atm-blog

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018

Loving National Parks to Death?

Overtourism

Most of the focus on overtourism has been on cities, but it is also a challenge in rural areas. I am writing this at RTD14 which is ... Read more

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018

Must Have Web Technologies for 2019

Technology

This year at WTM London I will be running a Genesys Session called Must Have Web Technologies for 2019. I see travel as an information industry. When ... Read more

September 4, 2018

Tackling Overtourism

Overtourism

While there is little discussion of overtourism in the travel trade press and many destinations are in denial, the issue is hot in the national and local ... Read more

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018

The trends driving car rental

Summer 2018 Magazine

Changing consumer habits and technological advances are driving the car hire market into the digital age. Jenny Southan reports. At the end of last year I spent ... Read more

August 21, 2018August 21, 2018

Making Tourism Better

Overtourism

Jost Krippendorf is the father of Responsible Tourism. In his seminal work on Holiday Makers, published in 1987, he foresaw the growth of the new form of ... Read more

August 17, 2018August 17, 2018

Information Banks – A Vision of the Future

Technology

Catalysed by the recent hive of activity surrounding General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a few strands of thought from the past and present have come together in ... Read more

August 15, 2018August 18, 2020

Neglect your blog and social and suffer the consequences

Blog, Blogging, marketing, Social Media

For the life of me, I fail to understand why a travel and tourism site starts a blog or a social media channel if it can’t maintain ... Read more

August 14, 2018

Is helping people find a better work life balance part of responsible tourism?

RT Marketing

What difference does tourism make to our daily lives? We create memories and enable people to rest and unwind. These are important things, but of themselves, all ... Read more

August 13, 2018August 14, 2020

Women lead a new breed of entrepreneurship focussed travel tours.

Blog, Diversity & Inclusion, Women in Travel

The fact that travel is becoming increasingly mindful for travellers in search of their meaning is well documented and explains the rise of social impact businesses that ... Read more

August 10, 2018August 10, 2018

Drum Roll Please

Blog

Guest Blog by Nick Pilbeam, Divisional Director, Reed Exhibitions I recently spent the day heading up the judging panel for the brand new International Travel & Tourism ... Read more

August 7, 2018August 20, 2018

Managing Overtourism

Overtourism

The overtourism issue has a great deal in common with the issue of climate change. We’ve known for a long time that the problem of overcrowding exists ... Read more

August 2, 2018August 18, 2020

Beyond the content: Investing in your blogging business

Blog, Blogging, marketing

When working with bloggers on campaigns and projects (for Traverse) I often find myself hopping from blog to blog just to find contact details, Instagram or Twitter ... Read more

August 1, 2018August 10, 2018

Would you go on holiday in a minefield?

Carbon & Water, Responsible Tourism

So this is how it begins. I was three years old in the UK’s last long hot summer. Too young to remember it directly, instead the parched ... Read more

July 25, 2018August 20, 2018

Dundee’s designs on grandeur

Summer 2018 Magazine

It took until 2018 for Dundee to even think about promoting itself, with VisitDundee being set up in preparation for the opening of the V&A in the ... Read more

July 24, 2018July 25, 2018

Leaders in Responsible Tourism

Development

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the progress TUI is making in implementing their 2015-2020 Better Holidays, Better World strategy. They have understood that, to ... Read more

July 20, 2018August 20, 2018

Swiss are in it for the long-haul

Summer 2018 Magazine

Last year the Swiss tourism industry experienced a record-breaking year in many markets, after a challenging period dominated by a strong Swiss franc and over-reliance on travellers ... Read more

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018

Getting the Message

Technology

The news that Etihad passengers will be able to communicate with the airline via WhatsApp got me thinking about my own messaging apps. I use quite a ... Read more

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018

Solo Travel is the New Luxury: What This Means for Travel Brands

Luxury

“The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau Combining adventure ... Read more

July 19, 2018July 19, 2018

The rise of social businesses in travel – Vicky Smith‘s Earth Changers

Women in Travel

For my latest blog, I am delighted to interview the passionate founder of Earth Changers, Vicky Smith. Like me, Vicky is passionate about empowering women through sustainable ... Read more

July 10, 2018July 10, 2018

TUI leads the way in reporting progress on sustainability

Carbon & Water, Certification, Responsible Tourism, Social Economy

The TUI Group operates in 180 destinations, employs 67,000 people in more than 100 countries and provides holiday services to around 20m people. In size, they are ... Read more

