Travel Weekly 2010 Edition - Day 1

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WinnersThe Future of Travel

worldtravelawards.com

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Fares and schedules correct at time of going to press (25 October 2010), and subject to availability and change without notice.





HistoryWorld Travel AwardsHonouring excellence in travel & tourismworldwide since 1994

1994 Hollywood 1995 New York 1996 Las Vegas 1997 New York 1998 Bahamas

1999 London 2000 Jamaica 2001 Malaysia 2002 St Lucia 2003 New York

2004 Barbados 2005 London 2006 Turks and Caicos

2007Abu DhabiNew YorkNewcastleBangalore

Turks & Caicos

2008DurbanSydneyShanghaiOrlandoPoprad

Rio de JaneiroDubai

Turks & Caicos

2009DubaiDurban

Riviera MayaObidosLondon

2010Dubai

JohannesburgAntalyaDelhi

JamaicaLondon

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The World Travel Awards acknowledges and celebrates those organisationsthat have made the greatest contribution to the global tourism and travelindustry. It also recognises those brands that are driving the industry togreater heights and innovation in travel.

Celebrating its 17th anniversary this year, theawards has grown into a truly global search forthe very best travel and tourism brands, with thewinners from the five regional ceremoniesprogressing to the World Travel Awards GrandFinal in London on 7 November.

Last year, 183,000 travel professionals registeredto vote and participate in the prestigious WorldTravel Awards programme – a phenomenal 10%rise in registrations compared to the year before.

This record number is conclusive evidence thatWorld Travel Awards has become the “Oscars” ofthe global travel industry.

Graham E. Cooke, Founder and President, WorldTravel Awards, said: “World Travel Awards is aunique benchmark for industry quality andbusiness excellence in every region and sector.”

“The increase in registered voters, despite aglobal recession, demonstrates the vital role ofperformance delivery in a challenging and highlycompetitive marketplace,” he added.

This level of accountability makes the WorldTravel Awards one of the highest accolades in thetravel business and is why the award ceremony isbroadcast by BBC World News and othernetworks to over 254 million householdsworldwide and attended by the industry’s globaldecision makers.

For the tourism trade, winning a World TravelAward is more than an award – it is anendorsement from the thousands of professionalsfrom around the globe, as well as a gold seal tothe consumer of travel excellence guaranteed.

The World Travel Awards has continuously

evolved, expanding the number of awards as theindustry has grown. There are now over 1,000different categories – an understandable numberseeing how the industry has diversified and giventhe fact that there were over 3,600 differentnominees last year.

And as confidence returns to the global economy,the World Travel Awards will be there to rewardthose travel and tourism players that spearheadthe recovery.

The Oscars of theTravel Industry”

Wall Street Journal

“About UsWorld Travel Awards

Visit our VIP Lounge at WTM, South Gallery Level 2, Suite 33 • worldtravelawards.com

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Visit our VIP Lounge at WTM, South Gallery Level 2, Suite 33




She has also undertaken a series of ground-breaking initiatives that include hosting AfricaFashion Week and Miss World, as well as usingtourism as a catalyst for social bettermentthrough projects in Joburg’s most deprivedtownships. So what does she have planned toensure the goodwill generated by the World Cupleaves a lasting legacy, and what was her favouritemoment of the tournament?

What does it mean to you as a South Africanto have hosted Africa’s first World Cup? An honour and a privilege indeed! Moreover, I’m soproud that we were able to show the world whatSouth Africans are capable of.

What would you rate as the biggest successstory of the tournament, and why? The national unity and sense of patriotism acrossracial lines is priceless. Shortly before thetournament, there was such racial tension in thecountry due to the slaying of the right wing leaderEugène Terreblanche – the world thought we wereon the brink of a civil war. Again we proved ourdetractors wrong – South Africans are just special people.

And what was your personal favourite memory?Seeing Joburg – the brand I am tasked to manage– at the focal point of this historic moment wasjust too overwhelming.

