The Inbound Report

Covering the Inbound Tourism Industry Since 1996

TRADE TALK & Travel Industry Buzz

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● From the Washed Ashore Project: Sculptures of colorful marine animals are traveling across America—and every bit of the body of the artwork was once trash along the Oregon seashore. The Washed Ashore Project  is trying to communicate the message of ocean conservation through art—saving beauty by creating beauty. Pacific Ocean plastic was picked up and sorted by volunteers, and, finally, formed by artists into works that are currently touring in Tennessee, Michigan, and elsewhere. The Project first began in 2010, and since then they have cleaned 300 miles of beaches, and processed 60,000 pounds of trash to create 86 works of art. Visit here for more on the subject.

● Another by-product of COVID-driven hardships is this, as described in Sixth Tone: China stopped approving passport applications for “non-essential reasons” in 2021 as part of the country’s virus-control campaign. Citizens are now only granted a passport if they have an urgent need to travel abroad, such as an offer from a foreign university or employer. The policy — which is designed to prevent imported COVID-19 infections by restricting international travel — has led to a dramatic drop in new approvals. In the first half of 2021, China only issued 335,000 passports — two percent of the total for the same period in 2019.” Click here for the complete article.

● A recent survey conducted by Morning Consult for U.S. Travel Association revealed the inbound pre-departure testing requirement imposed by the federal government is having a “devastating impact” on travelers’ likelihood of visiting the United States this summer and remains a major barrier to economic recovery.

The survey—it included interviews with vaccinated international travelers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and India—found that pre-departure testing requirements are a deterrent to travel and are making it significantly less likely that people will choose to visit the U.S.

—Nearly half of respondents (47 percent) who are unlikely to travel abroad in the next 12 months cited pre-departure testing requirements as a reason.

—More than half of international travelers (54 percent) said the added uncertainty of potentially having to cancel a trip due to U.S. pre-departure testing requirements would have a big impact on their likelihood to visit the U.S.

—A large majority of adults surveyed (71 percent) agree they prioritize traveling to destinations without cumbersome entry requirements, including 29 percent who strongly agree.

For the complete US Travel release on the subject, click here.

● Ever since TUI’s 2018 acquisition of Musement and the latter’s inventory of what we used to call attractions & tours, the competition among suppliers to provide easier-to-access and more highly targeted products has never slowed. Just recently, tours and activities e-commerce platform Klook has announced an expanded integration with travel search engine KAYAK. The two players say it gives users one of the largest inventories of things-to-do across the Asia-Pacific region. Users will get access to a wider range of attractions and experiences with over 490,000 activities in over 1,000 destinations on KAYAK’s Things-to-Do vertical. “We’re excited to be expanding our integration with Klook which will enable KAYAK users to have greater access to an extended variety of attractions and experiences,” said Elia San Martin, vice president and general manager APAC, KAYAK. Since the integration of car rentals last year, KAYAK users have access to Klook’s car rental coverage that spans over 9,000 destinations. For a more complete article on the subject, click here.

● Booking horizons show signs of stabilizing. This is one of the major findings of “Travel’s Resilience and Trends Shaping Recovery”—recently released study from Skyscanner—tells us. As confidence accelerates, explains the study, people are becoming more comfortable booking travel further ahead. Although conditions aren’t the same as before COVID, we’re seeing booking horizons move closer to 2019 levels. The Americas and Asia-Pacific follow a similar trend, which Skyscanner explores in the report. In sum, “Overall, while shorter booking horizons remain popular, travel demand is strong and summer is likely to be a positive one for airlines.” For more, and to access the complete report, click here.

● In a different take than one normally hears when its business news about Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, a recent AP item pointed that “quasi-public agencies that usually promote tourism and economic development separately in Orlando on (have) announced they are joining forces to market the region together under a single brand. With a tagline of ‘Unbelievably Real,’ the branding plan will be aimed at tourists, meeting planners, conventioneers, business relocation specialists, site selectors, business owners and company CEOs.” Some $23 million will be spent on the initiative this year. Read here for the complete article.

