_HPFeature
Bright Young Things: A Whitepaper Based on the Workshop at International Luxury Travel Market 2011
January 31, 2012
Michaela S. Guzy Editor’s Note: The following white paper on International Luxury Travel Market’s 1st Annual Bright Young Things workshop in December 2011 is excerpted with permission from author & panel moderator Michaela S. Guzy, VP/Global Travel and Strategic Development at American Express Publishing, a longtime research contributor to the ATTA as well as a speaker at several Adventure Travel World Summits. Guzy is the Vice President responsible for overseeing the travel category and development of new initiatives for all American Express Publishing brands, Travel+Leisure, Food&Wine, Executive Travel, Departures and Black Ink. With 21 global editions in 50 countries and nine languages, the fastest growing travel and epicurean websites, four Travel+Leisure branded retail outlets, two of the most successful iPad launches to date and over 850,000+ Facebook fans and Twitter followers, the American Express Publishing brands are some of the most recognized in the world. ... Read More →
Trend Watch
European Tourism in 2011 – Trends & Prospects (Q4/2011)
January 31, 2012
Brussels – The European Travel Commission (ETC) has just published its fourth quarterly report on European Tourism in 2011 – Trends & Prospects. The following gives a brief overview of the report for the fourth quarter of 2011. The full report can be downloaded from ETC’s corporate website under the link below. • Travel to European destinations in 2011 has exceeded the prior peak set in 2008. • Impressively, 22 of 23 reporting countries show international visitor growth in 2011, ranging from 3% in the UK to more than 20% in Latvia and Lithuania. And 24 of 26 countries show gains in hotel occupancy in 2011. • Total international visits are estimated to have surged 6% last year, while hotel occupancy rates rose 3.2%, indicating that domestic demand lagged behind international demand. • While the travel recovery has been quite robust, signs of eroding gains began to appear, as expected, in the second half of 2011. • Data on visitation and nights from TourMIS (http://www.tourmis.info/index_e.html)... Read More →
Trade Events
Enter the 2012 Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards Now
January 28, 2012
For five years, Conde Nast Traveler has honored the travel companies that are doing the most to save the world, from fighting climate change to saving wildlife and alleviating poverty. We are now accepting applications for this year’s World Savers Awards. All travel companies, from tour operators to hotel chains, city hotels, lodges/resorts, cruise lines and airlines, are eligible. Please participate! Applications are due on Monday, February 20. Download the applications at cntraveler.com/worldsavers. Read More →
Spotlight: Sustainability
Nature’s Best, the Ecotourism Society of Sweden, is Awarded the 2011 WWF Carl Mannerfelt Prize
January 25, 2012
Stockholm – The Ecotourism Society of Sweden has been awarded the 2011 WWF Carl Mannerfelt Prize for its work with sustainable tourism and the Nature’s Best quality mark. The prize is around USD 15,000. This is not the first time the Society’s groundbreaking work with quality marking has been acknowledged – it has previously won the Great Tourism Prize and the Änglamark Prize. ”We’re very pleased and proud about the prize. It’s particularly pleasing that our work with sustainable tourism is recognised in this way,” says Ulf Lovén, Chairman of the Ecotourism Society of Sweden, which now has over 200 quality-marked Nature’s Best activities in Sweden, from Skåne in the very south to Lappland in the far north. The prize, which was awarded for the final time last year, is aimed at stimulating sustainable use of natural resources with technical and financial development under the motto, “Conservation and Development”. The comment of the jury was as follows: “The... Read More →
Spotlight: Sustainability
Leading Travel Companies Commit To Sustainable Tourism Through the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria
January 24, 2012
Assistant Editor’s Note: We asked Erika Harms, the Executive Director of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, to answer a few questions for us – those answers are below, above the recent GSTC press release. Erika Harms What role do you see the ATTA and its members should / might want to play in support for the GSTC? (In the context of what you have in mind for the growing adventure tourism community especially). The adventure tourism community is a natural stakeholder for the goals of the GSTC. Sustainable Tourism, including not only environmental conservation, but cultural and socio economic benefits for local communities is at the heart of adventure travel. Promoting clear principles that define sustainable tourism clearly differentiates between green washers and the real deal. ATTA has the ability, but promoting the GSTC criteria and enabling access to its members to its implementation, can help those that are truly seeking sustainability make a difference. ATTA... Read More →
Industry Partner News
The Finalists for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2012
January 24, 2012