What is your strategy to ensure the goodwilland publicity generated by the FIFA World Cuphas a lasting impact?Whilst always working to retain our traditionalsource markets, we’re now exploring new marketsaggressively, and employing diverse mediastrategies to entrench the Joburg Brand. We’reembarking on a global campaign to reinforce themessage that now the world knows about us andhas witnessed our capabilities, everyone isencouraged to visit Joburg not just leisure tourists,but also as investors, conference delegates,golfers, shoppers – or to attend mega events likethe World Cup.

Lindiwe Kwele is one of the rapidly rising stars of traveland tourism. As the Chief Executive of JohannesburgTourism Company, she provided the key link betweensport and tourism for the principal host city during theFIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

LINDIWE KWELE

Tourism’s risingsuperstar

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Soccer City


One of most rewarding initiatives to emergefrom the World Cup was your project inAlexandra township, which involved givingstudents an opportunity to train and work astour guides. Do you have any future plans tobuild on the success of this, and other similar projects?JTC adheres to responsible tourism guidelines; forevery initiative that we undertake we ensure that italso always benefits the ordinary citizens ofJoburg. We will continue working with students,mentoring them, sensitizing them to the value oftourism and encouraging them to beambassadors for their city. We will also continuesupporting community-based initiatives, assistingwith the development of tourism nodes androutes, the grading tour guides of and of B&Bs inthe townships, while also supporting andpromoting community-based projects whichservice the tourism market, like those whoproduce Joburg memorabilia and arts and crafts.

You climbed the Everest of sport tourism byhosting such a successful World Cup. What’syour next challenge?Next on the agenda is the much anticipatedhosting of the UN Summit on Climate Change(COP 17) – we’re still waiting for theannouncement of the winning city on that one, andthen of course, there’s always the Olympics!

Which areas of Joburg’s tourism product offerthe most exciting opportunities for growth?Our three state-of-the-art stadia which includeFNB Stadium (also known as Soccer City for theduration of the World Cup), Orlando Stadium andEllis Park, along with our vast array of diverseconference and events venues. Joburg has thefour biggest in the country (capable of hostingmore than 5,000 guests) – which position usideally for mega-events. Then of course ofplethora of golf courses (coupled with ourgorgeous weather) and our spa facilities also open

up a possibilities for tourism packages structuredaround these products.

Joburg is forging a reputation as a global hubof sport tourism, and included you hostingWorld Sport Destination Expo in July. Whatwere the benefits of hosting WSDE, and howdoes this fit in with your overall sport tourism ambitions?For Johannesburg Tourism Company, it was aspectacular opportunity to interact with the morethan 250 international sports journalists, usingthe participation of the Miss World ambassadorsin a penalty shoot-out as an activation channel.This generated huge publicity around the globe,gaining us recognition as forward-thinking leadersin our field.

What are your global marketing objectivespost World Cup?Progressive marketing strategies which include e-marketing, social media and networking, as wellas activations in key source markets, whichinclude continental and international road showsand a continuous presence at strategicinternational trade shows.

How do you see tourism in Joburg evolvingover the next 5-10 years?Joburg will be widely recognised as a leadingdestination in Africa that is a trendsetter inbusiness tourism, a creative, vibrant city offeringmyriads of different lifestyle options, Africa’sshopping mecca and premier host to upmarketsporting events

Which territories/countries present thebrightest future opportunities forinbound tourism?Africa (SADC, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Kenya,DRC); China, India, US, UK, Germany, Australasiaand South and Central America.


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“Joburg will bewidely recognisedas a leadingdestination inAfrica that is atrendsetter inbusiness tourism,a creative, vibrantcity offeringmyriads ofdifferent lifestyleoptions”

Young tour guides show Miss World finalists around Alexandra Township - a project spearheaded by the Johannesburg Tourism Companyto ensure that South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup leaves a legacy beyond football.


29 September – 2 Octoberwww.worldsportdestinationexpo.com

Host Partners


• An Unrivalled Gathering of Senior Buyers

• Exhibitors from 30 Countries

• The Key Influencers and Industry Leaders

• Focussed Meetings and LucrativeContract Negotiations

• Cutting Edge Industry Debate

• Top Level Strategic Insights

• A host of Sporting Legends

• Social Networking and Ideas Exchange

The Global Marketplace for Sport Tourism

For more information contact: [email protected]




The International Air Transport Association trebledits net profit estimates to $8.9 billion for this year,following an unexpectedly strong recovery of the230 airlines that it represents globally.

