Climate change is finally on the US travel industry radar with two important studies highlighting increasing consumer awareness of the impacts of changing climates on travel and destinations. MMGY Global's Portrait of the American Traveler shows 48% of travelers agree that climate change will have a significant influence on what destinations they want to visit in the next 5-10 years. These findings were consistent with Destination Analysts' State of the American Traveler - Destinations Edition , which shows 50% of American leisure travelers expect that climate change will impact...

09 August, 2019 /

We live in a world of big hits and long tails and it has a big impact on tourism. It was linguist, George Zipf that noticed that the most common word is used twice as much as the second most common word, three times a frequently as the third most popular. It is called inversely proportional. When you graph this relationship with the most popular thing on the left and the least popular on the right, you get a line that is starts high, drops quickly, and but never seems to end as it...

04 August, 2019 /

Is this a good brand ? An important question but almost always asked in the wrong context.  "Is this a good brand" almost always asks for a judgement on a logo or a tagline or a creative execution.  Brand is far more than a logo or a tagline. Destinations need to focus on what creates their brand image...

07 January, 2015 /

Seth Godin nailed it (again) with this short post. In a couple of words he describes the reason for massive changes in destination marketing and management. Marketing used to be ...

03 September, 2014 /

I love getting out into nature. It refreshes and invigorates me. Many of my favorite memories include visits to national parks - in both Australia and the US.  My love of nature also inspires my concern for sustainability. So - I worry that fewer people are visiting national parks and natural places. It isn't surprising - most camping experiences are really only appealing to a relatively small group of people. Most camp grounds I've been to have basic facilities at best ( and filthy disgusting facilities at worst), require campers...

25 August, 2013 /

To many, tourism is an economic savior that can bring jobs and opportunity. Indeed there are tourism opportunities everywhere and markets for most any type of experience. But not all markets are the same and not all destinations have the ability to service the markets they want to attract. I have been thinking a lot about the  "human traffic jam" on Everest this week and the tourists who undertake this type of travel. The market for this type of experience is somewhat limited by all sorts of factors - money, health, access,...

28 May, 2012 /

How do profit from international tourism ? This is a great story about how preparing for the needs of international visitors can create profits for even the smallest tourism organizations. It's a flat world - be ready to compete ! India's Rickshaw Driver on Marketplace...

27 April, 2012 /

Brand USA, the new national tourism office of the United States, launched the new campaign Land of Dreams this week. The feedback in the industry so far seems to have been pretty positive - view the first ad for yourself at Land of Dreams ...

26 April, 2012 /