Consumer Trends for 2010

A Mintel report predicts a new set of trends for 2010 with consumers balancing their spending plans for 2010. The research company forecasts that “resilience” will define consumer behaviour, as people’s strengthened resolve and changed behaviours shape new lifestyles due to their experience of recession in 2009.

Balanced consumption has replaced conspicuous consumption.

1. Resilience

Mintel expects consumers to demonstrate resilience—an ability to recover from and adjust to any misfortune or change brought on by the recession.

People will face next year with better attitudes and strengthened resolve, learning new skills, looking to online educational tools to develop professional and social skills.

Businesses that harness consumers’ new resilient, education-driven mentality will benefit next year.

2. Reviewing and re-evaluating

The past year gave consumers cause to re-evaluate every aspect of their lives, looking for value and savings and in 2010, expect shoppers to keep reviewing as they hunt out the best deals and realise where they can get by on less.

Value initiatives are important and they’ll remain so. However, consumers will purchase more expensive products if they are convinced of the products’ value.

Brands that engage consumers effectively stand to be successful next year despite price barriers.

3. Prove it – accountability

Because consumer confidence worldwide took a hit this year, 2010 will see increased demand for proof and results.

People are tracking more areas of their lives through online forums, comparison sites and micro-blogging sites, so transparency is no longer a differentiator for brands; it is a requirement.

We’ve become a society of doubters, sceptical of nutrition claims, the motives of “green” companies, and the competitiveness of bank rates.

A company’s need for accountability is nothing new, but the quantity of information available today adds to the challenge.

4. Escapism

The past year has meant a huge amount of economising and scaling back on previously normal treats and experiences.

While consumers have become accustomed to ‘staycations’, small indulgences and cooking at home, Mintel predicts they’ll start occasionally breaking free from the “tyranny of value” in 2010.

Escapism will resonate both in and outside the home as consumers splurge on big purchases.

Savvy brands are already capitalising on people’s desire to escape by offering new experiences like 3-D media and audio literature.

5. Media evolution

Micro-blogging, social networking and interactive media have exploded into consumers’ lives, and as confidence in usage grows, people will incorporate new media forms more into their daily lives.

Nine in 10 adults in the UK have a computer in their home and in the US, four in 10 Americans have at least one social networking profile.

As people use new media to change and simplify daily tasks, they’ll question the nature of authority and effective use of advertising.

Companies must work harder next year to truly engage, attract and interact with consumers, as media quickly evolves.

6. Ethical responsibility

In 2010, it’ll be even more important to coax consumers out of their spending slumber and wean retailers off perpetual discounting.

Ethics will play a large part in rebuilding brands. Environmental and ethical issues still attract attention: nearly half of UK adults view them as important and 90% of Americans buy green products at least sometimes.

For businesses to rebuild brands through ethical efforts, they’ll need to connect with consumers, giving them an emotional reason to buy. As consumers demand more from the companies they do business with, they’ll want ethical responsibility to be a chief concern, creating more scrutiny on ethical claims than ever before.

7. Stability

The past year left its mark: consumers are shying away from the spending binges of the past few decades and finding that moderation and preparation are possibilities.

Mintel predicts 2010 will be a year for increasingly seeking balance and readjusting to the “New Economy.”

As people accept the economy as it is now and embark on more balanced spending, they will also stabilise other areas of their lives: food, diet, beauty.

Brands can capitalise by giving consumers multiple product options at different price and benefit levels.


We are looking forward to the challenges already!!

Merry Christmas!

New Conference for the newest state

At the recent World Travel Market in London we had the pleasure of meeting Bujar Kuci, the Director of the Ministry of Trade & Industry for the Republic of Kosovo and we were impressed by his visions for the tourism future of Europe's newest state.

We now read that the American Tourism Society (ATS),is going to hold its Fall 2010 Conference in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, from October 25-27, 2010. This event will be the first-ever tourism conference to be held in the newborn country.

Phil Otterson, President of the ATS says “Kosovo is a perfect example of what ATS’s mission is about, assisting transformational destinations with tourism marketing skills, training through the onsite ATS tourism college program, and educating ATS members about the newest destinations."

Whilst not without its problems, there is much potential in Kosovo. In the same way as Serbia has repositioned itself after the war, there is much to be done but the rewards are numerous.

We send our best wishes to Kosovo and, by the way, if there's anything we can do to help....

The American Tourism Society (ATS) was established in 1989 by a group of US tourism industry executives to provide exclusive access, business networking, and promotion for transformational destinations. It is a nonprofit, nonpolitical travel industry organization whose membership includes experienced tour operators, destination tourist offices, hotels, airlines, and other travel industry professionals. Collectively, ATS members generate over US$5 billion in sales involving three million North American travelers. ATS holds an Annual Fall Conference and a Tourism College hosted by a different member destination each year

Green Circuit Green Light

There's a nice idea from Raj Gyawali of Socialtours.com in Nepal who has put together a consortium of Specialist TourOperators under the banner 'The Green Circuit'. His partners are are Socialtours.com in Nepal, Help Tourism in NorthEastern India, Grass Routes in Orissa, East India, The Blue Yonder in Kerala and Ecosphere in Spiti Valley, NorthernIndia. Each tour operator, is an expert in their respective region and specialise in deep rooted community based responsible tourism initiatives.

This is unusual in itself since these operators would normally be competing against each other to get business and here they are working in unison. Each tour operator is a committed expert in their chosen field and offer unique tourism product specific to local environmental and cultural conditions

With the GreenCircuit you have a unique collective of operators dedicated to ethical and sustainable tourism at a grassroots level. The accountability is much higher because they work in the very same communities they conduct their tours.

The GreenCircuit is an eco-tourism loop that circles the Indian subcontinent. Made up of individual tours with a definitive focus on natural and cultural heritage; each tour (handled on the ground through respective operators) links together to explore the subcontinent's astounding diversity.