The high calibre of this year’s applicants illustrates some of the very best in sustainable tourism. Hopefuls ranged from planning and management projects, to those featuring innovative engagement with local community, and business making a difference. The Tourism for Tomorrow Award categories are Global Tourism Business, Conservation, Community Benefit and Destination Stewardship. For those that unfortunately are not part of the Finalist selection, don’t be discouraged! There is always next year. We encourage you to apply as often as possible. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2012 is proud to announce that this year’s Finalists are as follows: Community Benefit Award: Saunders Hotel Group, USA Soria Moria Boutique Hotel, Cambodia The Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute, Thailand Conservation Award: Cheli & Peacock Ltd., Kenya Inkaterra Peru, Peru Namib Rand Safaris: Wolwedans Collection, Namibia Destination Stewardship Award: Destination Røros, Norway Misool Eco... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
President Obama Takes Actions to Increase Travel and Tourism in the United States
January 23, 2012
Assistant Editor’s Note: The following statement from the United State’s White House press office was released on January 19th 2012. This morning, President Obama will sign an Executive Order and announce new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP and employment, representing 2.7% of GDP and 7.5 million jobs in 2010 – with international travel to the United States supporting 1.2 million jobs alone. The travel and tourism industry projects that more than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased its share of the international travel market. Today’s announcement offers important steps to bolster job creation through a range of steps to better promote the United States as a tourism destination and improve secure visa processing. This is the most recent of a series of executive actions the President has announced to put... Read More →
Business Insights Must Read/View Social Media
Three Social Media Predictions For 2012
January 18, 2012
A recent article on Forbes.com, by Avi Savar, Founder and CCO of Big Fuel, a social media agency that is part of Publicis Groupe, discusses three trends and tools to watch in 2012 in the ever-evolving landscape of social media. 1. Geo-Gaming – Savar predicts that 2012 will be the year that geo-location technology – which allows consumers to ‘check-in’ on social media sites – goes transactional, while also allowing relationships between brands and consumer to become more personalized: This is a game-changer for retailers because it enables them to put potential consumers in the context of time and place and more effectively influence purchase intent…The context of the offline world is crucial for marketers so they know what kind of message to deliver and how to interact with a customer at any given time. Is my potential customer in front of a store or on the couch? Is that person with people or alone? Savar explains that geo-location will transition... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
UK Tour Operators Face ‘Make or Break’ 2012, Says KPMG
January 18, 2012
According to an article on InAudit.com, tax audit and advisory conglomerate KPMG has warned that many United Kingdom tour operators will go under this year unless they make undertake big strategic changes in their business models. Such changes would be in response to a challenging market environment where money-pinched consumers are flocking to low cost carriers and online bookings, and are to see increases in fuel and air surcharges. Richard Hathaway, KPMG’s Head of Travel, Leisure and Tourism, said: The traditional high-volume tour operating model based on customers pre-booking flights and accommodation packages well in advance is in long term decline as more and more travellers opt for self-packaging online and niche solutions. To survive, operators must ensure that they are flexible and in a position of financial strength. Operators who do not adapt their business model to meet the demands of today’s holidaymakers will face increased risks in the next year, including takeover or... Read More →
New & Different
How to Get the Most Out of Google Analytics
January 18, 2012
Are you making the most of your Google Analytics? A valuable, free metrics tool, Google Analytics can still be challenging for the average user to sort through the myriad of data and glean useful insights on how effective their web properties and marketing tools are through traffic data. A recent post on Mashable Tech explores how users can get deeper, more qualitative info through the service and its three core metric categories – acquisition, engagement and outcome. Acquisition: Tracking the amount of visitors, where they are in the world, what sites they are coming from, if they are new to your site, and how many of them are coming from mobile devices. Engagement: Do people stay on your site, explore further pages, or leave right away? The data behind these questions explores the quality of your incoming traffic – engagement metrics such as Pages per Visit, Average Time on the Site, and your Bounce Rate give you a sense of where your visitors are spending time on there site... Read More →
