Travel Agents’ New World and Other Top Stories This Week

Throughout the week we are posting original stories night and day covering news and travel trends, including on the impact of coronavirus. Every weekend we will offer you a chance to read the most essential stories again in case you missed them earlier.

The Re-Reinvention of the Travel Agent: Travel agents, sometimes called advisors, have seen many changes through the years, but the pandemic altered their profession in unimaginable ways. And that upheaval’s not dying down anytime soon, with booking travel becoming more complicated and advisors seeing their roles as even more necessary.

The Highest Paid Hotel CEOs: Take a look at last year’s hotel CEO compensation tables. The top bosses did well, and why not? Navigating the pandemic was tricky. Yet there was a wide disparity in the pay between most CEOs and workers. That’s harder to defend.

Early Lessons From Vancouver Island Tourism’s Shift From Marketer to Social Enterprise: Swapping its marketing role to focus on social impact is as inspiring as it gets coming out of a destination’s tourism board. But Vancouver Island’s 4VI will need to communicate at a whole new level of transparency — staying mindful of priorities that its resident communities may consider most important.

Marriott Vacations to Get New CEO as Timeshare Sector Faces High Hurdles: You may not personally want to buy a timeshare. But the sales pitch for the timeshare business can still reveal valuable intel about broader trends, such as cross-marketing tactics and the rise of subscription clubs.

7 Takeaways From Online Travel Agencies Slugging It Out on Mobile: Once dismissed as a commission-free loss leader, flights are a new battleground as Expedia and Hopper compete over keywords and customers on mobile.

Why Qatar Airways Is Preparing for ‘Pain’ During World Cup in Its Country: Qatar Airways will cut flying, and may lose money, during the World Cup in Doha later this year. But that may not matter as the country seeks to boost its brand with the event.

Business Travel Surge Playing Key Role in Event Tech Bubble Burst — For Now: Virtual events don’t seem to be cutting it anymore in the emerging, post-pandemic world, but business travelers should think twice before throwing away their headsets.

Tourist Quotas Come To French Countryside to Combat Overtourism: National park and rural authorities in France have absorbed lessons from domestic overtourism during the pandemic.

Why Tour Operators Are Emerging as Travel’s Most Vocal Leaders for Sustainability: The global focus on sustainability will be the catalyst for the asset light and human-focused tour operator sector going mainstream.

Rising Interest Rates Are Scrambling Hotel Deal Calculations: Baron Ah Moo works for PKF Hospitality and is a former hotel CEO. So he’s well-connected among private equity firms and other dealmakers. Here’s what they’re telling him now.