Skift Take

This week in tourism, don't miss our deep dive on the impressive boom and troublesome bust of Iceland's tourism industry since the 2008 financial crisis. This long read is an essential follow-up on our previous investigation of Iceland's rise three years ago.

Tourism News Weekly Roundup

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 trends.

For all of our weekend roundups, go here.

The Rise and Fall of Iceland’s Tourism Miracle: Life has changed for Icelanders as the country’s tourism industry faces a slump. While many are looking at the change as an opportunity to reassess their business, the widespread decline of tourism across the country presents intractable problems.

Russia Is Relaxing Its Restrictive Visa Regimes for Tourists: Why Now? Russia wants to be seen as a global power and attract all the foreign investment that comes with that. After years of restrictive visa regimes, it seems to finally be accepting that tourism is a great tool to facilitate that.

Mexico Tourism Marketing Gap Leads Ex-Board Staffers to Launch New Company:
The true results of the Mexican government’s dismantling of its tourism board likely won’t be known for years, but former staffers in the Los Angeles office have formed a new marketing company they hope will fill in the gap.

Marketers From Closed Mexico Tourism Office Go Out on Their Own: Former staffers from the closed Los Angeles office of the Mexico Tourism Board have regrouped to offer marketing services for Mexican destinations. Such services are needed, particularly for regions outside of Mexico’s most popular tourist areas.

Australia Looks to Diversify Beyond Chinese Travelers Under Its New Tourism Boss: The head of Tourism Australia has the right training, for sure, as Australia seeks to increase foreign arrivals. She was overseeing its international offices and knows only too well that there is more competition for the global wallet.

Skift Global Forum Preview: Inspirato Pass Offers a Discounted Luxury Ticket Around the World: The best way for travelers to get the most out of their Inspirato Pass is to book early and often. That way shelling out $30,000 a year for the subscription will essentially pay for itself, given the number of high-end trips customers will wind up taking.

Perfect Starry Skies: A New Draw for Travelers to Southern Africa: The luxury safari market in southern Africa is a competitive space and it pays to leverage any unique selling points. Now, savvy lodge operators are trading on the darkness of the night skies to encourage bookings.

Meeting Planners See Beyond Just Optics on Environment and Overtourism: Planners are starting to embrace their role in addressing climate change — and are moving beyond just surface efforts to preserve the environment and local communities. This trend is an important one, and hopefully continues to pick up speed.

Meeting Planners Aim to Reduce Damage to Local Communities: Companies have realized that climate change dramatically affects their bottom line, and many are giving planners the go-ahead to address sustainability in a more meaningful way.

Audi’s Silvercar Launches Loyalty Program to Help Compete With Legacy Rivals: Premium Rewards isn’t going to change the world as a loyalty program, but it is going to entice business from a new set of travelers. And that might be exactly what Silvercar needs right now.

The Future Is Female When It Comes to Wellness Adventure Travel: Empowerment, connection, and an adrenaline rush are drawing women to women-only wellness trips. The trend appears to have a few years of staying power, but smart marketing could make it last longer.

Wellness for Business Travel Is an Uphill Slog: It only makes sense that business travel — including meetings and conventions — would incorporate more aspects of the wellness movement. While industrywide changes are happening, it’s debatable whether they’ve made a real impact on the lives of business travelers yet.

5 Ways to Network at Skift Global Forum 2019: While the program we have in store for attendees is fantastic, so are the opportunities to connect with your peers (or rivals) during our multiple networking opportunities and breaks at this year’s Skift Global Forum.

insights

Get Skift Research

Skift Research products provide deep analysis, data, and expert research on the companies and trends that are shaping the future of travel.

See What You're Missing

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: tourism, Travel Trends, trends roundups

Photo credit: Visitors at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, a popular tourist site. The country has seen a decline in international arrivals so far this year. Gordon Cheung / Flickr

Up Next

Loading next stories