Destinations
Chicago Posts Strong Numbers As Recovery Continues
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Lynn Osmond, CEO of Choose Chicago, today announced Chicago hosted 30.7 million domestic and international visitors in 2021, an 86% increase over 2020. “I cannot overstate how proud I am of Chicago’s continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Lightfoot said. “Our city was hit harder than most in the early days of the pandemic — and one of the most impacted industries was tourism. The numbers for 2021 show that visitors throughout the United States and world are hungry to return to our incredible city.” The strong recovery came despite...
US Visitors Lead Southeast Asia Revival
According to ForwardKeys while Southeast Asia has been lagging far behind the rest of the world in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors from the USA are coming back in substantially greater numbers than from other origin markets. In the first five months of the year (Jan. 1 to May 31), travel to Southeast Asia reached just 18% of pre-pandemic levels, whereas travel to Europe reached 55%, to the Americas 66% and to the Middle East & Africa 64%. Looking ahead to the summer months (June 1 to Aug. 31), flight bookings for Southeast Asia are at just 43% of pre-pandemic...
Visitors Will Find So Much To Discover In Colombia
Juan Sanchez says exploring Colombia's different regions will never amount to more of the same for visitors And he can make the claim with considerable confidence. Sanchez is Colombian tourism board ProColombia's new Canadian representative and told a Baxter Media webinar that diversity and Colombian tourism experiences go hand in hand. "Every region in Colombia is so different. You feel like you're travelling to a different country (when entering a new region)," he said. There's little disputing that, with Colombian landscapes including snow-capped Andean mountains, Amazon...
Baker Joins ORHMA In New Role
Joe Baker has joined the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association in a newly created role as Strategic Director, Workforce Development to lead the Passport to Hospitality initiative. Baker will work collaboratively with the ORHMA senior leadership team and industry stakeholders on several upcoming key workforce development initiatives. Tony Elenis, President & CEO of ORHMA, said: “There has never been a more critical time for ORHMA to support the accommodations and foodservice sector across this province as we work towards recovery. We have struggled with labour issues...
Jamaica Re-imagines Local Tourism
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that his ministry has made it a priority to re-imagine the local tourism sector by creating strategic policies, programs, and initiatives that can aid in building resilience and increasing the capacity of local small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) to earn more. Speaking last week at the Tourism Enhancement Fund’s Business Development Information Session for SMTEs at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, the Minister said: “We called this gathering and brought all these stakeholders here today to understand the need that we...
WestJet Sets A Course To The Future
The WestJet Group recently brought together leaders, representing all parts of the operations and business, to hear directly from Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alexis von Hoensbroech, as he shared plans for growth into the COVID recovery, and the airline’s commitment to embracing its cost-conscious roots in service of affordable air travel for Canadians. WestJet Group’s von Hoensbroech said that: “The immediate priority is to ensure we are ready for the high volume of pent-up travel demand this summer. Equally important is charting a path that continues to grow WestJet as the...
Visit Lauderdale Adds Accessibility Microsite
Visit Lauderdale launched its new VisitLauderdale.com destination website that includes an accessibility microsite in recognition of the tourism bureau’s new focus on accessible travel as part of its well-established inclusion commitment. Visit Lauderdale, formerly known as Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, launched the new Visit Lauderdale name and brand slogan “Everyone Under the Sun” last year. The slogan is a nod to the destination’s residential diversity and lengthy involvement with inclusive travel marketing. Work has been underway...
Fiji Is Open For Happiness
Tourism Fiji’s CEO Brent Hill believes the pandemic has reignited the value of the travel trade across a generation of travellers who were used to booking directly. “Back in 2018 I saw some of that diminishing a little bit — everyone was going online, very digital focused, it was like: we can do all this ourselves,” he tells Canadian Travel Press during a one-on-one interview. “And then along comes COVID and as you come out of that I think people need even more reassurance and advice. Even though our protocols are dead simple in coming into Fiji people still want to want to...