There are many benefits here. A lot of theory on responsible tourism already exists, but actual documented accounts and practical tips from the grassroots is rare, at least as far as the Indian Sub-continent is concerned. While each operator will have indigenous solutions for their respective areas, there is always scope for different perspectives to shed light on common problems. Here there can be dialogue between operators traditionally isolated by geographic distance and a conscious decision to focus efforts on the field. It provides a perfect platform to share experiences, develop ideas and grow collectively.

The right way is the wrong way

An interesting piece from the USA where a right-wing think tank that is influential with the state of Utah's Republican-controlled Legislature wants to abolish the Utah Office of Tourism.

This recommendation comes from the conservative Sutherland Institute as the state faces an estimated $850 million budget shortfall and is a rebuke of the policies put in place by former Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman, a moderate who is now the U.S. ambassador to China, made developing and promoting tourism in the state one of his economic development priorities. He increased the tourism department's annual advertising budget from $900,000 (roughly Vail, Colo.'s summer ad budget) to about $10 million in 2005. He also pushed through liquor law reforms to make the state more appealing to tourists that the Sutherland Institute opposed, saying it compromised state values for the sake of making a dollar.

In a position paper the think tank is circulating to state lawmakers, the institute says the growth in tourism spending is a waste because air travel hasn't grown enough and visitation to state and national parks has declined from their peak in the late 1990s. The institute contends money could be better spent elsewhere.

"The point is, we're not getting a great return on our dollars that we're spending," Sutherland Institute Policy Manager Derek Monson said. He says he is unaware of the state's return on investment figures "When you think about it, the reason people come to Utah is because of the things there are to see here in Utah, not because the government spends a lot of money promoting tourism," Monson said, noting that he didn't have anything beyond anecdotes to base that on.

This is staggering stupidity. In fact, tourism travel and spending have reached record levels since the infusion of funding came in 2005. Visits increased from 17.5 million in 2004 to 20.4 million in 2008 as spending by tourists increased from $5.6 billion to $7.1 billion.

Tourism officials also note that state and local governments have received more than $12 in tax revenue for every $1 spent on advertising.

"The tourism industry is one of the few agencies in this state that is really making a buck to put back in the general fund to pay for those things," Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty said. "Now is absolutely not the time to scale back. ... This is a cash cow in Utah. Whether its skiing or hiking in Moab and St. George and our national parks, it makes a whole lot of sense to continue the support."

The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget estimates that tourism spending reduced the tax burden on each Utah household in 2008 by about $708.

This is narrow minded thinking that truely fails to appeciate the long-term economic development benefit that tourism can bring to regions, states or economies.

Tourism for Tomorrow

The World Traveland Tourism Council is looking for finalists for their 'The Tourism for Tomorrow' awards, aimed at recognizing best practice in sustainable tourism within the travel and tourism industry worldwide. Given the concern about natural and cultural resources, the awards provide the WTTC with the opportunity of promoting and partnering with the industry leaders in responsible tourism, highlighting the prime examples of best practice.

The awards are determined in 4 categories:

DESTINATION STEWARDSHIP AWARD:

This award goes to a destination – country, region, state, or town – which comprises a network of tourism enterprises and organizations that show dedication to, and success in, maintaining a program of sustainable tourism management at the destination level, incorporating social, cultural, environmental, and economic aspects, as well as multi-stakeholder engagement.

CONSERVATION AWARD:

Open to any tourism business, organization, or attraction, including lodges, hotels, or tour operators, able to demonstrate that their tourism development and operations have made a tangible contribution to the conservation of natural heritage.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT AWARD:

This award is for a tourism initiative that has effectively demonstrated direct benefits to local people, including capacity building, the transfer of industry skills, and support for community development.

GLOBAL TOURISM BUSINESS AWARD:

Open to any large company from any sector of travel and tourism – cruise lines, hotel groups, airlines, tour operators, etc. – with at least 200 full-time employees and operating in more than one country or in more than one destination in a single country, this award recognizes best practices in sustainable tourism at a large company level.

An independent panel of judges, including some of the world's most authoritative experts of sustainable development (and a stringent application process involving on-site verification visits by these experts) has earned the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards growing levels of respect among key audiences - the industry, governments, and the international media.

The winners and finalists are honored at a special ceremony during the Global Travel & Tourism Summit held from May 25-27, 2010 in Beijing, China.

For more information about the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards and how to apply check out the website: www.tourismfortomorrow.com

Hugh Morgan gets Cross

Sockless, swearing, pseudo-spanish, sophisticate Hugh Morgan, overseas purchasing and operations director for Cosmos, has just been awarded the Cross of Officer of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit!

The ‘Cruz de Oficial de la Orden del Mérito Civil’ was presented to Morgan this week by Carles Casajuana, the Spanish Ambassador to the UK, on behalf of King Juan Carlos.

The award is in recognition of the role Morgan has played throughout his career in the UK travel industry to further tourism to Spain.

Morgan said: ‘I am deeply honoured and extremely proud to receive this decoration.

‘It is a very rewarding and emotional experience to receive recognition in this way and I am deeply flattered.’

Ignacio Vasallo, director, Spanish National Tourist Office, added: ‘I am absolutely delighted that Hugh, who has played such an important role in the British travel industry related to Spain, has been honoured by the Spanish Government.

We have know Hugh for many years and have always been impressed by his quick wit, appalling dress sense and colourful language, and of course, for his a sharp business acumen! Well done Hugh!

The Spice is Right..

Congratulations to SpiceJet, the low-cost carrier for the Indian domestic market, which has just secured recognition at the World Travel Market for it's growth and multi-channel approach to distribution.

World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery presented an award to the carrier’s CEO Sanjay Aggarwal, at today’s WTM 30th Anniversary VIP Opening & Reception Ceremony.

SpiceJet currently connects 18 domestic destinations with 125 daily departures. The depth of its network provides customers a variety of options for interconnecting flights, giving them access to second tier destinations via connections at major hubs.

It has been growing recently, despite the economic pressures. SpiceJet increased its daily departures from 98 in October 2008 to 125 by May 2009. Its market has increased from 7.9% in September 2008 to 12.8% in June 2009, making it the fastest growing airline in India during this period. During the first seven months of the current year, SpiceJet’s passenger traffic has grown 14% compared to a 5% decline in the overall Indian domestic traffic.

