	10.7%	161.5%
Middle East	34,902	3.3%	303.4%
Africa	12,068	1.2%	150.8%
Oceania	18,687	1.8%	1001.2%
South America	270,210	25.8%	210.4%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	73,424	7.0%	145.1%
Caribbean	65,662	6.3%	104.1%
Total Overseas	1,047,469	100.0%	339.1%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by World Region of Residence

Year-to-Date Through February 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. 2021
Western Europe	752,059	36.5%	989.8%
Eastern Europe	65,652	3.2%	198.5%
Asia	281,812	13.7%	127.0%
Middle East	81,560	4.0%	161.7%
Africa	29,496	1.4%	85.7%
Oceania	39,064	1.9%	744.4%
South America	530,485	25.8%	169.2%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	153,394	7.5%	111.2%
Caribbean	124,282	6.0%	73.2%
Total Overseas	2,057,804	100.0%	238.3%

TRADE TALK & Tourism Industry Buzz

● The Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing (VDTM) has announced that after a four-year hiatus, Vermont has rejoined Discover New England, a regional destination marketing organization dedicated to promoting international visitation to the six member states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. VDTM will gain access to DNE’s existing media and travel trade relationships. In addition, tourism industry businesses will have access to educational resources and the DNE Summit to meet directly with tour operators.

● 15 Airlines Have Changed the Way Airlines do Business in Latin America. The Mexico-based Latin American new publication REPORTUR tells readers that the LATAM air travel market has been revolutionized in recent years by 15 low-cost carriers who operate with a more profitable and accessible business model. Among these fifteen companies—a they are located in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela—are: Viva Air, Viva Aerobus, Volaris, JetSmart, Sky Airlines, Wingo, Easyfly, Azul, Ultra Air, Flybondi, Gol Linhas Aéreas, GCA Airlines, Avior Airlines, Laser and Avianca with a more affordable business model for travelers. Click here for the complete REPORTUR article.

● Althams Travel—it is in Burnley, about 240 miles north/northwest of Central London—has announced plans to move staff to a four-day working week as the business strives to offer “a much better work-life balance.” The new approach begins on April 1st after changes led by managing director Sandra McAllister. McAllister said the companies board has first discussed the idea back in 2018 but plans to implement it were put on hold in 2020 due to the pandemic and staff working from home.

“Everybody’s prepared to step it up,” said McAllister. “We didn’t want it to look like it was all give, give, give, I do understand they’ll be some give and take from staff, so we said look, we feel this will be a much better work life balance for everyone concerned and nearly everyone was onboard with it.” She admitted some staff members were concerned with the change and that salary would be reduced, however wages will stay the same despite the decrease in working hours.

● Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently signed an executive directive which creates the City of Los Angeles Tourism Cabinet, a group of department general managers to support growth in the tourism and hospitality sectors in Los Angeles. Doane Liu, the executive director of the LA City Tourism Department, was designated as the chief tourism officer and the Chair of the Tourism Cabinet and will be responsible for leading the implementation of the Tourism Master Plan. “I look forward to serving as the Chief Tourism Officer and collaborating with the Tourism Cabinet to enhance the visitor experience while also improving the quality of life for Angelenos,” said Doane Liu, adding, “The Tourism Master Plan is a destination management plan that helps Los Angeles prepare for long-term growth in the number of visitors to the City, and I’m excited that the Tourism Cabinet will work with public, private and community stakeholders to advance the 22 recommendations in the Plan.” Click here for the complete city statement on the new office.

● Z.J. Tong, president at Chicago-based China Pro Marketing Partners, has told us that, on March 21, his company “reached a milestone on WeChat Channel to over 100K followers. I started livestreaming on this platform exactly a year ago in March, 2021. Now I’m averagely growing 10K new followers a month on there. While tourism marketing to Chinese market is very quiet at the moment, I have become one of the loudest voices to fill the void and have successfully built myself as the top travel influencer for the U.S. on WeChat Channel.”

