INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Can you make two phone calls or write two e-mails?
The saga of the Travel Promotion Act is reaching a crescendo in the U.S. Senate right now. The bill is in on the Senate floor, and travel industry leaders say a grassroots push on senators is vital.
The bill (S. 1023) would establish a public-private partnership to promote international travel to the United States. Funding would come from private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not pay $131 for a U.S. visa, and the Congressional Budget Office says it would reduce the federal budget by $425 million over the next decade.
If you want to do something quick and simple to stimulate the economy, call or e-mail your two senators and urge they vote yes on S. 1023.
The bill passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives last year, but it stalled in the Senate. Getting it through the Senate now is key.‘Awaycation’ vs. ‘staycation’: Help your wallet or help your heart?
Go on and getaway
“Staycation” was a buzzword last summer as gas prices soared and the economy dove. The concept might be good for your wallet, but it’s bad for your body.
Three out of four Internet users will watch videos online, with 60 percent of people making a purchasing decision after watching a promotional travel video. >>Learn more about this trend.
That’s the conclusion of a U.S. Travel Association study that says it’s actually healthier to get out of town rather than to stay home. The study says real vacations, “awaycations,” decrease anxiety, insomnia and depression and reduce chances of a heart attack.
Another U.S. Travel study indicates a whole lot of Americans believe that. That study showed 97.8 percent of those who took summer vacations last year plan to hit the road again this year. They told pollsters that they’re planning an average of two trips, expect to be away from home seven nights and expect to spend more than $900 on their longest summer trip.
Learn from Colorado's mistake. >>More
Are you afraid to be out of touch while on vacation? Do you feel obligated to call the office? Is your help needed, regardless of where you are?
Answer yes to any of those questions, and you’ll be like 30 percent of advertising and marketing execs who call the office daily while on vacation. That’s up from just 11 percent in 2001. (Source: A national survey from the Creative Group, an outfit that provides specialized staff to the marketing industry).
Checking out of a hotel near you . . . the bathtub
Hotel industry consultant Stanley Turkel has a thing about unused bathtubs in hotel rooms. He doesn’t like them and advocates that they be exiled to the same place rotary telephones went. He’s even found an engineering professor to explain why showers are superior to tubs, and he notes a half-dozen hotel chains that are giving tubs the heave-ho during renovation projects. Take a look the next time you check into a hotel. Has someone stolen the tub?
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
A new beatitude
If pressed, you could recite at least some of the biblical Beatitudes (blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, etc.), but you wouldn’t come up with a new one offered by Dianne Owens, publisher of the Marion Star and Mullins Enterprise in South Carolina.
“Blessed are festival committee volunteers, for they bring us something positive and fun with very little effort on our part.”
Here’s her reasoning, and it’s a message for every community that benefits from festivals and special events.
STS NEWS AND DATES
+ A Savannah, Ga., business reporter recently asked STS to take the pulse of summer travel. See the story here.
+ STS Marketing College: July 26-31, 2009; Dahlonega, Ga. Registration form.
+ STS Fall Meeting: The Clear Road to Recovery. Sept. 9-10, 2009; Atlanta, Ga. Registration form
+ STS Congressional Summit: Sept. 16, 2009; Washington, D.C.
