First Estimate: Trump Slump to Cost U.S. Industry Nearly $11 Billion
One gets the feeling, following the flow of overseas news reports on the reaction of the tourism industry abroad and in the United States, that the Administration of President Donald Trump has already done enough damage to the U.S. tour and travel industry with the starts and stops it has made with its immigration policy, and that it is too late to repair it in 2017 and possibly 2018 as well.
So, it will likely make little difference if a new and different travel ban executive order from the President will improve matters. On Jan. 27, 2017, much of the global tour and travel industry was taken by surprise when Trump signed an executive that, among other provisions, would have kept refugees from entering the USA for 120 days and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations out for three months. The countries affected are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. It did not help the Administration that there was confusion in the ban’s rollout, as well as a turnabout, as it related to green card holders and other provisions.
Within two weeks a U.S. District Court judge and an Appellate Court in San Francisco had overturned the travel ban. The Trump Administration indicated that it would come out with a 2.0 version of a ban—it was supposed to have been ready by last week—while there has been confusion as to whether the Administration would appeal the Appellate Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, on March 3 in Seattle, U.S. District Judge James Robart granted a two-week extension to the U.S. Justice Department in the lawsuit alleging that President Trump’s immigration order is blocking efforts by legal residents to reunite with their children who are trapped in war-torn countries.
(On March 6, President Trump signed a new travel ban executive order that has the following changes: (1) The new ban prohibits travelers from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. Iraq is no longer on the list. (2) Valid visa holders are not affected. (3) It removes the indefinite restrictions on Syrian refugees. Instead, the policy halts all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months. (4) It stripped language that would have given preference to religious minorities — such as Christians from the Middle East — once refugee resettlement resumes. (5) The new ban becomes effective in 10 days, March 16—not immediately.)
No matter. By mid-February, news reports from abroad and in the USA were flush with details about the prospective loss of travelers to the United States, especially from key European markets and from Mexico. While subsequent reports have lacked the data projections of the first stories of the impact of what has come to be referred to as the “Trump Slump” (this includes the impact even before the travel ban of some of the President’s remarks about immigrants), there has been a steady stream of accounts which indicate that the “Slump” is real and that it seems to have gained traction in the past month. Some examples follow.
Quick Take—Some of the Impacts of President Donald Trump and His Proposed Travel Ban
| Source of action or information | Impactdirect and/or indirect |
|---|---|
| European Union | On March 1st, the EU passed non-binding resolution declaring that U.S. citizens should be refused visa-free access to the EU in response to American visa rules affecting citizens from five of the EUs 28 countriesa Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romaniaare not yet part of the U.S. Visa Waiver program. |
| Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics | The annual number of foreign visitors to the United States could fall by 6.3 million between 2016 and 2018 because of reactions to Trumps words and actions. |
| Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics | A loss of 6.3 million visitors by next year translates into $10.8 billion in lost revenue, including what he calls "Trump-induced" losses. |
| Fred Dixon, president and CEO of New York City & Company | The city now expects to draw 300,000 fewer foreigners this year than in 2016. This will cost businesses in the city that cater to tourists at least $600 million. |
| Kayak, meta-search site | Searches by UK citizens for US destinations had fallen off a cliff, with hotel prices in cities like San Francisco, New York and Las Vegas dropping between 32-39 percent in recent survey. |
| Henry Harteveldt, analyst, Atmosphere Research Group | Research conducted weeks before the executive order took place showed that in 15 countries around the world about 20 percent of the respondents reported that as a result of the presidential election they were either somewhat or highly unlikely to travel to the U.S. or had actually cancelled a planned trip. |
| Reportur.mx, Mexican travel trade publication | Mexican tour operators say destinations such as Las Vegas, New York, San Antonio and Los Angeles, are the most affected and operators can feel even a decrease in sales of their programs of seven percent. (Another decisive factor is the exchange rate.) |
| U.S. Travel Associations executive vice president, public affairs, Jonathan Grella | It would be a shame to undermine the economic progress of the Trump administrations early days by driving travelers away from the U.S. and into the arms of our competitors. We hope that President Trump and his advisors can avoid repeating their earlier mistakes in (a) revised executive order |
| Forward Keys, Valencia, Spain-based air travel analyst | Flight passengers from the seven Muslim-majority nations named by Trump were down by 80 percent in the last week of January and first week of February, |
| Philadelphia CVB | In the last week of February, Philadelphia lost out on an international meeting with 3,000 attendees that decided to go to Canada or Mexico instead. |
| Daniel Gross, Slate.com | Customs agents have detained, deterred, or interrogated an Australian childrens book author, a retired soccer star from Trinidad and Tobago, and a French historian. Theres a not an insubstantial chance that if you come to the U.S. to stay in a hotel, attend a conference, make a plane connection, or sit on a beach, you might get treated horribly. |
| Ernest Wooden, president of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, citing research provided by Tourism Economics. | Los Angeles could lose about 800,000 international visitors and $736 million in spending over the next three years "as a direct result" of Trump's orders, most due to reduced travel by Mexican nationals. |
Are Mice Included in Travel Ban?