July 5, 2018August 3, 2018

Coping with Success aka Overtourism

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism

Yesterday activist travel company Responsible Travel launched Crowded Out, a documentary about the growth of overtourism which is a consequence of exponential growth in travel and tourism ... Read more

July 4, 2018July 5, 2018

In the future, tourism should look more like this Climate Positive Swedish burger

Carbon & Water, Food Tourism, Responsible Tourism

A couple of weeks ago the Swedish burger chain MAX Burgers announced that all its burgers are now climate positive. From June 14, 2018, any meal eaten ... Read more

June 29, 2018August 18, 2020

Are we getting tired of social media?

Blog, marketing, Social Media

The scandal around the use of data harvested on Facebook has caused many people to reassess their use of the social networking site and saw the rise ... Read more

June 27, 2018August 20, 2018

USA takes to the silver screen

Summer 2018 Magazine

Brand USA is thinking big in its marketing approach – big screen that is. Peter Ellegard speaks to chief marketing officer Tom Garzilli America has taken to ... Read more

June 26, 2018

The Good and the Bad of employment in the tourism & hospitality industry

Blog, Disability, Human Rights

Tourism and the hospitality industry are often criticised for creating local quality service employment. There are three major reasons for this. People tend to waiters and room ... Read more

June 25, 2018June 25, 2018

How the Travel Industry Provides the Luxury of Sleep

Luxury

The past decade has taught us that luxury is subjective. Luxury no longer has defined and exact standards like chandeliers and butlers. But we can all agree ... Read more

June 22, 2018July 3, 2018

Is airline loyalty living in the dark ages?

Aviation, Technology

After writing my blog last month about customer relationship management moving on, I have to ask the question: “Are airline loyalty schemes still living in the dark ... Read more

June 20, 2018August 20, 2018

Egyptian tourism turns the tide

Summer 2018 Magazine

Egypt is working hard to recoup visitor numbers lost due to the continued ban on flights to Sharm el Sheikh airport, reports Katherine Lawrey The Egyptian State ... Read more

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018

Help your favourite hotel or tour company win a World Responsible Tourism Award

Blog, Responsible Tourism, RT Marketing

Have you been on holiday recently and been amazed at what your hotel was doing for the local community, or perhaps taken a tour that really impressed ... Read more

June 19, 2018

The Airline Industry is never boring!

Aviation

Halfway into 2018 and the list of things going on in the airline business just grows. All of which will make for some lively discussion at this ... Read more

June 12, 2018

Nominate Responsible Tourism Leaders & consider applying

Blog, Responsible Tourism

The judges can only select from amongst those that apply – if you know good candidates nominate them, phone or email them, and encourage them to apply. ... Read more

June 11, 2018August 20, 2018

Taking off with confidence

Aviation, Summer 2018 Magazine

Denmark’s Primera Air is spreading its wings with budget transatlantic flights, as chief commercial officer Anastasija Visnakova tells Gary Noakes Look – no pizza colours, no ads,” ... Read more

June 8, 2018August 20, 2018

Transparency leads to trust

Summer 2018 Magazine, Technology

The EU’s new data protection rules, known as GDPR, are now in place and could have a global impact on the travel industry, Rob Gill reports. During ... Read more

June 7, 2018August 20, 2018

Putting world food on the travel menu

Food Tourism, Summer 2018 Magazine

Once an afterthought to a holiday, food is now central to the experience and tourist boards are realising this, Charlotte Cullinan finds. Food tourism is booming, and ... Read more

June 5, 2018June 6, 2018

How Hotels, Tours Companies, Events and Destinations are eliminating plastic

Blog, Development

Today is World Environment Day, and the theme is Beat Plastic Pollution. We’ve looked at this issue before, but so rapidly are the responses emerging, that it ... Read more

June 1, 2018

Trends in Luxury Travel for 2018 and Beyond

Luxury

We’re mid-way into 2018 and we can see main luxury travel trends like authentic experiences and travellers going to colder destinations happening. Unique experiences can be quite ... Read more

May 30, 2018May 30, 2018

World Responsible Tourism Awards 2018: Leaders in Responsible Tourism

Blog, RT Marketing

The World Responsible Tourism Awards to be presented at WTM London in November are now open for nominations and applications. They close on 6th August and are ... Read more

