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."