Unlike many other low-cost airlines, it has a multi-channel approach to sales - 24% of bookings come directly from consumers booking at www.spicejet.com, 14% book through its call centers, online travel agents account for 30% with offline travel agents its largest sales channel with 32%.

It differs from other low-cost carriers by having a cargo business, which covers 13 stations. It has carried more than 19000 tones of cargo since May 2008. This side of the business currently contributes more than 3% of its total revenue.

Overall, it deserves credit for having made a profit while growing during an economic slowdown In the first three months of the year it made a profit of INR 26.3 crores (£3.6m) after two quarters of near breakeven numbers.

Going to the Dogs

Now, we have a couple of FES directors with dogs, and they love their animals, and would do anything for them, but we had to do a double take when we saw the latest PR release from 'Pet Airways' who announced today the opening of its new route between New York and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, adding to the 5 cities it now serves - New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.

At first we weren't so sure about this - but Pet Airways really does operate. The airline is booked 2 months in advance, according to Dan Wiesel, president and CEO of Pet Airways.

We take no responsibility for what follows...

"From the moment a pet is dropped off at the Pet Lounge, pets are under the care of Pet Attendants who are Certified Veterinary Technicians that are trained in caring for pets. A Pet Attendant is always present before, during, and after the flight to make sure their "pawsengers" are comfortable and safe. Pets are never left alone. In flight, pets are in the main cabin of the planes, which are fully climate controlled to make sure that the temperature is just right and that there is an adequate level of fresh circulating air.

Pawsengers are boarded and de-boarded from planes as quickly as possible, never left in the cold or heat, and depending on transit time, are offered toilet facilities, food, and water as necessary during stops. Pet Parents can be sure that their pets are receiving careful handling while having the peace of mind that their pets are well looked after by people who care as much about their pets as they do.

The Pet Airways goal is to make the pet travel experience more comfortable and enjoyable for both pawsengers and their human families."

To see for yourself go to www.petairways.com.

No more emails!

Hats off to Peter Long, CEO of TUI who in a Sunday Times interview puts business success down to clear communication.

We couldn't agree more!

It seems Peter does not even have a computer in his office and he does not answer emails. His view is that executives who send and receive emails are wasting their time.

‘Why are they doing a job an assistant should be doing? He asks, 'Is that really an effective use of their time? I don’t think so'.

FES have, on many occassions, seen organisations where the Chief Executive spends his entire day buried in emails, ploughing through memos that, they really should leave to someone else.

Peter adds, ‘You have to have trust in your teams and not meddle. There are not enough hours in the day to go controlling.’ How very true, CEO should lead and inspire, offer direction and clarity and really shouldn't be messing about in day to day activities that they can easily leave to their staff.

After working through three recessions, two Gulf wars and numerous other global problems, Long said: ‘I am always concerned but you just deal with it, because you have to.’

Of course you do. Well said Peter.

India Boutique Hotels

There is a lovely piece in the Observer newspaper this weekend about Boutique Hotels in India. Some of the hotels do lovely rather nice indeed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/sep/27/india-boutique-hotels

A nose for good Business

You'll know you've arrived when you are greeted with a 'mélange of ginger, white tea, citrus and musk'. If however, you catch the distict whiff of 'sweet grass and green tea', then you know you've got a little way yet to go!

Yes, this is news that Holiday Inn's 3,300 properties across the globe are getting a $1bn (£600m) facelift, officially launched in New York this week. Battling ruthless mid-market competition, Holiday Inn is sharpening its act with a swish new logo, revamped public spaces, landscaping, better bedding and even a standardised scents (the full scale Holiday Inss will get the 'melange' while the cheaper Hilday Inn Express Sites have to make do with 'sweet grass and green tea')

Holiday Inn was founded with a single hotel in Memphis in 1952, the brainchild of Kemmons Wilson, an American entrepreneur who became frustrated on a family road trip at the gap between shoddy roadside motels and fussy, pricey posher establishments. The chain now has properties in nearly 100 countries, most recently opening in Vietnam and the Maldives.

Holiday Inn outlets will be obliged to spend an average of $100,000 to $200,000 per property on improvements. There will be new lighting, signature plant pots and a choice of soft or hard pillows in every room. Power showers will abound and staff are having friendliness drummed into them.

Properties unable, or unwilling, to smarten up will lose the Holiday Inn brand and older hotels with, for example, motel-style exterior corridors, face the chop.

Of course, many upmarket hotel chains are treading on the toes of Holiday Inn. No-frills offerings such as Marriott Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn and Hyatt Place have appeared in the US over the past decade and beginning to appear in the Europe.

And the current economic climate has had an effect on occupancy – Holiday Inn's occupancy rate was 54% in the US and 61% in Europe during the first half of the year, with revenue per room down 17% to $51 in the US and by 16% to $66 in Europe.

But Holiday Inn is an iconic brand and it's essential that it 'does what it says on the tin'. Visitors know what to expect and the uniformity and reliability is appealling to routine business travel.

We only have one concern; apparently a global playlist of 1,000 soundtracks will greet guests, ranging from Sting to John Mayer and the Jackson Five!

There are a few local exceptions, in France, for example, Carla Bruni makes an appearance while Kylie Minogue will play in Britain!!

India: Making good progress. Can do better.

More good news arrives in the form of new data compiled by the Indian Ministry of Tourism. Figures show that North America and West Asia constitute the strongest growth for tourism to India. The number of foreign tourists visiting India increased from 7.99 million in 2007 to 8.27 million in 2008.

Growth in tourists has been greatest from Denmark, (by 24.1 percent), Brazil (by 21.8 percent), Russia (by 21 percent) and Norway (by 18.6 percent), followed by countries such as Israel, Bahrain and UAE. Traditionally, the UK has also provided the highest number of visitors but this year has been pushed to second place by the USA.Tourists from neighboring countries Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also increased sharply.

