Author: R&R Partners

2012

June 19, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

INTERNATIONAL

EU emissions dispute could lead to higher airfares, official says

International airfares could rise if countries opposed to a planned expansion of the European Union’s emissions-trading scheme make good on their promise to retaliate, this feature says. Retaliatory measures could include reductions in flight frequency, banning EU airlines from the airspace of opposing countries and imposing fees on EU carriers that use airports in opposing countries.

AIRLINE

United follows Delta in raising baggage fee

United Airlines has raised its fee for a second checked bag on trans-Atlantic flights to $100 from $70. Delta Air Lines announced a similar increase in January to $100 from $75, or to $80 with online check-in. An industry analyst notes that the price increase comes in the face of falling fuel prices and a tenuous outlook for the European Union’s economy. United, however, attributes the fee change to “an increase in costs associated with carrying bags, such as fuel and handling.”

CRUISE

Norwegian cruise sale bases savings on state residency

Norwegian Cruise Line has introduced a cruise sale promo that offers savings for passengers based on the state in which they live. Passengers who book between now and Sunday can save up to $1,000 for cruises to destinations such as Hawaii, the Bahamas and Alaska.

Scenic Cruises unveils all-inclusive river sailings for 2013

Scenic Cruises is touting the “first truly all-inclusive luxury river cruising experience” it will provide in its 2013 schedule for Europe river cruises. The itineraries include new shore activities and dining options for passengers, who will get free Wi-Fi, beverages, private butler service and themed dinners.

OTA

Tourico Holidays implements AA’s direct connect

Online travel wholesaler Tourico Holidays said it is using American Airlines’ direct connect to book the airline’s fares and ancillary products.

Carnival overhauls loyalty program

Carnival Cruise Lines revamped and rebranded its loyalty program into a five-tier structure called the Very Important Fun Person Club, or VIFP. The new categories are based on the number of cruise days sailed, rather than the previous number of cruises.

ETC.

The Changing Face of All-Inclusives

Wave goodbye to your grandmother’s all-inclusives. The concept that once just meant a buffet along with a bed now encompasses just about anything a client desires on a vacation.

This week in Travel & Tourism — 6/4/12

June 12, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

DOMESTIC

Orlando, Fla., reports receiving 55.1M visitors in 2011

Visitor numbers in Orlando, Fla., climbed 7.2% in 2011 from the previous year, reaching a new record of 55.1 million visitors, tourism group Visit Orlando says. Using data from the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries and D.K. Shifflet & Associates, the group reported that international visits numbered 3.8 million, while domestic visitation reached 51.3 million, rising 7.5% from figures in 2010.

INTERNATIONAL

Acapulco fights image woes as it seeks return to glory

Acapulco and Mazatlan, two Pacific coast resort cities whose images have been tarnished by Mexico’s drug wars, are on the offensive, fighting back with strong promotional campaigns, tourist-centered festivals and events and enhanced security measures in efforts to change overall visitor perceptions of the destinations.

AIRLINE

Airlines expand basic- and premium economy classes of service

Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines are instituting two levels of economy-class service. Basic-economy service will be a no-frills experience for passengers looking to spend less, and premium-economy service will offer extra perks such as more seat room and early boarding. “Our expansion of Economy Comfort gives customers more premium seats to choose from no matter where they fly on Delta,” said Glen Hauenstein, a Delta executive vice president.

Southwest Airlines will launch new routes this year

Southwest Airlines plans to launch new routes in November and take over some routes flown by AirTran Airways. Southwest acquired AirTran last year, and eventually plans to absorb all AirTran flights into the Southwest brand. However, Southwest does not plan to add service in Memphis, Tenn., this year.

Air Canada will continue with plan for low-cost carrier

Calin Rovinescu, the CEO of Air Canada, says the airline is planning to launch a low-cost carrier. “I have said repeatedly that we need to participate in this segment of the market in one manner or another. And to this end, we are evaluating various low-cost business models,” he said.

TRAVEL TRADE

Aeromexico Vacations bumps hotel pay to 15%

Aeromexico Vacations is offering 15% commission on all land components when agents book air-hotel packages to Mexico, Central and South America. The 15% commission has no end date and is in effect for at least two months, according to MLT Vacations, operatot of Aeromexico Vacations.

Top 4 agencies dominate the travel-agent market, study shows

Research group IBISWorld has reported that more than 75% of the global travel-agency market belongs to the four largest industry groups: American Express, Carlson Cos., Expedia and Priceline.com. “However, there are still opportunities for smaller and niche operators at the regional and local city/town level,” IBISWorld said. The group also predict that rising consumer spending will boost travel-agency revenue by 3.1% at an annualized rate over the next five years.