This compares with a $2.5 billion prediction in theprevious quarter and a projected $2.8 billion lossforecast in March.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General, saidthe sharp recovery from the global downturn

reflected improving demand combined with“impressive” capacity constraint. Traffic isexpected to grow by 11 percent this year, whilstcapacity will only rise 7 percent.

However he predicted that the recovery couldsoon run out of steam, and in 2011 profits will slipto $5.3 billion as the effects of various governmenteconomic stimulus packages recede, set against arise in capacity due to delivery of new aircraft.

He said: “It is a significant improvement, muchstronger than forecast, but it’s no time for a bigcelebration, just a small party.”

“It is clear that there will be a slowdown in thefourth quarter,” he added.

“We are already seeing that in our traffic. 2010 willbe as good as it gets. It will be the peak of thiscycle. 2011 will be a tougher year.”

Whilst 2009 will go down as the worst year in aviationhistory, 2010 is shaping up to be the fastest recovery everfor the industry.

Aviation takes off

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Asia’s new roaring tigers

On a regional level, soaring demand in Asia-Pacificis powering the global aviation recovery. IATApredicts that airlines in the region are expected tomake a net profit of $5.2 billion this year,compared to a forecast of $2.2 billion made inJune. Cargo traffic is forecast to rise 33 percent forthe year, with intra-Asia business travel up 23percent.

According to the Asian Development Bank, GDP insouth-east Asia’s emerging economies isexpected to reach 7.9 percent this year. The regionis also gearing up for the implementation of an“open skies” agreement in 2015, covering tencountries with a combined population of 600million and a combined economy the size of India.

These two factors are collectively fuelling anunprecedented aviation boom to meet theexpectation of rising traffic.

Among the multitude of expansion programmesacross the region, Cebu Pacific, the largest carrierin the Philippines, is launching an initial publicoffering to raise an estimated $730 million for aninternational and domestic expansion.

Tiger Airways, the low-cost carrier part-owned bySingapore Airlines, is launching a subsidiary inThailand in a joint venture with Thai AirwaysInternational. It has also announced plans to buynine new Airbus A320 aircraft, increasing its fleetto 26.

Meanwhile Malaysia’s AirAsia X, the region’slargest low-cost carrier, is planning a joint venturein Vietnam to compliment its existing operations inThailand and Indonesia.

Elsewhere in Asia, IndiGo, India’s biggest low-costcarrier, has announced plans to acquire 150 newaircraft, and is also mulling Mumbai stock marketlisting to raise an additional $400m.

IATA’s Bisignani noted the tremendous potentialfor Indian aviation which currently stands at 42million annual domestic and 34 millioninternational passengers.

“If Indians flew as much as Americans, it would bea market of over 4 billion passengers. With thespending power of Indians set to triple over thenext two years, the potential for growth isincredible,” he commented.

Etihad lifts Middle Easternaviation

The Middle Eastern airlines continue to benefitfrom strong regional economies and a growingshare of long-haul markets. Unlike the previoustwo years, capacity in 2010 has been added at aslower pace than demand growth, thereby raisingload factors and helping profitability.

Leading the surge is UAE national carrier EtihadAirways, which notched up its strongest first halfperformance in its seven-year history, with double-digit increases in both passenger and cargo traffic.

Etihad also became the first Middle Eastern airlineto operate a service to Tokyo, with the launch of afive weekly non-stop flights to the Japanesecapital. It also launched non-stop services toBaghdad and Erbil, and unveiled plans to startflying to the South Korean capital Seoul inDecember.

Etihad also picked up “Middle East’s LeadingAirline” at the World Travel Awards 2010 MiddleEast Ceremony in May, one of six awards on thenight.

Neighbouring Dubai is getting firmly back on itsfeet, led by a surge in aviation traffic. DubaiInternational Airport overtook New York’s JFKAirport for the first time, with passenger trafficrising 14.7 percent year-on-year to 30.8 millionduring the first eight months of this year.

The surprise contributor was budget carrierflydubai, which only launched last April but is nowthe second-largest source of passenger traffic atDubai International.

