Source Skift.Com -
The latest perk hotels are offering guests: flexible check-in and check-out. Some charge a fee. But some are granting it for free. It’s an interesting play to attract more loyal customers who will book directly with the hotels and not with online travel agencies.
Travel and tourism is booming – but the combination of cheaper travel and few tourist barriers could be creating unsustainable demand that pushing the sector towards a tipping point.
The World Economic Forum has released its latest Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) that ranks 140 countries on their relative strengths in tourism and travel.
The study found that international tourist arrivals surpassed 1,4-billion in 2018, beating predictions by two years – and potentially hastening the tipping point.
Source: https://skift.com
So new questions are being raised about the so-called Trump Slump, the decline of foreign visitors to the United States since the president came into office. As Skift's Dan Peltier reported on Monday, the Commerce Department has suspended releasing data for now because it believes its numbers showing such a decline may be inaccurate.
But now Skift has learned this may not be some short-lived statistical glitch, but a more systemic problem.If true (and who knows what passes for truth in Washington these days) Commerce has a much larger problem on its hands that will have huge implications for the travel industry, in the U.S. and abroad. Companies rely on that information to be accurate to make business plans and projections, launch marketing campaigns, and communicate with shareholders.
Airbnb today is rolling out a few new additions to their home-booking system, including new tiers that are aimed at higher-end customers, called Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb.
The new Airbnb Plus tier has homes that are verified for “quality and comfort,” rolling out with around 2,000 homes to start that have been inspected against a thorough checklist. The luxury tier, called Beyond by Airbnb, is built around whole trips including hospitality, custom experience and — of course — higher-end homes. Each appears to be targeting verticals within the travel space that make sense based on the typical hospitality industry, but weren’t specifically singled out on Airbnb.
Rather than just searching for a home on Airbnb and flipping through the photos or reviews, the new tiers may offer customers willing to spend more an opportunity to tap into the same expectations they’d get from a luxury resort — or, at least, a higher-end one aiming to hit the status of something like the Sofitel in Bangkok, Thailand. Frequent business travelers often have accumulated massive piles of reward points (and maybe have bigger travel budgets) and may be accustomed to this, and there’s also plenty of opportunity to target the same kinds of experiences that something like an Atlantis full-service resort in the Bahamas might offer (with water slides and all).
Source: By Shivani Vora - New York Times
Perhaps none.
From hotels and cruises to airports, airlines, safaris and group tours, wellness promises to be everywhere in the world of travel. Five years ago wellness on the road meant heading to a destination spa to embark on a specific program such as weight loss or staying at a hotel with a nice gym; more recently, the concept has evolved to include all categories of travel, and encompasses overall physical and emotional health.
SECRETARY GENERAL CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION
Bridgetown, Barbados (28 Dec 2017) - This has been a challenging year for Caribbean tourism. While the first half of the year saw exciting growth in both tourism infrastructure and tourist arrivals over the previous year, in September we were hit hard by a series of unusual hurricanes that not only destroyed property, but also took the lives of many of our citizens. We must never forget the souls we lost along the way.
Physically, we will recover. Our Caribbean people are a resilient population. We will put the bricks and mortar back together and the hotels and vegetation will rise again and shine in the brilliant sunlight.
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett travels to Geneva, Switzerland today (December 17, 2017) , to present the recently unveiled Montego Bay Declaration, to delegates attending the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Closing Ceremony for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.
“The Declaration of Montego Bay will become incorporated in the documents and the outcomes of the International Year of Sustainability. This is the perhaps the biggest legacy that we could hope for as a small destination – that our name will be indelibly etched in the lexicon of tourism references so that children yet unborn, will know that Montego Bay existed,” said Minister Bartlett.
The 15-point Declaration was one of the major outcomes of the recently concluded UNWTO Global Conference on Sustainable Tourism held in Montego Bay from November 27 to 29. It was first presented by Minister Bartlett and Executive Director of the UNWTO, Carlos Vogeler, on November 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
Mandeville, Jamaica, W.I. (December 4, 2017) Louis D’Amore, Founder/President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), has designated 2018 the IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace in collaboration with Countrystyle/Villages As Businesses.
