Spotlight: Destinations
Germans Travelling More Often, Shorter Itineraries
June 18, 2013
Germans are as keen on travel as ever – almost 50 per cent plan a second trip besides their main annual holiday – according to the latest ADAC Reisemonitor survey Italy and Austria have become increasingly popular for extra breaks Berlin, GERMANY - Almost 50 per cent of Germans have already made up their minds to take an extra break in addition to their main annual holiday. According to the findings of a representative survey carried out by ADAC Reisemonitor and presented at ITB Berlin, around 45.1 per cent of the respondents said that in 2013 they were planning to go on an extra break taking five days or longer. As people age they travel a lot more often. 52.7 per cent of the over-60s said they planned to go on more holidays, in contrast to only 40.9 per cent of under-29s and 43.6 per cent of 30 to 39 year-olds. Germany’s was very popular among the interviewees. For 37.1 per cent it was their main holiday destination and for 41.3 per cent the place where they took a second break.... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
U.S. Vacationers are Planning Ahead, Seeking Value Over Budget, and Leaving The Kids Behind
May 20, 2013
The fourth largest hotel and resort portfolio in the U.S., Destination Hotels & Resorts, predicts 2013 trends. Englewood, CO. – A new consumer survey focused on travel for the upcoming summer season unveils some surprising trends, from a renewed interest in planning ahead to a primary focus on value rather than strict budget considerations. Results from the March 2013 study conducted by Destination Hotels & Resorts (Destination), the nation’s fourth largest hospitality management company, also revealed that more than half of travelers are planning at least one trip without the kids. A snapshot of the survey’s ten key findings is below, full results and analysis can be found in Destination’s online media center. Travelers are learning the early bird gets the worm (and best rate). Bucking the post-recession boom of flash-sales and last-minute-deals, vacation planners are beginning to shop ahead again. Destination has seen the booking window among leisure... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
European Travel Commission Elects Manuel Butler as New President
April 17, 2013
Brussels - Mr Manuel Butler, Director General of Tourspain (Spain) was elected President of the European Travel Commission (ETC) at the 84th General Meeting in Dublin (Ireland) on 11th April. Mr Manuel Butler succeeds Ms Petra Hedorfer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) for a three-year term. Also elected at the meeting were Mr Gergely Horvath (Hungarian National Tourist Office) and Mr Marios Hannides (Cyprus Tourism Organisation) as the organisation’s Vice Presidents. Manuel Butler has been CEO of the Spanish Institute for Tourism since January 2012 and has acquired extensive experience in destination marketing over more than 25 years working in management positions, both in the public and the private sector, in Western Europe, North and Latin America. “Europe is the world’s number one tourist destination. However, this leadership position should not be a reason for complacency. Europe has to contend with growing competition in the increasingly globalised international... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
Rebuilding U.K. Tourism BRIC by BRIC
March 19, 2013
Assistant Editor’s Note: In an article originally published by Hotel Industry Magazine, Euromonitor International’s Franziska Brandenburger explains why the future of the UK hotel industry lies with the BRIC nations. 2012 put the UK on the map – and many expect the events of last year to positively influence incoming tourism over the next two years. As business and leisure travel from Europe and the US to the UK is on the decline due to the economic climate and turmoil in the Eurozone, companies operating in the travel and tourism industry are paying more attention to travellers from the BRIC nations. The first half of 2012 saw sharp increases in incoming travel to the UK, especially from Thailand, South Korea, Brazil, South Africa and India, which is proof that the travel and tourism industry needs to start focusing on travellers from emerging markets. Industry experts believe that Chinese travellers are the most important inbound tourists to business from the BRICs, followed... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
The European Travel Commission Puts China at the Centre of its Marketing Strategy
March 6, 2013
Berlin – Europe enjoyed a good performance of its tourism industry in 2012 as total arrivals grew by 3.5% last year. “With 476 million international tourist arrivals, Europe is the world’s largest destination, representing a 50% market share worldwide. This share might slightly shrink due to the strong growth of arrivals to other continents-especially Asia. But we will still remain a dominant force in the years to come”, explained at an ITB Press Conference Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission. ETC comprises 33 National Tourism Organisations in Europe comprising most of the continent’s largest countries except France, the UK and the Netherlands which recently left the Commission. ETC has been attributed with a budget of one million euro to muscle its presence abroad, especially to overseas countries. Its website “visiteurope.com” was recently revamped and a new campaign done in partnership with the European Commission was also launched.... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
