Tourism News

If taking a year off to travel the world sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We don't doubt more people are interested or open to doing something like this than in the past, but for many people their bank accounts and bosses will keep standing in the way of this freedom.

One of the most controversial presidential campaigns in U.S. history is over (we think). You would think having a hotel operator in office would thrill the industry. So far that's not the case at all.

SeaWorld has a couple of big goals: Cut costs in a big way and get more people to visit. We're not sure how those priorities are going to work together.

When the U.S. election (presumably) concludes on Tuesday, companies might be able to invest in travel with a little more certainty about their return on investment. Vacationers will likely be looking to take a break from the tense political climate in the U.S., as well.

By segmenting the personalities of their individual neighborhoods, cities like San Francisco have more options to align their visitor experiences with different visitor profiles. That customization helps cities expand their destination image, build destination loyalty, and boost repeat visitation.

China is already the world's largest business travel market and getting even larger, though most of that travel takes place within the country. We're interested to see how the global industry adapts when more of those business trips are international.

The multi-year "Holland: The Original Cool" tourism campaign is a lesson in modern video storytelling, incorporating long- and short-form content pushing both national and local messaging. It also shows the value of taking risks to engage audiences with branded content.

There's no doubt China's economy is going through a downturn, but western travel brands can't blame all of their shortcomings on that point. Much of foreign travel brands' failures or missteps in China -- such as Airbnb or Uber for example -- are probably more likely because they couldn't execute strategies that fit the Chinese market.

Our storytelling ambitions at Skift are growing bigger, and this year we've leaned into these big editorial projects in a big way. The key animating function for us is understanding the big picture around travel that you otherwise won't read in other travel or mainstream media. Expect deeper reporting from us over the coming year as well.

Governments, convention bureaus, and universities like those in Australia are collaborating more strategically to diversify the economy and drive economic development by targeting specific international conferences aligned with national interests.