Mouse Delays British Airways Flight to San Francisco
In a news item that became wildly popular over the social media, the discovery of a mouse on board led to the cancellation of a March 1st British Airways flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. While there was some speculation that the mouse was deemed an unfit visitor for the USA and that the BA aircraft could not take off with an illegal passenger, the Inbound Report could not find its species listed in current immigration law nor in the travel ban proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that would have imperiled the mouse should it have attempted to de-board the flight in San Francisco. San Francisco is, by the way, a sanctuary city and would likely have sheltered the small rodent.
After it was established that the creature (it was, the Inbound Report speculates, a member of the Mus musculus species) was on the plane, the BA crew told passengers that aircraft could take off with the passenger on board, and that another flight would be scheduled. Following a delay of four hours, a replacement Boeing 777 took off without incident.
British Airways told the BBC: “We know almost everyone wants to fly with us to San Francisco, but on this occasion there was one very small customer who we had to send back to the gate. Everyone with two legs is now on their way to California, and we are sorry for the delay.”
There was no word on the fate or condition of the mous
Visit Florida is on Life Support
The Florida state legislature—both its House of Representatives and its Senate— was scheduled to convene its regular session on March 7, with no one really certain that the state’s tourism promotion organization, Visit Florida (it is a public-private partnership) will survive the 60-days that legislators are meet.
In the two-and-a-half months leading up to the convening of the legislature, Visit Florida’s top four officials lost their jobs (primarily due to a highly visible level of indignation and controversy over the state agency’s refusal to open its books on a contract it had with a Miami rapper, “Pitbull,” to promote the state) as different state assembly members and state senators outdid one another in their proposals to punish the agency, finally agreeing to eliminate it.
Declaring that the state should not be in the business of doing the type of promotion that the private sector should do on its own, legislators agreed on a bill that would eliminate both Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida—the latter being a public-private partnership aimed at promoting the state both in the U.S. and internationally.
During the run-up to the start of the legislative session, Florida’s travel and tourism industry fought furiously against the elimination and, following weeks of intensive lobbying, key legislators announced that there would be separate votes on eliminating Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida. As well, another measure would keep Visit Florida alive, but at a vastly reduced level of funding: $25 million annually vs. the $78 million it had before. Also, this new Visit Florida bill calls for more stringent terms that would require it to raise more of its own cash. Although the agency could negotiate with the legislature over the amount of taxpayer dollars it receives, it would have to match those dollars with privately generated funds
Florida Gov. Rick Scott would like to keep both Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida alive, but it seems that—if one had to wager on the issue—it would be safer bet to predict that Visit Florida will manage to survive.
Apple Group Looking to Acquire an Operator or OTA
Just two months after its acquisition by a new owner, the Apple Leisure Group (it includes the tour operator Apple Vacations®) is in the market to acquire either an OTA or another tour operator, from either the USA or Latin America, that can drive more traffic to the group’s destination attractions that have a strong presence in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Javier Coll, executive vice president of the Apple Group, which is headquartered in the western Philadelphia suburb of Newton Square, made the revelation in an interview with the Mexican travel trade publication Reportur, responding to a question about plans that the company has under its new ownership: “At first, we are open to any investment that means an increase in the number of passengers to the destinations where we have our hotels … Our ideal investment would be a tour operator, whether OTA or traditional operator that has passengers in the United States to the Caribbean.” He said the company will also be looking to grow traffic from Latin America and will also be looking for a tour operator or OTA in that region as well.
It was announced Dec. 13, that Boston-based venture capital firm Bain Capital Private Equity had completed the sale of its Apple Leisure Group (which includes the operator Apple Vacations®) to New York-headquartered KKR, a private equity firm and an affiliate of Denver-based KSL Capital Partners.