After a drop of about 10 percent in foreign tourist arrival between October 2008 and June 2009, the inbound tourist market is showing definite signs of revival. Tourist arrivals in July 2009 have increased substantially although, less than July 2008 levels, but foreign exchange earnings have risen sharply in real terms.

The Indian ministry of tourism plans to continue its marketing campaign in the USA market with the colorful Incredible India ! campaign planned at the Oscar, Grammy and BAFTA award functions.

The top 10 source markets for Indian inbound tourism are :

1. USA
2. UK
3. Bangladesh
4. Sri Lanka
5. Canada
6. France
7. Germany
8. Japan
9. Australia
10. Malaysia

Compared to world statistics in terms of tourist arrivals however, published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, India ranks 41st in the world.

India still gets far fewer visitors than much smaller nations like Ukraine, Tunisia, Croatia and Saudi Arabia.!

Is it going to be a V, W or U??

A record surge in confidence among business professionals indicates Britain's recession is at an end, according to research.

Optimism among professionals in the third quarter hit its highest level since the start of the financial crisis two years ago, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said.

The confidence measure jumped to 4.8 at the end of June from -28.2 in March - the biggest improvement since the survey began in 2003. The institute predicts that the economy will grow by 0.5% this quarter, breaking five quarters of falling output.

ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said the findings suggest that "the UK recession is at an end".

He added: "While there is no doubt that the UK economy is on its way to recovery, we shouldn't underestimate the challenges ahead for businesses."

The FTSE 100 rose 41.81 points to 4891.70 in early trading on Monday , a rise of 0.84%, following Friday's near-100 point gain when the inde x pushed through 4800 for the first time since last October.

Asian shares also rose strongly on fresh optimism over the global recovery, following upbeat comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and news that Thailand has come out of recession.

The ICAEW survey showed that UK businesses expected a rise in all but one of 14 key financial performance indicators in the coming year, in contrast to earlier in the year when most were expected to contract.

The research found 41% of senior business professionals were more confident about the economic prospects facing their business in the next year. But only 6% were much more confident, indicating a continued level of caution over the timing and speed of the recovery.

IT was the most optimistic sector, followed by banking, finance and insurance firms. The survey found "a remarkable upturn" in confidence in the banking sector. Signs of stabilisation in the housing market also helped boost optimism for property firms.

Debate now centres not on when the recovery will come but in what form it will be; as economist debate a 'V', 'U' or 'W' shaped recovery..

But more of that anon..

Wind City Afrika

Fes has just returned from a wonderful break in Morocco; our first time in this fascinating country and most certainly not to be our last. Although we were working with one of the developers in the town of Essouria, we had the opportunity to take a few days out to have a look round and enjoy the surroundings a little - a rare treat.

Keen to control our costs, we booked our flight to Marrakesh with our old friends Ryanair. And we were stunned by the efficiency and friendliness on board! The flight took off and landed on time (there and back) and the cabin staff were excellent. In fact, the hostess on our return was the very self same Magdelena that appeared, clad only in her swim suit, reclining in the mouth of a Rolls Royce engine as this months Ryan's Girls!

Essouria is 150km to the west of Marrakesh and enjoys the new moniker of 'Windy City Afrika'. And it is! A haven for windsurfers and kite surfers alike, the sea is lively without being too dangerous, the beaches are wide and flat and open and the wind strong and incessant. There's a very efficient Club Mistral at the end of the long beach that offers some highly economical packages for those wishing to try their hand or improve their technique. All the instructors are, of course, supremely talented and multi-lingual to cater for all nationalities.

We found the Moroccan people, charming, friendly, honest, modest and full of integrity. It was a joy to spend some time in their country and a pleasure to meet and work with the people we met. Particularly, we would like to thank Abdul our helper, Said our driver and importantly, Hassan our barman!

Twitter for the Travellers

At FES, we endevour to keep pace with technology and have for a long time been advocates of the new opportunities afforded by the Social Networking Sites. It's less than ten years since the first wave hit with the introduction of online travel agencies but big changes are afoot.

Online travel, in what ever form it was and still is defined, became the largest industry on the web in record time. Changes on a scale imagined only by few, have happened since then and there is not one segment of the travel industry that is not affected by that first shift to commerce transacted online.

Enabled by blogs, pod casts and social networking sites as well as other web 2.0 technology introductions like mashups, the consumer today can be as informed about any subject as never before in history and even more importantly, has the easy means to communicate his or her knowledge and expertise to anyone else in the world.

In the context of the travel industry, everyone can become a travel agent, tour operator, or even destination marketer at least in his or her own mind!

Companies and organizations will in future increasingly have to try to interject themselves into all the conversations going on among customers in the marketplace about their product, service, or destination, rather than dominating what in the past was a one-way communication. This new C2C reality will have a significant impact on the role of marketing in any industry. Conversations among the people in your marketplace happen whether you like it or not.

Good marketing is encouraging the right sort of conversations.

The first signs of this world of Web 2.0, which lets the audience participate in the production and distribution of content and tag it with keywords, are a number of new types of sites sprouting up such as Del.icio.us, Rojo, Digi, Tagzania, Gusto, Wikia, and many more.

The most important feature these sites have in common, is the ability for users to collect information and articles from sites they find of interest, add their own comments and tag them with keywords. This makes it easy for sharing with, and viewing by, friends or the public at large. Google Map mashups are other new types of sites allowing travelers to get a detailed look of a property or attraction location. Combined with personal annotations and reviews by others travelers can get a feel for the place more real and up-to-date than previously possible.

Then there is TVTrip offering detailed videos of properties as a useful planning tool. In the small group and affinity travel market there is Groople, which includes tools for group planners.

Traditional companies, such as Starwood Hotels also have embraced this new trend. Sheraton now makes customer feedback and reviews the focus of their web presence right from the home page.

Blogs and pod casts are other developments with significant potential impact on both travel planning and the actual travel experience. Anyone with web access and some basic knowledge of computer software applications can in fact start a blog or publish a pod cast, making their experiences immediately available to the world at large. With a free RSS feed reader, this new user generated content is easily available for anyone with updates delivered automatically.

