The developed travel destinations need to shake off any lethargy acquired by being market leaders for so long. This is because of unique challenges the next few decades are likely to pose. The first major challenge will be to smoothly navigate the triangular relationship involving the visitor, the host brand, and the local inhabitants, who were dormant for long. Tourism jobs can no longer be generated at the cost of the local environment, and this is something the entrepreneur has to take care of. The environment her refers to both the natural as well as the socio- cultural one. The second key challenge will be that of data warehousing, as the more comprehensive work on that will ensure, improved understanding of one’s market. The final challenge is about the emergence and near complete market domination by the so- called super brands. These are overarching brands that are competing at each chain against smaller, localized players. Innovative means will be needed to take them on.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/travel-destinations-face-difficult-challenges-news11321

Uploaded Date:27 December 2019

The Half Moon Island near Antarctica is now proving to be the springboard for a new form of tourism taking place. The island is part of the Southern Shetland Islands, suzerainty to which is divided and sometimes even disputer between Argentina, Chile and the UK. This year, the total number of visitors to the Antarctic Peninsula is about eighty- thousand, thus representing a forty percent rise from last year. The Chilean Antarctic Institute, calls Antarctica as “like the heart of the earth”, as coined by its director. The tour operators need to ensure that all their tourism initiatives follow environmentally sustainable practices. The key business innovation in this entire process is to let humans swim in the waters with penguins, sea lions and other maritime creatures.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/antarctic-tourism-poses-environmental-questions-news11309

Uploaded Date:27 December 2019

A detailed study has been conducted to understand the status of the Villa Rental Market in the Asia Pacific region. The data and the business intelligence were provided by Villa Finder, which is an aggregator to help travelers locate their ideal kind of villa. Some of the major cities or regions, within the region, covered under this study included Pattaya, Bali, Koh Samui, Phuket, Byron Bay, Perth, Sydney, Phuket, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai, besides the countries of Sri Lanka and New Zealand, surveyed separately. The total market size is worth US$ 441 million, and growing annually on average at about twelve percent. Goa in India sees the strongest growth at 23%. Even a mature market like Australia is experiencing annual growth. One country that is somewhat struggling, is Thailand. One possible reason is over- supply. The reduction in inbound Chinese travelers has also hurt the market there.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/growth-of-villa-rental-market-in-asia-news11307

Uploaded Date:27 December 2019

The social and political crisis that has engulfed the South American nation of Chile, is set to cause further trouble, especially for the tourism sector. Thousands of more tourism jobs may disappear or be left vacant, adding to the already number of thirty- seven thousand eroded thus far. Unemployment figures overall stand at present at around seven percent, though the Ministry of Finance believes that it could be closer to the one- tenth mark. The present government led by Sebastian Pinera has proposed economic changes, but there have been street protests as a result of those. A recession is also a possibility in Chile. The Chilean Peso currency too has faced devaluation now.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/crisis-in-chile-impacts-tourism-news11301

Uploaded Date:27 December 2019

The tourism ministry in Tunisia is targeting nine million foreign visitors. Neighbouring Algeria is already a hotbed for inbound tourism. The bankruptcy of British tour operator Thomas Cook sent fears across the region, especially with the British travelers accounting for about 3% of the total tourism volume. But now the situation has eased out thanks to the emergence of some other players such as Jet 2 Holidays and Easy Jet Holidays. A number of top tourism players are also seeking to enter the country. This includes the likes of Four Seasons, Ritz, Marriott, Radisson and Accor. All this is set to let the tourism jobs’ market soaring. New emerging source markets will also help this North African country, especially with travelers from Russia now showing a keen interest on visiting.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/tunisian-tourism-minister-plans-to-reach-9-million-tourists-news11274

Uploaded Date:23 December 2019

For most countries of the world, acing the inbound tourism segment, means attracting a good number of Chinese tourists. This is because, the Chinese are now the world’s top travelers, and the ever- growing middle- class in the country, also brings with them, substantial wealth to invest during their travels. One country, that had until recently slipped under the radar for these Chinese travelers, was Serbia. But the country is making amends, as the numbers have risen by five times this year, in contrast to the figure for 2016. Improved bilateral ties between the countries, and a visa exemption has helped towards such progress. Neighbouring countries in Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia- Herzegovina have likewise, introduced such visa- free entry for Chinese visitors. Business intelligence received from the central bank has put the figures on tourism revenues to more than a billion euros last year. Serbia needs to constantly work on improvising its tourism offerings, as it does not possess the pristine beaches, that neighbor Croatia has.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/serbia-attracts-more-chinese-tourists-news11272

Uploaded Date:23 December 2019

A number of travelers these days are more conscious of environmental protection standards now. As a result, they often check for labels, but a lot of eco- labels end up confusing them. People have now started questioning the veracity of these claims, so want to understand the criteria that lead to these certifications being granted. One tourism consulting firm, has gone a step ahead by properly defining all the criteria. It is the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) that has defined the criteria based on economic, cultural, social, environmental and management- related criteria. Equivalent organizations include the likes of Biosphere Tourism and Green Globe. One website that is highly informative about the certifications is tourism2020.eu, that operates Ecotrans.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/eco-labels-are-confusing-for-hotel-guests-news11278

Uploaded Date:21 December 2019