● Testing Rule Change a Huge Boost for Canadian Tourism, Starting April 1. April 1st is a day to celebrate for Canadian travelers, and for anyone wishing to visit Canada. Previously, the Canadian government today) announced that mandatory border tests for fully vaccinated residents and visitors will be dropped as of April 1. That means Canadians can travel out of the country and not have to worry about finding an expensive COVID-19 test. They also don’t have to worry that they’ll be denied entry to the country because of a positive test result. It also means foreign visitors can avoid pricey tests and the worry of testing positive. Read the full story on this item here.

● New in New York: MAD Tours. After more than a year of work (and sweat and anxiety) Isabelle D. Mary and Martin Dominique are the new owners of their brand-new tours and events agency: MAD Tours and Events. It all started, says Isabelle, “one afternoon on the phone with my amazing friend and one of the best tour guides of New York City, Martine Dominique, when we came up with the idea for MAD Tours and Events.” We spent 13 months working days and night because we had a vision and wanted to make sure our agency would reflect it! With leadership, mentorship, friends, YouTube and YouTube again, the positive work morale and discipline we established, we are in the final stage to have our website go LIVE … Here it is: https://www.madnewyorktours.com/. You can also call 1.646.895.5778.

● CVC stubbornly stays on course. The company’s key numbers for 2021, as reported by PANROTAS, show the following:

—CVC Corp’s balance sheet for 2021 shows that the company was unable to satisfy a goal of several years ago of 100 new agencies a year, but considering the economic environment in which it operated, one has to be impressed with its key numbers for last year.

—The number of its stores in Brazil were down by 67 stores in total and up by 10 stores in Argentina.

—There were 1,119 CVC stores at the end of the year—1,107 franchises (a decrease of 73 compared to the beginning of 2021) and 12 of its own stores (an increase of 6 units compared to the beginning of the year.)

—Brazil ended the year with 1, 176 stores, including 57 Experimento stores (Experimento is an educational store specialist), four of which are owned and 53 franchises.

—Overall, the CVC Corp. had 1,279 stores at the end of 2021, in Brazil and Argentina.

—Of the 12 of its own stores, four have already have begun to use the new layout defined by the company for more personalized service and closer to the customers.

2,000+ Meetings at RTO Summit West!

In a sentence: It was Building Back International Travel—One Meeting at a Time, with 2,030 Individual meetings altogether at Connect Travel’s RTO Summit West last week at the Hilton Los Angeles/University City. Here are more than two dozen photo memories of the experience.

AMEX Releases Global Travel Trends Report

Accepted as one of the few general-interest annual reports on the condition of global travel trends, the American Express edition of its 2022 is also accepted as authoritative due to its carefully designed methodology¹.

For your convenience, INBOUND has digested the salient contents of the report. Click here to access the full report.

“The past two years proved how special exploration can be, as well as the weight our travel decisions hold for local communities. Looking ahead, travelers are making decisions with purpose in mind – from understanding where their money is going to finding time to connect with loved ones. We’re excited to see what the future brings.”—Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel

⦁ 81 percent of respondents agree they want to travel to destinations where they can immerse themselves into the local culture¹.

⦁ 81 percent of respondents agree they want the money they spend while traveling to go back to the local community¹.

⦁ 62 percent of respondents agree they want to be more thoughtful about where and how they travel¹.

⦁ 74 percent of respondents are willing to book a trip for 2022 even if they might have to cancel or modify it later¹.

⦁ 72 percent of respondents plan to spend more money on domestic travel and 64% plan to spend more money on international travel than they have in the previous year¹.

⦁ 62 percent of respondents agree that they plan on taking 2-4 trips in 20221¹.

