January 2017
Part one of a two-part series Once again the travel and tourism industry faces both new and on-going challenges. Travel and tourism cannot be separated from the world context in which they operate. Be that context political states of war, or one of health issues or of economic undulations, what occurs throughout the world touches every aspect of tourism. It is for this reason [...]
November 2016
In much of the world the month of November is a time when the cruise industry begins to enter into its high season, especially for those ships that frequent warm water tropical ports. Although the cruise industry has had its ups and downs, so far the industry’s ports-of-call have avoided any major terrorism crisis. The [...]
October 2016
Travel is no doubt a wonderful, experience. It broadens our horizon, permits us to understand new societies, allows us to see things about which we have only dreamt, and gives us the opportunity to see ourselves in entirely new ways and often as others see us. Unfortunately, when some people travel they may also do [...]
September 2016
There are few people who can say that they enjoyed their college statistics course. Most of us tended to see statistics courses as an exercise in making simple hard and the obvious obtuse. Yet despite the many difficulties modern statistics can play an important role in the tourism industry. For example, anyone interested in promoting [...]
August 2016
A major debate and buzz word within the tourism industry is what is often called “sustainable tourism”. In reality there is no one definition of what the word means an even less people are sure of how to apply the term. The word has become so over used that often it has become meaningless. Often, but nor always, the debate around sustainable tourism revolves around [...]
July 2016
As noted in the June edition of Tourism Tidbits there is a symbiotic relationship between tourism and transportation. Tourism, as we know it, cannot survive without a good and safe transportation system. Although the inverse is not absolutely true, much of the transportation industry depends on tourism. Although, some forms of transportation would appear to [...]
July 2016
The month of July has not been an easy month in the world, and especially in the world of tourism. Until recently, tourism oriented nations experienced one or another form of crisis on a tri or bi-monthly or monthly basis. During the last few weeks, the crisis du mois seems to have become the crisis [...]
June 2016
The connection between tourism and transportation is so close that often people use “travel” as a synonym for tourism. In fact, in many languages, tourism is another way to express travel. Even in English it is hard to miss the connection between the words “tour” and “tourism”. Transportation methods allow us to travel. Unfortunately, in [...]
June 2016
The June 12th attack at the popular Orlando Nightclub ”Pulse” has once again brought terrorism to the tourism industry. The recent attack is not the first terrorist attack on nightclubs. For example, as far back as 1998 the world witnessed the terrorist bombing of Cape Town’s “Planet Hollywood”. That incident ought to have served as [...]
May 2016
Around the world, immigration and refugees are a hot topic. Europe is locked in a debate as to how to handle the millions of people who seek to migrate there. The US also has a similar debate running through its Presidential election process. This article does not address the issue of immigration and refugees but [...]
April 2016
There can be little doubt that food is a major part of the tourism experience. If tourism is about seeing new sights and having new and unique experiences then the culinary world is a major part of the tourism experience. Because eating is an essential part of living, food or culinary tourism has a broad [...]
March 2016
Last month we examined some of the challenges facing the tourism industry in 2016. This month we examine some of the other challenges with which tourism leaders may have to contend in 2016. It should be noted that although the material in both the February and March editions is treated as separate challenges, there is [...]
February 2016
Part one of a two-part series Scholars of tourism know that the travel and tourism industry are far from static. New challenges seem to arise as quickly as mushrooms sprout up after a warm rain. Despite the constant changes, however, there have been a number of issues that have become constant problems for the industry [...]
January 2016
The multiple recent terrorist attacks in diverse places such as London and California ought to be a warning to the tourism industry that it is entering into a new and dangerous age. In the past, most tourism centers assumed that either they would not be targets of a terrorism attack or that the attack would [...]
December 2015
Somehow no matter how much we may try to make December a happy month, there are always some people who tend to take a negative view on life. In a business situation, such as tourism, negativity can be deadly. It is essential that not only front line personnel maintain an upbeat view of the world, [...]
November 2015
This month has not been easy for specialists in tourism security. We first witnessed the terrorist bombing of the Russian aircraft causing not only death and destruction to innocent civilians but also a major blow to Egypt’s tourism industry. Friday afternoon, Texas time, the first reports of November 13th terrible attacks in Paris began to [...]
When we think of tourism security we tend to think about either criminal acts that often plague the tourism industry such as: pick-pocketing, room invasions, or con artists, or about overt acts of terrorism such as a bomb. Rarely do we consider the hidden forms of terrorism that can impact the tourism industry. These forms [...]
October 2015
Now that the summer months (or winter months if you are reading this edition in the Southern hemisphere) are over, and all of us are in a shoulder season, we have a bit of time to contemplate our local tourism industry role within the wider industry and within the community. Just as tourism links people [...]
September 2015
During the last decades, upward mobile people bragged that they were ever more increasingly busy. The “snowed-under” phenomenon was so powerful that many people were ashamed to take a vacation and when vacations were taken they were usually for long weekends. This work-until-you-drop mentality impacted tourism in any number of ways. For example, many women [...]
August 2015
Part 2 of a two part series Last month Tourism Tidbits examined the inbound (importer) side and this month we look at the outbound (exporter side) of youth travel safety Last month we examined the “inbound side” of youth tourism. That is, positive steps and actions that locations need to do to keep the youth market safe. This month [...]