The airport was voted “Middle East’s LeadingAirport” at the World Travel Awards 2010 MiddleEast Ceremony in May, and follows its victory lastNovember when it picked up “World’s LeadingAirport” at the Grand Final in London.

Europe fails to take off

The picture in Europe is somewhat cloudier. IATAforecasts that European airlines will collectivelylose $1.3bn this year. The main factor is theregion’s sluggish economy – stagnant consumerand business confidence has led to lacklustrepassenger numbers. The region is also seeingmuch slower recovery in high-margin premiumtraffic, particularly on short-haul routes.

IATA singled out the UK as the weakest performeron the continent. Brian Pearce, IATA’s chiefeconomist, said: “We have not really seen much ofa pick-up at all in passenger numbers, which is areflection of the recession in Britain and perhapshigher travel costs because of air passenger duty.”

Last year, UK airports saw the biggest fall inpassenger numbers since records began, as trafficfell 7.3 percent to 218 million. Pearce said he didnot expect the UK market to grow “much at all”this year.

The malaise of the UK market is most evident atits flag carrier, British Airways, which hasgenerated a pre-tax loss of nearly £1bn over thepast two years and is locked in a dispute withcabin crew as it strives to trim costs.

One of the few legacy carriers to buck theEuropean malaise has been Turkish Airlines. Ridingon the back of Turkey’s growing popularity as atourism destination, the national carrier haschalked up rising profits and market share.

Savvy cuts help America’s return to form

The bounce-back in North America is being drivenby higher average fares – due to carefullymanaged capacity reductions that have spreaddemand across fewer seats.

However the stand-out story of 2010 for the USindustry has been the $3bn merger of ContinentalAirlines and United Airlines, in a move that hascreated the world’s largest airline. Rival AmericanAirlines has received the green light a transatlantictie-up with British Airways and its new mergerpartner, Spanish flag carrier Iberia.

Latin American carriers continue to benefit fromvery strong regional economic growth particularlyin Brazil, boosting freight, travel and profits. Theprofit forecast has improved slightly from $900million to $1 billion.


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Turkey’s mix of superb beaches, rich culture andnon-Eurozone currency has made it one of the raresuccess stories of the downturn. It also hosted theWorld Travel Awards 2010 Europe Ceremony inOctober. We talked to the Director of the TurkishCulture and Tourism Office UK, Irfan Onal, aboutthe destination that has it all.

Turkey has been one of the few success storiesof European tourism since the downturn,especially the growth of the UK market. To whatwould you attribute that success?In the last 10 years especially there has been agreat deal of investment in marketing to the Britishmarket by Turkey, and with the public relationsactivity that has gone on alongside this Turkey hasbeen able to maximise its exposure.

How do you see Turkey evolving as adestination over the next decade?Turkey has reached the point now where it isworking hard to develop the diversity of the type oftourism it has to offer. Already in seventh place inthe world in terms of the number of tourists itattracts, Turkey still has further potential. Itsresources are such that it can offer something forall tourism sectors.

Antalya hosted the World Travel Awards EuropeCeremony in October. What was the importanceof holding such a prestigious event and howdoes it help Turkey’s tourism industry?This type of event will help put Turkey on theagenda and is an excellent opportunity for many of

the professional participants to see the country forthe first time.

What other up-and-coming events do you have planned?We are also working alongside next year’s touroperators on more effective working methods andprocedures, and are planning our press and publicrelations activities for next year.

Sport tourism is proving to be one of thefastest growing sectors of the industry. Do youhave any specific policy for developing this sector?We would like in particular to make use of thesports tourism potential of the Antalya and Izmirregions, and to this end we are hosting internationaltournaments there. The World BasketballChampionship was held in Turkey last August andproved to be a very successful event. The 2011Winter Universiad which will be held in Erzurum andwill introduce this city’s winter tourism potential tothe world. In addition various regions host anumber of activity sports. Antalya is in particular animportant destination for football teams’ training sessions.

