Once again, the travel and tourism industry faces both new and on-going challenges. Travel and tourism cannot be separated from the world context in which they operate. Be that context political states of war, or one of health issues or of economic undulations, what occurs throughout the world touches every aspect of tourism. It is for this reason that every once in a while, it is good for travel and tourism professionals to take a step back and to review at least some of the basic...
Hundreds of passengers are on the airport tarmac running for shelter. People are hiding or running in all different directions. It’s Friday 12.55pm at Terminal 2 at an unsecured area of the airport. “I’m at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Shots have been fired. Everyone is running.” This is one out of hundreds of tweets starting to develop from airline passengers and airport workers running for their life this morning at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport in Florida, USA...
Among the hundreds of members of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) are national and regional tourism boards, travel and tourism companies, associations, trade shows, airlines, and tourism leaders including sitting ministers of tourism and media. As of December 31, 2016, ICTP has 610 members, and is quietly growing to become a new powerhouse in the global travel and tourism industry. The members’ common ground is Green Growth PLUS Quality EQUALS business. Basic membership is...
A formal launch has been made of the candidature of Dr. Walter Mzembi, Minister of Tourism and the Hospitality Industry of the Republic of Zimbabwe, for post of Secretary General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The African Union-endorsed candidate for the post of Secretary General of UNWTO, Dr. Walter Mzembi, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism and the Hospitality Industry, and the current Chairperson of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa, is set to formally launch his...
Zimbabwe is famous for Victoria Falls and Safaris in the Southern African continent. 18.2% of foreign arrivals into Zimbabwe were counted to be foreign tourists. This is according to the Zimbabwe Visitor Exit Survey (VES) Report 2015/16 covering the period from July 2015 to June 2016. Reading in between the lines this report demonstrates the enormous growth potential tourism has for Zimbabwe. Each visitor was spending an average of $385 per stay. However, those traveling to Zimbabwe on a...
How can we help the millions of people from having conflict and wars with no end in sight? He is a big man from a small nation, from a peaceful nation and he seems to be stunned by both the United States and Russia to restart a nuclear arms race.In the early hours of Sunday morning (New Year’s Day) – I took the time to listen to the Appeal For Peace Address of the new United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres. These words were from Sir James R Mancham, the founding president of the...
No luxury hotels on the Hilo side of the Island of Hawaii, but all of the 1500 hotel rooms on the Big Islands of Hawaii enjoy 86% occupancy, while the remaining 10500 hotel rooms, including many luxury hotels on the Kona side of the Island only make it to 60% to 65%. The Honolulu Advertiser today in an article predicts a new era in tourism may now be emerging for the entire island. The reason are mostly new flights, specifically a recent international flight on Hawaiian Airlines from Tokyo...
Welcome to the United States of America, but not so fast. It’s illegal to use your phone, but passengers were panicking. Passengers tweeted: Please help us! Customs in #miami is shut down. Panic attacks. Shoving. Chaos. Fire hazard A US Customs computer outage was affecting operations at airports nationwide on New Years Holiday Number 2, January 2nd creating long lines of thousands of disgruntled holiday travelers. Garrett Prather tweeted: Please let US Customs know the Miami airport...
Tourism promotion is big business, so is tourism branding. Branding is the most important part of promoting a country. Branding is expensive and this one liner can cost millions. Branding companies laugh their money all the way into their bank account. The United States slogan is a dull example: ” All Within Your Reach”. Comparing this slogan from around the world most have one in common. The common ground is, the branding slogan is terrible and often flat out stupid. Albania – Go...
The Hawaii State Department of Transportation received a US$500,000 grant from the federal Maritime Administration to hire consultants to explore potential routes and boats for an inter-island ferry. Is it even worth it to conduct such a feasibility study after what happened with the Aloha State’s last ferry “adventure?” By all accounts, environmentalists were the reason the Hawaii Super Ferry was shut down, but some would speculate the airlines were also behind the demise of this alternate...
[jm-live-blog title=”” description=””] A terror attack on the travel and tourism industry is unfolding in Istanbul, Turkey, at one of its most popular nightclubs in the Ortakoy area. Reina, one of the most luxurious and largest nightclubs in Istanbul, is frequented by tourists from all over the world and located where there are many shops and restaurants overlooking the Bosporus River. According to reports received so far and tweets on Twitter, many have been injured...
Despite a relative slowdown in the global economy, boutique hotels appear to be outperforming competing corporate chains. New investors as well as established hotel operators are stepping into this space. Changes in the habits and interests of the traveler suggest that consumers are becoming more aware of design, expect a higher level of service and are looking for an “experience” rather than just a place to sleep and take a shower. The guest wants to be recognized and engaged in the hotel...
Nepal Tourism Board celebrated its 18th Anniversary on Dec. 31, 2016, in an intimate program attended by officials from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), tourism association heads, tourism industry veterans, officials, partners, and stakeholders. NTB’s Annual Souvenir “In Focus 2016” was unveiled and released at the program by Chief Guest Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Mr. Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, and Chairman of NTB Executive Committee and...
Reports are emerging over the reason for the closure of Khartoum International Airport on Thursday evening, which caused delays of both inbound and outbound flights. Sources speak of a fire at an ammunition and explosives storage inside the airport perimeter in an area occupied by Sudan’s armed forces, which prompted the airport management to shut down all operations until the fire had been put out. It appears that no major explosions of ordnance took place, a stroke of good luck for that...
Uganda’s Acholi Paramount Chief Rwot David Onen Acana II has come under severe criticism for threatening to kill elephant which stray from national parks and destroy crops in search of pastures. The Rwot was quoted in local media to have said: ‘It is very sad that after months of hard work and sweat, elephants come and destroy all the crops. I am writing a letter to President Museveni and the responsible bodies to notify them of my action that will soon start at any time. Acholis...