● Least-expensive and most-expensive airports to fly from. For its report on the subject, FinanceBuzz compared domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. using data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

And the airport with the most affordable airfare in the country? That honor goes to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the average fare to depart was $233.36. The second cheapest airport to fly from is also in Florida — Orlando International Airport (MCO) had an average fare of around $241.01.

Lowest average airfare—Top Five:

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL)

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

Miami International Airport (MIA)

Tampa International Airport TPA)

Highest average airfare—or Bottom Five:

41. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

42. Portland International Airport (PDX)

43. Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)

44. San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

45. Dulles International Airport (IAD)

For the complete article, as well as the list of affordable/less affordable airports in the nation, visit here: https://financebuzz.com/us-airport-cost-rankings

US Travel & Tourism Should Cheer Itself

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Yes, we’re patriots.

And so, last week, we in the travel and tourism industry celebrated who we are and what we do along with some professional hubris, because no industry presents events and human experiences like we do—including everything from the double-blink our eyes give off by the life-like creatures who frighten us in a new Disney or Universal Studios ride, to the humbling majesty of the Coastal Redwood trees of California.

And all the while we are presenting and marketing the attractions and actions of the tourism product to international visitors, we are also doing something with direct benefit to the U.S. economy: we are selling tourism to the USA at a better rate and better levels than other nations are marketing their tourism product to U.S. travelers.

How patriotic is that!

To underscore the point, INBOUND this week brings your attention to key data points recently released by the U.S. National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) that go beyond the international arrivals numbers that INBOUND usually features. Data recently released by NTTO show that in March 2022:

● International visitors spent $10.1 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, an increase of 90 percent compared to March 2021.

● Americans spent $9.2 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade surplus of $894 million for the month—the fifth consecutive month during which the United States enjoyed a balance of trade surplus for travel and tourism.

● The increase in ‘Travel Spending’ accounted for the overwhelming majority (75 percent) of the year-over-year increase in U.S. travel exports in March 2022, followed by ‘Passenger Fare Receipts’ (21 percent) and ‘Medical/Education/Short-Term and Seasonal Workers Spending’ (4 percent).

Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)—Travel Receipts 

—Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $5.0 billion in March 2022 (compared to $1.4 billion in March 2021), an increase of 251 percent when compared to the previous year.

—For a pre-pandemic perspective, travel receipts totaled $12.1 billion in March 2019. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.

Travel receipts accounted for 50 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in March 2022.

Passenger Fare Receipts

—Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled nearly $1.7 billion in March 2022 (compared to $662 million in March 2021), an increase of 153 percent when compared to the previous year. 

—For a pre-pandemic perspective, the United States exported nearly $3.3 billion in passenger air transportation services in March 2019. These receipts are expenditures by foreign residents on international flights of U.S. air carriers.

—Passenger fare receipts accounted for 17 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in March 2022.

Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending

—Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States totaled $3.4 billion in March 2022 (compared to $3.2 billion in March 2021), an increase of 6 percent when compared to the previous year.

—For a pre-pandemic perspective, this spending totaled $4.9 billion in March 2019.

—Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 34 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in March 2022.

Interested in an interactive data visualization of these statistics? Please visit the Monthly Travel Trade Monitor for a more comprehensive and customizable experience. (ttmonitor.)

TRADE TALK & Tourism Industry Buzz

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● 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.