Top Activities Consumers Are Interested in Doing

To Have a Positive Impact on The Local Community

Activity	Percentage of Survey Respondents
Eating & Shopping at Small Businesses	55%
Visiting a Landmark or Heritage Site	42%
Visiting a National Park	40%
Visiting a Farmer’s Market	37%
Visiting Museums or Attending Cultural Tours	36%
Partaking in Outdoor Activities	34%

The Evolution of Family Travel

⦁ 79 percent of respondents agree they are most looking forward to traveling with their family in 20221¹.

⦁ 76 percent of respondents state they plan to travel more with family in 2022 than they did in 20211¹.

⦁ 58 percent of respondents agree they are more interested in multi-generational family trips than ever before¹.

What Did Family Travel Look Like Over the Past Two Years?

Family travel looked different for everyone. While 19 percent of respondents state they didn’t travel the past two years, other families’ favorite experiences included:

—Domestic travel (19 percent);

—Beach resorts (12 percent);

—Road trips (11 percent);

—International travel (10 percent);

—Staycations (7 percent);

—Camping (6 percent), and more.¹

Consumers Surveyed in These Seven Countries

Plan To Travel More with Family Than They Did in 2021

Country	% Who Plan to Spend More Time with Family
India	94%
Mexico	92%
Australia	76%
UK	74%
U.S.	72%
Canada	69%
Japan	57%

Dream Destinations Become a Reality

Looking beyond the pandemic, travelers are eager to experience the dream destinations they have not previously visited and are embracing flexibility with their travel plans. In fact, 55percent of respondents agree they want to book a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in 2022. And 74 percent of respondents agree they are willing to book a trip for 2022 even if they might have to cancel or modify it later.1

⦁ 86 percent of respondents expect to spend more or the same on travel in 2022 compared to a typical year before the pandemic¹.

⦁ 65 percent of respondents agree they would rather take their dream vacation than purchase a new car¹.

⦁ 58 percent of Millennials surveyed agree they would be willing to travel solo now to visit their dream destination¹.

What’s New for Experiential Travel

⦁ 70 percent of respondents state they are interested in cultural immersion and taking a tour on future trips¹.

⦁ 43 percent of respondents state they are interested in traveling for entertainment events¹.

⦁ 38 percent of respondents state they are interested in traveling for cultural events¹.

Activities Consumers Expressed Interest in Doing While Traveling

Activity	Percentage of Survey Respondents
Dining	63%
Walking Tour	53%
Shopping	49%
Museum	37%
Spa	30%
Hiking	27%
Reading	25%
Event/Concert	24%
Scuba Diving	19%
Biking	16%
Meditation	15%
Sports Event	15%

Major Entertainment Events Guiding 2022 Travel Plans

Over half (52 percent) of respondents stated they are interested in traveling for personal gatherings such as weddings, birthdays, graduations, or holidays.¹

1. Methodology: This Amex Trendex online poll was conducted by Morning Consult between February 3-11th, 2022 among a national sample of 2,000 US and 1,000 travelers in Japan, Australia, Mexico, India, UK, and Canada who have a household income of at least $70K, and defined as adults who typically travel by air at least once a year. Results from each market’s survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Partner of the Week – TourOperatorLand.com

Enjoying the Vermont Experience

Though it is impossible to squeeze the beauty, history and friendly warmth that are Vermont into a few paragraphs, here’s an abbreviated look at a sampler of what to look for on your visit. First, start by flying into New York City or Boston, grab a rental car, and then head to the countryside.

The following six-day itinerary offers visitors some pretty unique ways to experience Vermont’s legendary fall foliage. Its scenic roadways are the obvious choice but for visitors looking for more adventure, you can see the foliage the way the bird’s do; from above. Get away from the crowds, unplug, and appreciate the beauty that surrounds you in the Green Mountain State.

Ideas for First Timers Visitors:

—Stop at the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington for great shopping and dining.

—Take the Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour and visit the Flavor Graveyard.

—Try a Maple creemee—Vermont’s version of soft serve ice cream.

—Hike Mount Philo for beautiful views of Lake Champlain.

