Zoom, zoom, zoom used to make us think of a car commercial. Now it conjures up flickering images of friends and co-workers squirreled away in basements with Ikea bookcases or tropical beach backgrounds. The world has discovered that it can do a lot of things over the Internet. I’ve taken to depositing my checks/cheques by taking a picture with my phone. Lawyers are taking depositions by GoToMeetings. Teenagers who can’t go to the mall (horrors) are flooding Amazon with purchases. So, what does that mean for business travel? A lot, in my opinion. I’m a guy who practically lives for Read more
May 2020
It’s probably fair to say that no single city in the world has taken a bigger hit from COVID-19 than New York. But this is one of the greatest cities on the planet (and toughest), and they’ve laid out a plan to pull themselves out of it with a newly-unveiled group called The Coalition for NYC Hospitality & Tourism Recovery. I also have news about the re-instatement of flights around the world by Emirates, American Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airways and others. I also have an update on how Los Cabos, Mexico plans to open for tourism on June 1. Read more
It’s been somewhat positive in the travel industry the past couple days. Not so much this morning, however. One of the world’s largest tour companies, Globus, says their Globus, Cosmos and Monograms tours are suspended through the end of August, as are their Avalon Waterways cruises. They’re hopeful of starting up again in September but it’s another blow to the travel and tourism industry. The head of Boeing, meanwhile, is warning that things won’t get better any time for airlines. I also have an update on Disney World, which appears to be accepting hotel reservations in July. So there is Read more
A month or two ago, when all this crazy coronavirus stuff hit the fan, I suggested that 2020 may be The Summer of Canada given our reluctance (and, for now, inability) to travel anywhere else over the next few months, and given the low Canadian dollar and the damage COVID-19 has done to our collective pocketbooks. I’m taking another look at the issue today given a Conference Board of Canada study I spotted the other day (and one I referenced on the weekend during my live interview on CTV News). Today’s Future of Travel Blog also looks at a new Read more
I wrote yesterday about how Air Canada Vacations and Lufthansa both are moving forward with new flights. Now I see Southwest Air in the U.S. is doing the same, and that Disney is looking at how it will re-open Walt Disney World with new social distancing measures. I think we can safely say that we’re moving into the early stages of recovery for the travel and tourism business. The steps are small, but they’re happening across a spectrum of businesses. And that’s great to see. Disney Recovery Plans My friends at TravelPulse in the U.S. have a story in their Read more
