Skift Take

After years of dormancy, tourism to Egypt is coming back strong. Tour operators are expanding their products and departure dates, while travel advisors are seeing renewed interest among clients to visit what is for many a bucket-list destination.

Whether you are a home-based travel advisor or you work in a large office servicing high-profile accounts, the Travel Advisor Innovation Report will have you covered with the trends, news, and features you’ll need to stay on top of an ever-changing marketplace.

While unrest and terrorist incidents continue to cloud the travel appeal of destinations far and near, there’s now an unexpected bright spot: Egypt. After years of dormancy following the Arab Spring uprising of 2011, tourism to the Land of the Pharaohs is now roaring back, sparking new tour products for 2019 and increased business for travel advisors. The outlook for Egypt travel is robust — as long as calm prevails.

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— Maria Lenhart, Travel Advisor Editor

Featured Stories

Agents and Tour Operators See a Surge of Interest in Egypt: With little unrest in recent years, tourism demand for Egypt is making a big comeback. Tour operators are beefing up offerings and agents are seeing renewed interest among clients.

Luxury Agency Groups Tackle the Recruitment Conundrum: Today’s luxury agent has to be part travel advisor, part business person, and part life coach. Finding candidates with this trifecta of skills is no easy task. That’s why a pair of top luxury agency consortia is tackling the recruitment conundrum through education.

25 Travel Moments That Mattered in 2018: This past year served up headlines that certainly didn’t end with the start of another news cycle. The ripple effects were felt across all of travel.

Belmond and travelport get bought

What LVMH’s Belmond Buy Means for the Future of Luxury Travel: Belmond’s buyer has an impressive track record of nurturing and preserving iconic brands. That’s good news for travel agents concerned about ensuring that Belmond’s standards don’t get degraded.

Travelport Is Being Taken Private in $4.4 Billion Deal: What does the proposed deal mean for travel advisors connected to Travelport? Probably not much in the short term, although the situation is fluid because the company may still be looking around for a better suitor.

Airlines and loyalty

Alitalia’s Plan to Save Itself Includes Teaming Up With Delta and Air France-KLM: With beleaguered Italian airline Alitalia expecting more stable ownership by next month, it is focused on joining a new joint venture with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, buying back its loyalty program from Etihad Airways, and winning more corporate and high-end leisure customers.

Higher Standards for Frequent Flyer Status Don’t Bother Elite Travelers: New qualification standards for elite status at American and Delta seem to be working as intended: Business travelers are looking forward to better exclusivity while budget travelers are giving up.

Tourism and Tour Operators

Visit Florida CEO Is Leaving to Join New Governor’s Administration: Ken Lawson did what he could to turn the ship around and tried to bring more transparency to Visit Florida. But many in Florida’s tourism industry remain skeptical of the organization and its work.

How TUI Weathered Europe’s Summer Heat Wave: One of TUI’s competitive advantages is that it owns cruise ships and hotels. That enables it not only to bolster profit but to have more control of the customer experience.

Corporate Travel Compensation

Corporate Travel Specialists See Pay Hikes: Travel buyers are seeing juicy increases to their annual bonuses, particularly those who are relatively early on in their careers.

Skift Travel Advisor Editor Maria Lenhart [[email protected]] curates the Skift Travel Advisor Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send her an email.

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Tags: travel advisor innovation report, travel advisors, travel agents

Photo credit: Unrest can break out or an incident can take place in Egypt, or virtually anywhere else, without warning. But for now the relative peace has triggered a surge in interest in Egypt as a vacation destination. Bloomberg

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