Global Travel News

Roger Dow, outgoing president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, will be honored as the 2022 inductee into the U.S. Travel’s Hall of Leaders this November. Dow has led U.S. Travel as chief executive since 2005, after 34 years at Marriott International where, at the age of 18, he started as a swimming pool lifeguard.  Dow moved up through the ranks till he led the company’s global sales and marketing functions, notably developing the first hotel loyalty program, which would become Marriott Bonvoy and the related Marriott credit card. And he’s not done yet.

At IPW recently Dow was fêted and his many accomplishments celebrated throughout the conference.
The busy Dow graciously agreed to talk with Travel Industry Today and as always, he was friendly and candid, while also being both tactful and diplomatic.

We wondered what, in all his 17 years at U.S. Travel would he consider was the biggest challenge, aside from the pandemic.

“I think the biggest challenge was to get our government to realize what a powerhouse travel is in the economy. They talk about manufacturing and they talk about (manufacturing) plants and all that. I once said to the mayor of Chicago, ‘You did a big story in the front page of Chicago Tribune about Boeing moving their headquarters. But what Boeing really did, is took six floors on an office building in Chicago. The same year, we (the travel and tourism industry) created 5,000 jobs in Chicago – and you’re talking about 180 people’”.

One of the biggest challenges, Dow said, was to get people to understand the impact of travel and the problem is, that they think of travel as airline tickets, hotel rooms and attraction tickets – they don’t realize that everything that happens – happens when someone first takes a trip.

There are so many sectors involved we asked, “How do you manage to keep them focused on a mutual goal?”

He agreed immediately that keeping that focus was very challenging.

“I think of it like almost like a Venn diagram.” (An illustration that uses circles to show the relationships among things or finite groups of things. Circles that overlap have a commonality while circles that do not overlap do not share those traits. Venn diagrams help to visually represent the similarities and differences between two concepts.)

There are things that the airlines want, he explained, and there are things that the hotels want, and they may not necessarily be the same. Attractions might want somethings even more different, “but there’s that spot in the middle where they all want.” He says – obviously people travelling, people buying what they are offering. And that is gained by an increase in international visitation. It also means getting more workers working together. It’s trying to figure out who really needs what, and “what’s our lane?”

He says he repeatedly tells the various sectors to deal with their own associations such as the American Hotel and Lodging Association, or the National Restaurant Association, to let their own associations worry about factors pertaining to their own sectors.

“We have to say, on that issue, deal with them, not us.”

Though he does admit that occasionally he runs into a situation where they are, “knocking heads because what one part of the industry wants, another one isn’t so sure that’s a good idea for them.”

Regardless, he says, “I want to focus on things that can get more people travelling and come to the United States and I try and stay very pure to that area.”

“How did you get politicians to agree?”

“You build relationships with them,” was the immediate answer. “When I first took this job, they did a profile on me. I think (it was in) a publication called The Hill. It’s political, and they said, ‘What is it like being a lobbyist?’ And I said, “Well, first of all, I’m not a lobbyist.”

He is however, a salesman and he said, “everything in life is sales.”

So, basically he sat down with politicians and got an understanding what was important to them. And was then to be able to encourage them to think, for example, how getting more travel to their State, increasing the number of people visiting, and focusing on what was important to them.

He also stressed the necessity to be apolitical.

“I joke, but it’s not a joke, Nancy Pelosi is a very good friend of mine. And she believes, I think, that maybe I’m a Democrat. Kevin McCarthy, head of Republicans, he’s a good friend of mine. He thinks I’m probably a Republican. So, I try to be non-political and stick to what is the issue.”

We noted that the previous day at the conference, he had deftly fielded a question on gun control, what is his view on social issues?

People wanting his views on social issues, is an ongoing problem.

“I don’t like getting pulled into … social issues, when someone says, okay, what’s your stand on abortion? What’s your stand on guns? That’s not our lane. Now, I know some of these things can disrupt travel – but it’s not our lane. So, I try our darnedest to stay out of those issues and let someone else deal with them.”

On these social issues, he says it’s not just one or two sides, there are several. The challenge for him is not to voice opinions on social issues – that’s for other groups. As for Dow, it’s “just stick to the knitting.”