Which source markets offer you the greatestpotential and why?The UK is very important as it’s a country with apopulation that participates in every type oftourism and who are open to world cultures. In myopinion the relationship between the UK and Turkeywill continue to strengthen due to the variety of

tourism that Turkey has to offer and the physicalproximity of the UK. Alongside this the fact that thetwo countries’ socio-economic and diplomaticrelations are at such a good level is also one of theelements that is helping trigger tourism’s hugepotential.

Which areas of improvement does the countryneed to make to grow market share?The western Mediterranean and the Black Sea inparticular have potential for a different sort oftourism and are the locations where investment willbe intensified in the future. Western Anatolia is alsoa region with great potential for cultural tourism.

What have been the highlights of your timeheading up the UK office?Our aims at the UK office have been to promoteTurkey’s diversity as a destination in the UK bymaking good use of the upward trend in interestand we will continue to this end.

Which of your plans, developments andinitiatives do you think have the most potentialand why?I hope that the investment that has been made inhealth, cultural and activity tourism will reap great rewards.

FOCUS ON

Turkey comes of age

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Antalya







There is no doubt that 2010 has been a pivotalyear for Sport Tourism.

Leading analysts predict that the travel industry’sfastest growing sector will post record profits andcontribute an astonishing 14 percent of overalltravel and tourism receipts by the end of 2010. At atime when some traditional tourism trends are indecline, Sport Tourism continues to flourish and isset to grow exponentially in the next decade.

There are many reasons for the sport tourismboom. The continued sportification of society isprompting a seismic shift in tourist patterns. The21st Century is witnessing traditional sun and seavacations – traditionally the main stay of the traveland tourism industry – being replaced by activitysport related vacations and a new breed of touristskeen to attend an ever increasing calendar ofreadily-accessible mega sporting events.

WSDE – the first global exhibition and businessforum dedicated to showcasing the $600 billion a

year sport tourism industry – was successfullylaunched in July this year alongside the final weekof the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The key buyers,influencers and media met face to face with thedestinations leading the field in this dynamic sectorand forging the future of sport tourism.

With Sport Tourism set to play a catalytic role insparking tourism recovery in 2011, next yearsedition of WSDE is set to a pivotal role bolstered byan exiting roster of mega sporting events.

Power House Asia

Asia is the continent best embracing the conceptsof Sport Tourism and is geared up to once againlead the field in 2011. Since Beijing successfullyhosted the Olympic Games in 2008, Asia hasremained in the Sport Tourism spotlight and itsunrivalled sporting infrastructure and integratedapproach to leisure tourism has reapedconsiderable rewards.

This proven track record has resulted in theannouncement that the next edition of WSDE willtake place in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2011and will spearhead an important year for Asia.

Key 2011 regional highlights will include India, SriLanka and Bangladesh jointly hosting the ICCCricket World Cup in February; the FINA WorldSwimming Championships being held in Shanghai,China from July 16-31 and the South Korean city ofDaegu welcoming the IAAF World AthleticsChampionships from August 27-September 4.

The PTT Thailand Open, which was first held in2003, has attracted some of the biggest names intennis and can boast Roger Federer as a back-to-back winner in 2004 and 2005.

The ATP tennis event has become one of Thailand'sbig Sport Tourism attractions, but there is no doubtabout the other – golf.

2010 has been the year that Sport Tourism – for many years the“sleeping giant” of the travel – truly came of age. But you’d bemistaken for thinking the next 12 months will see a slow down. Getready for an action-packed 2011 featuring the 2nd edition of WSDE –the Global Market Place for Sport Tourism – along with an excitingroster of mega sporting events. Mike Starling reports

Sport Tourism Leadsthe Field in 2011

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Adidas press call at WSDE 2010 Rugby World Cup 2011, New Zealand


The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) revealedearlier this year that golf will be one of the focussectors for its 2011 marketing strategy. TAT willhighlight the country’s world-class golf courses viaits “Amazing Thailand Golf Paradise” campaign.While Thailand will market its courses and playingfacilities, one area of Sport Tourism where thecountry is particularly thriving is in the golf MICE sector.

In 2011 Thailand will host at least six golf industryconferences and exhibitions with the busy calendarcrowned by WSDE 2011 taking place in Bangkok in October.