As Coll explained it: “We had some investors, some of these investors, those who had a majority position that was Bain Capital, decided to sell their share because the company gave better than expected results and it was time to capitalize their investment and they decided to sell their stake to another group and that is what they did.”
Apple Leisure Group bills itself as “North America’s top seller of all-inclusive vacation packages.” Its collection of leading subsidiaries includes AMResorts (hotel management and marketing services), Amstar (the largest destination management company for Mexico and the Dominican Republic), a portfolio of travel distribution brands in addition to Apple Vacations (Travel Impressions®, CheapCaribbean.com®) and the exclusive Unlimited Vacation Club travel prog
European Low-Cost Carriers Driving Increase in Lift Capacity between Europe and USA
Seat Capacity up Six Percent for Summer 2017
Europe and the USA may both be experiencing more than usual political uncertainty, says the airline network news publication anna.aero, but it seems like the demand to travel between the two is on the rise, at least based on anna.aero’s review of the number of new services that will be on offer this summer. According to its analysis of current schedule data for 2017 and comparing it with 2016, it identified 51 new services that will be on offer to passengers. However, airlines have also withdrawn 23 services between Europe and the USA since last summer, leaving a net gain of 28 services.
Anna.aero’s analysis of seat capacity for this summer shows that the three legacy U.S. carriers—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines—remain the three biggest, with British Airways and Lufthansa the two biggest European carriers. Overall seat capacity across all carriers is up 6 percent, but none of the five leading carriers have changed their capacity (either up or down) by more than three percentage points. European flag-carriers are joined by three non-flag carriers in the Top 15. Two of these three (airberlin and Norwegian), are the fastest-growing among the Top 15.
New International Air Service:
—In late December, Beijing Capital Airlines began three-times-a-week flights from Hangzhou (HGH) to Vancouver via Qingdao. The Qingdao-Vancouver sector is 8,637 kilometers (5,358 miles) long making it the airline’s second longest after the 9,151-kilometer (5,686 miles) route between Chengdu and Madrid. Qingdao becomes the eighth Chinese city that can be reached non-stop from Vancouver according to OAG data for early January. The other seven airports are Shanghai Pudong (18 weekly flights), Beijing (14), Guangzhou (seven), Nanjing (three), Xiamen (three), Zhengzhou (two) and Shenyang (one).
Source: anna.aero
—On Feb. 16, Air Canada made Montreal its third Canadian hub to link directly with China, launching a daily 787-8-operated service to Shanghai Pudong. The carrier already serves Shanghai from Toronto Pearson and Vancouver. No other airline currently flies the 11,347-kilometer link between Montreal and Shanghai, however Air China does offer flights between Beijing and Montreal, the Canadian airport’s only other Chinese service.
Source: anna.aero
—Xiamen Airlines made New York its second destination in the U.S. on Feb. 15. On that day the carrier launched a three times weekly service from Fuzhou (FOC) to New York JFK (JFK), a distance of 12,477 (7,753 miles) kilometers. That’s over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) longer than the SkyTeam member’s previous longest route between Shengzen and Seattle-Tacoma, a route launched last September. No other carrier offers non-stop flights between Fuzhou and the US. Both routes are flown using the airline’s 787-8s. It also uses the same type to support service to Amsterdam and Vancouver
Source: anna.aero
—Air Canada began flights between Vancouver and Dallas/Fort Worth on Feb. 5. Flown on the airline’s CRJ 700s, the 2,818-kilometer (1,751 miles) Canada–U.S. city pair will be operated six times weekly.. Air Canada now serves a total of 15 U.S. airports from its Vancouver hub, of which three are in Hawaii. It already offers service to Dallas/Fort Worth from its biggest base at Toronto Pearson. On routes between Canada and the U.S. the national carrier now accounts for 45 percent of seat capacity with WestJet, its nearest rival at 19 percent. Both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have just over 9 percent of capacity.
Source: anna.aero
—Mexico’s Volaris began service to Miami, Florida on Feb. 1 with two new routes. On the 2,419-kilometer (1,503 miles), four times weekly service to Guadalajara, the Mexican carrier faces no competition. However, the 2,049-kilometer (1,273 miles) route to Mexico City (MEX) is already served by American Airlines (27 weekly flights), Aeromexico (21) and Interjet (12). Both routes will be flown with the carrier’s A320s. Guadalajara becomes the sixth Mexican destination now served non-stop from Miami. Volaris’ U.S. network from Mexico City now comprises eight destinations. Apart from Miami the carrier also serves Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando and San Francisco.