The specific impact of Travel 2.0 on the various sectors in the travel industry is yet to be determined. What seems clear already, however, is that the role of any intermediary is being challenged even more by all this user-generated content.

For destination marketing organizations (DMO) the dynamics of existing business relationships will no doubt undergo rapid and significant change. It will no longer be sufficient to maintain and develop an information rich destination website. To build a platform that taps into and feeds off the various sites mentioned earlier and to facilitate the dialog among past and potential future visitors is fast becoming a necessity to stay relevant.

The opportunities have never been better to truly achieve Word of Mouth (and Word of Mouse!) and stimulate the buzz around a destination. What no DMO should attempt is try to control the dialog or manage it.

The mirror has never been shinier but it also has never before been pointed as directly at the destination and its suppliers as it is today. Accept it, embrace change, innovate and start joining the conversation, today. The alternative is being left behind and risk being ignored.

India bucks the trend..

It's great to read that Marriott International is still planning to open seven hotels in India this year. These new openings will offer employment opportunities in the hospitality sector across the country.

Marriot share our views on the Indian market, and state, “Despite the global economic slowdown and pockets of political unrest, India’s tourism sector continues to demonstrate encouraging resilience with total room-night sales increasing by over 500 percent over the past five years"

"The country’s rapidly-expanding middle class and buying power, growing industrial infrastructure, rich cultural heritage, and natural attractions are all combining to make India a strong inbound and outbound tourism market in which we are delighted to be a part.”

Marriot anticipate that they will require approximately 2,000 individuals across all operational and marketing disciplines to staff these seven hotels in the coming months, so that's great news for the Indian hospitality industry.

Marriott’s new hotels will represent three of the company’s six international brands:

luxury/The 320-room JW Marriott Hotel Bangalore

deluxe/ The 426-room Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Center

moderate/Five new Courtyard by Marriott hotels:
- 199-room Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon
- 153-room Courtyard by Marriott West Pune
- 193-room Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad
- 164-room Courtyard by Marriott Ahmedabad
- 299-room Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport

When opened, these hotels will more than double the Marriott International hotel brands portfolio in India, which today consists of six operating properties. Another 14 previously-announced hotels are expected to open in India through 2012 as part of Marriott International’s global pipeline of hotels under construction, awaiting conversion, or approved for development.

Virgin trades on BA customers

We see Virgin Atlantic has managed to nearly double its pre-tax profits from £34.8 million last year to £68.4 million for the year from March 2008 to February 2009.

Virgin said the growth was down to a rise in premium travellers and “prudent management decisions”.

In a week that has also seen British Airways announce record losses of over £400m these results are even more staggering.

It doesn't need an aviation expert to spot a trend here, it's clear that BA are loosing their premium traffic, which provides a large proportion of it's profits as their customers are trading 'down' from First and Business class to Virgins Premium Economy.

We've always liked Virgin. We applaud their way of doing things, with an emphasis on customer service so we like to see them picking up business in this way.

In Richard Bransons book, 'Loosing my Virginity' he gives a speech to Airline executives which goes along the lines of:

"Its easy to become a millionaire in the airline buisiness" he says. "First of all you start off as a billionaire!"

Do what it says on the tin..

We see Thomson and First Choice have seemingly announced a new policy of allowing their overseas representatives to address and solve customer complaints during holidays. Is it just us, or is this stating the 'bleeding' obvious?

The TUI Travel companies said the rationale behind the move was ‘to recover service failures quickly and efficiently, reducing the need for customers to pursue issues with customer services on their return to the UK’.

Overseas representatives are already trained in accordance with company customer service guidelines, but are now also being encouraged to use their discretion and initiative to ensure that the merits of each case and ‘exceptions to the rule’ can be considered...

Inevitably things can and do go wrong with holiday plans, but a simple quick solution normally results in a converted customer, one who far from being a complainer becomes an advocate for the companies quick and efficient handling of any problem. Best fix things on the spot than allow resentment to grow and fester over two weeks and then result in a letter from the small claims court!

Ian Chapman, head of overseas for Thomson and First Choice, said: ‘Holidays are so important, never more so than in the current economic climate'. Meaning, we guess that clients are particularly keen to get their monies worth and less tolerant to things going wrong. All their overseas staff will undertake a three-day training programme to ‘motivate and inspire them in first class customer service'.

The fact is that you don't really need long sophisticated training programmes and dedicated phone lines to deliver exceptional customer service. You just need to do what it says on the tin! And then a little bit more.

How much more? Just a little bit. The runner who wins the 100m by 0.0001 of a second has just done that little bit more - so sometimes exceptional customer service is just answering the phone, or turning up when you say you will. Now that's good service!

All at sea with the French hoteliers..

We are pleased to see the Indian Cruise market starting to develop. Although spurred by price cuts, the Indian Cruise market is up 20 per cent in April.

Cruise tourism is still a niche segment in India and accounts for only two per cent of all outbound tourism. However, this year, travel companies are offering competitive packages to attract customers and the size of the Indian outbound cruise tourism industry is estimated to be worth about Rs 240 crore with around 80,000 people cruising per year, mostly taking shorter and faster cruises rather than those favoured by Americans and Europeans.

This reminds us of a tour we helped organise many years ago for an international coach tour operator, seeking to offer short, quick itineraries around Europe specifically for the Indian market.

The tours were a great success until we had a special tour request from a group of Jains. While their itinerary was straight forward, their dietary requirements threw our French and Swiss hoteliers into a spin!

" So that'll be 40 vegetarians for lunch, no meat, no chicken and no vegetables that grow under the ground..".

We can still hear the hoteliers response now..

Booming business for The Three Overcoats

ICELAND - It's good to see that the depreciation of the Icelandic Krona against most other currencies has meant an increase in international tourist arrivals.

Never the cheapest country in the world (we were taken aback on our first visit to this wonderful country a few years ago when we discovered that a taxi from Keflavic Airport to central Reykjvik would set us back more than USD200) the falling currency has meant that a visiting Iceland can be done without taking out a second mortgage.

