The Trend - April 2011
If you have any questions or comments regarding The Trend, please contact Paula Stephenson at 800.682.8886.
In this issue:
- Tapping Technology
- How Operators Can Warm Up to Culinary Tourism
- Opportunities Abound for Accessible Travel
- Global Tourism Expected to Continue to Rise
- Taking the Pulse of the Economy
- April Factoids
Tapping Technology
When it comes to technology advances in the industry, are you leading the charge? Going with the flow? Or digging in your heels? Watching how other companies creatively tap into social media, mobile technology and electronic imagery can help your company, organization or property in two ways: You can use those innovations yourself, and then you can start adapting and creating your own innovations. Take a look at some of the newest wrinkles:
- Some travelers receive notification-and immediate offers of compensation-when travel plans hit a bump: a flight or cruise is delayed, a rental car is not available or a hotel room is uninhabitable. A company might use Twitter to advise about a delay and then send an e-mail to all passengers offering a resolution to the problem-all before receiving the first complaint.
- HotelNewsNow tells about an independent property using Facebook not just for marketing and interacting with travelers, but for booking rooms. The numbers are not large, but every guest counts, say hoteliers.
- Delta allows customers to use the company's Facebook app to check in for a flight, get the gate number, track the status of a flight and even access their SkyMiles account.
- Mobile boarding passes are taking off. Within two years, one in every seven bar-coded boarding passes worldwide will be delivered to passengers' mobile devices, according to forecasts from Juniper Research. The projected number of mobile boarding passes, nearly half a billion, is nearly three times higher than last year.
- Hotels are also recruiting media-savvy "inn-bedded" guests to enjoy their property and post tweets and videos about their experience.
- In an interview with EyeforTravel, a media company specializing in business intelligence for the travel and tourism industry, Sabre Hospitality Solutions' Patrick Andres said mobile devices will overtake the PC for content gathering and booking. He added that hotel guests soon expect to use their phones for checking in, paying and unlocking their door.
- Also from EyeforTravel: Travel companies are losing interest in developing apps and are focusing more on mobile Web sites. Both strategies yield a similar return, but the cost of developing an app is typically higher.
While technology can never replace a smiling face or a warm voice (not entirely, anyway), we're certain to see a rising wave of technological innovations for sales and customer service. Your ability to ride that wave can float your bottom line.
Sources: The Washington Post, Hotel News Now, Mashable.com, EyeforTravel.com
How Operators Can Warm Up to Culinary Tourism
In less than 10 years, culinary tourism has gone from a niche to a full-blown industry, and it's no surprise: Everyone loves to eat! Travelers typically spend about 25 percent of their travel budget on food and drink, according to Melody Johnson of the International Culinary Tourism Association.
"A visitor, whether they are in an area for business or pleasure, will eat at least one meal a day at some type of food and beverage venue," Johnson said. "This could be a farmers market, deli, restaurant, food vendor cart, winery, chocolatier, coffee bar or even a distillery!"
Dave Eckert of "Culinary Travels with Dave Eckert" on Wealth TV and DirecTV's Resort and Residence Television, had this advice to tour operators who wish to create a culinary tour of their own: "Research and network. Talk to the best chefs in the area about where they source their local products, and then get in touch with those people," Eckert said. "Most likely, the producers are small, mom-and-pop operations without a lot of facilities for tourism, expertise in tourism, or time for tourism, so work with them to make sure the experience is a win-win for them.
One good place to begin your research is by contacting local DMOs. Many of these organizations know the key players in their area and already have existing relationships with local suppliers and chefs; they also may have developed culinary itineraries.
Eckert also suggested partnering with local chefs to guide tours and host special meals on location. "Chef contacts can open a lot of doors," he said. "I know that first-hand."
Eckert is seeing more and more interest in culinary tourism and knowing where products originate and who is producing them. In the United States, California is ahead of the curve with its artisanal products and producers, but America's Heartland is catching up quickly. "In less than an hour's drive from Kansas City, where I live," Eckert said, "there's a small goat-cheese producer, three boutique wineries and a host of brew pubs you can visit."
Opportunities Abound for Accessible Travel
Destinations always are looking for more visitors as an increasing number of economies are dependent on income generated from the travel and tourism sector. If you're looking to grow your tourism numbers, consider accessible tourism.
