Skift Take

This week in tourism, we saw TUI digging into blockchain and tours and activities, and Los Angeles rebooted its "Everyone Is Welcome" campaign on Hulu.

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.

>>There are 72 days until Skift Forum Europe in Berlin! But who’s counting? (Us. Definitely us.) Meet the Speakers for Our Second Annual Skift Forum Europe

>>American Express Global Business Travel is making a shrewd, and expensive, move to become the world’s biggest travel management company by a wide margin. More consolidation is almost certain to hit corporate travel as a result: American Express GBT Deal Means More Mergers Will Be Coming

>>If Interior Secretary Zinke really wanted to score some points for trying to address the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog, he wouldn’t make it contingent upon helping the oil industry and big business: Trump Budget Would Fund National Park Maintenance With Drilling Fees

>>Destinations like Miami and Anaheim aren’t turning their backs on the leisure travel business that they grew up on. But they also don’t want their leisure reputations to overshadow their new convention center capabilities. That means they and other destinations are following new strategies to grow business travel: New Convention Centers Are Pivoting Toward Trade Shows Over Consumer Events

>>A new cruise line is betting that focusing on a specific market niche will be a winning strategy. We look at the game plan behind the new fitness-focused concept and consider whether it can work out: A Wellness Cruise Line Wants to Compete With the Industry’s Biggest Names

>>With TUI accumulating so much customer data, it makes sense to deploy that knowledge to its transfers, and tours and activities business. The sector is still fragmented and a player with deep pockets like TUI should be able to make inroads: TUI Group Wants a Bigger Slice of the Tours and Activities Market

>>While wellness tourism might be growing in popularity, setting up a dedicated cruise line is another matter. First you’ve got to finance the venture, then you must convince consumers that you’re a better bet than the existing lines: Can a Dedicated Wellness Cruise Line Really Succeed?

>>The Los Angeles tourism board is one of the few in the U.S. that could launch a campaign like this and have it ring true to travelers from around the world. Its original “Everyone Is Welcome” message likely had an impact on how other destinations addressed the drop-off in international visitors: Los Angeles Takes Its New Tourism Campaign to Hulu

>>Convention centers across the U.S. have worked to refresh and develop their offerings as business has increased in recent years. Now they’re looking to attract large corporate events across multiple venues instead of traditional consumer-facing events and conventions: Refreshed Destinations Want to Attract Large Corporate Events

>>TUI seems to have found a good use case for blockchain technology, and the implied cost savings would help boost profits. But could TUI achieve the same result with an alternative? TUI Is Relying on Its Blockchain to Help Boost Profits

>>Latin America’s tourist destinations have excelled at nation branding by creating vibrant and colorful content to entice travelers. In 2018, the region’s tourism offices will get more savvy with their digital marketing efforts as the visitor economy grows in importance: Travel Megatrends 2018: Latin America Will Take Nation Branding to New Extremes

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Tags: tourism, Travel Trends, trends roundups

Photo credit: Skaters at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, on August 11, 2012. The city is taking its new "Everyone Is Welcome" tourism campaign to Hulu. Chris Goldberg / Flickr

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