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The latest research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals the United States tourism sector could experience year-over-year growth of 36 per cent in 2021.
This is a significantly faster improvement than the overall global tourism recovery.
The outlook is even more rosy for 2022, with the travel sector in the United States expected to grow by another 28 per cent, reaching nearly $2 trillion of the United States economy for a contribution exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
By comparison, in 2019, the United States tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented nearly $1.9 trillion.
“Our research shows that while the global tourism sector is slowly beginning to recover, the United States is recovering faster than many other regions,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC chief executive.ADVERTISEMENT“Last year, the pandemic decimated more than five million tourism jobs across the United States; however, due to a predicted rise in international and domestic spend this year and next, both jobs and GDP are on the rise.”
Simpson added: “The United States opening its borders and easing restrictions to major source markets such as the UK and the EU will provide a massive boost to economies on both sides of the Atlantic.
“However, the long-term recovery of the sector in the United States and around the world depends on the United States border remaining open to international visitors and making travel easier.”

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Following the recent launch, Destination Sport Experiences has secured a partnership with RCS Sport to become an official premium tour operator for the 2022 Giro d’Italia and its associated events.
As part of the long-term agreement, the sport travel company will offer tours and hospitality experiences, together with the opportunity to ride on the roads of the events at Giro d’Italia, Strade Bianche, Milan San Remo, Il Lombardia and more.
Offering an amazing experience during the final Giro d’Italia stages, cycling enthusiasts will be under the guidance and hospitality of Giro d’Italia stage winner Andrea Ferrigato, who will share his unrivalled knowledge of this beautiful race with those coming along for the ride.
An example of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities on offer include the chance to travel in an official VIP race car, which will follow the race for a full day of driving on the stage and enjoying food and drinks along the way.
As a bookend to the experience, the day will finish in finish line hospitality, offering an incredible vantage point along the finishing straight, with non-stop catering and an open bar service. ADVERTISEMENTOn some stages, there will even be chance to add a short flight in a helicopter to see the race from above.
Destination Sport Experiences will also offer places in the Gran Fondo Strade Bianche and the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia, which gives cyclists the opportunity to ride the race the day after the pros ride it and very often have some of the pro cyclists riding alongside, too.
Stuart Wood from Destination Sport Experiences, commented: “We have been working tirelessly since the launch of Destination Sports Experiences to be able to bring these types of opportunities to cycling fans around the world, and this is an exciting step forward for us.
“I’m proud to be able to take our customers to this incredible event. It really is like seeing history being made in front of your eyes and being able to have the experience of a legend like Andrea Ferrigato is amazing. Bring on the Giro!”

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TripAdvisor co-founder and long-time chief executive, Stephen Kaufer, will step down from his position in 2022.
Kaufer co-founded TripAdvisor in 2000 with the mission to help travellers around the world plan and book the “perfect trip”.
Over the past 21 years, under his leadership, the company has grown into the largest travel site in the world, with employees in over 20 countries and operating localised travel sites in over 40 markets.
“We come to the close of 2021 in a strong position – travellers are returning as we exit the pandemic, exciting new initiatives are well on their way, and we continue to leverage our strengths as we evolve TripAdvisor for the future,” said Kaufer.
“Given our strong position, the talented teams driving our plans forward, and after over 20 years at TripAdvisor, I believe now is the best time to announce my plans to step away from the company next year.  ADVERTISEMENT“I have such respect and appreciation for all the teams over the years who have made this company what it is today, and remain devoted to continuing to guide the TripAdvisor family as chief executive until the transition is complete.”
The board of directors at TripAdvisor has initiated an open search a successor.
Greg Maffei, chairman of the board at TripAdvisor, stated: “Steve has been the driving force at TripAdvisor since its launch in 2000. 
“His contributions to the consumer’s travel experience are immeasurable, and his vision has resulted in the TripAdvisor we know today.”
He added: “We are fortunate to already have excellent internal candidates, and we will complement this with an external search to ensure we get the best leader for TripAdvisor.”