European Travel Commission Announces Strong Response to the Challenges Posed by the Global Tourism Market
February 27, 2013
Brussels - European tourism has performed vigorously in recent years, although long-term projections point to a slower growth of international arrivals when compared to other regions. The European Travel Commission (ETC) announced a firm commitment to promote European destinations in overseas markets at the official opening of the 27th Annual Meeting of the ETC Market Intelligence Group (MIG) in Brussels on Wednesday, 20th February 2013. Despite a turbulent economic environment, European tourism (+4%) demonstrated substantial growth in 2012, following a year of even stronger growth (+7%) in 2011. However, long-term projections point to a slow – but steady – decline in Europe’s share of the global tourism market. Challenged by the increasingly fierce competition of emerging destinations in long-haul markets, and by the persistence of an uncertain economic climate in its internal market, Europe needs bold actions to realise its growth potential. The European Travel Commission... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
Adventure Tourism Across Africa is Up
February 12, 2013
Adventure tourism in Africa is booming, according to industry experts across the continent. Victoria Falls expects an 8% increase in tourism this year thanks to its growing reputation as an adventure tourism hot-spot. Destination marketer GoToVicFalls.com spokesman, Ross Kennedy, says 5% more rooms were sold so far this year and hotels such as Ilala Lodge, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Hotel and The Elephant Camp are experiencing 70-80% occupancies. Activities most popular with adrenalin junkies are Zambezi River white river rafting; high wire activities such as gorge swinging, Ziplining, Flying Fox (cable car) and abseiling; guided canoe safaris; Bungee jumping from Victoria Falls bridge; ‘Flight of the Angels’ helicopter tours of the falls, Batoka Gorge and Zambezi National Park; swimming in Devil’s Pool on the lip of the falls; elephant back safaris and walks with lions. Namibia’s adventure tourism playground is Swakopmund, says Jean Haupt, spokesperson for the... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
EU Airport Traffic in Recession for Second Month Running
January 17, 2013
Brussels – Following last month’s announcement of EU airport traffic falling into recession, the latest traffic figures for Europe’s airports reveal flat growth for overall European passenger traffic, with continued bad news for EU airports in particular. Overall European passenger traffic in the month of November reported growth of just +0.6%. However, this positive figure is down to a ‘two speed Europe’ with passenger traffic growth at EU airports recording a decrease: -1.3% while non-EU airports saw an average +8.2% increase. The overall freight traffic among European airports (EU & non-EU) stood at – 0.5% in November, after reporting much worse figures at various times in the past 18 months. Aircraft movements at European airports continued to report a firmly negative figure of -3.6%, reflecting the reluctance of airlines to add capacity at the start of the winter season. Airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
Domestic Tourism Keeping Egypt’s Industry Afloat; Radicals Threaten Antiquities
December 5, 2012
Photo: Some rights reserved by S J Pinkney / Flickr According to a recent Reuters article on Al Arabiya News, before the Arab spring events of early 2011, more than 10 percent of Egypt’s GDP came from the tourism industry. Civil unrest has remained sporadic, resulting in little to no rebound in the almost 4.7 million international visitor decrease since the political stress began. However, domestic tourism has recently been a more reliable source of income – while domestic tourists spend less overall, they’re traveling in greater numbers due to higher flight costs internationally and struggles to get foreign visas. Local industry operators were quoted in the article with debating viewpoints on which type of tourist is better for the industry, but the consensus was that local travelers are providing a necessary lifeline while international tourists stay away. Meanwhile, even as the Egyptian Tourist Association is striving to bring back foreign tourists, another article... Read More →
Spotlight: Destinations
ETC: Slow Rebound in European Tourism Led by Eastern Europe & Regional Travel
November 14, 2012
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has just published its third quarterly report on European Tourism in 2012 - Trends & Prospects. The full report can be downloaded from ETC’s corporate website by clicking here. The following gives a brief overview of the report for the third quarter of 2012. European travel proves resilient in the face of the weak and uncertain global economic environment, with growth in visits reported for most destinations including from both long-haul and European markets. Air transport and accommodation data as well as available arrivals data indicate a slow growth as the year progressed. This is partly explained by cost-saving behaviours to face the uncertain economic environment. Hotel demand also appears to be weaker than total tourism demand indicating a rise in demand for other forms of accommodation. Among European airlines, long-haul air traffic demand has shown the greatest slowdown while intra-European demand remains stout. The strongest... Read More →