One year ago, US$1 bought 75 ISK but today US$1 buys 125 ISK, much to the enjoyment of foreign visitors to the country.

In April 2009, more Swiss, German and American tourists visited Iceland than in in the same period in 2008, with an increase of over 6%, according the Iceland Tourist Board.

Political leaders and economists alike consider tourism to be a key industry to help Iceland on its way to economic recovery after the country’s bank collapse last October.

Footnote: Reykjvik is home to one of our favourite restaurants in the world - the fantastically named "The Three Overcoats". Wonderful.

In Flight Fat Tax..

We continue to be bowled over by Ryanair's brilliant skill for self promotion. Their latest headline grabbing offering is how they are considering charging a 'fat tax' after more than 30,000 passengers voted in favour of charging excess weight fees for very large passengers.

Their online poll, which is a pretty neat way of gathering customers email addresses, asked the public for cost reducing ideas. Even now, it's hard to write this blog as it is so blatenly a PR stunt. But what ever..

It seems nearly 30% of the public polled were in favour of excess fees for overweight passengers with the charge taking one of the following formats:

~Charge per kg over 130kg/20 stone (male) and 100kg/15 stone (females)
~Charge per inch for every waist inch over 45 inch (male) and 40 inch (female)
~Charge for every point in excess of 40 points on the Body Mass Index (+30 points is obese)
~Charge for a second seat if passengers’ waist touches both armrests simultaneously.

On a personal note, as one that has regularly crammed the entire contents of a suitcase into a small carry on to avoid the usual commotion at check in, one should consider if in fact, there is a grain of truth here. Why should we have weight restrictions on our bags when the passenger next to us is carrying the equivalent of two carry-ons around their stomach?

Hull FC vs Travel Trade?

Farewell and congratulations to Nick Cust who is planning to step down from the board of HolidayBreak plc at the end of the year.

Nick joined the main board in 1997, having previously served as an associate director and before that he was joint MD of Superbreaks. Nick was awarded an OBE in the 2009 New Year’s Honours List in recognition of his services to tourism.

Our own favourite story about Nick dates back to a Travel Agent conference we both attended in the rather grand setting of Monte Carlo.

During one of the conference afternoons, at a coffee break in one of the sessions, we struck up a conversation with Nick about the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final (as it then was) to be played at Wembley that afternoon. As it happened, for some reason, we had been upgraded to a room in the Grand Hotel on the square next to the Casino and one of the, rather nice, features was satelite TV.

Nick quickly demonstrated his lightening decision making facilities. Abandoning the rest of conference we quickly de-camped to our room where, complete with bottles of over-priced 1664, we spun-out the rest of the afternoon watching Hull FC vs Wakefield.

Those were the days.

And our survey said...

What is it with the media and surveys? We've done our bit for surveys over the years but it always suprises us the way they are seized upon by the news-hungry press (it's not like they haven't got anything else to write about) and reported verbatim.

The headline piece in the latest bit of nonsense is that 10% of people surveyed could not identify a sheep. Now, we might have a little difficulty placing some of the countrysides more obscure inhabitants but a sheep? This is such a transparently obvious PR ruse to drum up publicity for Travelodge that it hard to read, let alone take seriously.

The results are (supposedly) as follows:

Over half of Brits polled think visiting the countryside is boring.

• 53% of adults said there was nothing to see or do in Britain’s countryside.
• 10% thought it was safe to eat all berries and fungus they found growing in the countryside.
• 32% had difficulty identifying a pheasant
• 22% could not identify a hare.
• 10% thought the hare was a deer

and wonderfully.

• 10% could not identify a sheep!
  

This reminds me of a company (that will remain nameless) that generated huge amounts of press coverage with the claim that over half of their survey participants could not distinguish between the Eifel Tower and the Blackpool Tower. The fact that this fact was made up over a liquid lunch did not worry the editors of numerous tabloids and broadsheets who plastered it all over their front pages. I'm not suggesting that the PR machine of Travelodge enjoyed the same liquid creativity but I would question those that report any old nonsense just becasue it makes good copy.

Read my lips

Trying to understand Peter Long's gobbledygook at TUI today.

Peter says “Pricing is strong as we continue to recover our cost input inflation, while consumer demand continues to improve despite the economic conditions as our consumers continue to seek differentiated experiences with trustworthy brands that provide excellent value for money.”

In actual fact TUI's bookings to non-euro zone areas are continuing to rise. Their bookings in the last month for Turkey are up by eight per cent, Egypt by 18% and all inclusive holidays by 13%.

So what he's really saying is this.

"We've managed to avoid discounting our holidays by reducing our capacity and exposure on some destinations and maintaining capacities in others. Despite significant rises in costs due to the strength of the euro, we decided not to pass these on to the consumer and taken some of this on the chin. Since the euro is so strong we have seen our customers move away from their traditional holiday desitinations and look for desitinations outside the eurozone. The major winners in this are Turkey and Egypt"

On a positive note, a statement from TUI on the quarterly results to December 31, 2008, said that for the summer there has been stronger consumer demand in the past four weeks.

Maybe, just maybe, people are becoming a little less pessimistic about the future.

Let's hope so.

Look west Mr Moragoda, not east.

We've been to Sri Lanka many times and worked with a number of resorts there, but we can't help feeling that the latest announcement by the Sri Lankan tourist office is clutching at straws.

It appears Sri Lanka has pinned its hopes on an influx of Chinese visitors to boost the island tourism industry, which has been badly hit by years of civil war and the global financial crisis.

Their minister of tourism Milinda Moragoda, has identified China as the main market for his country when he flew in to meet with Shao Qiwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration.

"China holds the key to our tourism development and further economic growth, particularly when the number of tourists from Europe and America is plunging during the financial crisis," he told China Daily.

We can't really see this happening. The Chinese market has long been seen as the Holy Tourism Grail, offering the lure of seemingly limitless tourists, keen to travel, spend their money and line our western pockets.

