|
|
Soaring Florida tourism will mean thousands of jobs
 The state welcomed 93.7 million out-of-state and international visitors last year, and a record number of visits is expected in 2014That's up from 91.5 million visitors in 2012 and 87.3 million in 2011.
Tourism projections show visitation is expected to climb to 127 million tourists in 2020, according to Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing organization. To accommodate that growth, Florida will need 315,000 new hospitality jobs, forecast data show.
With that in mind, Visit Florida on Tuesday announced a new training and certification program for hospitality employees, which it says aims to increase the satisfaction of guests and convince them to return.
oaring tourism could lead to hundreds of thousands of new jobs, tourism leaders say.
|
Vacation Rentals Outpaced Hotels in Myrtle Beach Tourism
 Grand Strand tourism bounced back after a slow start to the season in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with some businesses saying the summer was about even with or up a bit from last year. Overall average lodging occupancy - including hotels, campsites, condotels and vacation rental properties - hit 83 percent for the summer, up about 1 percent compared to the 2013 season, said Taylor Damonte of Coastal Carolina University's Center for Resort Tourism.
"It's not a bad summer," Damonte said. "It's not up as much as we'd like but it's still a good showing."
|
Cocoa Beach tourism official touts success of social media effort
 Thanks to a more effective use of social media, the Cocoa Beach area is generating more interest among tourists.
And with social media only getting more popular, that interest should grow also.
"Everything needs to be mobile and on social media," Jennifer Sugarman, the new director of the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce's Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said Tuesday.
Sugarman made her comments to more than 25 individuals, mostly volunteers who help with tourism, on the importance of promoting the area and the most effective way to accomplish that.
|
Caribbean losing market share as competition in beach tourism heats up
 The beach remains the biggest attraction in global travel, with its popularity booming as never before. The Caribbean, however, is not benefitting much from improving numbers. Despite the world economic malaise over the past five years, global tourism has grown at an average of 5% per annum, a rate that far outpaces economic recovery. And beaches have been prominent in attracting ever more tourists to travel further than ever before in search of the perfect patch of warm sand.
Source: Travel Daily News. Read More...
|
Record occupancy should push pricing power
 Record occupancy projections for 2015 are giving operators the confidence to push rate, sources said. PKF Hospitality Research on Wednesday released its updated forecast, which called for a 2015 year-end occupancy of 65%-a record for the industry, according to historical data from STR, parent company of Hotel News Now. The previous high was 64.8% in 1995, according to STR. "Demand is continuing to outperform even our strong estimate of demand this year. ... Our model is reacting to that," said Jamie Lane, senior economist at PKF-HR.
|
HomeAway Supports Vacation Rental Tax Compliance with Investment in HotSpot Tax
 HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY), the world's leading online marketplace for vacation rentals, today announced an investment in HotSpot Tax, Inc., the only automated, web-based tax filing solution for state and local short-term rental taxes in the world. The investment reinforces HomeAway's commitment to helping owners successfully rent and operate their properties and enables HotSpot to expand upon its existing standalone tax compliance product to offer an integrated solution across many short-term rental platforms. Ultimately, both support the mission of making it simple and easy for short-term rental owners to comply with the laws within their local municipalities.
|
Airbnb Under Fire From New 'Share Better' Campaign
The battle over the so-called sharing economy is heating up as New Yorkers question the impact of home-sharing sites like Airbnb.
A campaign called "Share Better," launched Friday by a coalition of elected officials, housing activists and hotel owners, makes the case that Airbnb listings are "illegal hotels" that are "robbing NYC of affordable housing and violating state law."
The campaign will focus on advertising and public education, aiming to serve as a counterweight to Airbnb's extensive ad campaign of recent months, which is partly aimed at bending New York state law in a direction more friendly to the company's business.
|
Millennial spend outpaces boomers, Gen X
 Data from industry researchers shows millennials are spending more on travel. Millennials spent 20% more on travel over last year, surpassing the 12% average year-over-year gain of all U.S. households, according to the "2014 Portrait of American travelers," released by MMGY Global, a travel and hospitality marketing firm. This surge is the largest year-over-year spike in spending since pre-Recession years, according to the report.
The research looked at more than 2,500 people in four generational categories who have traveled within the last 12 months, all of whom had an annual household income of more than $50,000.
|
Groups calls for airlines to list all fees
Consumer and travel groups on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to make the total price of airfares easier to compare by forcing airlines to supply travel agencies with information on additional fees that have become so popular over the past six years.
Advocates called the current process "unfair and deceptive" for consumers, who can't readily compare among airlines all-in prices for airfares including all the associated fees, such as those for checked bags, early boarding and extra-legroom seat assignments.
|
U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Fell This Month
 Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in September as a rising unemployment rate weighed on households.
The Conference Board's confidence index dropped to 53.1, from a revised 54.5 in August, a report from the New York-based group showed today. Measures of present conditions and expectations for six months from now both declined. The index has climbed from a record low of 25.3 reached in February.
Unemployment is forecast to rise to 10 percent this year, even as the monthly pace of job losses slows. Today's report corroborates the Federal Reserve's assessment last week that sluggish income growth and tight credit are curbing household spending and slowing the pace of the economic recovery.
Source: Bloomberg.com. Read More...
|
As U.S. economy pulls ahead, dollar's strength reaches new highs
In the world of currencies, the dollar is starting to look like a safe home in a tough neighborhood.
A strengthening American economy, combined with a gloomy outlook for growth elsewhere, is pushing the currency sharply higher.
The dollar is up 6.4 percent against a group of major currencies since the start of May and has risen in three of the past four months. It climbed on Tuesday to its highest level in six years against the Japanese yen, and it's trading at its highest level in 14 months against the euro.
|
| Vacation Travel News, issued by DestiMetrics, is designed to provide relevant and timely market information to the destination leisure travel industry. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming presentations and appearances
October 2-3
Central Reservations Association of Destination Resorts (CRADR)
Schweitzer Mtn, ID
October 9
Summit Chamber of Commerce COO Breakfast
Summit County, CO
Oct. 15 - 17
Florida Association of Destination Resorts (FADMO) Annual Meeting
Fort Meyers, FL
October 19-21
Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association - Condo Resort Group Luncheon
Colorado Springs, CO
October 24
Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) Quarterly Meeting
Ouray, CO
Oct. 26 - 29
Vacation Rental Managers Association Annual Conference
San Diego, CA November 21 Keystone Neighbourhood Company Keystone, CO December 19 Vail Valley Partnership Annual Meeting Vail Valley, CO January 28, 2015 The ASSEMBLY 2015 Denver, CO
Note: If you're planning on attending any of these events and would like to schedule a time to meet, please contact Katie Barnes at [email protected] or 970-390-4370.
|
|