Do you find it a problem that other parts of the world are beginning to think that the US speaks with a different voice depending on the administration? Is that turning out to be a problem?

“I think it’s more of a problem in the media than it actually is.” He says, though he admits it is certainly what people talk about on television, “but the person who’s thinking of coming to Disney World still wants to come to Disney World. I’ve heard a few people say ‘I’ll never come to your country again’ because of this administration or that administration, but I think if we stick to the value, the experience and what we have to offer, I don’t think it really matters. “

How do we as an industry motivate people? Young people particularly, to come into this industry?

“I think number one, we’re going to have a harder time because what’s happened with the pandemic. A lot of young people have seen their parents lose their jobs. We had 17 million people in the travel industry in January of 2020, in May of 2020, we had eight and a half million unemployed. It was 51%. I looked up the last year… the worst year of the great depression was 1933. The number of Americans out of work was 26%. For this industry, this was two times (that of) the great depression.”

So, now you have young people concerned about the stability of their careers, he says, but he sees a silver lining. U.S. Travel brought the head of the Boys and Girls club in California together to talk about getting people to think about travel. The response was good. He laughs that perhaps he should have been running boys and girls clubs for 20 years.

“We had a reputation being ticket takers and hamburger flippers and you know…” he says, “but our data is really, really good.” He tells us a study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that people who started in the (travel and tourism) industry and spent at least two years in the industry, or have a career in the industry, make more than any other industries over a career, except for financial services which was about a half percent more. Women, 14% more. African Americans, 16% more. Hispanics, 20% more.

“I think the industry moves a little slow for people. But once you get there, it’s a fabulous place to work. So, I think, but we’ve got to start younger. We’ve got to talk about this industry. We’ve got to work with teachers. I’m trying to get a grant from the US government to build a toolkit for teachers to talk about (the industry). Do you want to be a lawyer, a banker, a fireman, a nurse, or a travel professional? That last part isn’t happening anywhere.”

He notes that university and community colleges offer huge opportunities – and not just in travel courses. Business schools and law schools should be talking about the opportunities there are in travel and tourism for students interested in law, finance, business and hotel development.

“There’s a million jobs.” He says, suggesting a change in approach, “if you want to have some more fun in your job and not just do contracts all day – you can be a lawyer in the travel industry. I think we’ve got to change the whole dialogue.”

What do you think is the future of the industry?

“I think it’s extremely bright and I’ll tell you why. I’ve watched it after 9/11, where the headline was, ‘No one will travel overseas again, too risky’. I watched after 2008, the headline was ‘20% of hotels in major cities never to open again’, followed by the 10 biggest years ever. I feel very good. We’re going to have a hiccup. It’s going to get going, but it’s just too big and too important. When I got this job, we were doing 46 million international visitors. 2019, we did 77 million, 30 million more. So, it’s pretty bright, but I think we’ve got to look at things differently. We’ve got to look at work differently. And I think we really have to take a different look at how we approach work and flexibility. Demographics are changing. We Boomers maybe haven’t changed the past – Millennials are different.”

He cites a fairly recent example, “I had two jobs open up (in different departments), and I had two young people that were really, really good. And I went to each of them and said, “Right now, you’re not qualified for this job, okay? But you’re so smart, I will not fill this job for six months. I’ll give you six months to prove yourself and the job is yours, if you improve.”

Both of them came back to him with the same response, “I’m not sure I’m going to accept your offer until you can give me something in writing.” Dow admits he was astounded, saying if somebody had made him the same offer at the same age, he would have “done somersaults” his response would have been, “put me in the game coach, I’ll just do what you want me to do.”

He muses over the change in attitude, “It’s different. A different mentality.”

Dow was not prepared at IPW to discuss his future plans, though he’s not done yet, and when we contacted him this weekend – he certainly made that clear as we now know he will launch an innovative company to address one of the biggest issues in the industry today. (See following story).