Anyone who has done business in China will know this is not the case and that this is not going to happen. The enormity of the Chinese market is such that only the smallest percentage will have the economic propensity to travel and they will be looking at London or Paris rather than Columbo.

Sri Lanka has a rich religious and cultural heritage, as well as long coastlines, attractive to Western Holiday makers rather than Chinese ones.

As Liu Qi, a tour planner from the Beijing Youth Travel Service, says. "Sri Lanka is a nice resort with its tropical weather and coasts. The country is showing its confidence in boosting tourism and I hope numbers increase as the political situation stabilizes."

In other words, don't hold your breath.

Western markets are where the potential lies and that's where the investment should be!

Positive Changes Required. Now.

Had a very good trip to the ITB in Berlin this week. Despite the ongoing financial crisis, there was a positive mood amongst most exhibitors, who were happy with the levels of business conducted at ITB.

According to a representative survey carried out by Fachhochschule Eberswalde during the fair, six out of ten exhibitors said the recession had had no impact on their business. Frankly, we don't beleive this! But credit to everyone for talking their business up instead of down!

Most exhibitors expected their customers travel patterns to change. Over half of the exhibitors expected tourists to take even shorter trips, 60 percent believed their local tourism would boom, and 68 percent expected demand for last-minute travel to increase.

None of this is really rocket science but it does show that people are looking and trends, changing and hoping to adapt for the future.

How each sector manages this change will be interesting, the advantage lies with the smaller hotel chains and tour operators who can make the changes very quickly.

Oh and by the way, if anyone needs help doing this, our phone number is 0044 7967 726606!

But what about Europe?

Good to see President Obama meeting with US travel executives to discuss the role that travel can play in strengthening the American economy.

In the meeting, industry leaders discussed the need to pass the Travel Promotion Act, the first-ever US promotion and communications campaign to attract millions of additional international visitors to the United States annually and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. The US travel industry employs 7.7 million Americans and generates more than US$740 billion in spending annually and overseas visitors spend an average of US$4,000 per person, per visit.

It would be nice to see a similar initiative in Europe. During our work in the past with the ETOA, we have been frustrated in our attempts to have inbound travel recognised in such a way. The EU has no dedicated ministry looking after travel & tourism and as such any attempts to lobby for support is past from pillar-to-post until it is finally forgotten about!

The Czech Presidency continues until June this year and no doubt discussions will revolve around creating stimuli to the economies of Europe. Travel, leisure and hospitality is one of the largest employers in Europe, but with no voice to represent them, all appeal will fall on deaf ears.

The Russians are coming

We see the MITT, the Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition kicks off in a week or so. The MITT is rated one of the top five travel exhibitions in the world and rightly so.

Russia has the ninth largest outbound market in the world and has an important role to play in the international tourism market. The country has a population of over 140 million and some of the wealthiest individuals!

Countries that have regularly enjoyed Russian tourists, such as Turkey and Egypt, have commented on the development and change of the average Russian visitor. As incomes have risen, the growing middle classes have shown their increasing propensity to travel and improved transport routes have helped make it more affordable.

Exhibitors at the show seem optimistic about the Russian market as few Russians refusing to cut holidays from their spending and are now looking for more economical holidays instead - but this doesn't mean spending less necessarily!

The MITT event boasts a visitor attendance of over 90,000 and 3,000 exhibiting companies from 80 countriesand will see Colombia, Japan, Costa Rica, and Panama exhibiting for the first time this year.for the first time this year.

A Pound for a Pee? Of course.

Ryanair's plans to ask passengers to pay £1 for using the toilet on board their flights, was another classic example of showmanship and clever marketing by Micheal O'Leary.

His comments, which were made on the BBC1's Breakfast programme, were covered extensively in all the papers and the debate was further fanned by the gasps of outrage from Which and the Air Transport Users Council.

There are two issues here; the first is that despite what many people may say or think about Mr O'Leary, he is a very bright man indeed! Ryanair is now the largest airline in Europe and it's success has been fuelled by Micheal O'Leary's single minded drive and particular business model.

For him the price is king. You will not find too many Ryanair seminars on the value of the brand or brand values. All that matters is price. And THAT is Ryanair's brand.

I'm sure Ryanair have no intention of proceeding with their £1 for a pee policy, but it's a great bit of PR and, in a circular sort of way, actually re-inforces the Ryanair brand which is - no frills and cheap. Queue here..!

The other issue, is strangely, that we should in actual fact not be surprised by any new idea suggested, no matter how crackpot they may seem today..who would have thought, ten years ago, that you could book and print your own boarding passes from your living room, that there would be no check in desks at the airport or that there would be (apparantly) 1 million seats for sale for just £2.00 each?

Maybe paying for a pee will not seem so crazy. After all Ryanair's ancillery sales accounted for 22% of its last quarter total sales!

Going Cruising

There are still winners in the travel business today; domestic holidays are on the increase and caravanning has now overtaken Spain as Britains favourite holiday!

Another winner, it seems, is Cosmos Tourama who announced plans to increase it's share of the European river cruise market.

Cosmos' demographics fit the bill perfectly of course, with an older clientelle less vulnerable to economic recession, their clients traditionally enjoy the escorted touring provided on four (or is it 16?) wheels.

Having stayed on a number of the elegant ships that cruise the Rhine and the Danube, I can see the attraction; the cabins are spacious, there is plenty of room for stretching out on deck and the resturants and bars are usually first class.

Cosmos is owned by international touring giant Globus, who already own the Avalon cruise business so extending the brand is a relatively risk-free venture for them.

A Sustainable Montenegro?

We've been fans of Montenegro ever since we first visited three years ago. This small country has some of the most beautiful coastlines, a spectactular interior and delightful, friendly people. Ok, the food needs a little attention, but the red wine and Slivovitch is fantastic.

There's a lovely piece in the Guardian this weekend about rafting down the Tara river. The author describes staying in the new Hotel Lipka a 'boutique' hotel, deep in the heart of the Durmitor National Park.