CRUISE

River and ocean cruise lines for cross-marketing pact

In what appears to be an industry first, river cruise line Ama Waterways and ocean cruise line Crystal Cruises have formed a cross-marketing partnership. Each cruise line developed an exclusive offer that was emailed to past passengers with an introduction from the other brand.

Norwegian to buy cruise ship from shareholder

Norwegian Cruise Line has signed a memorandum of agreement to exercise its option to purchase the 2,000-passenger Norwegian Sky. The line has operated the Norwegian Sky under a bareboat charter with a purchase option from Ample Avenue, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong Limited, a 50% owner of Norwegian Cruise Line.

OTA

Travelocity fights to regain market share

Travelocity, when it emerged from Sabre in 1996, pioneered the online travel agency (OTA) space. But in the 16 years since, it has fallen sharply behind its competitors in terms of online traffic. Presumably, it has also fallen behind in revenue, though as one of the four major OTAs that is not public, it does not disclose its financial results.

ETC.

Airlines investing in entertainment, not roomier seats

As more airlines continue to shrink seat width and leg room, they are investing in lighter-weight and more comprehensive in-flight entertainment technologies. Mary Kirby, editor of Airline Passenger Experience magazine, explains the rationale behind these moves: “It’s of more value for an airline to add two rows worth of seats and have a good in-flight entertainment system rather than do the opposite and give passengers more legroom.”

This week in Travel and Tourism — 5/21/2012

May 30, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

DOMESTIC

Colorado and Florida have cheapest domestic fares, says ARC

Travelers departing from Colorado and Florida are the most likely to find the lowest airfares, according to ARC statistics. ARC said that based on an examination of average fares for 12 months ending April 30, 2012, Colorado was the least expensive state for a roundtrip domestic flight. Looking at a six-year period, ARC found that from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2011, the least expensive airfares were in Florida.

AIRLINE

Southwest looks beyond U.S. borders to Mexico, Caribbean

Southwest is becoming an international airline as it begins taking over AirTran Airways’ routes to Mexico and the Caribbean after the airlines’ merger. Southwest recently signed a deal for a new reservations system capable of handling international bookings and is seeking approval to build a new international terminal in Houston to add as many as 25 flights a day. “We have always wanted to get to a point where we added international capabilities,” said Southwest Chief Commercial Officer Bob Jordan.

AA ramps up personalization in selling and tailoring services

AA is making efforts to “personalize” air travel by offering tailored, relevant fares and services based on such customer attributes as previous itinerary searches, a traveler’s flight history and frequent-flyer status.

United Airlines withdraws preboarding privileges for families

United Airlines has dropped its policy allowing families with small children to board ahead of other passengers. Fliers with children not holding first- or business-class tickets must now board with their assigned boarding groups.

CRUISE

Royal Caribbean announces plans to upgrade reservations system

Royal Caribbean will undertake a five-year program to upgrade its reservations system, the company has announced. Through the $100 million initiative, the cruise line seeks to “help travel agents sell cruises more easily and service their clients more effectively by leveraging the latest technologies,” it says.

OTA

USTOA launches Facebook promotion

The U.S. Tour Operators Association has launched a travel sweepstakes through Facebook that is aimed at increasing consumer awareness of and participation in the packaged-travel industry. Four USTOA members — Pacific Delight Tours, Go Ahead Tours, Collette Vacations and Globus — have provided travel product worth $40,000 for Around The World With USTOA Sweepstakes, which will take place from May 29 through June 25, with one of four prizes awarded each week.

ETC.

Report: “Disney” is top keyword in searches for vacation destinations

An analysis by AdGooroo of keyword-search frequencies on the Internet has concluded that “Disney” is the most-searched travel destination from January through February 2012, at 7.3%. Las Vegas came in second at 6.3%, followed by Florida at 5.7% and the Caribbean at 3.2%. The study also showed a significant interest in deals, with 13.3% of keywords searched related to discounts.

Apple launches fitness vacation packages

Apple Vacations launched Fitcations, a fitness vacation program that kicks off with a weeklong Zumba party at the Now Amber Puerto Vallarta on June 16. The program is run in conjunction with Fit Bodies, an agency that places fitness, yoga and sport professionals at resort facilities for a teaching vacation.