At the time of our interview a successor had not been named, and we asked what advice he might have for the new CEO. (It has since been announced that Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association will join U.S. Travel on September 1st)

“My advice to my successor will be – focus on relationships.” It is vitally important to build relationships and get people to trust you he said, adding, “One of the things I think we’ve earned is trust. The administration knows that we’ll poke them if they’re not doing something right, but we’ll also stand up and salute them when they do something right. They begin to get to trust us, and say, okay, these guys are pretty open, fair operators.”

We’ll leave the last word to Carnival Cruise Line President and U.S. Travel National Chair Christine Duffy, in the release announcing that Dow will be honored as the 2022 inductee into U.S. Travel’s Hall of Leaders, “It’s difficult to imagine a more effective advocate for travel today than Roger Dow. His selection to our most distinguished body reflects his countless contributions and our industry’s deep respect and gratitude. As he concludes a celebrated career as head of U.S. Travel and, previously, as a leader of Marriott, his induction honours all that Roger has achieved to advance and guide this industry and its workers.”

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Canada Jetlines’ inaugural flights have been delayed; France lifts COVID restrictions, but Germany plans for a fall wave; revenue at Air Canada improves; and much more in last week’s round-up.

NEWS

Germany presented plans for new coronavirus measures for the coming fall and winter as it expects virus cases to go up again during the colder season. Among them, wearing masks on planes and during long-distance travel by train and bus will be mandatory from October to early April all over Germany.

The UNWTO’s forward-looking scenarios published in May point to international arrivals reaching 55% to 70% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Scenarios by region show Europe and Americas recording the best tourism results so far this year.

BORDERS

Following a new law passed on July 30, France has declared an end to the public health emergency and subsequent exceptional measures put in place at the outset of the COVID pandemic. Similarly, Martinique and Tahiti advise that all COVID-19 restrictions applied to international travellers arriving on the Caribbean and South Pacific islands have been lifted.

BY THE NUMBERS

In June, 15,634 visitors arrived in Hawaii from Canada compared to 19,172 visitors (-18.5%) in June 2019. Visitors from Canada spent $34.4 million, compared to $36.1 million (-4.6%) in June 2019. And daily spending by Canadians increased to $196 p.p. compared to $160 p.p. (+22.5%). Overall, a total of 842,927 visitors arrived in Hawaii in June, representing an 89% recovery from June 2019.

AIR

Canada Jetlines has announced a change to the date of inaugural flights out of Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Winnipeg (YWG) and Moncton, New Brunswick (YQM). The inaugural flights, originally scheduled for Aug. 15, have been tentatively rescheduled for Aug. 29, subject to receipt of final licensing approval.

Air Canada raked in a nearly five-fold revenue increase in its latest quarter but continued to suffer net losses in the hundreds of millions due to a “very challenging” three months, said CEO Mike Rousseau. Nevertheless, the airline boss says he is “encouraged” by the recent improvements.

From July 1 to 31, WestJet completed 97.5% of all scheduled flights, according to flight statistics provided by Cirium. Additionally, 82% of all scheduled and operated flights arrived within 45 minutes of scheduled arrival time.

DEALS

To celebrate its 25th anniversary (Aug. 5), Viking is offering special savings plus up to free international airfare on select river and ocean voyages. The “25th Anniversary Sale” is in effect until the end of the month.

Couples Resorts is celebrating Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee with a special offer. Travellers that book by Aug. 31 for travel through Dec. 16 will receive their 6th night free, a $60 resort credit and two times the Romance Rewards points.

TOURS

Tourcan Vacations has launched a new on-line booking engine that provides user-friendly access to thousands of flight options, airlines, and price options. The booking engine is accessible through the tour company’s agent portal. For information and registration, click HERE.

A new Explorations tour has been launched by Collette. The 11-day “Montana: Exploring Big Sky Country” excursion includes two full days in Yellowstone National Park, a cruise through the Gates of the Mountains following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, as well as an overnight at St. Mary Lodge just outside Glacier National Park. Tour participants also have an opportunity to meet with a descendant of the last Kootenai chief while learning about Kootenai traditions and trying out some traditional foods.