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As world leaders gather in Glasgow for COP26 to discuss concrete actions to solve the climate crises, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a Net Zero Roadmap.
The organisation sees the document as a guide for global tourism sector in its battle against the climate crisis.
WTTC developed the roadmap in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Accenture.
The roadmap provides concrete guidelines and recommendations to help guide tourism businesses on their journey towards net zero.
By providing milestones for meaningful climate action and emissions reduction for different industries within the sector, the roadmap sets out the challenges ahead and how the tourism sector can decarbonise and reach net zero by 2050.ADVERTISEMENTThis report shows how the sector is greatly impacted by climate change as it affects destinations around the world, but as with many other sectors, it is also responsible for an estimated eight-to-ten per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
The sector therefore has a key role to play in fighting climate change, which will require heightened ambitions and differentiated decarbonisation approaches, as outlined in the roadmap.
Julia Simpson, WTTC chief executive, said: “I am delighted to announce our pioneering Net Zero Roadmap for tourism.
“It helps travel industries reach individual targets to reduce our carbon footprint.
“Many destinations are affected by the impacts of climate change with rising sea levels, deforestation and the loss of animal and plant species.
“Communities that rely on tourism are first in line to see the impact and wanting to do something about it.”
The roadmap presents a new target framework with decarbonisation corridors, which groups tourism businesses into three clusters, depending on their emission profiles and the difficulty of abating their GHG emissions.
Certain industries may achieve net zero before 2050 if more ambitious targets are set and different decarbonisation approaches are followed.
More Information
Take a look at the document here.

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The ‘Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism’ has been launched at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26.
Some of tourism’s biggest businesses have joined governments and destinations in committing to cut emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest.
The Glasgow Declaration recognises the urgent need for a globally consistent plan for climate action in tourism.
Signatories commit to measure, decarbonise, regenerate and unlock finance.
Additionally, each signatory commits to deliver a concrete climate action plan, or updated plan, within 12 months of signing.
Speaking at COP26, UNWTO secretary general, Zurab Pololikashvili, stressed that “while many private businesses have led the way in advancing climate action, a more ambitious sector-wide approach is needed to ensure tourism accelerates climate action in a meaningful way”. ADVERTISEMENTHe added that “the Glasgow Declaration is a tool to help bridge the gap between good intentions and meaningful climate action”.
Already, more than 300 tourism stakeholders have signed up to the declaration, including leading industry players to destinations, countries and other tourism stakeholders ranging from large to small.
The Glasgow Declaration was developed through the collaboration of UNWTO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Visit Scotland, the Travel Foundation and Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, within the framework of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme committed to accelerate sustainable consumption and production patterns.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has recorded a moderate rebound in air travel in September compared to August’s performance.
This was driven by recovery in domestic markets, in particular China, where some travel curbs were lifted following the Covid-19 outbreaks in August.International demand, meanwhile, slipped slightly compared to the previous month.
Total demand for air travel in September 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was down 53 per cent compared to September 2019.
This marked an uptick from August, when demand was 56 per cent below August 2019 levels.
Domestic markets were down 24 per cent compared to September 2019, a significant improvement from August 2021, when traffic was down 33 per cent versus two years ago. ADVERTISEMENTAll markets showed improvement with the exception of Japan and Russia, although the latter remained in solid growth territory compared to 2019.International passenger demand in September was 69 per cent below September 2019, fractionally worse than the 68.7 per cent decline recorded in August.
“September’s performance is a positive development but recovery in international traffic remains stalled amid continuing border closures and quarantine mandates.
“The recent US policy change to reopen travel from 33 markets for fully vaccinated foreigners from November 8th is a welcome, if long overdue, development.
“Along with recent re-openings in other key markets like Australia, Argentina, Thailand, and Singapore this should give a boost to the large-scale restoration of the freedom to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general.