In 1994, the IIPT branded Jamaica The Home of Community Tourism in recognition of the two pioneers of the community tourism brand and programmes in 1978 in Mandeville Jamaica, Diana McIntyre-Pike, Founder/President, Countrystyle Community Tourism Network and her late business partner Desmond Henry from Treasure Beach, Jamaica.
In 2013, on the recommendation of the IIPT Caribbean Chapter, the IIPT welcomed the Caribbean Region to join as partners. The Caribbean was then also branded "Home of Community Tourism." The IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace will mark the 40th Anniversary of Community Tourism, which Countrystyle/Villages as Businesses began in Jamaica and is now an international movement. Celebrations in Jamaica will begin on January 1with a Gospel Concert in Apple Valley Park, Maggotty, St Elizabeth, and will continue at the 15th Annual Resource UNIA-ACL Marcus Garvey Fair in Cross Keys, Manchester on February 25. The 2018 IIPT International Year Of Community Tourism And Peace will also commemorate IIPT’s 30th Anniversary Year.
With just a few days to go, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett is satisfied that all systems are in place for the November 27 to 29 staging of the global conference on sustainable tourism at the Montego Bay Convention Centre (MBCC).
Registration for the UNWTO, Government of Jamaica, World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, was set to cut off on November 17 but was extended to the November 20 to accommodate a last-minute flurry.
Following a reconnaissance visit to the MBCC and reports from the organizing committee on Saturday (November 18), Minister Bartlett gave the thumbs up. “I’m very satisfied with what I’ve seen and heard,” he said.
In his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Caribbean Tourism Recovery Group Secretariat (CTRGS) and coordinator of the ‘UNWTO Disaster Recovery Working Group for the Affected States in the Caribbean’, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has been invited to give an address at the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (ITCMS) in London.
Minister Bartlett, who departed the island yesterday (November 02, 2017), will use the platform at the ITCMS to share the measures being implemented to increase resiliency in the sector. A major part of this is the creation of the Tourism Rehabilitation Action Plan for the Caribbean islands recently devastated by natural disasters.
“The Caribbean remains united in rebuilding our tourism sector to its former glory. In fact, my Ministry is working very closely with the international and regional organizations as well as other Ministers within the Caribbean to create a working strategy to strengthen the sector’s resilience to the effects of climate change and natural disaster, thus making it more sustainable,” said the Minister.
KINGSTON, Jamaica; October 25, 2017: The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has announced their endorsement of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) global conference to be held in Jamaica in November.
Adam Goldstein, who is the FCCA’s Executive Committee Chairman and current President and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, gave the endorsement to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, during a private meeting between Presidents and CEOs of FCCA member lines and Ministers of Tourism, on October 25 in Merida, Mexico.
During the meeting, the group also discussed strategies to drive year-round traffic to the region, the creation of more employment opportunities and the development of strategic partnerships.
Proven - Caileen Kehayas
Whether you own a restaurant or a small cafe, your chef is arguably the most important part of your business. Even if you are hiring a chef for a special event, you will still need to take care in your vetting process.
Hiring a chef entails more than just finding someone who “can cook”.
SOURCE: SOUTH FLORIDA CARIBBEAN NEWS
Kingston, Jamaica – Jamaican sauce manufacturer Pedro Plains, has much to celebrate this year as the company’s products are available in two of the United States’ major retailers, Winn Dixie and Kroger.
The export only company, which sells products to the US, Canada and Europe, has been exporting into their seventh year, and is now present in many states.
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett signed an agreement with representatives of the Excellence Group of Luxury Hotels and Resorts to build two hotels in Oyster Bay, Trelawny, which will add over 700 rooms to the island’s room-stock.
The Excellence Group, which is renowned for its award-winning luxurious properties, plans to begin construction on their first property in Jamaica in February 2017.
The first hotel will be built at a cost of US$110 million. It will have some 325-rooms and is expected to open its doors to guests in the first half of 2018. The second property, which will have some 400 rooms, will open at a later date. The project is expected to generate some 2,000 new jobs in the construction and operation phases.
Source:www.iipt.org
IIPT Caribbean together with the IIPT International Community Tourism Network and Countrystyle Community Tourism Network will be celebrating the launch of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism on January 18 at the Mandeville Hotel, Manchester, Jamaica as the official UNWTO launch takes place in Madrid, Spain. Community Tourism will be the focus of the Mandeville event.