May 24, 2018July 3, 2018

CRM is moving on

Technology

A week or so ago I saw a demonstration of one of the better CRM systems, specifically designed for travel companies. What impressed me is how sophisticated customer ... Read more

May 22, 2018

With funding for app secured, Refill my bottle now ready for international expansion

Carbon & Water

Like most of the best ideas, the Refill my Bottle initiative is incredibly simple. So simple that you’ve probably guessed most of what it is about from ... Read more

May 15, 2018May 17, 2018

Orphanages: Campaigning for Responsibility in Tourism

Blog, Human Rights

Responsible Tourism is about taking responsibility to address the issues that matter whether in a particular place or one that occurs in many areas. This year in ... Read more

May 8, 2018May 9, 2018

Banish Bucket Lists. Go back to the place you love most

Blog, Overtourism

I come here at this time every year. I have been coming here now, every year, at the same time, for 10 years. And I intend to ... Read more

May 2, 2018August 18, 2020

Blog rebranding, is it time for a drastic change?

Blog, Blogging, marketing

You’re woken in the middle of the night with a cold gust of wind on your feet and a loud rhythmical chu-chug as the train runs over ... Read more

May 1, 2018

Taking responsibility for sustainability is now a business imperative

Development, RT Marketing

Recent research published by TUI clearly shows that consumers expect the industry to take responsibility for ensuring that their product is sustainable. Research by booking.com found that ... Read more

May 1, 2018May 1, 2018

All you need to know about tourism in Russia

Destinations

Russia has a great offering of tourism, and after reading this blog you will get the complete picture of the Russian travel market and what it has ... Read more

April 25, 2018August 20, 2018

Visitors return to Turkish shores

Spring 2018 Magazine

Turkey’s had a rough ride in the past couple of years, but the omens are good for 2018. Gavin Haines tracks the return of key markets After ... Read more

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018

#ATMDubai25 – The Final Day!

Blog

It may have been the fourth and final day of #ATMDubai25 but that didn’t mean things slowed down at all. The halls were once again a hive ... Read more

April 24, 2018April 30, 2018

How Tourism can rapidly eliminate single use plastics – Earth Day inspiration from around the world

Carbon & Water, Development, RT Marketing

For a somewhat obsessive follower of tourism industry news like me, the spike in press releases that mark the annual Earth Day celebrations provide a quick reference ... Read more

April 24, 2018April 24, 2018

#ATMDubai25 Day Three – What did you miss?

Blog

It was business as usual on day three at #ATMDubai, with travel professionals from around the world once again filling the halls at the 25th edition of ... Read more

April 23, 2018April 23, 2018

#ATMDubai25 Day Two – Making things happen!

Blog

Day two of #ATMDubai25 was once again all about making things happen. With a buzzing show floor that continued to connect travel professionals and communities from around ... Read more

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018

#ATMDubai 2018 Day One – The Highlights!

Blog

At midday today the 25th edition of Arabian Travel Market, the leading global event for the Middle East, got underway! Inbound and outbound tourism professionals filled the ... Read more

April 20, 2018August 20, 2018

Big interview: Setting responsible travel standards

Overtourism, Responsible Tourism, Spring 2018 Magazine

G Adventures has helped push sustainable tourism to the top of the world travel agenda. Katherine Lawrey speaks to founder Bruce Poon Tip about how the company ... Read more

April 19, 2018

Middle East Carriers and Luxury: A Battle of Indulgence

Luxury

Let’s all do a little time-travelling and look back in the mid-90’s to early 2000’s. This was a time in commercial travel where in general, airlines’ business ... Read more

April 18, 2018

Four question with VILA VITA

Blog

1. What are you looking to promote at ATM this year? After extensive refurbishment of all 194 rooms in our luxurious hotel in Marburg, Germany we are ... Read more

April 18, 2018August 20, 2018

Bahamas – doors open at Baha Mar

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine

After financial difficulties impeded the opening of Baha Mar in the Bahamas, the development is finally welcoming guests. Andrew Doherty reports Following more than two years ... Read more

April 17, 2018April 30, 2018

Responsible Tourism moves centre stage

Responsible Tourism

TUI recently published survey results on UK consumer demand. 62% of UK holidaymakers agree it makes them feel better when they know their holiday was organised with ... Read more