There are 650 million disabled people around the globe, and those who have tried traveling admit it can be incredibly challenging and often discouraging. The top reason they find it difficult is that service providers are simply not meeting their special needs. Disabled travelers say they often struggle with even simple tasks, such as finding a hotel. And if they desire to travel to areas where tourism is not fully developed, just getting from the airport to another location is close to impossible. Disabled travelers are quick to point out that even countries with a well-established tourism infrastructure can lag behind on meeting their needs.
Many experts believe the industry has not paid enough attention to this market and, as a result, continues to miss out on a huge opportunity for growing their travel revenues. Especially now, when many destinations are emerging from the global financial crisis, a more proactive approach to this group would be beneficial and could open up a new market. The potential to capture this market, particularly for tour operators, is vast and should be closely investigated.
For more information, visit the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality or check out this list of resources.
Global Tourism Expected to Continue to Rise
Following world tourism's recovery in 2010, the industry can expect the rise of travel to continue in 2011 and beyond. Data on total tourist arrivals from Tourism 2020 Vision, a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, shows that by 2020 the top three receiving regions will be Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Pacific (397 million) and the Americas (282 million), followed by Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
UNWTO's Tourism 2020 Vision forecasts that international arrivals are expected to reach nearly 1.6 billion by the year 2020. Of these worldwide arrivals in 2020, 1.2 billion will be intraregional and 378 million will be long-haul travellers.
Worldwide, the number of international tourist arrivals reached 935 million, up 58 million from 2009 and 22 million more than the pre-crisis peak level of 2008 (913 million). International tourist arrivals were up 6.7 percent last year compared to 2009, with positive growth reported in all regions.
To put percentages in perspective: Heritage Destination Consulting reports that a 1 percent increase in U.S. worldwide market share would equal 7.6 million more visitors, a $12.3 billion increase in expenditures, 151,000 new jobs, a $3.3 billion increase in payroll and $2.1 billion more in federal, state and local tax revenue.
Taking the Pulse of the Economy
If any industry is ready for the global recession to end, it is the travel industry. And while the worldwide economy has revved up, it's too early to say we're operating at full steam again. This collection of recent reports reveals a picture of an improved economy, but shadows are still creeping in around the edges:
- In the United States, international tourists increased their spending by 18 percent last year, compared with 2009, led by visitors from Canada, Great Britain and Mexico. U.S. travelers also spent more on trips abroad.
- In January 2011, visits from overseas residents to the United States (1.8 million) were up 9 percent compared to January 2010.
- In a report produced by the World Economic Forum that predicts which countries are poised to capitalize on increased travel, Switzerland leads the way, followed by Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada and Singapore.
- Consumer interest in travel has reached its highest levels since April 2007, according to the Traveler Sentiment Index, created by Ypartnership and the U.S. Travel Association.
- The World Travel & Tourism Council projects a 4.2 percent annual increase in travel and tourism spending worldwide to 2012, when the industry will account for 3 percent of the world's gross economic output and be responsible for one out of 10 jobs.
- Some two-thirds of Americans expect to receive a tax refund this year. Forty-two percent report they will put some or all of it in savings, and a similar number will pay off debt. Twelve percent say they plan to spend their refund on a vacation.
- Travelers are taking notice of higher airfares, but higher baggage fees are piling up, too, for second bags, bags on international flights and overweight bags. The reason: higher fuel costs.
- The pillars of Americans' financial security-jobs and home values-will stay shaky well into 2011, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. The unemployment rate will stay stubbornly high the next two years, and home prices will remain almost flat for the next two years.
Additional reports give conflicting conclusions: While some experts describe a pent-up demand that will lead to a rush of spending, others warn that frugal consumer habits learned during lean years will carry over into the recovery period.
Sources: BIGresearch, OTTI, Travel Market Report, Visa Inc., World Travel & Tourism Council, World Economic Forum
- The United Nations World Tourism Organization forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 percent.
- A third of people over 30 regret not going on a 18- to 30-style holiday. (Research Alert)
- Nearly six in 10 adults (57 percent) say they're more likely to patronize restaurants that offer food produced via organic or other environmentally friendly methods. (National Restaurant Association)
- Britons drink more on cruise holidays than on a dry land holidays. (Research Alert)
- Almost nine in 10 impulse purchases (88 percent) are made because the product is on sale. (The Hartman Group)
- According to the new "Tourism Outlook: USA report from Visa Inc.," Visa cardholders in 2010 took more trips and spent more on international purchases. (Travel Pulse Daily)