Following on from its first-ever F1 Grand Prix inOctober, South Korea will again be under thespotlight when Daegu hosts the IAAF WorldAthletics Championships. Organisers will also behoping that Usain Bolt will again be in unbeatableform and attract a full house to Daegu Stadium,one of the host arenas of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals.

In November 2011, Indonesia will be the host nationof the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), whichwill see the 11 countries of Southeast Asia goinghead-to-head in a multi-sport event. The majordevelopment will be the US$159m renovation ofthe Jakabaring Sports Complex in Palembang. New facilities wi ll include an athlete’s village andnew golf course.

Destination New Zealand

The sporting event expected to grab the headlinesin 2011 will be the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand– the spiritual home of rugby union.

When New Zealand’s All Blacks kick-off againstTonga at Auckland’s Eden Park on September 9 thematch will see six years of hard work become areality for the tournament organisers.

It is well known across the globe that the Kiwis aremad for their rugby, so it is fitting that the 2011Rugby World Cup will be the biggest event everstaged in New Zealand.

Tourism New Zealand, the country’s tourism board,is one of the organisations playing a huge role in thehosting of next year’s mega event.

Gregg Anderson, general manager Western longhaul markets at Tourism New Zealand, toldBreaking Travel News of the importance of theevent.

He said: “The Rugby World Cup is absolutely crucialto New Zealand’s tourism industry. The legacy thatthe event will create is two-fold. The 2011 WorldCup will bring a lot of visitors down to New Zealandand what we are aiming for is to provide not just asporting experience, but also a spiritual experiencefor our visitors to enjoy and talk about when theyleave. The second major legacy will be the

investment in infrastructure and sportingstadiums.”

One of the major projects has been theredevelopment of Auckland’s iconic Eden Parkstadium.

A three-year, NZ$240million (£114m)refurbishment includes a new six-level, 21,500-seatSouth Stand and a new three-tier East Stand. Thecapacity of Eden Park has been increased to60,000 and the stadium will host the finals and theopening and closing ceremonies.

The AMI Stadium in Christchurch also has a newstand and the capacity has been increased toaround 43,000. Another major development inChristchurch is a walkway from the centre of thecity all the way to the stadium. This was trialledduring the Bledisloe Cup match between the AllBlacks and Australia in August.

The city of Dunedin is getting the only brand newstadium – The Forsyth Barr Stadium at UniversityPlaza. Carisbrook, an arena that has been thegraveyard of many a visiting team in the past, isbeing set aside and the city will become home tothe country’s first fully-roofed stadium.

The new stadia will be vital as approximately85,000 fans are expected for the tournament, withAnderson predicting huge numbers travelling fromthe UK.

“New Zealand will see 85,000 visitors come fromacross all markets,” he added. “We are expecting32,000-33,000 from across Europe, with the vastmajority from the UK.

“This will provide a huge injection for the visitorindustry and we will get coverage and publicity thatwe have not seen on a global scale since the Lord of the Rings films and the last British and IrishLions rugby tour (in 2005).”

New Zealand’s hosting of the 2005 Lions tour hasprovided the country with vital experience inarranging match schedules and the movement offans across the north and south islands.

One major trend to emerge from the Lions tour in2005 has been the use of cruise ships as anaccommodation option.

“There will be a number of cruise ships based inNew Zealand – and for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals you will see cruise ships inAuckland, Wellington and Christchurch,” Anderson said.

Another popular development is Auckland’s ‘partycentral’ area where both international visitors andlocals will be able to watch games together.

So while there will be parties off the pitch, all it nowtakes is for the All Blacks to have a party on it andwin the 2011 Rugby World Cup final on October 23at Eden Park. I would not advise anyone to betagainst them – but don’t say that to fans of theWallabies, Springboks or European nations...

www.worldsportdestinationexpo.com


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Nathan Wilson, MD of Thomson Sportmeets with Paulo Senise, ExecutiveDirector of Rio C&VB and Tony Princeat WSDE 2010






After last year’s annus horribilus, nations acrossthe region have dusted themselves down andare reporting resurgent growth in 2010.

Improved air lift and a brighter global economicoutlook have led to consumers spending on travelonce again. According to the Caribbean TourismOrganisation, aggregate tourist arrivals in the firsthalf of the year rose 4.5 percent. Average roomrates were up over 7 percent in the first quarter of2010, whilst REVpar (revenue per available room)rose by over 6 percent.