The Power of Images in Social Media

May 25, 2012 R&R Partners 1 Comment

Pictures have always been a way to capture moments in time that you and your friends can look back on. Now, with social media, the majority of those photo memories are instantly uploaded onto photo-sharing social channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Even your favorite brands are using photos to push products because they are easily consumed, transfer information quickly, usually require less reading and can project a great deal of information. Pictures allow users to visualize the story a brand is telling and garner more engagement than anything else on social media.

Pinterest and Instagram can be extremely valuable for brands that have visual products because images catch and hold the attention of shoppers by offering much more stimulating information than text. It’s like allowing your customers an opportunity to window-shop online. On Instagram alone, more than 150 million photos have been shared and at one point, users were uploading 60 photos per second on Pinterest. That’s not all; most of those photos end up being shared on other social networks such as Facebook.

Facebook holds the trophy for most uploaded images with 50 billion, cumulatively. A study by Harvard Business School estimates that 70 percent of all activities on Facebook – from “liking” and commenting to looking at friends’ content or uploading your own – revolves around photos. Facebook will rank posts higher and will serve more impressions if the post contains an image. The ability to extend the exposure of your message and increase your chances of that message reaching the target simply increases your chances of action on your message. And with the addition of Facebook’s Timeline, brands are able to make a bolder visual statement via the prominent cover photo feature and the ability to “highlight” a post, which doubles the size of the photo on your Timeline.

In all, it’s safe to say that images are one of the most powerful tools in social media. Facebook may agree, as they did just purchase Instagram for $1 billion.

This week in Travel and Tourism — 5/14/2012

May 23, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

DOMESTIC

Abu Dhabi opens tourism office in New York

The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority has begun on-the-ground U.S. operations, opening an office in New York City. Abu Dhabi is promoting the emirate with a combination of marketing efforts ranging from a “takeover” of Times Square to branding collateral in the city’s taxis.

INTERNATIONAL

Mexico hotel occupancy up 7.6% through April

Mexico saw record hotel occupancy for the first four months of the year, chalking up a 7.6% increase over the same period in 2011, according to the Ministry of Tourism. From Jan. 1 through April 29, a total of 185,550 guestrooms were booked. Mexico’s 70 leading destinations posted occupancy numbers that exceeded those of 2008, the barometer by which all other years since have been measured.

AIRLINE

American requests permission to expand Brazil service

American has asked the Transportation Department for the rights to add 17 weekly flights to its U.S.-Brazil service this fall.

The carrier plans to add a second daily flight on its New York-Sao Paulo and Miami-Rio de Janeiro routes on Oct. 1 and Dec. 15, respectively.

Allegiant expands Hawaii plans

Allegiant Air will add five more Hawaii routes, including a Maui segment, in mid-November. From Bellingham, Wash., the discount airline will launch service to Maui on Nov. 14 and to Honolulu the following day.

CRUISE

Revenue up more than 15% at Regent Seven Seas

Regent Seven Seas Cruises reported a 15.5% hike in revenue for the first quarter of the year, to $119.9 million — a record first-quarter result. However, net income dropped to $400,000, down from $1.5 million last year. Net yields increased 5.2%, driven by a 4.7-point rise in occupancy, the three-ship luxury line said.

Celebrity completes upgrade of Millennium ships

Celebrity Cruises has completed its $140 million, two-year project to outfit Millennium-class ships with amenities and services introduced on Solstice-class vessels. The Celebrity Millennium was the fourth and final ship in the class to be “Solsticized.” AquaClass category staterooms, the Qsine dining venue, the Michael’s Club lounge, Cellarmasters wine bar and the Celebrity iLounge were among the upgrades to the Millennium-class ships.

This week in Travel and Tourism — 5/7/2012

May 14, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

DOMESTIC

New national tourism strategy aims to be boom for industry

The Obama administration’s unveiling of the first-ever National Travel and Tourism Strategy has been met with praise from sectors of the travel and tourism industry. The initiative seeks to enhance coordination between the industry and the federal government regarding policies through a new national travel and tourism office. The strategy also aims to launch various steps that would boost international tourism in order to reach a goal of drawing 100 million foreign visitors to the U.S. each year by 2021.

McCarran menu of int’l flights expanding

The world is coming to Las Vegas, with the help of some major international airlines that will be initiating service in the next couple of months.

INTERNATIONAL

Opening of new Berlin airport delayed indefinitely

Lufthansa and Airberlin are scrambling to rearrange their newly expanded flight schedules after Tuesday’s announcement that the opening of the city’s unified airport, Berlin Brandenburg International, has been postponed indefinitely.

