This is one of a series of blog posts on the FUTURE OF TRAVEL in this wild time of COVID-19. Today I look at several aspects of the hotel industry. Virtually everyone in the travel business worth talking to has conceded that business as usual won’t work in this new age of the coronavirus. Cruise ships are stepping up their game, airlines are mandating masks on board for passengers, and hotels are making adjustments of their own. Last week, Marriott got things started by announcing a major cleanliness program that they hope will make would-be customers feel more confident in Read more

There’s some encouraging news from destination marketing groups on the effects of COVID-19. But also some disturbing trends surrounding business travel and sports. I’ve got some thoughts and links to published stories on all three of those topics today on my FUTURE OF TRAVEL blog. First, I’ll offer the encouraging news. A report by my friends at TravelPulse in the U.S. finds that destination marketing folks are feeling more optimistic these days. Reporter Claudette Covey wrote that the fourth wave of a survey conducted by MMGY Travel Intelligence and Destinations International Foundation “found that increasing numbers of destination organizations are Read more

This is another installment in my THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL blog series. Today I’m focussing on Aeroplan, probably Canada’s most popular travel rewards plan. Like many companies, they’re updating policies and extending deadlines to accommodate folks who’ve been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes are definitely helpful for consumers. I also have the latest update on what U.S. travellers are thinking about future travel plans. Aeroplan officials sent this statement out today (April 28, 2020): “We are extending two earlier changes we made to the Aeroplan program: Full flexibility for cancelling flight rewards We’re extending our flexible policy for Read more

THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL This is a continuation of my Future of Travel blog series. Few areas of the travel industry have taken a bigger public relations hit than cruising. But there may be some surprising signs of strength. Here’s a story published the other day on the U.S. TravelWeekly website. TravelWeekly is part of the Northstar Travel Group, as is TravelPulse Canada, where I serve as senior editorial director. The media’s coverage of ships with Covid-19 outbreaks has left cruising arguably the hardest hit of any travel product. It was the first industry to shut down completely, and its Read more

What’s on the horizon for cruise lines. The importance of travel insurance. And perhaps an end to over-tourism. I listened in on a pair of travel webinars on Thursday, trying to glean some words of wisdom from people smarter than I am. I came away with some pretty interesting observations for my now regular FUTURE OF TRAVEL blog series. The second webinar of the day was put on by my friends at TravMedia (full disclosure, I’m on the advisory board for their IMM USA yearly event) and featured a number of top names, including Los Angeles Times Travel Editor Catharine Read more

This is the second in an ongoing series of posts on the FUTURE OF TRAVEL. I listened in on a couple of very good webinars, but I want to instead today talk about a great study that really hits the Canadian market. Abacus Data, which has offices in Toronto and Ottawa, did a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians the other day and came away with some very interesting stats that should be encouraging for folks in Canadian tourism. The study, conducted April 2 to 7, posited the following question: “Assuming travel restrictions are lifted at the end of June, Read more