Leading the charge are the British Virgin Islands,Martinique, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia, which allregistered double digit growth over the period.

Jamaica too is firmly on the rebound, despite ablip caused by the civil unrest in May. Tourismarrivals for the first half of 2010 are 7.3 percenthigher year-on-year, which includes the islandbreaking the 200,000 barrier for the month ofMarch.

The country has engineered a swiftly timedcampaign to stamp out the negative publicity

generated by the West Kingston uprising, which atone stage was feared would cost $300 million inlost foreign exchange revenue.

So in June, just as the dust began to settle,Jamaica’s Minister for Tourism Edmund Bartlettannounced a US$10 million marketing campaign,targeting the key markets of United States,Canada and United Kingdom, as well as emergingdestinations in South America and Europe. Andearly indications show that this is already bearingfruit. In July, tourist arrivals had recovered to190,000 visitor arrivals recorded in July 2009.

Airlift has also played a critical role in Jamaica’sresilience, particularly as the island is the mostconnected destination in the Caribbean, and thegateway to the region. West Jet has announcedeight more flights to the island for winter, whilstJetBlue is planning a series of new services.

Jamaica’s northerly neighbour, Cuba, is raising itstourism product and many industry observersbelieve that when it fully opens up, it will blossominto the jewel in the crown of Caribbean tourism.

A large hotel construction programme is alreadyunderway, and will include a number of golfcourses. According to Statistics National Office,Cuba received 2.5 million visitors in 2009, a 3.5percent increase over 2008.

According to the WTTC, real GDP growth ofCuba’s travel and tourism economy is expectedto be 2 percent in 2010, rising to an average 5percent per annum over the coming 10 years.

On a sector level, cruise tourism is provingparticularly resilient. Cruise visitor arrivals to theregion increased 4.5 percent, led by theoverwhelming popularity of Oasis of the Seas. InMarch, the 225,000-tonne vessel became thefirst to break the 6,000-passenger threshold,and in doing so broke the world record for themost passengers ever carried by a cruise ship. Itbroke the world record another two times withinthe next month.

Further cruise increases are to be expected withadvance booking reported to be very promisingas the cruise lines strive to satisfy theirincreased capacity.

In an age when flat is the new black, the Caribbean is pullingoff something of a tourism miracle.

FOCUS ON

The Americas

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North America

In North America, the US is firmly back in thedriving seat as the world’s largest tourismeconomy. As people tend to travel closer tohome in times of austerity, domestic tourism hasproven the country’s great stabilizer.

Inbound tourism to the States is also on the rise,but it’s not who you might think. The UK hastraditionally been the country with the largestnumber of inbound passengers to the UnitedStates, outside of North America. It still is. Butrecent trends have highlighted some new sourcemarkets rising rapidly up the rankings.

Turkey accounted for the most significantchange, rising from 28th to 14th on the list, inpart due to a recent strengthening of the Turkishlira against the US dollar. Another country thathas made notable gains was Russia: leaping from12th to 7th place this month.

Most surprising was the dramatic drop-off ininbound travel from China, which slipped from8th to 22nd. This decrease in popularity might bedue to increased internal tourism in the Asiangiant or to a growth in travel from the Far East toother regions in the world, boosted by the ever-increasing airfare deals to Europe.

Within the States, New York City is on track tohost a record number of visitors in 2010. Cityofficials said preliminary tourism data show theBig Apple is on course to reach a record 47.5million this year, a four percent increase over2009, when tourism numbers slipped for thefirst time since 2001.

South of the border, Mexico is steadily shruggingoff the devastation caused to its tourismindustry by the swine flu panic. Internationalarrivals in the first half of this year stand 7.3percent higher than last, according to the federaltourism ministry.

Since the end of the pandemic, tourismauthorities have launched a global campaign tore-engerise the sector. This included the hostingof the World Travel Awards North & CentralAmerica Ceremony last September in Yucatan,which attracted the leading lights from acrossthe region.

South America

The mood within South America’s tourismindustry is remarkably buoyant, with only Africaweathering the economic storm better on acontinental level.