—Visit one of our craft breweries, cideries, distilleries, or wineries; you’ll find that they’re all over the state.

Ideas for Repeat Visitors:

—Try a farm stay or take a farm tour during Open Farm Week every August.

—Visit the dog chapel on Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury.

—Follow the African American Heritage Trail with stops at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, and the Rokeby Museum, which was part of the underground railroad.

—Visit the Calvin Coolidge Homestead which is also the home of the Plymouth Cheese factory.

—Head to Kingdom Trails for a mountain bike ride

Verified Destination Contact

Sara DeFilippi

Trade and Partner Relations Manager

Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing

Phone: 802.272.2633

Email: sara.defilippi@vermont.gov

###

Following are examples of royalty-free, high-res photos, courtesy of the Vermont Department of Tourism Marketing, that you will find available at TourOperatorLand.com

**Lawson’s Finest Liquids, interior, Waitsfield, Vermont**

Want to see more? Chick here to go to Vermont’s TourOperatorLand pages. For more information on how to partner with TourOperatorLand.com, contact Betsy Cooper, Director of TourOperatorLand.com and Partner Engagement.

bcooper@connecttravel.com and/or 415.728.1085.

HODGE PODGE: Appointments, Openings and Changes

Angela Montefinise has been named vice president, communications & marketing at The New York Public Library, one of the most popular visitor attractions (and occasional movie set) in NYC. Previously, she was senior director of communications and marketing. She started working for the facility/attraction in January 2010. Before joining the library, Montefinise was a journalist and/or editor who worked for the New York Post and Queens Tribune.

Graham Horner has joined the self-guided walking and cycling specialist Macs Adventures as chief growth officer, where he’ll have oversight for sales, marketing and customer experience. Also on the company’s agenda is international expansion, which will include the U.S. Horner joins from Vieveo where he spent more than three years. Previously, he was managing director at Simpson Travel, and prior to that, he was chief marketing officer for Scott Dunn. Of the announcement, Neil Lapping, Macs founder and chief executive said that, for the company, “international expansion will be a key component of our growth, particularly in the U.S. where the self-guided category is still in its infancy.”

Martin Pott is the new head of sales at Aldiana in Germany. Among other things, he previously worked for ten years as a regional and key account manager for Club Med and has been in the service of the joint venture between DER Touristik (parent company of New World Travel, a New York/Los Angeles/Miami receptive tour operator) and the Swiss investment company LMEY since March 7th. Pott succeeds Stefanie Selbach, who only came to Aldiana in August 2021 and left the company for family reasons.

Robert Aaron is shutting down his work as an independent contractor and taken on a new role as sales manager at Inside Out Tours in New York City. He is well known in the NYC tourism community for his work at the Empire Hotel Group for more than 20 years.

Nadine Heubel, managing director of Heinemann Americas—it is a major presence in duty free programs—will leave the company later this year. She will step away from her role beginning July 1. In the meantime, she is expected to work alongside her successor from April 1 to ensure a smooth transition. Current Gebr Heinemann senior international key account manager Nicolas Hoeborn will succeed Heubel. Hoeborn joined Heinemann in 2008, before moving to Bacardi in 2011. He took on the role of senior international key account manager back with Heinemann in 2016 and joined the management team of Heinemann Americas in 2018.

Roxanna Torrens has concluded “a fabulous 25-year era for me with Planet Hollywood/Earl Enterprises!” as she told friends and colleagues on a social media post. Torrens, a habitué of the tourism industry trade show circuit who seems to know everyone on a first-name basis, has moved on to another position in the industry—guaranteeing that she will still be around for some time to come. She has taken on the role of regional trade sales director for North America at Merlin Entertainments.

Lauren Salisbury been promoted to the position of senior director of global communications, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. Salisbury, who joined the organization last spring, had been director of global communications. Previously, she held senior public relations/communications positions at several organizations, including stints at Santa Monica Travel & Tourism and MMGY Global.