HOTELS

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, one of the most iconic heritage properties in Southeast Asia, has reopened its doors to guests on June 1 for the first time in almost three years. First opened in 1932 and widely celebrated as La Grande Dame de Angkor, the hotel has been welcoming discerning travellers and famous faces – from Charlie Chaplin to Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama – to the historic heart of Cambodia for almost 90 years. The hotel underwent a delicate transformation in 2019 with rooms and suites receiving a meticulous facelift before the global pause in travel.

New this summer in the San Francisco, the Sir Francis Drake Hotel has re-opened doors as the Beacon Grand following a renovation and redesign of all public spaces and 418 guestrooms…. Located near San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, 1 Hotel San Francisco opened on June 1. The 200-room hotel is the city’s first mission-driven hotel that celebrates the beauty of the Bay Area’s natural environment…. The LUMA Hotel San Francisco has opened as the first hotel development in the evolving Mission Bay community.

RESORTS
Labour Day Weekend (Sept. 2-4) will see the return of the Four Seasons Maui Wine & Food Classic  offering guests the opportunity to connect with an all-star lineup of vintners and celebrity chefs, including Wolfgang Puck, Josiah Citrin, and Joachim Splichal. Tickets for events, ranging from US$230 to $930 can be purchased on the resort’s website.

Playa Hotels & Resorts all-new Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya is now available for booking. The all-inclusive 291-room adult resort, featuring “modern hacienda charm,” is nestled in the secluded region of Riviera Maya 10 km. from Playa del Carmen, surrounded by lush mangroves, and set on a long stretch of pure white sand beach. The resort will open Dec. 1.

CRUISE

Marking a major construction milestone, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Vista touched water for the first time last week when it was floated out from dry dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera (Venice), Italy. The Prima Class vessel will set sail in 2023.

Carnival Cruise Line reports it has reached an important milestone this summer – welcoming three million guests since the restart of guest operations in July 2021. The “banner summer” across the cruise company’s 23 ships comes as the cruise line celebrates its 50th anniversary and at time when pandemic restrictions have largely been removed.

ATTRACTIONS & THEME PARKS

Every Saturday night from Sept. 17 to Oct. 29, Monsters are taking over LEGOLAND California Resort in San Diego as “Brick-or-Treat” presents the all-new Monster Party children’s Halloween celebration. Guests can dress up and celebrate Halloween with new LEGO® Monster characters, treat stations, not-so-spooky décor, an all-new show lineup, and the release of the exclusive new 4D movie: “The Great Monster Chase!”

FAMS & INCENTIVES

Air Canada, Utah Office of Tourism, and Rocky Mountaineer are partnering on the “Sell Your Way to Utah!” promotion, which will enable four agents to qualify to join an Oct. 22-29 FAM to Utah, including airfare, to join the rail company’s Red Rocks itinerary. Travel professionals will receive one point for each round-trip Air Canada return or open jaw airfare booked to either Denver, Las Vegas or Salt Lake City between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 and one point for each Rocky Mountaineer passenger booked on the “Rockies to the Red Rocks” rail journey for travel in 2022. One additional point for any Utah land arrangements will also be awarded. Agents must register to participate by Aug. 25 by emailing lara@canuckiwi.com with their details.

EVENTS
Travel Edge Network recently hosted a select group of top advisors, including several from Toronto, and Travel Edge team members on a Silversea Alaskan cruise aboard the Silver Muse (photo). This year’s event not only honoured top overall sales but was expanded to recognize the leading performers by vertical including adoption of preferred suppliers, air, and cruise. Canadians included Brett Carfa (Top Sales Performance/Cruise), Jenny Malka (Top Sales Performance/ Cruise), and Laura Kelly (Rising Star award).

PEOPLE/APPOINTMENTS

Explora Journeys, the luxury travel brand of MSC Group, has appointed Patricia Di Benedetto as its Toronto-based Business Relationship Lead in Canada. She was most recently a Strategic Accounts Manager for Royal Caribbean International and has more than 17 years of experience in building retail and hospitality brands.

Sabrina Bernacchia has joined Discover the World in Toronto as national sales manager for German carrier Condor Airlines. Her 30-year career in travel in Canada included nearly two decades at Air Canada Vacations and the past seven years as senior account manager for Air New Zealand. Condor Airlines offers year-round flights from Toronto, and seasonal flights from Vancouver, Halifax, and Whitehorse to Frankfurt and onward to Europe and points beyond.

