Solutions to Overtourism and 14 Other Tourism Trends This Week

Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines tourism.

For all of our weekend roundups, go here.

>>Tickets for our 2018 flagship forum are now on sale at our Super Early Bird rate. Register early to receive our lowest price while you can! Skift Global Forum NYC Super Early Bird Tickets Are on Sale

>>“I am this guy. I fit every cliché; I am the abstract villain of your imagined anxieties. Traveling while Muslim”: The Anxieties of a Muslim Traveler

>>As destinations scramble to reduce the impact of tourism on their citizens, foundational work must still be done to create a repeatable framework and process for preventing overtourism: Proposing Solutions to Overtourism in Popular Destinations: A Skift Framework

>>Many avid travelers and destination marketers look forward to these where-to-go lists and the Times wants to make its list more engaging and relevant to its readers. Sending a reporter to 52 places in 52 weeks sounds like a stretch, but there’s no doubt many travelers will enjoy following the person who will have one of the world’s best jobs: New York Times Is Hiring a Reporter to Visit Its 52 Places to Go

>>Marketing campaigns are always a key ingredient in responding to natural disasters, and showing travelers that a destination hasn’t completely bottomed out. To get the message out, it also helps to have sufficient funding and resources, which some islands are currently lacking: Post-Hurricane Marketing in the U.S. and Caribbean Puts Tourism Boards to the Test

>>Signs point to an ongoing malaise for Uber, but Lyft still lags behind in overall usage by business travelers: Lyft Continues Steady Rise in Popularity Among Business Travelers

>>The data collected from our second annual Experiential Traveler Survey presents a deep dive into the mindset of the modern traveler. We dig into their values, attitudes, travel behavior, and more: New Skift Research: U.S. Experiential Traveler Trends 2018

>>Make no mistake: Chinese millennial travelers are among the richest groups in China, with the majority holding white-collar jobs. When this generation speaks, the luxury market should listen: Inside the Travel Habits of China’s High-Spending Millennials

>>The meetings industry is under growing pressure to provide education and best practices to mitigate risk, which is challenging due to the size of groups and costs to secure large venues: The Meetings Industry Adjusts to Risk

>>Destinations with visitor centers are adjusting their strategies to ensure their locations are being effectively utilized. The concept of a mobile or pop-up visitor center is also becoming more common, and is certainly a trend to watch in 2018: Is the Visitor Center Dead? Scotland and LA Have Opposing Answers in the Mobile Era

>>Visit Seattle is positioning itself as a broker of innovation, versus a sales conduit for meeting space, by introducing meeting planners nationwide to some of the world’s most advanced companies: Visit Seattle Enlists Its Big Tech Companies to Reposition City to Meeting Planners

>>To really appeal to meeting and event organizers, destinations need to rely on more than just their conventional group travel offerings. They need to position themselves as destinations where creativity and innovation truly thrive: Cities As Innovation and Creativity Accelerators — Meetings Innovation Report

>>It makes sense to keep a theme park open year-round in a tourist-rich place where winter weather doesn’t keep people away. The only question is: What took Six Flags so long to make this decision? Six Flags Wants to Be a Bigger Theme Park Player in California

>>Between travel bans, actual and potential laptop bans, and stepped-up security measures, the last nine months have given us whiplash. Business travelers who have had to navigate these various changes must be wondering what the U.S. government will come up with next: Laptop Ban 2.0 — Corporate Travel Innovation Report

>>Shopping is one of the parts of any trip that many travelers look forward to. Online shopping is certainly impacting in-destination spending in some markets, and more tourism boards are getting creative with how to compete with e-commerce giants: Beverly Hills Tourism Gives a Facelift to Its Shopping and Evening Strategy in Amazon Era