A New Normal Emerging in Arrivals to USA

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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 & RankNumber of ArrivalsPercentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom152,0583410.1%
2. Brazil72,9241969.9%
3. France70,0222684.2%
4. India51,841113.1%
5. Colombia51,121119.4%
6. Germany49,3171349.6%
7. Chile36,196187.8%
8. Argentina34,941197.3%
9. Spain33,921933.5%
10. Ecuador24,99273.5%
11. Peru24,399220.7%
12. Dominican Republic22,81844.7%
13. Italy20,455703.7%
14. Ireland17,9124794.0%
15. South Korea17,577262.4%
16. Australia16,4921377.8%
17. Netherlands15,6591174.1%
18. Panama15,059203.7%
19. Costa Rica14,928175.3%
20. Israel14,8881382.9%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries757,520410.9%

Top 20 Overseas Tourist-Generating Counties

Year-to-Date Through Month of February 2022

Country of Residence & RankNumber of ArrivalsPercentage change vs. 2021
1. United Kingdom248,8271783.2%
2. Brazil143,1381436.5%
3. India116,94479.7%
4. France112,8371206.9%
5. Colombia110,04495.2%
6. Germany91,239786.3%
7. Chile69,826152.7%
8. Argentina69,464126.9%
9. Spain67,037569.8%
10. South Korea48,892222.3%
11. Peru45,086149.8%
12. Italy43,482549.0%
13. Dominican Republic43,12634.8%
14. Ecuador40,17654.4%
15. Costa Rica40,060113.4%
16. Australia34,3721012.0%
17. Guatemala29,94999.9%
18. China, PRC29,393463.8%
19. Venezuela29,36657.3%
20. Ireland29,2252544.8%
Total for Top 20 Overseas Countries1,442,483269.0%

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

For Month of February 2022

RegionNumber of Arrivals2022 Share% Change vs. 2021
   Western Europe429,56841.0%1824.6%
    Eastern Europe30,6952.9%244.0%
    Asia112,25310.7%161.5%
    Middle East34,9023.3%303.4%
    Africa12,0681.2%150.8%
    Oceania18,6871.8%1001.2%
    South America270,21025.8%210.4%
    Central America (Excluding Mexico)73,4247.0%145.1%
    Caribbean65,6626.3%104.1%
       Total Overseas1,047,469100.0%339.1%

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

Year-to-Date Through February 2022

RegionNumber of Arrivals2022 Share% Change vs. 2021
   Western Europe752,05936.5%989.8%
    Eastern Europe65,6523.2%198.5%
    Asia281,81213.7%127.0%
    Middle East81,5604.0%161.7%
    Africa29,4961.4%85.7%
    Oceania39,0641.9%744.4%
    South America530,48525.8%169.2%
    Central America (Excluding Mexico)153,3947.5%111.2%
    Caribbean124,2826.0%73.2%
       Total Overseas2,057,804100.0%238.3%

Brazil: Jogo de Cintura, continued …

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In their last Brazilian overview for the month just prior to the end of 2021, the Brazilian publishing giant PANROTAS and FECOMERCIOSP, the São Paulo-based business and economic research organization, served up a tentative but positive outlook for the travel and tourism sector of the country’s national economy. And, as it has turned out, they were right to do so.

“Although we continue to face obstacles daily, it seems that the worst part of the pandemic is gone. In Brazil, it’s clear that the consumers are cautious, but yet desire to travel and feel the relief of more than two years of enclosure,” José Guilherme Alcorta, CEO of PANROTAS, said in releasing the overview, adding, “More open frontiers and more vaccination around the globe. The majority of the most important destinations to Brazilians in Europe and Americas are open and flexible in their rules … We hope we can continue to help you during this difficult journey, with solutions, news, events, numbers, but also with partnership and friendship.”

And the data for the first month of 2022, recently released by the U.S. National Travel & Office (NTTO) affirm the above. Of the Top 20 overseas source market countries that send visitors to the United States, Brazilians placed behind only the perennial Number 1, the UK. Brazilian arrivals in the USA in January 2022 totaled 70,214—an increase over the same month a year ago of more than 1,000 percent! (See INBOUND’s lead article for more on NTTO’s data.)

