Where is the travel sector headed? Which areas of distribution are going to see maximum growth? How is the whole travel planning, booking and in-destination process changing for the travellers? What is the role of technology and gadgets for additional sales channels and driving customer loyalty in the time to come?
Macroeconomic reform and the development of multiple office corridors are just two factors that have helped Mexico City emerge as a lure of business travel.
Social networking site WAYN.com will team up with Thomas Cook for a month-long TV advertising campaign on April 20 to kickstart the pair’s new partnership. The TV spots will run for a month and coincides with an agreement signed this week for Thomas Cook to provide holiday deals on the WAYN website. The campaign will promote prizes being offered by a number of Thomas Cook’s target brands for the WAYN market, Club 18-30 and FlexibleTrips. The signing of an exclusive partnership with WAYN represents a significant coup for Thomas Cook following the huge increase in popularity of the social networking site in recent months. Andy Tidy, E-commerce director at Thomas Cook, said: “WAYN is already huge in terms of the number of its members, and it is set to grow substantially in the coming months. As a major website with a travel theme, it’s an ideal fit with Thomas Cook, and gives us the perfect platform to showcase the huge range of product we offer.
Global travel and tourism gross domestic product fell by 4.8 percent in 2009, resulting in the loss of about 5 million jobs.
At the Chicago-based Bricton Group, Ed Doherty and his team find potential in down-on-their-luck assets where others often pass. That experience is reaping dividends in the downturn.
From the desks of the HotelNewsNow.com editorial staff:
• U.K. holiday-goers make plans for 2010;
• U.S. household median income declines 3.6 percent;
• NH Hoteles makes play to become biggest urban hotel chain in Spain;
• Chinese travelers look online to book travel; and
• GM of terrorist-targeted hotel named hotelier of the year.
Skiers can book Eurostar ski trips from St Pancras and Ashford to the French Alps from today.
The high-speed train offers weekly direct services calling at Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne and Bourg St Maurice from 19 December to 16 April next year.
The destinations are all within a bus ride of popular French ski resorts such as Courcheval, La Plagne, Tignes, Meribel and Les Arcs.
This week Hilton Worldwide signed a management agreement with the King Saud University Endowment programme for two new properties in Riyadh
Architect Jean Jacques Ory and designer Christophe Pillet took design inspiration from the Mediterranean surroundings.
The hotelier will revitalize the Radisson brand in North America and import successful service concepts from overseas, among other initiatives.
Beneath the bright lights and audio-visual overload, the Travel Technology Conference was as much about the business case plaguing the hotel industry as it was about the business solutions.
Business Traveller samples the second of Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens" Tom"s Kitchen eateries, located within London's Somerset House
InterPark:
The company's contributions will fund a research project for an entire year.
Only one in 10 search engine travel searches lead to an immediate booking, according to new research into the habits of travel product-buying consumers. The Yahoo! Search Marketing study, carried out by Internet research firm comScore Networks , found 45% of bookings took place more than four weeks after the initial search. Yahoo! Search Marketing development director Nick Jones said the study, which covered 7,500 Internet users, demonstrates search engines’ important role in the research of holidays. He said a similar Yahoo! study in the US showed 20% of web searches lead to an immediate booking. A follow-up survey of 300 UK surfers revealed 39% visited a travel site they did not plan to visit. A quarter said they considered a brand they had not heard of on the basis that the company was placed at the top of search engine results. Jones added: “Marketers need
Prices fall by 3.9% in the year to January
Located off Panama's Pacific coast, the destination will include a handful of luxury and boutique hotels.
As the 518-room Warsaw Marriott Hotel celebrates the 20th anniversary of its grand opening this month, Marriott International heralds two decades of solid growth in the region by announcing the signing of two more hotel operating agreements.
From the desks of the HotelNewsNow.com editorial staff:
• Starwood plans growth in India;
• Singapore’s CDL placing securities;
• Google dominates U.S. searches;
• Moody’s: commercial real estate index increases; and
• HIL increases for fourth straight month.
The Scilly Isles could be dismissed as pebbles at England's foot. But those who overlook the islands are missing out, says Claire Bates, as she explores this oddly exotic realm.
