Outgoing European Chapter President Dr. Seán T Ruane passes the baton, to incoming European Chapter President Professor Mike Peters, at TTRA International Conference in Miami Florida. … [Read more...] about New European Chapter President Takes Helm
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. READ ARTICLE … [Read more...] about ARC Finds Air Travel Strong for Summer 2018
Overtoursm Trend: Venice fights back with”Disneyfied” turnstyle entrances to city streets
The city of Venice has installed tourist turnstile checkpoints at main entry points to divert visitors along separate routes. Some residents last week protested the turnstiles (see photos in tweet below) and feel their city is increasingly becoming a theme park. Last month, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced an ordinance that was in effect from April 28 to May 1, a busy holiday weekend in Italy, that set up multiple checkpoints to inspect identification of people wanting to enter the city. Residents and tourists with Venezia Unica Cards were allowed to take a different and ideally less-crowded route to their homes and popular attractions than tourists who didn’t have the card. Although some European destinations have taken steps to better manage tourism growth and arrivals in the past year, many popular cities and towns are facing another crowded summer. READ ARTICLE … [Read more...] about Overtoursm Trend: Venice fights back with”Disneyfied” turnstyle entrances to city streets
Destination Organizations: Are You GDPR Ready?
The deadline for compliance with the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is just around the corner, and even if you’re a U.S.-based DMO, the privacy law WILL apply to you. Since you’re most likely collecting personal data in your CRM and CMS from customers or contacts in the EU, it is important to educate yourself and your team on GDPR requirements, and to review and adjust your policies and processes as needed to make sure you’re lawfully handling the data. Don’t Get Scared, Get Prepared It can be easy to feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the requirements of this new regulation, so we’d like to help you ease into what you need to know with this blog: build your awareness of the regulation, give you some key points to keep in mind, and some questions to start you off on reviewing your policies and processes for compliance. At the end of this blog, we’ll provide some further resources for you. What GDPR Means to Destination … [Read more...] about Destination Organizations: Are You GDPR Ready?
When Guests Trust Hosts for their Words: Host description and trust in sharing economy
Sharing our recent work on sharing economy (in collaboration with Sangwon Park) in Tourism Management. Free access to the article for 50 days. #sharingeconomy #peertopeeraccommodation #airbnb In order to better understand the dynamics of user behavior in the sharing economy platform, a multi-stage study was conducted on how Airbnb hosts articulate themselves online and how consumers respond to different host self-presentation patterns. First, using text mining techniques on a large dataset consisting descriptions of Airbnb hosts in 14 major cities in the United States, two patterns of host self-presentation were identified. Hosts generally present themselves online as (1) a well-traveled individual, eager to meet new people or (2) an individual of a certain profession. This contributes to the conceptualization of profile as promise framework for online self-presentation in mixed-mode interactions involving peer-to-peer accommodation platform. Second, consumers respond to the two … [Read more...] about When Guests Trust Hosts for their Words: Host description and trust in sharing economy
