INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
A ray of sunshine in leisure travel’s crystal ball
The perceived “affordability of travel” is making Americans more bullish about leisure travel.
That’s one take-away from the U.S. Traveler Sentiment Index, a quarterly analysis of Americans’ travel intentions done by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership.
The index, pegged at 100 when the study started in March 2007, was at 78.2 last October. By February, it had jumped to 90.2—not great perhaps, but definitely an improvement.
Authors say the spike is a direct result of the travel industry discounting. Promotions, discounts and incentives are available in practically every travel industry segment. Some prices are 50 percent lower than six months ago. More...
in the travel industry
In Venice, it’s being on the force of the Manners Police, in Rajasthan, India, it’s being a monkey man and in Memphis, it’s being a duckmaster. Travel + Leisure identified what it labels the “10 Strangest Jobs in Travel.”
See whether you agree.
A favorite Internet pass-along is a compilation of “The 50 Strangest Buildings in the World.”
WonderWorks in the Smokies
“Strange” is in the eye of the beholder, because gems such as the Air Force Academy Chapel and the Beijing National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest from the recent Olympics) are on the list along with a Michigan house that looks like a set of pickle barrels and a Mexico City building that resembles a washing machine.
Regardless of what they are, they are boons to the travel industry. People will go out of their way to see an office building that looks like a giant picnic basket or a science museum “lifted from the Bermuda Triangle and deposited upside down in the Smoky Mountains.” Then it becomes a case of CVB directors gone wild.
World’s largest Holiday Inn to be built in . . .
The biggest Holiday Inn in the world is the 965-room Holiday Inn Chengdu Century Century in China, but it’s going to lose that distinction. Care to guess where the new champion is planned? Here’s the answer.
AROUND THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
You’re distinctive if the National Trust says you are
Twelve American cities a year get a stamp of approval from the National Trust for Historic Preservation when they are labeled “Distinctive Destinations.” Two of this year’s 12 are in the Southeast—Athens, Ga., and Franklin, Tenn., just south of Nashville. The other 10 are scattered all about and include the southern gateway to South Dakota’s Black Hills, a mining boomtown in Nevada and a surprise (to many) on the shores of Lake Erie in New York.
50 Percent of Kentucky town’s hotel stays are from . . . sports
Some towns covet leisure travelers, some chase convention business and some pursue sports teams. Owensboro, Ky., is in that final category based on a report that concluded more than half of all hotel stays there are from visiting sports teams and their fans. Before 2009 started, the Owensboro-Daviess County CVB already had filled 90 percent of its tournament schedule with 32 events.
Some tourism figures are in the black
Arkansas reported a 3.8 percent increase in revenue from taxes related to tourism in 2008. Tourism Director Joe David Rice said Arkansas has benefited from the national trend of shorter vacations because Arkansas is well situated for spontaneous, short-duration trips by car. (Source: USA Today)
IMPORTANT STS DATES
+ STS Marketing College: July 26-31, 2009; Dahlonega, Ga. Registration form.
