Sports Tourism: 'We Are Baseball' tour takes Hall of Fame on road

A new article by Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) is out about the launch of a "We Are Baseball" multi-year tour that will take the Baseball Hall of Fame on the road and visit cities throughout the U.S.
To read the full story click at the official Major League Baseball website, click here:
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/180415048/rob-manfred-announces-we-are-baseball-tour 

Sports travel is becoming big business in the family travel market

Sports travel is becoming a major component of family travel. Bob Kowalski has just written a story on this topic.

Here's an excerpt from the article:
According to the National Association of Sports Commission's 2015 Report on the Sports Tourism Industry, visitor spending reached nearly $9 billion in 2014, with more than 25.5 million visitors.

"Every city values the dollars left behind by visitors," said Don Schumacher, the executive director of the NASC. "In sport tourism, if this money can be captured without investment in new facilities it will represent a net gain to the local economy."

Click here to read the full story:
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/travel-sports-a-growing-draw-for-families-municipalities/sports-fitness

Wellness Travel Growing in Popularity

A new article by Anne Dimon (with Travel Market Report) on the growing popularity of "wellness travel" was just published. Anne Dimon is Travel Market Report’s wellness travel contributor and the founder/editor www.traveltowellness.com

Here's the story's opening excerpt:

As the wellness-travel sector continues to grow globally, hotels and resorts are launching new offerings, properties are building fancy new spas or enhance their existing ones, and tour operators are introducing new wellness-themed excursions. What it means for the travel agent is more product to sell, in more destinations and across the gamut of special interests.


Click here to read the full article.

Group Travel is BIG Business - and continues to GROW

Brian Jewel of Group Travel Leader just wrote an excellent article that summarizes how big the group travel business is among U.S. tour operators.

You can view the full article and stats here:
http://grouptravelleader.com/articles/research-quantifies-impact-group-travel/ 

And just to add to the above article with additional info/stats, consider these huge numbers from tour operators that belong to the National Tour Association:

NTA tour operators do $10.5 billion in sales annually while moving 14.9 million travelers. NTA tour operator members specialize in variety of travel markets including leisure, faith-based, student, families, adventure, agritourism, culinary, luxury and much more.

Registrations for NTA Travel Exchange 2017 in St. Louis now open!

Come and network with the industry's top tour operators, tour suppliers and destinations at NTA's Travel Exchange in St. Louis (Feb 26-March 2, 2017).

What is the Travel Exchange experience like? Click on any of the video links below.

How can you learn more and register? Visit the official Travel Exchange website:
http://tinyurl.com/Travel-Exchange-2017-StLouis

For more info about the National Tour Association, visit www.NTAonline.com 

Days 1 & 2	Days 3 & 4	TREX16 Week in Review

  

Thank You for 100,000 Page Views!!!

Thank you everyone for visiting my "Growth Markets in Tourism" Blog over the past 4 years.

Thanks to you, I'm proud to say we've just past the 100,000 Page View mark!!

Travel Professionals Identify 15 Luxury Travel Trends For 2016 And Beyond

Want to learn about the latest luxury travel trends?

Harvey Chipkin of Travel Market Report just published an article on this topic.

To read the full article, click here.

Corporate Adventure-Travel Programs Are A Rewarding Niche-Within-A-Niche (Travel Market Report)

Adventure travel continues to grow in records rates in every aspect of the tourism industry....including within corporate incentive programs.  Here's an article by Chris Ryall (published by Travel Market Report) on this same subject.

The article points out the following "four key elements to include in a corporate incentive program":

• Exclusive luxury. Go somewhere out of the ordinary so employees feel special. It’s okay to schedule relaxation as part of program. 
• Escape and disconnect. Be free from noise/distractions/technology. 
• Confront raw nature. Be challenged in the activities/reconnect with nature. 
• Be restored by balance. Have a chance to process recent activities and their impact.

Click here to read the full article. 

Interview: Tauck CEO Says Family Focus Continues for Tour Operators

Great interview with Tauck CEO on the specialty market of "family travel." The interview and article is by Andrew Sheivachman (@sheivach) with Skift.

Click here to read the full article.

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.