Source: anna.aero
—On Feb. 25, JetBlue Airways launched services from Fort Lauderdale Quito, Ecuador, marking the carrier’s first scheduled service to the city. Quito becomes the fifth destination for JetBlue in South America, with the airline having scheduled services to Lima in Peru, as well as Bogota, Cartagena and Medellín in Colombia.
Source: anna.aero
Hotel Brands – The Buggy Whip of the 21st Century
Part 1 of 3, by Wallace E. Johnson
The year is 2030 and the last hotel brand i.e. last hotel chain headquarters representing Choice and Hilton Hotels have finally closed their doors. They lasted longer than most and to the bitter end because of their intensified fight against OTAs and the support and backing they gave to non-OTA intermediaries (tour operators, wholesalers, etc. …. thriving btw as they have consolidated and found their niche markets) which were the OTAs natural enemies.
Marriott lasted longer than most based more on family tradition than practicality while Hyatt, Wyndham and IHG (even with the iconic brand Holiday Inn) which itself had been a big early supporter of OTAs were some of the first to go.
It seems that these companies lost their focus on what really matters. Instead of heads in beds, they focused on developing hotels; instead of making franchisees rich, they focused on making corporate executives rich; instead of investing back into the business, they paid major dividends back to shareholders; instead of innovative market programs to consumers, they focused on corporate responsibility and green initiatives; instead of franchisee satisfaction, they focused on corporate employee satisfaction; and, instead of nurturing and maximizing distribution channels, they leaned heavily on OTAs which was the path of least resistance.
So what has filled the void in 2030? Well, the leading hotel companies are now as you would expect. Expedia Hotels and Resorts, Priceline Worldwide, Google Hotel Search and Book, Facebook Hospitality and, of course, Airbnb, a slightly different animal that took the industry by storm in the past decade. Hotels don’t have brands anymore; they have stars.
Twelve stars if you are the best of the best on 1) quality and service scores plus 2) the relative expensiveness of the market. What used to be a Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan would get this designation. An aging budget hotel on an interstate highway in rural Oklahoma would likely get one star. A hotel’s rates are based on these two designations and dynamically rate positioned up or down based on demand relative to the rest of the star scale.
So how did this happen? Well, the brands early on really took the easy way out. Instead of strategic and workable promotions and sales initiatives aimed at various niches and segments, it was easier to turn it all over to the OTAs and say “go get um” via direct connections. The problem was once the camel got its head under the tent, there was no going back.
The OTAs kept asking for more and more, pushing rate parity to eliminate competition, buying up the competition and utilizing their ever growing independent hotel base to render the hotel brands powerless.
Billions of dollars going to the OTAs and no one saw this happening? Of course these hotel companies made a PR effort to fix things. Room Key was too little too late. Plus, it channeled these price sensitive travelers to the low cost brands owned by the midscale and budget chain companies. (Starwood was smart at the time to keep its distance). Discounts on brand.com to loyalty members did little other than reduce revenues to hotels with their best customers where demand was almost entirely inelastic. Meanwhile the frog (hotel brands) continued to swim in the simmering pot.
With OTA profits vastly exceeding the hotel brand profits and with OTA’s spending hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising (which dwarfed the hotel brands spend), the hotel brands found it harder and harder to fight the battle. So, as more and more inventory and discounts went the OTA way, finally hotel owners, the only ones with significant investment in land, steel and concrete, could no longer afford the ever growing chain fees (which included direct connect fees to the OTAs) as well as the OTA discounts themselves.
Something had to change and after examining and evaluating the value proposition of the brands vs the OTAs, it was clear who the winners and losers were going to be. With 80% of consumers not caring what hotel brand they stay at (up from 55% in 2012) and with the OTA’s implementing their own frequent traveler programs, the answer was an easy one.
Net, hotel brands had their day in the sun along with house calls from doctors, newspapers/books, land lines, movie rental stores, etc. which have all followed in the obsolescence footsteps of the infamous buggy whip. Did it need to happen? Not sure. Could it have been avoided? Not sure. Could it have been slowed early on with different strategies, tactics and priorities? Absolutely!
