Tourism One-Minute Report
Facts you need to know in one minute or less…
December 15, 2010
LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT BEST CUSTOMERS? TARGET EMERGING MARKETS
According to an industry report by the World Travel Market (WTM) conducted for Euromonitor International, based on a poll of senior industry executives, new and emerging global markets provide the tourism industry with its greatest opportunities – particularly for short-haul destinations. The report shows that the industry is switching focus from the developed markets of the UK, Europe and the US to the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
India: The Indian travel market is expected to be $17.6 billion in 2010 (compared to $15.8 billion in 2009), with leisure travel contributing $4 billion. With easing of visa rules and processing, many Indians are taking advantage of short-haul ‘break’ vacations to Africa and the Middle East.
Taiwan: Taiwanese outbound visits are expected to top 9 million for the first time this year, up from 8.14 million last year. Japan (assisted greatly by a new direct flight between Taipei and Tokyo), China and Thailand are the most popular destinations.
China : Chinese tourists spent $43.7 billion US overseas in 2009.
Russia: Over 6 million Russians went on overseas packaged holidays last year. The head of Russia’s Federal Agency confirms that Russian outbound travel is growing quickly, citing preliminary data showing an increase of 30-40% in 2010.
CANADA – LOOKING GOOD, BUT STILL NEEDS WORK
A recent study by the Canadian-based National Travel and Tourism Coalition, notes that although Canada ranked 8th in the world for the number of tourists it drew, in 2009 it had slipped to 15th place.
Canada’s prospects to grow the $71.5 billion tourists are spending in Canada may be brightening - Canada climbed to top spot in Future Brand’s 2010 Country Brand Index, displacing the USA, largely because of the increased awareness brought by successful marketing around the 2010 Olympics and the lack of afterglow from the ‘Obama effect’ in the US. However, Canada has much to do to keep its lofty perch. The Coalition has some suggestions – improve our cost competitiveness and infrastructure, facilitate border crossing, bolster the labour supply and increase access to marketing resources.
GOOGLE MAPS – TAKING ‘HOT TOURIST SPOTS’ LITERALLY
Google can now produce a ‘heat map’ of the world, graphically showing the places in the world that are, well, hot. Using a dynamic tool called Panoramio, the map shows the most-visited places in the world as yellow (high activity), red (medium activity) and blue (low). Access the link on the website edition of this email (see below).
DEPRIVATION VACATIONS – COULD THIS REALLY BE A NEW TREND?
The World Travel Market Report mentioned above, also determined that “deprivation’ vacations, involving boot-camp style resorts or extreme trekking are trends to watch in the post-recession global tourism industry. Personally, anything with the word ‘deprivation’ in it just doesn’t work for me as a leisure option.
Some interesting products and services are surfacing on the market as a result of another weird trend – concern about bed bugs in travel accommodations. A company in New York uses dogs to sniff out the pesky critters for extermination. Bed, Bath and Beyond is promoting a Bedbug Pillow Protector that can be zipped over hotel pillows. Comes with a lifetime warranty – probably voided if you forget it on the pillow when you check out...
CANADIAN MARKET – are we getting our confidence back?
Canadian consumer confidence rebounded in October and November, rising 3.9 points in November. The Business confidence outlook has also improved over the time since the last report, with CFIB reporting a modest level of optimism among small to medium-sized businesses – pointing to a strengthening optimism for future growth.
The Canadian dollar continues to be strong and Canadian employment (up 1.9% over November 2009) is holding steady, but there was a ‘notable decline’ in youths in the labour market, which could be a sign of young people opting out to return to school to wait out the effects of the recession.
Canadians are still taking advantage of great travel bargains and the power of the Canadian dollar to travel to international destinations. In September, re-entry into Canada from the States by Canadian residents increased by 7.3% and from other countries by 11.5%, with an overall increase of 8.4%. Year to date (to September), over 22.5 million Canadians re-entered Canada after travelling abroad – an increase of 9% over last year.
US MARKET – SPENDING MORE ON DOMESTIC TRAVEL
According to the US Government, US tourists spent considerably more money travelling within the US between January and October of 2010 than they did in non-US destinations – creating a trade surplus of more than $25 million – exceeding 2009’s surplus in the same time period by 45%. Outbound travel increased from June 2009 to June 2010 by 4.5%.
After a dip in September, US consumer confidence improved in October and November. Other indicators show that economic recovery, albeit slow, continues.
Within the US, retail and food service sales have shown an increase by 6.5% in the 11 months of 2010, over the same 11 months of 2009. Sales are lead by gasoline stations, followed by non-store retailers (including on-line) and auto sales.
Canada saw a modest uptick in US visitation in September (1.2%), which confirms that Americans are still travelling internationally and that Canada is still on their radar.
CANADIAN CULTURAL CAPITALS
International cultural tourists looking for a great experience can head to the three Canadian cities that have won the designation of cultural capital from Canadian Heritage: Vancouver (British Columbia), Lévis (Quebec) and Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island). All three are launching cultural festivals and projects in 2011, designed to bolster the arts and heritage in their regions.
WORD OF MOUTH
“Don’t touch my junk…” A phrase that has received a fair amount of news play in the last month, resulting from a November 13 incident in the San Diego airport in which a local man, John Tyner, refused to undertake a full body scan and subsequently, in a pat-down body search, threatened to have them arrested if they did a groin check. After cancelling his flight and being escorted out of the security area, Tyner, who had recorded the entire incident on his cell phone, wrote about it on his blog. It has since gone viral – by that evening 70,000 people had accessed the entry. “Only 5% say I’m an idiot,” said Tyner, who also stated “I don’t understand how sexual assault can be made a condition of flying.”
“Still, from Mexico’s perspective, the visas were a slap in the face from a NAFTA partner and a supposedly friendly country. (“Gringo light,” one wag called Canada.) It didn’t help much for Canadians to explain that the fault lay within themselves.” Jeffrey Simpson, from his article in the Globe & Mail “Mexico-Canada relations are frosty, but it's not quite adios amigo”, November 13. Simpson notes that, despite efforts to beef up staffing at Canadian embassies and speed up visa processing, numbers of Mexicans visiting Canada has plummeted since the visa requirement was introduced.
The above is a brief synopsis of each story. For the full stories and information references, click here to access the full report online or to download a PDF copy.
Mahon Jones & Associates is a tourism consulting firm, with special focus on cultural tourism and the North American cultural tourist. For more information about our services or to discuss how we can assist your organization, government agency or business visit our website at www.mahonjones.com or contact us at mmj@mahonjones.com.
This report is the intellectual property of Mahon Jones & Associates. Feel free to circulate with attribution to MJA. If you no longer wish to receive this mailing, email mmj@mahonjones.com and write the word “cancel” in the subject line.
Tourism and cultural tourism consulting
Mary Mahon Jones, President
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
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604-833-3290
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