Until the declaration of independance from nearby Kosovo, Montenegro was Europes newest state, recently separated from it's neighbour Serbia. With new independence, Montenegro adopted the Euro and applied for full EU membership, although the memebrship is still some way off, the country has succeeded in utilising many of the grants provided by the EU in reparation following the war.

Consider this; Montenegro has one of the worlds most photographed historical sites in Sveti Stefan, Europes only fjord at Kotor, the second deepest Canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon, a brand new airport in Podgorica and miles of under developed beaches..

If you're looking for an investment opportunity - then Montenegro is the country to consider. At the moment all the smart money is coming in from Russia with a view to making the Montenegrian Coast reminiscent of the Costa Del Sol in the 70's, but there are many hotels and tourism organisations that are trying to avoid this particular disaster and are looking fore the opportunity to develop sustainable tourism with suitable partners.

Slumdog Millionaire..?

On my last visit to Mumbai, I stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace, the scene of the atrocities last last year, I'd stayed there previously and I was anxious to see how the the hotel had recovered. The hotel reopened 268 rooms in the main tower at the end of December with the rest of the hotel to open in phases over the course of the year.

The Indian Governement have plans to try and double the number of international arrivals over the next two years from 5m to 10m and are looking to fill an identified shortfall in rooms. With the Governments help, hoteliers seem bullish about their plans for the future and are confident they can overcome fears of the security and recession.

India hosts the Commonwealth Games in Dehli in 2010 and tax incentive schemes have been devised to encourage hotel projects in Dehli and other cities. Several of the larger hotal groups have announced ambitious growth plans; in Mumba, Sofitel, Westin and Oberoi are building, the Marriott Renaissance is adding an additional 300 rooms.

And in September, Kingfisher (yes, as in the beer) launched a Heathrow-Bangalore service alongside the existing services from Air India, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Jet Airways.

Slumdog Millionaire may have cleaned up at the BAFTA and may succeed in the Oscars, but India will be the real winner.

Poland - The place to be

There was a time when the idea of a holiday to Poland seemed frankly absurd but recent years of relative fast growth has meant the country is no longer the economic backwater it was regarded as.

After WWII, nearly 90 percent of Warsaw was reduced to rubble and the city was rebuilt on a centralized Soviet scheme. This resulted in the construction of dour and drab block-shaped housing structures and unimaginative architecture. But rapid economic growth following changes in the Governmental system havecreated a demand for more exciting designs that have, over the past decade, resulted in a steady growth of attractive building works.

Tourism became a key beneficiary of the redesigned Polish capital. The Warsaw Tourist Office registered an all-time high of 9m tourists in 2008, of which 3.5m were from overseas. This is an increase of almost 50% in foreign arrivals since Poland's integration with the European community four years ago. And in 2012, as Poland co-hosts the UEFA championships, with new builds for football stadia and other infrastructure, Poland promises to be a destination to watch.

Viva la Revolution

As capitalist markets around the world struggle, there's a certain hubris in the news that one of the last great bastions of communism is thriving. It seems tourists are flocking to Cuba despite hurricanes and global recession and the sickness/retirement of Fidel.

The Caribbean republic's ailing Marxist leader, Fidel Castro, handed over power to his brother nearly two-and-a-half years ago, leading to a downturn in the island's growing tourist industry. The trade, a major source of hard currency for Cuba, peaked in 2005 with the arrival of 2.3 million visitors, but dropped to 2.1 million in 2007.

But last year Cuba recovered and received more tourists than in any season since it opened up to foreign investment and tourism in the mid-1990s with 247,386 visitors.

There are no reported cancellations of tours booked for the December-March peak season and it is believed an increase in Canadian visitors will offset any reduction in Europeans put off by rising air fares and other economic worries.

All of this is good news for a country still recovering from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which struck within ten days of each other, causing extensive damage.

Cuba's ministry of tourism has actively sought new business, offering tour operators better deals than rival Mexican and Dominican destinations, and last year the country cut the price of aviation fuel.

American tourists are barred by US law from visiting Cuba, but many hope that with a new administration in Washington, restrictions on US nationals visiting the island may be relaxed soon.

Three & Four Star hotels get back to basics

A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit entitled 'The Austere traveller' highlights some of the trends hotels will face over the next 12 months. Namely, that business people will make fewer, shorter and cheaper business trips in 2009 and prefer basic efficiency and good service over 'frills' and ancillary services.

The good news here is that there will be a move towards established brands with a reputation for levels of good service, no matter where they are in the world.

With nearly a half of all respondants planning to take fewer trips in the next twelve months, over a quarter expect to downgrade from 4 and 5-star hotels.

What a great opportunity for three and four star hotels! Ensure you provide good services levels and you will pick up business - just get the simple things right!

• be flexible to changing arrangements
• have an efficient check in-check out
• remember you customers
• resolve any problems quickly
• provide internet connectivity!
  

More Good News

With so much negative news around, we've decided there will only be good news here. And so from now on it will be good news only.

Good to see there's the launch of a new scheduled air service between Zagreb and Madrid. This service, offered by Iberia, will operate twice weekly from July 4 until September 20, 2009, using an Airbus A320 aircraft.

This new services comes in response to the growing market demand between Spain and Croatia and signifies an increasing growth in tourism and commerce between the two countries.

Good News Amid the Gloom

Hats off to Tom Jenkins at the European Tour Operators Association. Tom is always worth listening too and his recent comments in eTN is no exception. Amid the gloom, Tom finds some good news, "The good news – and there is good news" he adds, "is that both the euro and sterling has dropped spectacularly against the core inbound currencies of dollar and yen so that for the first time in ten years, a trip to Europe looks – not a bargain – but it looks genuinely affordable to a lot more people in North America and Japan; that was the case even three months ago."

He has an encouraging view for the future, "when the dust settles, you will look out over a landscape where you have lots of hotel availability, you have a strong dollar, you have a strong yen, you have plenty of people with money in your origin markets, there are plenty of people with money in Europe even after all these financial problems, you are looking at lower oil prices with lower airfares – you’re really looking at a potential boom time for European inbound tourism at the moment."