Obviously, one might conclude, it is a good practice to heed what José Guilherme Alcorta has to say about the state of the industry in the PANROTAS/fecomercioSP report. Citing its own research, as well as that from other sources, the overview’s major points include, but are not limited to, the following:

● Despite the impact of the COVID-19 virus and the economy’s weakening in Brazil at the beginning of this year, a significant number of Brazilians are keeping the trips as one of the consumption priorities and intend taking some days off away from home at least once in 2022.

● Nearly half (43 percent) of Brazil’s people are saving money to travel within the next 6 months.

● International air offerings haven’t yet reached the pre-pandemic volume yet.

● The Brazilian currency, the real, is unfavorable viz-a-viz the U.S. dollar. It’s been going that way for a decade, as the following table attests:

Real vs. the U.S. Dollar:

A Ten-Year Record

YearBrazilian Real vs. U.S. Dollar
2013$0.51
2014$0.42
2015$0.32
2016$0.30
2017$0.30
2018$0.31
2019$0.26
2020$0.26
2021$0.21
2022$0.20

Source: Prepared by INBOUND using Xe.com. Based on mid-market quotes of March 12 for each year.

● Overall consumers seem to feel safer in traveling within their own country.

● Leisure trips attract 83 percent of Brazilians who intend to travel, and seven out of ten (71 percent) of them are attracted by the prices as a major factor.

● One of the largest OTAs in Brazil, Viajanet, reported that the purchase of domestic flights increased more than 76 percent in 2021.

● Despite the hesitation by some over long-haul travel, is an upward trend regarding international flights in Brazil, as most of the consumers’ targeted countries have already opened their borders, such as the United States.

● The presented data resulted from the Brazilian Hotel Business Operators Forum (Fórum de Operadores Hoteleiros do Brasil – FOHB).

● Last year, CVC, the largest tourism company in the country, achieved half of the sales that it registered in 2019, and had 7.7 million clients flying in the same period.

● Another measure that points out an upturn in Brazilian tourism in 2021 is the employment rate. The sector was responsible for 5.76 percent of new positions registered in the country, which represents 162.6 thousand out of the 2.82 million registered positions as a positive balance in the year.

● Based on data by Monitora Turismo, it is expected that the TMCs will reach the pre-pandemic numbers in July of this year. The data is by Abracorp, the major Corporate Travel Agencies Association in the country,

● On the downside, the travel trade is still upset with the tax spent by travelers abroad—a tax paid by Brazilian international travelers.

From mid-2014 onward, Brazil experienced a severe economic crisis. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 3.5 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent in 2016, after which a small economic recovery began. That recovery continued until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the economy again. More recently, the World Bank told us the COVID-19 pandemic exposed Brazil to an unprecedented health, social and economic challenge, leading to a 4.1 percent GDP decline in 2020—and a recession—followed, mercifully, by a rebound in 2021. An emerging recovery in demand, both domestic and external, and a pick-up in commodity prices are expected to push GDP growth to 5.3 percent in 2021. Another recovery.

Jogo de Cintura Redux: When one contemplates the above paragraph and tries to understand the sheer force of the negative economic winds that Brazilians have had to endure in the last decade, one wonders just how they continue to recover, to endure and to prosper. Again and again.

Sometime early in the aforementioned decade, a Brazilian colleague explained to INBOUND’s editor that the answer was in “jogo de cintura.” The most literal English translation of this expression is “game waist,” or what one does in a futbol game when a team needs something to happen and the odds are challenging. Jogo de cintura can mean resourcefulness, pluckiness, cleverness. My favorite translation of late comes from the Cambridge Oxford dictionary, which put it this way: “footwork [noun] clever or skilful/skillful actions to achieve something or deal with a problem.”

But the best way to understand the meaning of the expression is to listen and learn from your colleagues in the Brazilian travel and tourism industry. They won’t talk. They’ll just “do.”

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Staff

Tom Berrigan, Managing Editor/Producer
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