News articles in Industry Stats & Trends

One Billionth International Traveler, underscores Sustainability as a core component of Successful Travel Business Models.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 2, 2013) -- Despite a year of global economic uncertainty, more than a billion tourists managed to travel outside their countries' borders in 2012, according to statistics released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The figure marks a new record for international tourism -- a rise of 20 million tourists over 2011 and the first time the number has hit a billion.

Travel & Tourism, one of the world’s largest industries, outperformed the global economy in 2012 and grew faster than many other notable industries such as manufacturing, financial services, communications and retail.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) economic research, in 2012, Travel & Tourism grew its total contribution to GDP by 3% to US$6.6 trillion in GDP (a rise of US$500 billion year-on-year) and increased its number of jobs by five million to 260 million. For the first time, one in every 11 jobs in the world is now supported by Travel & Tourism. read more »

"Travel Effect" Campaign Raises Awareness of the Positive Benefits Travel has on Our Lives.

(Dive Travel Business News - Monday January 21, 2013) --Many people get the sense that travel strengthens relationships, improves health and can even help close a business deal, but they don't know it as fact. A new U.S. awareness campaign has been launched, called Travel Effect, aimed at making sure the public understands the impact that travel has on relationships, health, education, business and communities.

According to campaign organizers, Travel Effect will produce “groundbreaking” research projects and studies that will demonstrate the benefits that travel brings to people's lives, their careers and their communities. Current research examines travel's effect on relationships and its power to create lasting memories for children and adults. Other projects underway measure the bottom-line impact of business travel and the impact of government meetings on government operations, private-sector development and local communities. read more »

WTTC Predicts Growth for Travel and Tourism

(Dive Travel Business News - November 2, 2012) -- Despite an uncertain economy, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts that growth in the global Travel & Tourism industry in 2012 will be broadly in line with expectations set at the beginning of the year.

In a recently updated forecast, the WTTC estimates the sector will increase 2.7 percent this year, a slight downgrade from the 2.8 percent projected at the beginning of the year.

The main reasons for the marginal downgrade are that WTTC now expects world GDP growth to be 2.3 percent in 2012, down 0.2 percent from the beginning of the year and due in part to the continuing problems in the Eurozone. The latest economic data from WTTC’s research partner, Oxford Economics, show marginal downgrades in the Eurozone and the U.S. since the beginning of the year, contrasting with upgrades in Japan and emerging markets. read more »

Mexico Arrivals are Up.

(Dive Travel Business News - July 16, 2012) -- Mexico's Ministry of Tourism has reported that air arrivals were up 5% in the first five months of 2012. The Ministry says approximately 4.9 million international tourists visited Mexico between January and May 2012.

Although drug-related violence and local crime in Mexico continued to be reported in the press early this year, popular Mexican resort destinations such as Riviera Maya, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta reported hotel occupancy increases of 3.1%, 8.7% and 10.6% respectively from January to May, year on year.

Mexico continues to be the number one international destination for US travelers, according to the US Department of Commerce. In the first quarter of 2012, the country took a 19% slice of the US's outbound tourism pie.

Visitors from other countries to Mexico also increased including: Russia (73.6%), UK (6.9%), Brazil (65.3%), China (32%), Australia (9.6%), France (6.3%), Germany (5.2%), Italy (6%), Colombia (21%), Chile (13.5%), and Japan (18.7%). read more »

Sunny Outlook for Summer Travel

(Dive Travel Business News - June 1, 2012) -- For the second consecutive year, the US outlook for summer travel continues to brighten according to several surveys

TripAdvisor, for example, says 86% of travelers are planning leisure trips this summer, up from 81% last year.

"More than three in five US Adults or an estimated 154 million Americans plan at least one leisure trip during the next six months. The Travelhorizons quarterly report by MMGY Global and the US Travel Association is based on a survey of 2,200 adults.

Surveys show that traveler"s confidence in the economy is improving, says Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global.

"The forthcoming summer travel season is therefore a wonderful time for travel service suppliers to capitalize on this growing optimism," he said.

"We are seeing a renewed enthusiasm for travel among consumers and barring any dramatic events, we believe that domestic travel will remain on solid footing through the summer travel season," said Roger Dow, US Travel"s president and CEO. read more »

South Africa Reports Record Visitors from U.S. in 2011

(Dive Travel Business News - May 4, 2012) -- South African Tourism North America said 2011 was a record-breaking year of tourist arrivals from the U.S. following a breakthrough year with FIFA World Cup that made history in South Africa. With a year-on-year increase of 1.9 percent, representing 287,614 travelers from the U.S., and a total increase of 23.2 percent in the last two years during one of the toughest economic times is proof of the resiliency of the destination.

South African Tourism attributes positive and sustainable growth numbers to concerted efforts by partners in both trade and consumer marketing that always stressed value for money. Major investments in integrated marketing platforms in 2011 parlayed mass-level consumer awareness including media partnerships with the New York Times Travel Show, the Los Angeles Times Travel Show, National Geographic & Whole Foods experience, as well interactive social media programs. read more »

Dive Travel Suppliers: Stop Sending your Distribution Channel Irrelevant Daily Deals.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 13, 2012) -- In the recent PhoCusWright 2012 Travel Agency Landscape, travel pro respondents told the survey that getting an unsolicited email "offer" from a supplier is simply spam, creates irritation and is destined for the trash, along with an unsubscribe. Travel agents aren't necessarily looking for the latest offer - they are seeking information that helps them sell more travel. And this distinction is being lost on many suppliers.

In the recent survey, travel industry respondents said they wanted "product knowledge". If you represent a resort, dive operation or a live-aboard take note: Dive Travel Sellers are no different. They want to know about your dive travel product and how to sell it. Now suppliers, ask yourself how those emails you may be sending out to agents help them really understand any of your products. read more »

Survey Says: Growing Consumer Dissatisfaction with OTA's, Supplier Websites.

(Dive Travel Business News - April 9, 2012) -- Of the more than 2,000 business and leisure travelers surveyed by the IBM Institute for Business Value and its research partner, Frost & Sullivan in their report entitled "Travel 2020: The Distribution Dilemma," researchers said that while most travelers see value as most important in travel, less than half of leisure and business travelers believe they're getting a fair value for their travel dollar when they book online. The report's authors determined the underlying dissatisfaction with most online travel intermediaries - Online Travel Agencies and Online Supplier Booking Engines - is based on their focus on price instead of value. read more »

Record-breaking Year for Mexico Travel in 2011

(Dive Travel Business News - April 11, 2012) -- Mexico's Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) recently announced that 2011 was a record-breaking year that saw 22.67 million international travelers. That's 2 percent higher than in 2010, which in turn was 5.7 percent higher than 2009. More important, 2011's international arrivals were 0.2 percent higher than 2008, Mexico's best year in history to that point. read more »

Survey Finds World's Worst Tourists.

(Dive Travel Business News - March 22, 2012) — Tired of the "ugly American" stereotype of U.S. travelers abroad? A new LivingSocial survey conducted among more than 5,600 respondents in five countries by Mandala Research discovered that Americans believe they are the world’s worst tourists. The survey found that Americans, Canadians and Australians all gave U.S. tourists that dubious distinction, while the Irish identified their British neighbors as the worst, and the British called out the Germans for bad travel behavior.

Despite these self-doubts, respondents dismissed another common misperception: that most Americans have never traveled abroad. The survey found that 78 percent of Americans have visited at least one foreign country, 61 percent have visited multiple countries, and 36 percent have traveled to four or more foreign destinations. The average number of countries visited was more than four. read more »