Sarah Weetman, who joined Travelsphere and Just You parent G Touring in January 2018 as head of trade sales, will now take on a wider role as sales director role for the group, the company has announced. “I am delighted to announce Sarah’s promotion to sales director, a role that truly reflects her significant contribution to our continued success,” said Alastair Campbell, G Touring managing director, adding, “Sarah has been outstanding in driving our growth strategy with the travel trade since joining G Touring in 2018. Sarah did a fantastic job of supporting our partners throughout the pandemic and as part of our leadership team.” Weetman has also worked for Royal Caribbean International and All Leisure Holidays.

Sören Hartmann is leaving DER Touristik at the end of 2022. A member of the board of REWE (which owns DER Touristik) and CEO of DER Touristik Group, Hartmann will leave the Cologne-based group at the end of the year. Responsibility for the tourism division will be reorganized in the board of directors. Hartmann moved from the TUI Group to REWE Touristik in 2010 and initially took over the management of package tourism. With his appointment as CEO of DER Touristik on May 1, 2014, he was given overall responsibility for DER Touristik. By taking over the tour operator business and sales of the Kuoni Group, DER Touristik has further expanded its leading role in European tourism. In 2016, Hartmann was initially appointed general manager of the REWE Group and in 2017 a member of the REWE Group board. The 59-year-old will continue to be available to the company in an advisory capacity.

Laura Kreutzer is joining SeaWorld Parks and Resorts and will be managing the sales & marketing efforts for SeaWorld Youth Programs. This means that she will be headed back to Orlando at the end of April. Prior to her new job, Kreutzer was corporate director, group sales at Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. Previously, Kreutzer had been business development manager—student discoveries, part of the Globus family of brands.

Fox World Travel has announced the promotion of Brianne Bloom as vice president of vacation travel. In her role, Bloom will be responsible for the overall operational performance and strategic direction of the retail vacation travel team. Her initial focus will be continuing a strong recovery and strategically enhancing workflows to improve customer and associate experience. Bloom joined Fox in 2020 and during her employment has played an integral role in navigating the vacation travel team through COVID, launching many valuable process improvements including virtual consultations, agent chat and the implementation of new air booking technology for vacation agents. Bloom brings more than 10 years of leadership experience in the retail space with a focus on associate engagement and business line growth.

After almost 20 years, Renata Cenni has spent her last day on the job with Hotelbeds. She started her journey started in July 2002 in London where she was hired as a contract manager for LATAM and the Caribbean for GTA, which was later acquired by Hotelbeds. “It has been an incredible journey where I am very proud of all the achievements,” she said in a posting, adding, “Thank you Hotelbeds, thank you everyone that has been part of those amazing years. I am excited to share what is next on my journey, but first let me to enjoy this time with my family and stay tuned!”

Marisol Lecumberri has joined G2 Travel as head of contracting, hotel division, North America. She comes to her new position from Hotelbeds, where she worked for nearly four years. Prior to that, she was with GTA and Tourico Holidays—both of which had been acquired by Hotelbeds.

Phil Gouel has been promoted from senior director corporate-strategy to vice president of vacation packages at Southwest Airlines. In this newly created role, Gouel will be responsible for leading the evolution of the Southwest Vacations product, along with Southwest’s standalone hotel and car ancillary products. Gouel has been with Southwest for more than five years. Previously he was part of the senior management structure at the global consulting firm, Oliver Wyman.

Jet2holidays has promoted Lloyd Cross to general manager of trade sales after more than a decade with the operator. He has been a part of Jet2’s trade team for the past eight years, working with agents to grow their business with the company. In his new role, Cross will be responsible for ensuring Jet2’s trade team are providing agent partners with the knowledge, support and data they need to sell Jet2holidays’ product confidently. Cross will report to Jet2holidays head of trade sales Alan Cross.

