Five Trends In Romance Travel (by Travel Market Report)

Is the specialty travel market of "Romance Travel" growing? In one word, YES! Here's an excellent story by Jessica Montevago published by Travel Market Report on five of the top trends in today's Romance Travel Marketplace.

Here's a few key phrases from the article:

• "A multi-billion dollar industry, romance travel is a niche in bloom this—and indeed every—June."
• "The number of couples visiting more than one destination has jumped from 35% to 70% as people try to make the most of their vacation time. “We see a growing number of couples pairing resort and city experiences, like Vancouver and Whistler, San Francisco and Hawaii, or Beaver Creek and Denver,” Westin vice president of brand management Bob Jacobs."
• "An active traveler used to eating healthy and working out at the gym is not going to change habits even on vacation, the Westin survey found. Travelers are 1.5 times more likely to choose a vacation involving the outdoors, and nearly twice as likely to hit the slopes, as in the past. They want that perfect balance between activities and relaxation."

Click here to read the full article on "Five Trends in Romance Travel."

Medical Tourism Poised for Continued Growth

Travel Market Report just published article on Medical Tourism being poised for continued growth as a specialty travel market.

Here is the opening segment of the article:
An April report report titled “World Medical Tourism Market—Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014–2022," projects the world medical tourism market could reach $143.8 billion by 2022.

The study was published by Allied Market Research (AMR).

And the Medical Tourism Association (MTA) agrees that interest in the niche is climbing. CEO Jonathan Edelheit says “the industry has maintained a 15%-plus growth per year, and many of the destinations around the world are reporting increases in medical tourists.” Established in 2007, the Florida-based Medical Tourism Association is made up of 400,000 global members including countries, healthcare clusters, hospitals, facilitators, and insurance companies.

To read the full article, click here:
http://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Medical-Tourism-Poised-for-Continued-Growth?utm_source=TMR+5%2F9%2F2016&utm_campaign=TMR+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

The Top 10 Most Influential Women in Group Travel

The publication Groups Today just came out with their list of Top 10 Most Influential Women in Group Travel. The women on the list represent several key specialty/growth markets within group travel including students/youth, family travel, Chinese travelers, etc.

To read the full article, click here:
http://www.mydigipub.com/publication/frame.php?i=299195&p=22&pn=&ver=html5

Just Published (April 2016): Guidebook featuring Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec

Quebec (Canada) is home to several of North America's most prominent shrines. In fact, there is even an organization dedicated to assisting travelers and travel companies in visiting the shrines. Click here to learn more about Quebec's National Shrines.

With above in mind, a new book called "Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Quebec" has just been published. To learn more about this guidebook, see info below:

Website link:
http://www.guidesulysse.com/communiques/kit-media/Spiritual_Journeys_QC.html 


Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec

Price : $ 24.95
Author : Siham Jamaa
Series : Ulysses Lifestyle
Publisher : Ulysses Travel Guides
Format : Paper (full book)
Theme(s) : Religion
Release date : 15 april 2016
256 pages, including 10 maps; ISBN : 9782894649473

This one-of-a-kind guidebook is an invitation to discover a panoply of spiritual and sacred places in every region of Québec. Its 15 inspirational tours and magnificent photos reveal an exceptionally rich heritage unequalled anywhere else in North America.

The Guide to Spiritual and Religious Journeys in Québec will delight pilgrims whose journeys are prompted by their faith as well as those drawn by art, architecture, and history. The tours offer unique spiritual experiences while exploring countless sacred places: shrines, basilicas, museums, churches, cemeteries, ways of the cross, and temples of a variety of faiths. You’ll also meet remarkable individuals and communities, and enjoy contemplation and reflection while communing with nature.

Webinar: The New Culinary Traveler (hosted by NTA)

The culinary traveler has evolved. Today, there is more opportunity than ever to profit from travelers' interest in food and beverage. Get introduced to the "new foodie traveler" with NTA Strategic Partner and World Food Travel Association Executive Director Erik Wolf during our webinar, May 3, 2 p.m. And to see our Q&A with Eric in the current issue of Courier, click here. Also click here to READ MORE

NTA Arts & Culture Product Development Trip

NTA's fall 2016 Arts & Culture PDT will take tour operators who apply for this business-focused trip and are approved by Jefferson Convention & Visitors Bureau to Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sept. 13-15. The destination will provide participating operators with an extraordinary opportunity to experience firsthand cultural travel product offerings while taking in the area's history and networking with area suppliers. If you're interested in applying to join the PDT, submit your application as soon as possible. Deadline is May 6, 2016.


For more details:

• See full itinerary
• See full details of the PDT
• Apply online

To view more information about NTA's Product Development Trips, click here.

Food as a Tourism Marketing Agent (by Peter Tarlow)

Culinary travel and agritourism are 2 hot markets in tourism these days....and will continue to only grow in popularity.

Tourism expert, Peter Tarlow, just wrote an excellent article providing some great insight and ideas for travel professionals who sell group tours, cruises and FIT travel. Here's the article link:

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4075231.html