April 16, 2018August 20, 2018

A golden year for Mauritius

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine

Celebrations around the island, new aircraft for Air Mauritius and hotel refurbishments mark an anniversary year, finds Katherine Lawrey This year will be a special one ... Read more

April 13, 2018

Wellness at The Begnas Lake Resort & Villas

Destinations, Wellness

According to ancient Hindu beliefs, Ayurveda was gifted to mankind by Lord Brahma (Creator of the Universe) to help us lead a healthy and fruitful life free ... Read more

April 13, 2018

Wellness and Medical Haven in India

Destinations, Wellness

SOUKYA International Holistic Health Centre, is the first healing centre of its kind in the world where it judiciously combines different traditional systems of medicine including Ayurveda, ... Read more

April 12, 2018May 10, 2018

Smart Tourism 2020

Technology

One of the seminar sessions I am running at this year’s Arabian Travel Market is called Smart Tourism 2020. I do work within both the tourism and ... Read more

April 11, 2018May 10, 2018

Artificial intelligence: to infinity and beyond

Spring 2018 Magazine, Technology

Artificial intelligence has the potential to be as transformative as the introduction of computers – and the travel industry stands to benefit. Jenny Southan explains Over the ... Read more

April 10, 2018April 25, 2018

Is Day Zero becoming the new normal, and not just in Cape Town?

Carbon & Water, Destinations, Development

This month, Cape Town may or may not reach Day Zero, signifying the point at which the city runs out of water. According to an April 9th ... Read more

April 9, 2018April 11, 2018

Responsible relaxation in Central America

Responsible Tourism, Spring 2018 Magazine, Wellness

Wellness and sustainable travel are top of the agenda for Central America tourism boards, writes Katherine Lawrey Costa Rica is promoting a new tourism strategy for 2018 ... Read more

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018

A vigorous future for tourism in Dubai

Hospitality

As the tourism and hospitality sectors in the GCC mature, Dubai’s hotel supply continues to grow from 105,000 keys to 130,000 keys in the next year or ... Read more

April 6, 2018

Prepare to be impressed by Dubai

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine

Dubai continues to break the mould with its attractions and hotels. Tom Jordan rounds up new headline acts in the emirate and elsewhere As Dubai Expo 2020 ... Read more

April 4, 2018May 10, 2018

Comparing the Middle East travel market to other regions

Technology, Trends

Phocuswright has been tracking the size and growth of total and online travel markets for over two decades. In 2017, we sized the total market globally at ... Read more

March 28, 2018July 5, 2021

The reasons driving a boom in Sri Lanka’s tourism

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is prospering, fuelled by a diversification of its visitor markets. Dave Richardson explains Nearly a decade on from the end of its civil ... Read more

March 26, 2018April 3, 2018

Healthy outlook for wellness tourism

Spring 2018 Magazine, Trends, Wellness

A new report by the Global Wellness Institute sheds light on the spa trends of the future. Charlotte Cullinan asks the experts how these will change the ... Read more

March 23, 2018April 3, 2018

Q&A with the Oman Ministry of Tourism

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine

Maitha Al Mahrouqi, undersecretary for the Oman Ministry of Tourism, shares the country’s tourism strategy Oman’s goal by 2040 is to attract 11.7 million annual visitors. How ... Read more

March 21, 2018May 10, 2018

Millennials, mobile fuel soaring online bookings in Middle East

Destinations, Technology, Trends

The Middle East’s relatively young population (38% below 20 years old and 27% millennials) and high Internet penetration (74%) are helping to driving double-digit growth in the ... Read more

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018

Making a Difference with Every Holiday

RT Marketing

Thomas Cook has just launched a new three-year sustainability strategy, promising to “Make a Difference with Every Holiday”. Their ambition is to make a positive contribution to ... Read more

March 20, 2018April 3, 2018

Cold is the new hot

Luxury, Spring 2018 Magazine

Virtuoso, a luxury consortium with a keen eye on global trends, gives the lowdown on the luxury market to Charlotte Cullinan Luxury travellers will be heading to ... Read more

March 19, 2018

Why is there a luxury hotel boom in the Middle East?