Aya Désirs du Monde, a French tour operator that includes USA destinations and experiences in its product line, has announced the appointment of Rina Andria within its teams. He’ll hold the position of sales manager for the brand in the northern part of France as well as the Île-de- France. Andria has strong credentials in the tourism business, have worked at Jet Tours, Thomas Cook and MisterFly. He joins Bruno Didkovsky in charge of the South of France.

Marissa Maheu-Mendes has been promoted to the position of public relations & influencer marketing manager at Toronto-based Sunwing Airlines. Maheu-Mendes, who joined Sunwing more than five-and-a-half years ago, was previously public relations & promotions supervisor. Prior to joining Sunwing, she was marketing coordinator for Canada at Pulse Communications & Travel Marketing.

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Job Postings

From SearchWide Global:

—Visit Wichita is searching for a new vice president of sales. More details here.

—There is an opening for the position of chief tourism development officer at OneSpartanburg Inc. More details here.

—The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director, PHL Diversity. More details here.

—The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More details here.

—Visit Tucson is recruiting for an executive vice president. More details here.

—The Manistee County Visitors Bureau in Michigan, is searching for a new executive director. More details here.

—Visit Seattle is searching for a new president and CEO. More details here.

—Conference Direct, a provider of global meeting planning solutions, is searching for vice president of global sales. More details here.

—Meet Minneapolis has an opening for a vice president of equity, diversity and inclusion. More details here.

—The South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new CVB director. More details here.

—The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new chief financial officer. More details here.

—Visit El Paso is searching for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.

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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 sample of some of those jobs currently listed.

—The U.S. Travel Association, the association for the whole of the U.S. travel and tourism industry, has posted an opening for the position of manager, grassroots and PAC. More details here.

—The City of Virginia Beach is searching for a vice president of marketing. More details here.

—The Chicago Botanic Garden has an opening for an associate vice president, visitor experience. More details here.

—The Colorado Tourism Office is looking for an international program manager. More details here.

—The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, based in Orlando, has an opening for a director of communications and marketing. More details here.

—Legends in New York City has an opening for a manager of tourism & trade sales. More details here.

—Tulsa Regional Tourism has an opening for a vice president of sales & experiences. More details here.

—VISIT DENVER, The Convention and Visitors Bureau, is seeking an associate director, public relations & communications. More details here.

—MMGY Global is searching for an account executive. More details here.

—The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada, is recruiting for a new director of communications and marketing. More details here.

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Have a job to offer in the travel and tourism industry? Let us know and we’ll post your notice—no cost to you. Email tom@tomberrigan.com

A New Normal Emerging in Arrivals to USA

March 29, 2022 by Tom Berrigan

● The news tells the international travel and tourism industry for the USA that key markets that have driven the overseas market are “back in action.”

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Counties

For Month of February 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	Percentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom	152,058	3410.1%
2. Brazil	72,924	1969.9%
3. France	70,022	2684.2%
4. India	51,841	113.1%
5. Colombia	51,121	119.4%
6. Germany	49,317	1349.6%
7. Chile	36,196	187.8%
8. Argentina	34,941	197.3%
9. Spain	33,921	933.5%
10. Ecuador	24,992	73.5%
11. Peru	24,399	220.7%
12. Dominican Republic	22,818	44.7%
13. Italy	20,455	703.7%
14. Ireland	17,912	4794.0%
15. South Korea	17,577	262.4%
16. Australia	16,492	1377.8%
17. Netherlands	15,659	1174.1%
18. Panama	15,059	203.7%
19. Costa Rica	14,928	175.3%
20. Israel	14,888	1382.9%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries	757,520	410.9%