Today in 2017, the camel has it head and shoulders under the tent so the only question is how strong and with how much tenacity are the hotel brands/companies willing to pull on the tail to make sure the 2030 scenario doesn’t happen. Is it too late? Only time will tell.
Watch the Inbound Report for Parts 2 and 3.
Canada Had Near-Record Number of Inbound Visitors in 2016
The just-released final monthly report for 2016 of Destination Canada (DC) showed that it finished 2016 with a strong December and a total number of visitors for the year that was close to a record. Some highlights from Destination Canada’s final monthly report for 2016 included the following:
- With 19.98 million international overnight arrivals, 2016 saw the second highest number of arrivals in Canadian history, falling only four-tenths of a percent short of the record high set in 2002 (20.06 million).
- In 2016, robust overnight arrivals were achieved in all eleven of Destination Canada’s target international markets, with arrivals from the United States, up 9.7 percent, realizing its highest observed level since 2005, and arrivals from DC overseas markets, up 16.0 percent, topping the record high established in 2015.
- Overnight arrivals from the USA in 2016 hit 13.90 million, up 9.7 percent over 2015. The strong performance of US arrivals was underpinned by growth in arrivals by air (+17.4 percent) throughout 2016 and solid overall gains in auto arrivals (+6.8%). The number of Americans arriving to Canada by air breached the 4 million mark for the first time with 4.53 million arrivals, an all-time high nearly 15.3 percent higher than the previous peak from 2004.
- In 2016, strong performances in all DC overseas markets helped establish new record peaks for Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Individual DC markets with new record peaks include France, China, South Korea, India, Australia, and Brazil.
- Capping off a the year for international arrivals to Canada, December 2016’s total of 1.34 million international overnight arrivals set a new record for arrivals for that month with 11.3 percent growth over the previous high set in 2015.
- In December 2016, solid double-digit gains were set in 9 of DC’s 10 overseas markets, with exceptionally high results emerging from Mexico (+69.1 percent) and India (+43.4 percent), as well as record December monthly numbers for France (+22.1 percent), Germany (+19.0 percent), China (+17.7 percent), Australia (+23.1 percent) and Brazil (+23.2 percent).
Notes:
- Arrival figures are preliminary estimates and are subject to change.
- Air seat capacity is the variation in the total number of seats on direct commercial scheduled flights during the current month and YTD relative to the same periods in the previous year.
iii. The exchange rate variation is calculated on the average value of the Canadian dollar during during the current month and YTD relative to the same periods in the previous yea.
USA Traffic Highlights: Due in no small way to the strong U.S. dollar vs. the Canadian loon, arrivals from the U.S. into Canada reached levels they had not seen since 2005. Some details:
- With 911,921 overnight visitors from the U.S. in December, Canada registered a 7.3 percent increase over December 2015, bringing the annual figure to 13.90 million (+9.7 percent over 2015). This December total was the highest since 2002 and the second-highest overall, while the annual figure is the highest since 2005.
- Automobile arrivals continue to make up the largest share of USA visitors (59 percnet in December, up 2.9 percent over December 2015); however, the growth in arrivals from the United States was driven largely by air arrivals which were up 15.3 percent in December and 17.4 percent over 2016. The 4.53 million air arrivals registered in 2016 are the highest on record despite negligible air capacity expansion. While overall arrivals from the USA are still short of those between 1998 and 2005, a relatively larger share of USA arrivals now fly into Canada rather than driving.
- The top five states of origin for U.S; overnight arrivals by vehicle in 2016 were New York (18.4 percent of arrivals); Washington State (15.6 percent); Michigan (11.8 percent); Massachusetts (5.1 percent), and Pennsylvania (5.0 percent).
- Among medium-haul states, the largest share arrived from California (2.1 percent) and Florida (2.0 percent).
- Washington State registered the biggest share of year-over-year arrival growth in 2016 with 18.7 percent of all additional arrivals.
- Arrivals to Canada by other modes of transportation such as train, cruise, or bus also saw growth with increases of 7.0 percent in December and 3.7 percent throughout 2016.
