Tourism News

Coming together and trying to carve out a deal from the UK government makes sense for the tourism industry. The only problem with that is the country's looming separation from the European Union, which is casting a shadow over its political and economic future.

The upcoming 2018 Experiential Traveler Report will present a deep dive into the mind of the modern traveler. Here's a sneak peek of our survey results.

No doubt destinations are hoping that visitors will return when islands have a chance to recover and clean up. Old habits and geography are in their favor.

These winning tourism videos don't use radical production elements to tell the stories of their countries. Instead, they let the landscapes and handshakes speak for themselves, and show why travel is such a beautiful and enlightening thing.

It's hard to see how other airlines, hotels and cruise lines don't follow JetBlue's lead in issuing waivers on change fees and cancellations for itineraries to Cuba given the U.S. government's ill-conceived warning for travel to the Caribbean island. The warning looks like it will help reverse the Obama administration's loosening of restrictions on U.S. citizen travel to Cuba.

The U.S. travel warning might have been limited to visiting hotels in Cuba, where U.S. embassy employees have allegedly been targeted. But instead the Trump administration would prefer to close the door on all U.S. citizen travel to Cuba. As Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said at the Skift Global Forum, U.S. policy toward Cuba has accomplished nothing over the last few decades.

Tourism leaders across continents are recognizing the challenge of marketing travel in this new age of Permanxiety. Destination marketers ought to share best practices with each other on how to adapt.

More destinations understand that WeChat is a different ball game than western channels and they're getting smarter about how to reach Chinese travelers on the platform. The challenge is showing how Paris, for instance, is different from a city in Belgium or Germany that also wants to attract more tourism.

With privacy and data protection becoming bigger issues for consumers, it's not a surprise to see the European Union step up its regulation. Travel companies all over the world should be paying attention.

With its IPO on Wednesday, Despegar became the world's seventh-largest online travel company by market cap. Its bosses talk a good game. But its major markets may have near-term hiccups ahead.