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Counties

Year-to-Date Through Month of February 2022

Country of Residence & Rank	Number of Arrivals	Percentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom	248,827	1783.2%
2. Brazil	143,138	1436.5%
3. India	116,944	79.7%
4. France	112,837	1206.9%
5. Colombia	110,044	95.2%
6. Germany	91,239	786.3%
7. Chile	69,826	152.7%
8. Argentina	69,464	126.9%
9. Spain	67,037	569.8%
10. South Korea	48,892	222.3%
11. Peru	45,086	149.8%
12. Italy	43,482	549.0%
13. Dominican Republic	43,126	34.8%
14. Ecuador	40,176	54.4%
15. Costa Rica	40,060	113.4%
16. Australia	34,372	1012.0%
17. Guatemala	29,949	99.9%
18. China, PRC	29,393	463.8%
19. Venezuela	29,366	57.3%
20. Ireland	29,225	2544.8%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries	1,442,483	269.0%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by World Region of Residence

For Month of February 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. 2021
Western Europe	429,568	41.0%	1824.6%
Eastern Europe	30,695	2.9%	244.0%
Asia	112,253	10.7%	161.5%
Middle East	34,902	3.3%	303.4%
Africa	12,068	1.2%	150.8%
Oceania	18,687	1.8%	1001.2%
South America	270,210	25.8%	210.4%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	73,424	7.0%	145.1%
Caribbean	65,662	6.3%	104.1%
Total Overseas	1,047,469	100.0%	339.1%

Overseas Visitors to the U.S. by World Region of Residence

Year-to-Date Through February 2022

Region	Number of Arrivals	2022 Share	% Change vs. 2021
Western Europe	752,059	36.5%	989.8%
Eastern Europe	65,652	3.2%	198.5%
Asia	281,812	13.7%	127.0%
Middle East	81,560	4.0%	161.7%
Africa	29,496	1.4%	85.7%
Oceania	39,064	1.9%	744.4%
South America	530,485	25.8%	169.2%
Central America (Excluding Mexico)	153,394	7.5%	111.2%
Caribbean	124,282	6.0%	73.2%
Total Overseas	2,057,804	100.0%	238.3%

Pent-up Demand Shows Itself in NTTO Data

March 15, 2022 by Tom Berrigan

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. The first data sets recently released by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) to show what, if any, bump occurred in the totals of inbound travel to the United States from overseas as well as the neighboring markets of Canada and Mexico showed themselves in the first month of 2022. And they offer, at the very least, encouragement.

As a result, it looks as if the decision to open U.S. boundaries to the EU and other, selected markets beginning Nov. 10, 2021 paid off. No one was expecting record-breaking numbers—and there were none—for January, but the top source market markets from overseas were comforting, familiar names.

The UK, the top overseas source market for overseas travel to the USA for more than two decades, reclaimed its position as the number one, and other familiar names among the top 10 source markets were also evident—such as Brazil, France, South Korea and Germany.

New to this group was/is Colombia, which was the top overseas source market for 2021. (One should note in the OAG Stringency Index, which measures the restrictive measures that each country has put in since January 2020, Colombia and Mexico were at the bottom of the list for the Americas.)

So, the table on overseas source markets below is sure to change, especially when restrictions are lifted by China and Japan, which is currently No. 20, but is usually No. 2. The data follow.

Arrivals to U.S. from Top 20 Overseas Country Markets

January 2022

Country Market & Rank	Arrivals	% Change from January 2021
1. United Kingdom	96,769	+989.6%
2. Brazil	70,214	+1112.0%
3. India	65,103	+59.8%
4. Colombia	58,923	+78.2%
5. France	42,815	+599.7%
6. Germany	41,922	+508.3%
7. Argentina	34,523	+83.1%
8. Chile	33,630	+123.4%
9. Spain	33,116	+392.4%
10. South Korea	31,315	+203.4%
11. Costa Rica	25,132	+88.2%
12. Italy	23,027	+454.2%
13. China, PRC	20,848	+506.4%
14. Peru	20,687	+98.1%
15. Dominican Republic	20,308	+25.1%
16. Australia	17,880	+805.3%
17. Venezuela	15,498	+68.8%
18. Ecuador	15,184	+30.7%
19. Guatemala	15,075	+85.1%
20. Japan	14,754	+47.5%