Luxury

As travellers enjoy the benefits of shared economy business models in companies like Airbnb and Uber, I cannot help but think that the theory of negative correlation ... Read more

March 15, 2018May 10, 2018

Losing your voice

Technology

I have been doing some research for a presentation I will be giving next month. I am going to be talking about our future customers – Generation ... Read more

March 14, 2018April 3, 2018

Benefits of tourism grant programme spread throughout England

Destinations, Economy, Spring 2018 Magazine

A £40 million Discover England fund has been distributed to ensure England stays competitive in the global tourism industry. Debbie Ward finds out what the grant recipients ... Read more

March 13, 2018March 13, 2018

How to engage tourists in sustainable tourism (Part 2): redesign the loyalty scheme

Carbon & Water, Development, Hospitality, RT Marketing, Social Economy

Last week, I spent a night in a hotel in Brussels that has taken a circular economy approach to redesigning the way its loyalty scheme works. Following ... Read more

March 9, 2018April 3, 2018

Cape Town’s Big Five tourism trends

Destinations, Responsible Tourism, Spring 2018 Magazine, Trends

Here are five ways that Cape Town, host city of WTM Africa, is at the forefront of tourism trends, writes Katherine Lawrey. 1. Investment in Halal training ... Read more

March 7, 2018May 10, 2018

City break innovations in a Balearic capital

Destinations, Spring 2018 Magazine, Technology

Now that Palma de Mallorca has reinvented itself as a city break destination, Katherine Lawrey finds out how the city is refining the visitor experience. Encouraging visitors ... Read more

March 6, 2018

Travelling to encounter the other

Blog, Development, Social Economy

Fifty years ago my father took me for a day trip to Boulogne, just across the channel from Ramsgate. He headed us straight for the back streets ... Read more

February 27, 2018

How to engage tourists in sustainable tourism – make them feel proud to come

RT Marketing

What connects most of the recent high profile campaigns to make tourism more responsible? Stop riding elephants. Don’t swim with dolphins. Avoid handicrafts made from endangered species. ... Read more

February 22, 2018March 2, 2018

How can travel brands appeal more to the Millennials of the Middle East?

Luxury

If there’s any consumer market that’s been studied the most the in last five years, it would be Generation Y, more popularly known as the Millennials. Millennials, ... Read more

February 20, 2018

Orphanages: Slavery and Birthday Parties

Human Rights

There is mounting concern about orphanages and tourism around the world, but the response has been patchy. Our world is a diverse place and our understanding of ... Read more

February 13, 2018

To deal with the climate costs of flying, we need to talk about growth and carbon offsetting

Carbon & Water

Last week Harold Goodwin’s blog laid out his reasons why the aviation industry’s approach to addressing its ongoing growth in emissions is inadequate. This week, I want ... Read more

February 12, 2018May 10, 2018

Grow your market worldwide – achieve competitive advantage as a Travel Agency

Technology

The Travel Industry has come a long way and is continuously developing. This includes both supply and demand. Latest trends shown in The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness ... Read more

February 8, 2018May 10, 2018

Digital travel is travel and how the Middle East stacks up

Technology, Trends

Phocuswright has been tracking the shift of global travel bookings from offline to digital for over 20 years. Today, while only about half of travel is booked ... Read more

February 6, 2018

Aviation: Business as usual? Is that acceptable?

Carbon & Water

Globally aviation emits around 2% of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, bring its total emissions to around 5% of the global total; if aviation were a country ... Read more

February 1, 2018

Why there’s never been a better time to sell cruise

Trends

This year will see a record 27.2 million passengers take a cruise and more than 27 new ocean, river and specialty ships make their debut, the latest ... Read more

January 31, 2018

£22 for a sunlounger? Is no part of our holiday sacred?

Responsible Tourism

Thomas Cook is making the news this week for a new programme it is trialing to enable guests to pre-book sunloungers before they come on holiday. From ... Read more

January 25, 2018May 10, 2018

Smart Tourism

Technology

I will be running a new seminar at this year’s Arabian Travel Market. I am calling it Smart Tourism. The ‘smart’ concept has reached almost everything around ... Read more

January 23, 2018January 31, 2018

What is the biggest threat to our global environment?

Carbon & Water

It is a kind of pollution. There are of course several contenders. Carbon emissions and consequent global warming, soil degradation, overpopulation, biodiversity and plastics. It is not ... Read more

January 22, 2018January 23, 2018

5 minutes with Vincent Miccolis, Regional General Manager of The Ascott Limited

Hospitality

What are you looking to promote at ATM this year? This is an exciting year for The Ascott Limited as we expand our global footprint and set ... Read more