AIRLINE

American Airlines outlines comeback strategy

American Airlines says it plans to increase usage of domestic code-shares and boost international travel to 44% of passenger totals by 2017. AMR Corp., American’s parent, filed for bankruptcy protection last year. American said in a memo to employees that it would also use more regional jets to better fit demand in smaller markets as part of its efforts to boost annual revenue by $1 billion within the next five years.

Airlines scale back programs for unlimited flying

“Lifetime” memberships for unlimited flying have proved too costly for airlines. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average lifespan for an American is 78.5 years. However, some airlines offer flexible flying packages for a limited amount of time, such as months or years.

Spirit new bag charge prompts calls for greater fee transparency

The Consumer Travel Alliance is aiming an appeal for wider airline fee transparency at the Department of Transportation in the wake of a new baggage fee from Spirit Airlines. The group criticized Spirit’s $100 charge for carry-on bags checked at gates, calling it a “wake-up call” for the department.

CRUISE

Costa bolsters safety procedures

Costa Cruises has implemented measures aimed at enhancing passenger safety — a result of the loss of 32 lives following the capsizing of Costa Concordia. At a press conference and interview with Travel Weekly aboard the 3,800-passenger Costa Fascinosa on Monday, Costa President Gianni Onorato said, “We will never forget the victims and those who suffered in his tragedy” when the Concordia ran aground.

OTA

Priceline continues rapid growth

Strong international hotel sales pushed Priceline.com’s profits up 74%, with the online travel agency reporting first-quarter income of $182 million. Priceline said international bookings increased 54%, driven by strong results from European sites Booking.com and Agoda.com, as well as strength from domestic car rentals.

ETC.

TravelWeekly.com debuts hotel and cruise searches

TravelWeekly.com has launched two new search features on TravelWeekly.com: Hotel Search and Cruise Search. The search options integrate information from the Hotel and Travel Index and Official Cruise Guide databases, respectively, and are accessible from any page on TravelWeekly.com via the “Cruises” and “Hotels” tabs on the right-hand section of the main navigation bar.

Microsegmentation allows targeted offerings for consumers

Technology has created new methods for businesses to classify potential clients’ behaviors based on factors as seemingly trivial as their Web browsers and then fashion offerings that would be most appealing, this feature says. This opens up new opportunities for businesses to match their products with consumers’ preferences and offer a consistent level of service at every interaction.

Plans progress on nation’s first in-airport liquor store

McCarran Airport is poised to welcome what is reportedly the first in-airport liquor store located outside of a duty-free area. The 1,350-square-foot Liquor Library will occupy space at the south end of the Terminal 1 baggage claim area. Its principals said they will invest more than a half-million dollars in the project, with plans to be open by early fall.

This week in Travel and Tourism — 4/30/2012

May 7, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

INTERNATIONAL

Jamaica draws more visitors in 2011 despite drop in U.S. arrivals

Jamaica reported 1.95 million stopover visitors in 2011, an increase of 1.6% from 2010, according to the Jamaica Tourist Board. U.S. arrivals totaled 1.26 million, a 1.4% decrease. Cruise arrivals numbered 1.13 million, a 23.7% increase. Latin America led the visitor surge in 2011, recording a 23.4% increase in stopover arrivals. The main markets were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama.

AIRLINE

Low-cost carriers see double-digit growth in 2011

Leading low-cost carriers enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in 2011 and collective passenger numbers rose nearly 12%. The latest Airline Business low-cost carrier survey showed revenues grew strong at virtually all of the more than 30 carriers 2011 financial results were available for. Southwest Airlines remains the largest budget operator by revenue and passenger numbers. Its revenues jumped nearly 30% to $15.7 billion when accounting for its 2011 acquisition of fellow low-cost carrier AirTran. Excluding the merger, its revenues were up 6%. Passenger numbers reached 135 million.

Delta to buy oil refinery

Delta Air Lines through a subsidiary company agreed to acquire from Phillips 66 a Philadelphia-area oil refinery.

Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy, which plans to close the transaction by the end of June, will invest $250 million in the acquisition, refinery improvements and related sourcing and marketing agreements with Phillips 66 and BP.

CRUISE

15% of wealthy travelers plan to cruise this year

The spring 2012 survey by the American Affluence Research Center found that a lower percentage of people in wealthy households plan to cruise this year. “Plans to cruise during the next 12 months declined from 18% of the wealthiest U.S. households in the fall 2011 survey to 15% in the new survey. This decline is consistent with the softness in first-quarter bookings reported by the industry, but it still shows good potential for cruise sales,” a statement from the center said.

