As Per a report submitted by a sports events management and bookings firm, Sports Events 365, Japanese tourists are increasingly flocking over to Europe in order to catch up on the big football matches on the continent. They combine this passion of theirs with leisure holiday. The tourism consulting report further stated that the leagues most supported by them include the English Premier League, Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga. Most followed teams included Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Paris St. Germain. The popularity for Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund is particularly explained by the presence of star Japanese players at those clubs- Yuto Nagatomo and Shinji Kagawa- respectively. Japanese players are increasingly finding spots at European football and US baseball clubs. Besides Japanese tourists, even the Chinese are now making their presence felt, primarily fuelled by their interest post investment on teams such as Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan. This market can now only get bigger.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/japanese-tourists-come-to-europe-for-football-news10329

Uploaded Date: 15 November 2017

Tourism is one of the few industries in North Korea not overtly affected by the US trade sanctions. That is why tourism continues to flourish at some places, such as the unique seaside resort town, Wonsan. Business research conducted by the Korean Maritime Institute, based in the south, states that tourism contributes to 0.8% of the total GDP of North Korea. Majority of the inbound tourists tend to be from China followed by Russia. Wonsan is unique in the sense that besides being a tourist destination, it also happens to be the base for nuclear and other missile testing. There is even a ski resort and an as yet unopened to international flights airport at Wonsan.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/north-korean-tourism-industry-awaits-wonsan-resort-news10334

Uploaded Date:15 November 2017

Chinese national now make up the largest outbound travel group in the world totalling a whopping sixty-two million trips in the first half of 2017 alone as reported by the China National Tourism Association. Among the destinations, Southeast Asia accounts for a significant portion with thirty million trips made. Tourism consulting provided by the China Tourist Academy reveals that five countries from the region- Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines –  make it to the top ten travel destinations. This is aided by the fact that nine countries in the region provide visa-free entry to Chinese nationals. Indonesia and Malaysia have both stepped up their efforts to bridge the gap and attract more tourists from China. The two have seen a 46% and 26.7% increase respectively. Malaysia has gained as a result of the ‘eNTRI’ programme allowing easier visa norms. Partnerships have also been inked with China Southern Airlines and Ali-trip to boost inflows.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/southeast-asian-countries-fight-for-chinese-tourists-news10336

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017

At the recent Mediterranean Resort and Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H), it was reported that the Mediterranean has cemented its position as the largest inbound tourism zone in the world. It accounts for approximately a third of international arrivals and roughly similar a share of the revenues. The report further states that total tourist arrivals are set to exceed the 420 million people mark by the year 2020. Tourism consulting done by the WTO (World Tourism Organization) states that till 2030, an annual 3.3% growth rate is to be exceeded setting the bar at a staggering 1.8 billion visitors by 2030. The numbers on the European side have been boosted by the geo-political frictions and fears of terrorism in the southern part of the Mediterranean where tourism accounts for 12 and 11 percent of GDP and workforce respectively. Spain has fortified itself as the most mature market on the European side aided by its strong digital marketing. This has enabled Spain and the broader region to market to niche segments depending on their choices. The region further needs to understand concepts such as new luxury and crowdfunding to further steal a march.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/mediterranean-tourism-steadily-growing-news10338

Uploaded Date:27 October 2017

The tourism industry is poised for massive growth both in terms of numbers as well as in the area of innovation. Some futuristic trends have just emerged which if scalable can totally revolutionize the world of tourism. One such is DNA Analysis which is done by fitness company 38 Degrees North operating from a five-star property at Ibiza in Spain. They have curated individualized fitness sessions based on DNA analysis from the saliva swab of guests checking in. The next such innovation is the under-development Time Machine FET programme created by the European Commission. It uses Virtual Reality (VR) to take travellers back in time so they can explore the real Europe at any time in the past few millenniums. The third is Ancestral Holidays which uses DNA testing to sponsor people to go back to their genetic origins and meet siblings from a totally different part of the world. Future Smart Shoes was designed by Indian company Lechal. It uses wearable technology to do fitness tracking and guide direction to the wearer. Eventually the data collected can also be used as business intelligence by various stakeholders. And then there are Hyperloop Hotels which use Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One network, except that it is still at planning stage, and no actual action has taken place.

Source:http://www.euronews.com/2017/08/15/five-futuristic-trends-which-could-change-the-face-of-tourism

Uploaded Date:06 October 2017

IBM has not historically been known as a digital marketing solutions provider, yet that is exactly what it is now doing in the field of travel and tourism. Part of it has been inorganic driven by acquisitions such as those of Unica, Silver pop, Xtify and business analytics firm Core-metrics. Post all these acquisiitons, IBM has created Watson Marketing as a one-stop solution to all. For this it makes significant usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its travel clients include Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) and Air France, yet it needs to add more such as Hilton, United and American Airlines, firms that have been highlighted due to their association in other ways with IBM. Campaign automation and real-time personalization is being provided by IBM Watson Customer Engagement for airlines, casinos, resorts and hotels. The experience with Mammoth Resorts proved indicative as there was a significant rise in click-through and email opening rates. Competitors such as Accenture, Adobe, Amazon and Microsoft are already well into the market to push IBM all the way. A unique feature of IBM in order to stay ahead is the focus on design thinking. Source:https://skift.com/2017/08/08/ibm-watson-powered-artificial-intelligence-seeks-an-edge-in-travel-marketing/

Uploaded Date:16 August 2017

The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in Indonesia has announced a collaboration with the Adobe Experience Cloud to fully leverage the power of digital marketing using this platform. Indonesia has in the past few years achieved great progress in the field of tourism with substantial annual increases in inbound tourist arrivals. Numbers are expected to hit twenty million by the year 2019. The presence of this platform will also enable business analytics operations to be performed on the enormous quantities of data generated. Stories shared by travellers can further be posted at regular intervals. User generated content may be tapped into using the tool Livefyre which is also part of Adobe. In depth analysis will now be provided by Adobe Analytics, thus enabling specific targeting. The ministry has also taken steps to collaborate with airlines such as Garuda and Air Asia.

Source:https://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/indonesian-ministry-tourism-partners-adobe-meet-growing-visitor-demand-1481939309

Uploaded Date:16 August 2017