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Insight Vacations has launched its new 2022-2023 Worldwide collection, featuring 133 itineraries with over 100 unique Insight Experiences across Europe, Northern Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Next year will see Insight Vacations’ debut in Latin America, with three new trips taking in the best of Brazil, Argentina and Peru.
Other new tours for 2022/23 include the Spectacular Rockies and Glaciers of Alberta in Canada and Insight Vacations’ first ever trip significantly based around train travel Best of California – which takes Amtrack’s Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to San Obispo, and then up to Yosemite and San Francisco by coach.
In a further development for 2022, Insight’s award-winning Make Travel Matter Experiences are now featured on every worldwide tour. 
These award-winning experiences have the aim of advancing 11 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, connecting guests with people, planet and wildlife and enabling them to positively impact the communities and destinations they visit. ADVERTISEMENTThey are selected with great care using a proprietary assessment tool endorsed by sustainable tourism experts.
Talking about the new 2022/23 worldwide programme, UK & Ireland managing director, Chris Townson, said: “Pent-up demand for travel in 2022 is huge, and this really is the time for agents to seize the opportunity that premium touring offers, with travellers wanting to get out there again with more style, comfort and support than ever before.
“There has never been a better time to go guided, and Insight Vacations’ 2022 programme offers the most comprehensive collection of premium touring out there, bringing together some of the best accommodation, finest dining and immersive experiences into brilliantly curated itineraries.
“With new trips like the Best of California and the Spectacular Rockies and Glaciers of Alberta sitting alongside our perennially popular itineraries like the Dalmatian Elegance, Country Roads of Italy and Northern Lights of Scandinavia, it’s a varied and immersive portfolio that we’re excited to bring to market.”

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Experts from across Europe have joined forces to launch International Tourism Group (ITG); a new multi-national agency that sets a new standard through a data-led methodology applied market by market.
Launching as the result of 18 months of collaborative innovation between leading tourism experts in six countries, ITG aims to drive the recovery of global tourism through innovative campaigns and exclusively owned data-led platforms.
The Covid-19 crisis has forced the global tourism industry to become more efficient in the short term and more sustainable in the long term.
In planning recovery strategies for 100+ destination and travel clients, the pan-European task force came to the common conclusion that it was no longer enough to adapt old models to new circumstances.
Gaël de la Porte du Theil (France), president of ITG, explained: “Covid-19 was the catalyst needed to provoke a powerful and transformative reaction between some of the most stable elements in European tourism marketing.”
According to the World Bank, Europe accounts for 50 per cent of international travel and 35 per cent of global tourism expenditure.
This compact region, when considered as a single market, is without doubt the priority for any tourism destination or brand.
Until now, it has been impossible for travel and tourism marketers to approach Europe as a single market because each country has different attitudes to travel, different legislation, currency, intermediation, distribution channels, languages, seasonality, media consumption, air routes etc.
By pooling the resources, experience, and propriety tools of the founding agencies, ITG gives global destinations and brands a powerful marketing partner in Europe, with the human and financial resources to cost-effectively influence 50 per cent of the world’s travellers.ADVERTISEMENTGuy Chambers (UK), ITG vice president added: “The events of the past two years only accelerated the change already taking place within travel and tourism.
“New distribution channels, super-charged adoption of digital media and rapidly changing technology have disrupted how the business of travel was ‘done’.”
As well as providing full PR, advertising and representation services ITG launches with a unique, integrated, suite of solutions, developed and owned by its founders including: its own traveller intelligence and profiling platform, travel agency engagement, a loyalty and learning platform, its own e-workshop/online events platform, and even an exclusive digital marketplace for destinations.
With offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Milan, Frankfurt, Lisbon and London; International Tourism Group provides flexible access to the European market, unrivalled intelligence and an efficient way to reach the world’s most valuable travelling audience.
ITG will work in collaboration with its EU travel trade and PR colleagues on behalf of Visit Hungary, Visit Valencia and Visit Costa Del Sol to expand destination awareness through strategic activities, partnerships and storytelling, positioning the destinations as must-visit, easy-to-reach holidays.
Further afield, the Chile Tourism Board, Saudi Tourism Authority and Pure Grenada will also benefit from cross-market in-house creative teams that will help the destination management companies to cut through the noise of a congested market with engaging campaigns as we emerge from the pandemic.
ITG will communicate the country’s handling of Covid-19 and new travel status, along with focusing on niche activities, such as outdoor adventure and nature, luxury, city and culture, as well as the wonderful gastronomy.
More Information
For further information on ITG please visit the official website.
Image: KAEC

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