INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Daniel Edward Craig is a detective novelist whose background includes being a hotel industry consultant and the general manager of big properties in Montreal and Vancouver. That’s what makes his somewhat snarky predictions for the hotel industry in 2009 so much fun to read. (His novels’ central character is a hotel GM who becomes a house detective.)

Among his predictions: rate battles that actually are harmful in the long run, a retreat from “green” initiatives and the amazing disappearing amenity.

Hilton Hotels is moving its corporate headquarters to the Washington, D.C., area. One hotel exec declared that “Washington is becoming the hotel capital of the world” since Hilton will join Marriott International and Choice Hotels International in the neighborhood. When Hilton moves, three of the top hotel companies in the world (based on room count) will call the region home.

Roy Blunt signs on as co-chair of Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus


As the 111th Congress convened, Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., became co-chair of the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus with Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif. Blunt, who has been active in the caucus, represents the district that includes the tourism destination of Branson. The caucus has more than 100 members. Among its goals is fostering communication between lawmakers and the various components of America¹s travel industry.

Orlando Sentinel business columnist Beth Kassab believes the big players in the national tourism lobby are optimistic about the new administration of Barack Obama. This comes after years of complaints that poor communication and less-than-polite treatment of international tourists has depressed the number of visitors to the U.S.

In a pre-inauguration column, Kassab noted that the U.S. Travel Association (formerly the Travel Industry Association) was encouraged because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel co-sponsored legislation supporting more U.S. tourism advertising and public relations abroad when they served in Congress last year.

National Park Service Director Mary Bomar, who spoke to the Southeast Tourism Society’s 2008 meeting in Asheville, N.C., has retired after 25 years of government service. She was the first naturalized citizen to lead the NPS. She’s a native of the United Kingdom, and she delighted her STS audience with stories of the irony of her time working at Independence Hall in Boston.

The nation has 391 national park units and related cultural and natural heritage programs. The parks had more than 275 million visitors in 2007.

“Directors will come and go, but the places are timeless — and the hearts of those who care for them are bigger than the 84 million acres in the system,” Bomar wrote in a memo to employees.

Deputy Director Dan Wenk will serve as acting director until a new NPS director is nominated and confirmed.

AROUND THE SOUTHEAST

The Peabody Hotel ducks really have something to quack about—a new $200,000 home atop the Memphis hotel. The brick and granite “Duck Palace” has a glass viewing panel, a metal roof and a duck-sized swimming fountain with a sculpture of two ducks spitting water and a replica of the hotel. The new structure replaced the ducks’ former home, which had been on the Peabody Hotel roof for 23 years.

All 12 states in the Southeast Tourism Society have events on the American Bus Association’s “Top 100 Events in North America” list for 2009. The first Southeastern event on the calendar is the Festival of Flowers in Mobile, Ala., March 25-29. Many are clustered toward the end of the year, including the 20th annual Pigeon Forge Winterfest that starts Nov. 5 and continues through Feb. 28, 2010.

IMPORTANT STS DATES

+ ITB Berlin: March 11-14, 2009; STS will be talking with German-language journalists about southeastern US locations. For more information, visit southeasttourism.org/programs/external.html.

+ Spring meeting: March 23-25, 2009; Montgomery, Ala. Registration form.