Skift Travel News Blog

Maui’s western region will be fully reopened to the public on November 1, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen announced on Monday. The reopened will area span Kahana to Ka’anapali. Only burned-out sections of the historic Lahaina will remained closed.

The reopening date will be nearly three months after the devastating wildfires in West Maui that started on August 8. The wildfires caused the deaths of nearly 100 and displaced thousands of people.

The November 1 date is meant to signal a time when businesses and workers can make their preparations, said Bissen. Maui’s tourism sector faces a long road to recovery. In the wake of the fires, tourists and tour operators canceled trips, airlines reduced their flights, hotel occupancy rates nosedived and unemployment soared.

Many hotels in Maui are currently sheltering the nearly 7,000 displaced residents, none of whom will lose their housing, said Bisen. “The Red Cross has assured me that housing for displaced Lāhainā residents, including those staying in hotels, is not in jeopardy,” he said.

Government officials initially planned to reopen West Maui in three phases. The first phase started on October 8 with the area from Ritz-Carlton, Kapaula to Kahana Villia being re-opened to the public.

The timeline change came about after repeated discussions between the mayor’s Lahaina Advisory Team, the American Red Cross and other partners, as well as community feedback about the first phase of the reopening.

India was the U.S.’ s second top market for travelers outside of North America between April and June, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s data released Monday. Over 500,000 Indian travelers came to the America in the those three months, up from 392,000 and 498,000 for the same period in 2022 and pre-pandemic 2019, respectively.

In the first six months of 2023, over 800, 000 Indian travelers came to the U.S., making it America’s second largest’s non-North American market after the UK this year.

Nearly 60% of Indian travelers came to the U.S. for vacation, business or a conference in the first six months of this year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. On average, Indian travelers spent $3,500 per trip in the U.S. The states they visited the most were California, New York and Texas.

In 2023, the U.S. is expected to welcome 1.4 million Indian travelers, which is 97% of their pre-pandemic volume, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. It will be the U.S.’s sixth top source overseas market in 2023, after the UK, France, Germany, Japan and Brazil. In 2019, India was the U.S. eighth-largest market.

It’s notable is that India has recovered so quickly and is rising as top source market for the U.S. despite long visa wait times at U.S. embassies, which suggests inbound travel from the country has been heavily restrained.

While the number of visitor visa approvals for Indians has “outperformed” 2019 levels, they remain over 400 days on average, said U.S. Travel Association CEO and President Geoff Freeman at Skift Global Forum. In New Delhi, for example, an Indian national would have to wait 542 days for a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy.

The visa wait times deter Indian travel into the U.S. “The message to that traveler is all but go away. This is anything but a welcoming environment,” said Freeman. 

U.S. destination marketing organizations have been investing in driving tourism from India. New York Tourism + Conventions, San Francisco Travel and Los Angeles Tourism have expanded their marketing efforts in India this year.

“We’ve invested heavily in India,” said NYC Tourism + Conventions CEO and President Fred Dixon at Skift Global Forum. “I was just there in January, we’ll be back again next January. We see a huge opportunity in the future from India. We’re excited about the airlift opportunities.”

The Qatari government has appointed a new chairman for its tourism arm: Saad Ali Al Kharji. Al Kharji is now chairman of Qatar Tourism, succeeding Akbar Al Baker, who yesterday announced his departure from Qatar Airways after 27 years.

Al Kharji’s appointment was confirmed in a decree by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It was only last July that the emir made Al Kharji the deputy chairman of Qatar Tourism, at that time under Al Baker.

Al Baker Resigns

Al Baker was CEO of a group of companies, such as Qatar Executive and Hamad International Airport. Under his stewardship, the airline, which started with just five aircraft in 1996, has grown to 258 aircraft. 

In his note to employees, Al Baker wrote: “After 27 years of service, I am writing to you to announce that I will step down from the Qatar Airways Group. In 1996, with a fleet of just five aircraft, unwavering dedication, and a loyal and passionate team, together we embarked on a remarkable journey to aviation excellence. From that very first day, our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.”

British Airways is has debuted a new seasonal advertisement to celebrate the Hindu festival, Diwali. 

According to a release, the film has been created to celebrate those who may be missing out on the family celebrations, as well as recognizing those heading home for the festivities. 

The campaign, which features a cast made up of British Airways team members – including Akash, Shilpa, Amanda-Rose, and Ruchika – sees them fulfilling their duties at work as voicemail messages from their real family and friends play in the background.

“Each year, millions of people around the world gather to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, and we know that making that journey home to be with loved ones is so important. Our people are at the very heart of this campaign, as we wanted to thank them for helping families and friends reconnect during the festival. Happy Diwali to all our customers and colleagues,” said Hamish McVey, director of marketing at British Airways. 

The adverts will run from October 20 to November 11.

International travel to the U.S. continues to make a post-pandemic recovery, according to new data on international air travelers released Monday by the U.S.’s National Travel and Tourism Office. International air travelers spent $18.9 billion in the U.S. in the second quarter, up 33% from the same period in 2022.

The data provided telling statistics. Below are some key facts about overseas travel, i.e., not from Mexico or Canada, in the second quarter:

• On average, overseas travelers had an income of $95,311, stayed 19 days, and spent $1,933 on their trips.

• Over 7.7 million travelers came to the U.S. from overseas markets. Europe was the top contributor at over 3.3 million.

• About 61% of overseas travelers took their trips solo, while 20% took theirs with a spouse or partner, and 16% took theirs with family or relatives.

• Vacation was the top reason at 53%, which was the same level in the second quarter of 2022.

