Lebawit Lily Girma

Lily is Skift's global tourism reporter. Prior to that, she wrote travel stories focused on culture and sustainability for BBC, CNN, and Travel + Leisure, and others. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Côte d’Ivoire, she calls herself a serial expat and loves to debate the power of tourism to tip the scales of imbalance in the world. Lily splits her time between the Dominican Republic and the eastern U.S.

Latest Stories

Coronavirus

Recovering Cruise Industry Will Battle Temptation to Revert to Old Status Quos

Big cruise is back, even as Florida and Texas turn cruising vaccination requirements into a political football. With industry giants eager to start making money again, it'll be a tough road ahead, from rebuilding consumer confidence to sailing to where vaccines are lagging. Is this restart premature?

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Overtourism

Tourism Roars Back in Hawaii But It Looks Very Different As New Challenges Surface

Experts say Hawaii's tourism officials are making a genuine effort to build back better, but this is where the rubber meets the road: Who will tackle Hawaii's overcrowding problem? And with legislators aiming to slash Hawaii Tourism Authority's funding and authority, how will a majority domestic tourism market impact Hawaii's travel industry?

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

Canada’s Tourism Leaders Push U.S. Border Reopening

Canada's draconian restrictions will likely ease in the coming weeks, but what they'll consist of and whether a clear reopening plan will come as fast as tourism officials want remain unclear.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

Stress Test for Destination Marketing Could Lead to Strategy Changes

A destination resilience assessment survey for U.S. tourism boards is launching this summer — just as visitors return and as tourism leaders continue to examine how they can build back stronger before the next crisis hits.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

New Sobering UNWTO Data Suggests Full Tourism Recovery Won’t Arrive Until 2024

It's a stark update from the United Nations' tourism arm on the projected delayed return of international tourism — but it's also up to governments in wealthier nations to turn that tide and speed up recovery through global vaccine equity.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

How One Cape Cod Cafe Owner Is Tackling Worker Shortages Ahead of Summer’s Tourism Rush

Spoon and Seed's owner says tough times pushed him to wear his business hat first, and the chef one second. The result —resilience amid a major tourism downturn, with a reimagined menu and a new staff management model built to face the upcoming summer visitor surge.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

U.S. Land Border Closures With Canada and Mexico Extend to June 21

Land border closures between the U.S. and Canada are likely to continue stretching for as long as vaccinations lag in Canada.

David Shepardson, Reuters | 3 years ago

Tourism

Florida Tourism Produces Original Amazon Prime Series as Marketing Goes Hollywood

Florida's tourism marketers are going the extra mile to beat the competition this summer: co-producing and launching an original series set in St. Pete-Clearwater and launching on Amazon Prime Video. It's a whole new tourism marketing frontier. Action!

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

Visit Malta CEO on Achieving Herd Immunity While Staying Cautiously Hopeful About This Summer

Malta remains optimistic in spite of its exclusion from the UK's initial safe travel list last week. Herd immunity is under a week away and pent-up summer bookings signal a potential boon for the tiny archipelago amid fierce regional competition ahead.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago

Tourism

WTTC’s New CEO Joins the Global Travel Group From Airline Conglom IAG

It's another defining year ahead for the travel industry as recovery begins in some parts of the world — the WTTC's new leadership has the opportunity to reshape how success in travel is measured and to push for a more sustainable industry post-recovery.

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift | 3 years ago