First-Time Travel Experiences inspire us to Make Life-Changing Decisions
A new survey by Booking.com reveals that first-time travel experiences can be the secret to success in life. The survey, which was conducted among more than 20,000 participants in 20 countries found more than one in 10 (13 percent) respondents switching their job or career, one in 10 (13 percent) changing their relationship, and one in five (21 percent) deciding to move somewhere completely new because of a first-time travel experience. Other survey results included the following:
—A first-time travel experience is more exciting than:
—A first date (53 percent);
—A first job (51 percent);
—Making a new friend (62 percent); and
—Even a first kiss for more than one in three people (36 percent percent).
—Two thirds (65 percent) of respondents say first-time travel experiences lift their confidence.
—Three in five (61 percent) think the well-travelled are more interesting.
—Almost half (45 percent) believe travel makes them more successful in life and career.
A life less ordinary—whether their first-time experience was travelling abroad, embracing a new destination, or traveling solo:
—Almost two thirds (65 percent) said that pushing themselves to take part in a new travel experience vastly increased their confidence.
—While first-time travel can seem daunting, most (61 percent) agree that any nerves felt before they travelled were unnecessary.
Re-energized and with confidence, we can be motivated to make more dramatic life decisions:
—One in 10 (13 percent) state a first-time travel experience has led them to switching their job or career;
—One in 10 (13 percent) saying a first time travel experience led them to change their relationship; and
—A fifth (21 percent) have decided to move somewhere completely new.
Respondents also claim that confidence boosted by first-time travel can also open doors to other life-inspiring opportunities, such as:
—Meeting new kinds of people (40 percent);
—Cooking and eating new types of food (43 percent);
—Learning a new language (29 percent); and
—Reading and learning about another culture (29 percent).
This impetus to experience and learn new things leads people to believe that those who have travelled to many places and have tried out different travel experiences tend to be more interesting that those who have not (61 percent), and that with all these new interpersonal and practical skills they tend to be more successful in their life and career (45 percent).
First-time travel thrills—a first-time travel experience can be such a momentous occasion in a person’s life that people deem it:
—More exciting than going a first date (53 percent);
—Landing their first job (51 percent);
—Making a new friend (62 percent); and
—Having a first kiss (36 percent).
And it seems that once people have the travel bug, it’s hard to shake with about two in three (64 percent) stating that experiencing places for the first time prompts them to visit other new places, experiences or accommodation in the future. In fact:
—Almost half (45 percent) plan to be more adventurous in their travel plans in 2017;
—One in two (56 percent) plan to travel further away from home.
—Over half plan to take more weekend getaways (54 percent); and
—Visit somewhere where their friends haven’t been (47 percent).
And the types of first time experiences people are keen to try in 2017 are broadening, with:
—Volunteering based trips (21 percent);
—Spiritual adventures (23 percent),
—Eco tours (39 percent); and
—Road trips (44 percent), proving to be popular choices for globe-trotting travelers.
Commenting on the survey results, Pepijn Rijvers, chief marketing officer at Booking.com, said: “The adrenalin and confidence boost that travelling somewhere for the first time gives us makes it irresistible. Our first time travel experiences open our minds, sparks our imagination and inspires us to continue trying something new or change direction in life. Once you catch the travel bug it’s simply contagious.”
HODGE PODGE: Shifts, Shakeups and Occasional Shaftings in the Tour and Travel Industry
Percy Stevens has left his post as director of travel industry sales for the California Academy of Science to become director of international tourism Europe & Middle East at the San Francisco Travel Association. Stevens had been with the California Academy of Sciences for four years. Previously, he held managerial positions in sales for Vail Resorts, Visit California and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
AccorHotels has announced the appointment of Maud Bailly as chief digital officer. Bailly will head the company’s digital, distribution, sales, and Information systems, and will be a member of the company’s executive committee.. Maud Bailly, who is 38 years old and is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, started her career in 2007 at the Inspection Générale des Finances (IGF).
Nick Talbot has been promoted to marketing director at Funway Holidays. In his new position, Talbot, who joined the company in 2012, will oversees Funway’s sales team. The company also promoted Erica Collins, former head of commercial and product, as its new commercial director.
Jared Anderson has been named vice president of customer experience for Carlson Wagonlit Travel. He joinins the company from Sears, where he has spent the last 15 years in senior leadership roles, most recently as vice president of customer experience insight and engagement.
Carolina Piber has been appointed managing director, Expedia Latin America. In her new position, she will be responsible for Expedia’s activities in Brazil. Previously, Brazil was overseen by a manager in North America. Previously, Piber was with Hoteis.com, which is part of the Expedia group.
