The Quest for the right traveller

POPULAR European cities are wooing more upmarket, niche and cultured travellers – and fewer mass-market tourists, according to the new report “Megatrends Shaping the Future of Travel” from global market research provider, Euromonitor International unveiled at World Travel Market London.

Euromonitor International’s new study reveals the tourist boards of many European destinations are on a “quest for the right traveller”, amid media headlines about overtourism.

Euromonitor International’s research team also predicts a ripple effect across the continent when the UK leaves the European Union in March 2019, as the outbound British travel market will be affected by the outcome of trade talks.

The Euromonitor International research found that Europe’s tourism industry has proved remarkably resilient, despite economic and political turmoil, the migrant crisis, and terrorist attacks over recent years.  As well as a shift away from the mass market, Euromonitor International identified a trend towards being “respectful of local cultures and residents”.

It cites the case study of Amsterdam which is trying to shed its party destination image and is piloting several initiatives to minimise the negative impacts of tourism and events on local residents.


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A fine welcome from Qatar at the WTM

QATAR Tourism Authority (QTA) unveiled its new campaign, ‘Qatar Welcomes the World’ at World Travel Market (WTM) 2017. The prestigious trade show WTM, in London, is the ideal platform for QTA to showcase its new messaging to the global travel community.

‘Qatar Welcomes the World’ is a result of the recent visa announcements which have qualified Qatar to become the most open country in the region. The campaign, featuring on-stand elements, collateral, a fleet of branded taxis and an exciting competition, highlights QTA’s focus on the UK market and its ongoing message of welcoming the world to easily discover Qatar’s myriad of activities, cultural heritage and natural wonders.

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India sees double-digit growth in international tourism

INDIA'S ‘Premier Partner’ status with World Travel Market London last year has led to double-digit growth in international tourism and a bumper number of business deals.

The Premier Partnership status gave India a greatly enhanced profile at WTM London 2016, as the country’s tourism board highlighted its diverse attractions to the world’s key source markets and international media.

#India become WTM London’s headline partner to promote its increased airline services and $300 million worth of investment in tourism infrastructure over the past 18 months. It was looking to agree deals with almost 10,000 senior buyers at WTM London to help attract more than 13 million annual visitors by 2020 – up from nine million in 2016.

WTM London facilitates £2.8 billion in industry business deals from almost one million business meetings, not including the speed networking events and meetings held at pre-appointment sessions such as ILTM at WTM.

Neela Lad, deputy director general at India’s tourism ministry, hailed the Premier Partnership as a “great success”.

“We believe that the huge exposure India achieved during the campaign has led to the 16% year-on-year increase of international visitors into India during January 2017,” she said.

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London: Top global sports city

THE Global Sports Cities Index 2016 was revealed during the Global #Sports #Tourism Summit at the World Travel Market in London on Monday.

London has hosted, or is set to host, 13 world championships and multi-sports games over the analysed period (2010-2023). Only Moscow (16) and Paris (14), and a 2024 Olympic Games candidate city will host more events during this period. However, these do not score as highly as the events taking place in London.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London has rightly retained the title of sporting capital of the world following a great year hosting NFL at Wembley and Twickenham, Andy Murray's great win at Wimbledon and‎ the European Aquatics Championships at the London Aquatic Centre, to name but a few. The Global Sports Cities Index confirms that London is open to the world for staging spectacular events."

Top ten global sports cities were:

1. London
2. Rio de Janiero
3. Tokoyo
4. Moscow
5. Doha
6. Paris
7. Budapest
8. Copenhagen
9. Beijing
10. Kazan

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World Tourism reaches 956 million international travellers

#DESTINATIONS around the world welcomed 956 million international tourists between January and September 2016, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This is 34 million more than in the same period of 2015, a 4% increase.

Demand for international tourism remained robust in the first nine months of 2016, though growing at a somewhat more moderate pace. After a strong start of the year, growth was slower in the second quarter of 2016 to pick up again in the third quarter of the year. While most destinations report encouraging results, others continue to struggle with the impact of negative events, either in their country or in their region.