• More overseas travelers took trips to the U.S. for business in the second quarter at 18%, up from 14% last year.

What about travelers from Canada and Mexico, you ask?

Over 720,000 air travelers came from Mexico to the U.S. On average, Mexican travelers spent $1,271 per trip. Below were their favorite destinations in the second quarter:

Over 2.6 million air travelers came from Canada. On average, Canadian travelers spent $1,164 per trip. Below were their favorite destinations in the second quarter:

A growing share of Canadian, Mexican and overseas travelers cited business travel as a top reason for taking a trip to the U.S. in the second quarter.

Uber will enable users to book hot air balloon rides in popular Turkish tourist destination Cappadocia as part of its strategy to make further inroads in the tourism industry.

The company said app users can pay $159 (150 euros) to reserve one of 20 places on an one-and-a half hour sunrise flight over Cappadocia, a region renowned for its cave cities. Cappadocia attracted roughly 10% of Turkey’s 44.6 million foreign visitors in 2022, according to the country’s tourism and culture ministry.

Uber’s move to offer hot balloon riders is its latest offering outside of ride sharing. The apps allows users to book boat rides along the Thames River in London as well as tuk-tuks in Sri Lanka and India. Uber also enables UK users to book flights, trains and hotels on its app.

Turkey has also emerged as one of Uber’s fastest-growing markets as the company said rides in the country have increased over 50% from last year.

Qatar Airways has announced a new collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, which will see the carrier introduce complimentary high-speed internet connectivity onboard specific aircraft and routes. 

The new initiative, which is currently in the pre-launch phase, will allow passengers to enjoy Wi-Fi speeds of up to 350 Megabits per second, allowing internet-based services such as video streaming, gaming and enriched web-browsing with one-click access.

“Qatar Airways is proud to announce its agreement with Starlink to provide seamless and complimentary Wi-Fi to its global passengers. This exciting collaboration is not only in line with our industry-leading approach to technological adoption, but also serves as an unmissable opportunity to connect Starlink to our global passengers. We look forward to our passengers benefitting from this state-of-the-art addition to Qatar Airways’ in-flight experience,” said His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, group chief executive, Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways is not the first airline to partner with Starlink, with the technology also being implemented by JSX, Hawaiian Airlines, airBaltic, and ZIPAIR. We also previously reported that P&O Cruises and Cunard will roll out the service.

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) has launched its largest ever consumer advertising campaign in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The ‘Now Playing’ campaign – which features advertising in Ireland and Manchester for the first time – will run through October and November, and will return in early 2024.

The campaign includes advertisements on television, which are supported by a range of out of home placements on buses, trams and billboards, along with a full social media campaign. The creative elements have been produced alongside creative agency, Imaginary Forces.

“This is LA Tourism’s biggest ever consumer advertising investment in the UK and Ireland, showing our continued support for these key markets. We are excited to bring our consumer advertising to Ireland and the Manchester area for the first time to target travelers in these important regions, complementing our long-standing trade and PR efforts. We expect the new creative will entice travelers to choose LA for studios and attractions, food, outdoors and wellness, sports, shopping, and arts and culture,” said Francine Sheridan, regional vice president, Europe and ME, LA Tourism.

The U.S. Department of State issued a “worldwide caution” to all Americans traveling abroad on Thursday. It urged them to stay alert due to heightened tensions in various locations, potential terrorist attacks and violent actions against U.S. citizens. The caution is in response to the ongoing the war between Israel and Hamas.

Americans traveling abroad were advised to stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, enroll in the Smart Travel Enrollment Program to stay updated and follow the State Department on Facebook and Twitter.

Full Coverage: U.S. Travel Caution FAQ – What the State Department Advice Means for Travelers

On Tuesday, the U.S. advised Americans to avoid travel all to Lebanon. On October 14, the U.S. advised Americans to reconsider travel to Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest.

The U.S. has four advisory levels for countries based on how safe and secure they are for U.S. travelers:

• Level 4: Do Not Travel. U.S. travelers should not travel there because it’s very dangerous. Lebanon is now under this level.
• Level 3: Reconsider Travel. U.S. Travelers should avoid traveling to this area due to safety and security risks. Israel is now under this level.
• Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. American traveling to this area should be aware of heightened risks.
• Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions. This is the lowest level in terms of safety and security risks to U.S. travelers.  

The U.S. government is facilitating charter flight transportation for U.S. on a rolling basis at Ben Gurion International Airport through at least Sunday, October 22.

A new survey by tours and activities online marketplace GetYourGuide showed American consumers want gifts that allow them to travel and experience the world more. 

92% of participants said they prefer receiving experiences over physical gifts, up from 77% last year. The survey, now in its third year, showed marked growth in the desire for experiential gifts, from an initial 62% in 2021. 

The holiday sentiment trend correlates with a 63% increase in total bookings between January and October 2023, compared to the same period last year, said GetYourGuide. Price remains a top concern for 56% of Americans, despite being down 7 points from last year.

Regarding the type of experiences, travel topped the list, especially among Millennials, with 51% preferring a trip as their ideal gift. Added preferences included:

• Concert or show (40%),
• Outdoor activity such as skiing or hiking (30%)
• Museum visit (27%)

Food remains a top category for experiential bookings, chosen by 56% of Americans, with a further 33% inspired by local cuisine featured in shows or articles. Pop culture significantly influences travel choices, with 81% citing it as a reason to travel, and 36% have been motivated to travel to a location featured in a TV show or movie.

GetYourGuide said the survey, weighted by Wakefield Research, was conducted among 1,000 Americans aged 16-56, from 5 to 10 September.