DESTINATIONS

Tourism Trinidad has launched the Tourism-Oriented Policing Program (TOPS) for police, immigration, customs, and other front-line law enforcement officials in response to “the critical need to ensure that visitors’ first impressions are positive and memorable upon entering our shores.” The aim of the program is to provide security and other port of entry representatives with the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enhance the image of Destination Trinidad by providing a safe, secure, and enjoyable environment for our international guests.

The World Golf Hall of Fame is leaving Florida and returning to North Carolina, where it will be part of the USGA’s campus at Pinehurst in time for induction ceremonies during the US Open weeks in 2024. The move will involve relocating some of the artifacts that have been on display at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., which opened in 1998. The visitor experience also will include the USGA museum and its vast library.

LAST WEEK IN TRAVEL HISTORY

In 2005, an Air France passenger jet carrying 309 people skidded off the runway in a fierce thunderstorm at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. All on board escaped before the jet burst into flames.

Send info to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Sorry, Canada, none of The World’s Best 50 Restaurants are in this country; nor are there in any of the next 50, which are also curiously listed in the respected annual collection. That said, gourmands will have to travel to Copenhagen to sample this year’s No. 1 establishment: Geranium.

The Danish eatery, led by chef Rasmus Kofoed, took over top spot from Noma (which nevertheless was elevated to the Best of the Best hall of fame) after placing second last year.

This year, Geranium is joined in the top three by Central (No. 2) in Lima, Peru, and Disfrutar (No. 3) in Barcelona, Spain. Pujol (No. 5) in Mexico City was named The Best Restaurant in North America spot for the third time.

Recently unveiled at an awards ceremony in London hosted by actor Stanley Tucci, the 2022 list includes restaurants from 24 territories in five continents worldwide and introduces 12 restaurants making their debut, along with two returning as re-entries.

The 20th annual list is designed to shine spotlight on hospitality establishments worldwide and is created by a gender-balanced voting panel comprising 1,080 independent authorities in the world of gastronomy, from renowned international chefs and food journalists to travelling gastronomes.

Notably this year, South America and Asia were recognized as culinary powerhouses, with eight and seven restaurants on the list respectively.

As for the world No. 1, the panel noted, “Geranium’s mission is to create food that awakens the senses, and Chef Kofoed’s meticulous cooking and incredible vision, including his recent decision to go meatless, have won accolades and fans worldwide.”

William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, added, ” Kofoed, Søren Ledet and their team have created an unforgettable dining experience, taking seasonal cooking to superlative heights and delivering precise, beautiful and elegant food that combines art and flavour alongside a ground-breaking drinks program. Geranium has cemented its status as a global culinary destination and a much-deserved winner of the coveted title.”

Other awards include:

• René Frank of Coda, Berlin, receives The World’s Best Pastry Chef Award
• The Beronia World’s Best Sommelier Award is presented to Josep Roca, sommelier of El Celler de Can Roca, in a new award for 2022
• Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa Maria wins the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award
• Uliassi (No. 12) in Senigallia takes homes the Highest New Entry Award
• Nobelhart & Schmutzig (No. 17) is awarded the Villa Massa Highest Climber Award, as the Berlin restaurant climbs 28 places from the 2021 list
• Atomix (No. 33) in New York wins the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award, and,
• Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award goes to Jorge Vallejo of Quintonil in Mexico City.

Best of the Best

Meanwhile, an elite group of former No.1 ranked restaurants (listed below) were inducted into the Best of the Best hall of fame, thereby rendering them ineligible for voting on the 2022 and beyond. They include:

• El Bulli (2002, 2006-09)
• The French Laundry (2003-04)
• The Fat Duck (2005)
• Noma – original location (2010-12, 2014)
• El Celler de Can Roca (2013, 2015)
• Osteria Francescana (2016, 2018)
• Eleven Madison Park (2017)
• Mirazur (2019)
• Noma – current location (2021)

Check out the 2022 list below:

First published at Travel Industry Today

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News