Why U.S. Tourism Marketing Is Political and 7 Other Tourism Trends This Week

Why Tourism Marketing Is Such a Political Issue in the U.S.: Publicly funded destination marketing organizations are increasingly finding their mission questioned — and budgets threatened. Is it time for a reinvention?

What Morocco’s First Female Mountain Guide Can Teach the Travel Industry: Peak DMC has made hiring female tour guides a priority, working hard to try to rectify a gender problem. It hasn’t always been easy, though.

5 Travel Insights From Skift Forum Europe 2019: Whether or not they are doing enough, at least companies are starting to address some of the wider issues around the travel and tourism industry.

Thomas Cook CEO Pushes a Turnaround Plan, Dodges Takeover Chatter: Peter Fankhauser needs to act speedily to bolster Thomas Cook Group’s resilience in the face of tumult in the packaged holiday segment. But the CEO is persuasive in arguing that he has a winning plan that’s begun to show results.

U.S. Affluent Traveler Trends 2019: New Skift Research: The spending power of U.S. affluent travelers makes them an attractive target market. In this report, we look at how their attitudes, behaviors, and values have changed over time, and how they vary based on income level, age, and whether or not they have children.

The Bird Man of Big Sur Helps This Resort’s Guests Connect With Nature: Antonio Balestreri’s work depends on how well he can educate guests on the role of raptors in the environment, something which gives his presentations a serious edge.

Royal Caribbean Sees Payoff From Expanding Its Fleet: It looks like 2019 is setting up to be Royal Caribbean’s year. The cruise company seemed almost baffled by how good its results were, with revenue increasing across the board.

Event Planners See Opportunities Beyond Downtowns: Convention and visitors bureaus promote all corners of their destinations to entice both planners and conference attendees, using both technology and tried-and-true marketing methods.