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David Williams inducted into the Utah Tourism Hall of Fame

TTRA member David Williams is a 2021 inductee into the Utah Tourism Hall of Fame.

David has been an active member of the Travel and Tourism Research Association for well over a decade and has regularly attended our Annual International Research Conference. His aptitude is well noted as our sessions and discussions at our Annual Conference are filled with the leading tourism academics, tourism researchers, and global marketers from the premier domestic and international destinations.

As a servant leader, David is president of our Greater Western Chapter and has represented his chapter as its liaison to our International Board.

His contributions to Utah’s tourism industry cannot be denied. He has been at the forefront of implementing a new funding plan for Utah tourism and has been actively involved in advocating for the formula to industry partners.

The Utah Tourism Hall of Fame is presented by the Utah Office of Tourism and the Utah Tourism Industry Association. Recipients are nominated by their peers and selected annually for contributions made to Utah’s tourism industry at the state, regional, or local levels. The Hall of Fame was first introduced in 1985 and has recognized 118 individuals who have elevated life in Utah through their leadership in tourism marketing, stewardship, and destination management.

Congratulations David!

Founded in 1970, the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to enhance the quality, value, effectiveness, and use of research in travel marketing, planning, and development. Our Association strives to be a leader for the global community of practitioners and educators engaged in research, information management, and marketing in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. TTRA creates business opportunities for our members and provides a unique multi-sector industry network. Members in TTRA represent a variety of segments from the greater international travel and tourism community, including educators, practitioners, research providers/consultants and users of research. For additional information please visit www.ttra.com or telephone 248-708-8872

2020 GWTTRA Conference Releases Call for Student Papers

Doubletree by Hilton, Albuquerque, New Mexico
March 25-27, 2020

Would you like to present or publish a paper at the Greater Western Chapter (GWTTRA) Annual Conference ON “Cultural Travel?”

Cultural tourism is a subset of tourism, primarily concerned with a country or region’s culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life.

CALL FOR PAPERS
Below you will find the call for proposals. For more information on conference and hotel, visit www.GWTTRA.com.
Presentation date will be March 27th
Proposals are welcome on any area of travel and tourism research and they do not need to follow exactly the theme of the conference. However, we do encourage proposals focusing on the conference theme: of “Cultural Travel.”

1.  Proposals are due by Feb 15th 2020, 11:00 pm, PT. 
2.  All proposals are submitted via email to:
3.  [email protected] Please note in the subject line, that this is a paper for the 2020 conference. Please keep a copy of your paper and email.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION:
Conference registration tickets are available here!

State of the Food Travel Industry Report

The World Food Travel Association has released a new State of the Food Travel Industry Report.  The research was led by TTRA member and GWTTRA Vice President Matthew Stone (California State University, Chico).

The report is free to download at:  https://www.worldfoodtravel.org/cpages/state-of-the-food-tourism-industry

Topics in the report include:

  • Importance of the Food Tourism Industry Today
  • Assessing the Performance of Food Tourism Providers
  • Considerations for Improving the Food Tourism Experience
  • Key Food Tourism Issues
  • Areas for Improvement in the Food Tourism Industry
  • Spotlight on Preserving Culinary Authenticity
  • Educating Visitors with Food & Drink
  • Nurturing the Development of Food and Drink Activities

State Tourism Budget Growth Slows Ahead of Governors’ Races in Midterms

With gubernatorial races in 36 states and three territories this fall, state tourism boards “increasingly face pressure to justify higher spending, or in some cases even their existence,” reports Skift.

State general fund spending for enacted FY 2018 budgets is up only 2.3 percent from FY 2017 — the slowest growth rate since fiscal 2010—and that has a direct effect on state tourism budgets.

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ARC Finds Air Travel Strong for Summer 2018

Airlines Reporting Corp. reported today that travelers flying during the summer months can expect to pay slightly less than last year. This drop mirrors what ARC sees as a larger trend in average ticket prices, posted monthly on the company’s website. Travel sold to the top 10 destinations by U.S. travel agencies is up from 2017, showing continued strong demand for air tickets in the U.S. Like 2016 and 2017, ticket sales to Cancun continue to be the top seller this summer.

Other summer hot spots are on the rise for U.S. air travelers this summer. Ten percent more travelers will fly to Punta Cana as compared to the same period last year while Honolulu will see a 14 percent increase. Air travel to Orlando and Seattle increased eight percent year over year. New York and Los Angeles will also see a four percent increase in air travel, while air travel to Las Vegas is down eight percent although it still ranks in the top ten.

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Americans Prefer Road Trips to All Other Forms of Travel

Survey Reveals That Americans Prefer Road Trips to All Other Forms of Travel, That Summer Is Their Favorite Season For Hitting the Road, and That 60 percent Do Not Travel Internationally

Summer is here, and, according to new data from Ebates most Americans will be taking the opportunity to hit the highway.

The Ebates Summer Survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted online by Propeller Insights on behalf of Ebates in June 2018, revealed how, where and for how much Americans will be spending their summer vacations.

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