Norwegian Cruise Line reports improved first-quarter earnings

Norwegian Cruise Line reported stronger year-over-year earnings for the first quarter Monday morning. The Miami-based cruise operator, the world’s third-largest, made a $3.3 million profit in the quarter that ended March 31, compared to a loss of $7.9 million during the first quarter of 2011. Revenue increased from $495.5 million in the first three months of 2011 to $515.4 million this year.

OTA

TripAdvisor shares surge after Q1 report

TripAdvisor’s first-quarter profit increased 1.8% from a year earlier, as a jump in revenue from click-based and display-based advertising offset the effect of higher selling, technology and administrative costs during the company’s first full quarter as a public company.

ETC.

Billionaire promises to build Titanic II by 2016

An Australian billionaire said Monday he’ll build a high-tech replica of the Titanic at a Chinese shipyard and its maiden voyage in late 2016 will be from England to New York, just like its namesake planned. Weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Titanic, Clive Palmer announced Monday he has signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the Titanic II.

Join us for #RRchat this Friday

May 2, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

As our society becomes more engaged in social media, we turn to digital avenues to raise awareness for everything from stating our point of views on hot topics to promoting our businesses. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have replaced traditional means of getting our message across, reaching more people than ever before.

Join us for this Friday’s #RRchat on Twitter from 1-2 p.m. to talk about how Social Media is helping to drive awareness on topics such as your health status and the upcoming election season. Check out the questions below for a sneak peak of the discussion points.

1. Facebook now lets users ID themselves as organ donors. Will you share your organ donor status for all to see?
2. Every November, men around the world grow a mustache to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues. Do you think this impacts others’ awareness on issues like prostate cancer?
3. With elections just around the corner, politicians are already sprucing up their social media presence. How can having a social presence help raise awareness about their stance on issues?

Talk to you on Friday!

This Week in Travel and Tourism — 4/23/2012

April 30, 2012 R&R Partners Comment

DOMESTIC

New York looks to China and Brazil for big tourism growth

New York aims to boost tourism’s annual economic impact by almost 45% during the next three years by increasing marketing efforts in South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Between 2011 and 2015, the number of annual visits from China and Hong Kong will jump 51% to 494,000, while the number of annual visits from Brazil will rise 45% to 1.02 million, projected NYC & Company, New York’s tourism-marketing organization.

U.S. prepares to launch $150M tourism marketing drive

A $150 million campaign to encourage foreign travelers to visit the U.S. is set to begin in May, led by the U.S. Travel Association. The program spans a variety of media and marks the country’s fist coordinated attempt to market itself to the international traveling community.

AIRLINE

United Continental posts $448 M Q1 loss

United Continental Holdings reported a $448 million net loss for the first quarter, compared with a $213 million net loss for the same period last year. The loss includes $162 million in special costs “primarily” related to United’s integration of Continental Airlines, according to the carrier.

JetBlue Q1 profit up tenfold

JetBlue Airways reported a $30 million first-quarter net profit, up from $3 million for the first three months of 2011.

JetBlue’s average quarterly one-way fare increased 6% year over year to $159.93, the carrier’s “highest quarterly average fare ever,” according to CFO Mark Powers. First-quarter passenger unit revenue grew 8% year over year on a 12% increase in capacity.

Delta, US Airways expect profitable summer on strong Q1 results

Delta Air Lines and US Airways posted profits of $124 million and $48 million, respectively, compared with losses in the previous year and predicted a strong summer travel season based on steady demand growth. Observers are predicting that airlines will try for further airfare increases to capitalize on the strong demand.

CRUISE

Carnival Glory’s extended Boston sailings will continue in 2013

Carnival has unveiled plans to extend a series of sailings from Boston for the summer 2013 season. The schedule this summer will comprise four- and five-night voyages to Canada aboard the Carnival Glory. Starting June 2013, the Glory will undertake three seven-night cruises.

Norwegian’s Partners First program marks successful first year

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to build on the positive feedback that its Partners First initiative received in its first year through changes that would further simplify agents’ operations, said Andy Stuart, Norwegian’s executive vice president of global sales and passenger services. Planned changes include expanding Partners First Weekends, a restructuring of the in-house reservations department and a shift from offering amenity points for agents to dollars.

ETC.

Winner of Etihad contest will double salary

Etihad Airways, flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has launched a promotion under which it will match one U.S. travel agent’s salary ($90,000 limit).