“Tourism is one of the most resilient and fastest-growing economic sectors but it is also very sensitive to risks, both actual and perceived. ” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“No destination is immune to risks. We need to increase cooperation in addressing these global threats, namely those related to safety and security. And we need to make tourism an integral part of emergency planning and response”, added Mr. Rifai ahead of the Ministerial Meeting on Safe, Secure and Seamless Travel to be held at the #WorldTravelMarket in London on 9 November.

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Awards for responsible tourism

TOURISM BUSINESSES and organizations are being invited to submit an entry for the World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016. 

The global search for the world’s most inspirational examples of responsible tourism in action kicks off with entries being accepted into five categories spanning issues across the tourism industry.

The announcement of the 2016 winners, at World Travel Market (WTM) London, will this year be part of the celebrations marking 10 years of World #ResponsibleTourism Day.

New categories for 2016 include the ‘Best responsible tourism campaign’ which aims to celebrate the most successful marketing or advocacy campaigns in encouraging and promoting a more responsible style of travel.

The importance of the awards in assessing how far responsible tourism has developed, and how much it been achieved in the last decade is not lost on the chairman of the judging panel, Professor Harold Goodwin of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism. ‘Through the awards winners every year, we see the standard of what is being achieved by people taking responsibility for tourism getting higher and higher. And every year we see more and more countries represented in our entries.

‘Tourism, if sold, enjoyed, and organized responsibly is of global importance, and our winners this year will set the standard to which all tourism businesses should aspire.’

Awards judge Simon Press, senior exhibition director for World Travel Market London, adds: ‘The World Responsible Tourism Awards at WTM London are a central pillar of the success of World Responsible Tourism Day. The winners and shortlisted companies act as a benchmark and inspiration for what the global travel and tourism industry can achieve in responsible tourism practice.’

The 2016 categories:

• Best accommodation for responsible employment 
• Best contribution to wildlife conservation 
• Best innovation by a tour operator 
• Best for poverty reduction and inclusion 
• Best responsible tourism campaign

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Greece thanks UK travel trade

GREECE’S tourism minister thanked the UK travel trade for ‘sticking with it’ as a holiday destination through the country’s economic and political problems.

‘The trade has been our best ambassadors,’ said Elena Kountoura (seen below with Go Holiday Sales Executive Dimitri Kardana), speaking at World Travel Market in London. She described #Greece as resilient, following the ‘difficulties’ this year.

Provisional data published by the Bank of Greece shows the country has seen an almost 11% increase in year-on-year arrivals from overseas markets between January and August. In the first eight months of the year, the country received a record number of visitors – 18 million compared to 15.3 million in the same period last year.

From January to August Greece also saw a 25% increase in arrivals from the UK – 1.8 million compared to 1.4 million last year.

Greece’s early indications for bookings for 2016, until September this year, show a year-on-year increase of 4%.

‘Most of the visitors had booked before we saw the trouble earlier this year,’ said Kountoura. ‘Our campaign to increase last-minute bookings worked. We are seeing really strong numbers and are already on about 24-25 million bookings, and we hope to close with more by the end of the year. We are hoping to do even better next year.’

Ms Kountoura said the next marketing campaign would focus on prolonging the season by highlighting the appeal of Greece as a year-round destination; to promote lesser-visited regions and destinations, and to highlight thematic attractions, such as medical and religious tourism.
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Picture Credit: Dimitri Kardana

World Travel Market . . .

So the #GoHoliday team are all at the #WorldTravelMarket, the leading global event for the travel industry. 

They say they're working but I'm not sure . . . 

The must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry started on Monday. 

Our newest Sales Executive Dimitri Kardana even got a meeting with the Greek Minister for Tourism.

Almost 52,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.

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Picture Credit: Andrew Suter, Dimitri Kardana