Air Seychelles has earlier today flown its 550,000th guest, marking a new passenger milestone for the Seychelles flag carrier and surpassing its 2015 total passenger number of 522,873. The airline’s total passenger figure for 2016 is set to rise even further as the end-of-year travel peak comes to a close, signaling another year of strong operational growth for Air Seychelles. The 550,000th passenger was Mikhaylov Konstantin, traveling with his wife Natalia Prygoda on flight HM187 from Abu...
So, it is now public knowledge that Alain St. Ange has resigned as Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Port Marine and that President Faure is now submitting the name of Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne to the National Assembly for his appointment as the new Minister of Tourism. This is a position for which Mr. Loustau-Lalanne is highly qualified bringing with him a range of experience in most aspects of the international travel trade, most suitably during his tenure as the country’s Principal...
The outspoken and most active and out of the box thinking minister of tourism resigned. The Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine presented his letter of resignation to the Seychelles President Danny Faure. St. Ange joined the Government of Seychelles in early 2009 as Director of Marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board and a year later, in June 2010, he was promoted to the position of CEO of the Tourism Board falling under the Office of the President. On the 14th...
The year 2016 is just about to come to an end. It has been a year full of important events – the outcome of the US elections; the results of the British, Italian and Dutch referendums; the continuing bloodshed in Syria; the despicable terror attacks all over the world including the recent one in Berlin; the gradual and dramatic transformation of the way we receive information; the rise of populism and xenophobia and many other significant and worrying developments. For us here in Seychelles...
The lobby of Trump Tower has reportedly been evacuated due to a suspicious package, the New York Police Department has said. President-elect Donald Trump is not on the premises. The New York City police and fire departments are on the scene. While the evacuation and investigation were underway in New York, Trump sent an unrelated tweet out about the election. The all-clear was given about 40 minutes after the evacuation began, the NYPD tweeted.
Terrorism and Social Media, there is a connection, and US Homeland security knows it. Would a visitor to the United States put his or her social media information on a form necessary to enter the USA? Uncle Sam thinks so, and Homeland security orders so. Starting this week, the United States Federal Government began asking some travelers to the U.S. to supply details about their social media accounts. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is supposed to tell US agents about visitors. The collection...
Zimbabwe and Zambia relaunched their Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) Univisa on 21 st of December 2016 at a dazzling ceremony hosted by the Ministers of Home Affairs from both countries in Livingstone, Zambia. The countries’ Ministers of Tourism Hon Dr Walter Mzembi, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe, the current UNWTO Regional Commission for African Chairperson and the African Union (AU) candidate for the UNWTO Secretary General post for the...
Merry Christmas from the Holy Land of Jordan. Mona Naffa, a Jordan American tourism professional residing in Amman continued her Christmas Facebook message to eTN readers: “From our family to yours, Merry Christmas to you and yours. May God protect our beloved country and keep us all safe from any harm. God bless you all with good health, happiness, success and peace of mind. Warm wishes to all family, relatives, friends and colleagues around the globe.” Jordan has been an example...
While there may be challenges for travel to Lebanon, there are no problems in celebrating the wines of a country that has been producing wines since the beginning of time. Prophet Hosea (780-725BC) is noted as urging his followers to return to Yahweh so, “they will blossom as the vine, (and) their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.” The Phoenicians are recognized as promoting wine and viticulture throughout the Mediterranean during this period. When the country became part of the...
The United States has warned its citizens against traveling to all parts of Jordan, after two recent terror attacks killed dozens of people, including a Canadian tourist in a southern city. The State Department issued the warning on Friday, saying that terrorists “have expressed a desire to conduct attacks targeting US citizens and Westerners in Jordan.” The statement said the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group “continue to plot assaults” in the country. “Within the last year...
All passengers and crew have been released from the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 in Malta, after hijackers from the pro-Gaddafi group Al Fatah Al Gadida surrendered and exited the Libyan plane. “Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody,” tweeted Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat after a protracted hostage situation. It’s understood the plane was making an internal flight in Libya from Sebha to Tripoli before it was diverted to Malta International Airport, where...
Uber was big in China… including its financial losses. The company has since abandoned its operations in the country. Now, even without China factored into the equation, from January to September of this year, the company has lost more than US$2.2 billion. On August 1, Uber came to an agreement with Didi Chuxing to exit China in exchange for 17.5 percent of the Chinese company. The deal included Didi investing $1 billion in Uber. In Uber’s home market in the US, the company lost US$100...
One of the most dazzling places in the world, India has a charm that very few other countries possess. Unimaginably chaotic and vividly colorful, it has everything from exquisite beaches to be a colorfulthingness of deserts. Visited by thousands of tourists every year, India is one of those destinations where one trip will not satiate your curiosity and will leave hundreds of amazing spots throughout the country unexplored. So, to help you, we’ve created a list of the five best places in India...
The head of Frontier’s pilot’s union compared the airline to a “house of cards” in a letter to their members today. Capt. Brian Ketchum, Chairman of the Frontier Airlines Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association stated: “It goes without saying that this has been a horrible week for Frontier Airlines,” A passenger tweeted today: Frontier is the WORST Airline. I literally been trying to get to Charlotte since Saturday. Another passenger added: Frontier didn’t have...
This weeks’ attack on Karak, a Jordanian tourist destination, has left Jordanians reeling amid calls for better security. Islamic State claimed responsibility for a shooting attack that left nine Jordanians and a 62-year-old female Canadian tourist dead. Other tourists hid in the castle during the shootout, which left all four attackers dead. Linda Vatcher, 62, from Newfoundland had been visiting her son Chris, who works in the Middle East. He was also injured. The Interior Minister said...