Brazil in particular is riding the crest of a sporttourism wave in the build up to the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup and 2016 Olympics, and it has nowclimbed into the top ten of biggest tourismeconomies in the world.

Both sporting mega-events will boost thenational profile of the country, with Brazilseeking to maximise the long-term benefit ofhosting moving toward 2020.

Embratur President, Jeanine Pires, hopes to seea 113 per cent increase in the number ofinternational visitors over the period, raisingforeign currency earnings by 304 per cent.

The Brazilian magic is also rubbing off on therest of the continent, with the likes of Bolivia andGuatemala using travel and tourism as a meansof escaping poverty.

In Peru, the closure of Machu Picchu for twomonths due to flooding resulted in an estimated$185 million in loss of revenue, according toPeru’s Tourism Minister Martin Perez. But nowthe country is firing on cylinders once againfollowing the reopening of its prized asset in April.


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Visit our VIP Lounge at WTM, South Gallery Level 2, Suite 33

Staying connected with travellers on the move has become one ofthe industry’s key objectives as the mobile web goes mass market.As mobile web becomes key to the marketing mix, Nick Salter fromWorld Mobi outlines the key elements for developing a solid strategy.

Why you must havea mobile strategy inplace for 2011…

Over the past 15 years most businesses haveswitched their marketing budgets from paperbased brochures to desktop websites. The moveto mobile is now set to become the biggest shift inthe way information is accessed since the Internetrevolution commenced.

The rapid growth in web-enabled mobile phoneownership means that mobile search will soonbecome the primary way in which we accessinformation on the Internet. Desktop search willremain important, but the majority of searches willbe performed by users-on-the-go via a mobiledevice.

There are nearly five times as many mobiledevices as there are desktop and laptop PC’s andby 2011 around 85% of these will be able to accessthe mobile web.

So, you’ve recognised that sooner or later you aregoing to have to develop a mobile web strategy.How then, should you go about it?

1 Start by taking a look at your own desktopwebsite on a mobile phone. How long does ittake to load? How easy is it to navigate? Howquickly can you find the information you need?What does the user experience say about yourbrand?

2 Don’t assume that because your website looksOK on one make of phone it’ll be fine on alltypes. Check the iPhone, iPad, Nokia, Android,Blackberry…and the latest Windows Phone. Youneed the site to look good and work smoothlyacross all types of mobile device.

3 Don’t spend all your money on flashy iPhoneapps. You’ll look great to the small percentageof iPhone users but you’ll be excluding all theother handset users. Of course you could alsobuild apps for all the other platforms…but thatcould get expensive and complex to maintain.Find out how you can leverage the mobile webacross every device.

4 A mobile web site is not just a smaller versionof your desktop site. Too many pictures andyour site will take forever to load. And touchscreen mobiles are navigated in a very differentway to mouse driven PC’s. Think of the userexperience and what sort of information a user-on-the-go might need to get quickly.

5 Remember the mobile is also acommunications tool. Leverage its power byadding in functionality - such as click to call - sousers can jump seamlessly from reading aboutyou on your mobile site to talking to you on thephone.

6 Build your site with users-on-the–go in mind.Ensure you have content on your mobile sitethat will attract visitors after they’ve arrived,not just at the trip planning stage. Stickycontent that is useful to the traveller on themove means your brand stays front-of-mind forlonger.

7 Ensure you have a strategy that works acrossboth desktop and mobile channels. Do youwant to update them separately or together?Do you have a content management solutionthat you can adapt in house or do you need apartner that can do all the updating for you?

8 Don’t do nothing. Your future customers arealready searching out your brand on theirmobile phones whether you like it or not andthey’re making judgements based on what theyfind. Don’t give them the opportunity to searchout a more mobile-friendly option. Make surethey’re getting an experience that’ll keep themcoming back.

World Mobi are the leaders in travel and tourismmobile strategy and mobile web development. Formore information, email [email protected].

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Travel Weekly 2010 Edition - Day 1

Documents

world travel awards

travel tourismworldwide

best travel

rewardthose travel

number of awards

page 2tw2010

page 3tw2010

page 4tw2010