Puerto Rico’s Turning Point and 10 Other Tourism Trends This Week

Puerto Rico Tourism Boss Calls Governor’s Resignation a ‘Turning Point’: The fact that Puerto Rico’s governor dragged out his resignation in such painstaking fashion didn’t help the island’s tourism prospects. Now it’s back to business for the island’s hotels, meetings venues, and attractions. It’s tough to take a punch in the gut, though, just when you got up off the mat.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Outreach to Travel Advisors Shores Up Rocky Relationship: Carnival Cruise Line has not always had the best relationship with travel advisors, but it has taken steps to turn that around. Its new campaign to promote the value of advisors should be especially effective.

Weaker Global Growth Forecast Leaves Mixed Clues for Travel Industry: Travel executives, take note. Global growth is more subdued than some of you may have expected. But many travel companies will still enjoy profitable growth this year.

Royal Caribbean Dodges Big Hit From Cuba Cancellations: The debut of a new private island is helping Royal Caribbean raise pricing on shorter itineraries. If China returns as a major market as well, 2020 could be a strong year for the cruise line.

Genting’s Dream Cruises Leadership Change Won’t Rock the Boat: Thatcher Brown has done a lot for Dream Cruises, and the last thing Genting wants to do at this time is appoint a successor who will make waves. Michael Goh is a perfect fit.

Skift Global Forum Preview: Publicis Exec Tobaccowala Says Human Connection More Important Than Ever: Experiences are increasingly central to travel. This means travel companies should pay special attention to long-term values like relationships, authenticity, and emotional connection while also not forgetting about the bottom line.

Redesigning New York’s East End for Year-Round Luxury: Small towns across the world like Montauk are becoming luxury destinations. Hoteliers building luxury experiences within them face a handful of challenges to balance the local community and original allure with high-end service and amenities. It will be interesting to watch how these brands and locations evolve as tourism continues to boom.

The Evolution of Long Island’s Tony East End as Luxury Destination: Stick or twist? Plenty of destinations have to wrestle with the idea when looking to develop their tourism offering. By changing too much or too quickly, you risk losing what made the place special to begin with.

Travel Advisors See U.S. Domestic Tourism Evolving Amid Inbound Woes: Domestic leisure travel among Americans appears to be getting stronger, helping to offset declining growth in international visitors to the U.S. It’s also growing in new directions, with glamping and cultural tours especially popular.

Travel Advisors Point to Emerging Trends in U.S. Domestic Tourism: While the growth of international visitation to the U.S. is slowing, travel advisors see rising interest among Americans in exploring their own country, often in new ways. Cultural itineraries exploring everything from civil rights history to regional culinary specialties are on the agenda.

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