Travel Industry Articles

Brands who proactively make these changes will be the first to attract a new breed of customer and cater to the needs in the new normal of post COVID-19 travel. Even though the interest in travel was still present in the minds of consumers, severe restrictions on travel caused this shift in consumer spending.

Insight Vacations is recognizing travelers’ desires for more intimate travel experiences and is introducing a new small, private group option for 12 guests or more. Travelers can create travel bubbles on select fall, winter and spring itineraries to Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and North America with 38 trips available in the collection.

Emirates has a new strategy for boosting passenger demand in the midst of a global pandemic: coronavirus insurance. If one of its passengers is diagnosed with COVID-19 during their journey, the Dubai-based airline will cover their medical expenses.

Thousands of UK holidaymakers were returning home to two weeks stuck in quarantine today after a snap ruling from the Government last night saw Spain taken off the safe travel list – and anyone in the country told to self-isolate when they came back.

One of the biggest disappointments of the pandemic lockdown of 2020 — and there are many — has to be the eagerly awaited vacations and getaways that millions of Americans have been forced to postpone or cancel as travel and tourism shut down across to globe to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Many travelers are fans of tours, both for their convenience and their conviviality.

How will Insight and Luxury Gold ensure the safety of passengers on tours? The short answer: By appointing a dedicated staff member to deal only with Covid-19 related tasks on every tour.

A small sample of women-only tours from USTOA Operators.

Insight Vacations: The 12-day “Inspirational India, A Wander Women Journey” tour explores India’s majestic forts, monuments and temples, bustling bazaars, crafts, natural reserves and more

River cruises are not covered by the blanket guidance advising against cruise ship travel, the Foreign Office (FCO) has confirmed, paving the way for Britons to enjoy a holiday on the water this summer. Voyages on rivers are generally considered more low-risk than rather than ocean cruises.

Countries around the world are reimposing lockdowns and implementing new health checks at their borders in an effort to curb a resurgence of the coronavirus before it spins even further out of control.

Melbourne’s five million residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons. Borders between Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, and neighbouring states closed on Tuesday.

Travel + Leisure readers voted these the 10 best cruise lines for families in the 25th World’s Best Awards. U by Uniworld, Uniworld’s trendy sister brand known for its fresh take on European river cruising, also made the cut for this year’s list.

The world’s largest group of oceangoing cruise lines has agreed to suspend cruise ship operations from U.S. ports until September 15, 2020, as they continue to work to address the public health issues that have resulted from the global coronavirus pandemic.

Touring specialist Trafalgar is to introduce a “wellbeing director” on each of its tours to ensure guests’ safety in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As New Zealand becomes the first country to resume unconstrained domestic travel post-lockdown and tourism restarts, Trafalgar is leading into the new future of travel where people are seeking more meaningful experiences that benefit both the visited and the visitor.

A design that reconfigures airplane cabins with double-decker lie-flat seats in premium economy is being touted as a possible solution for fliers looking for more protection from the spread of Covid-19.

Virgin Atlantic has announced plans to resume scheduled passenger flights from the UK on 20 July. The carrier, whose future has been in the balance since the coronavirus outbreak, will restart operations with flights from London Heathrow to New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Both governments and companies will be implementing measures to help protect the public from exposure to the coronavirus. Airlines, hotels, cruise ships and restaurants will all adopt new ways of providing services to travelers like us. Practicing social distancing and wearing face masks are very likely practices that will remain with us for quite a while.

At various European institutions re-emerging from coronavirus lockdowns, ticketed time slots, plexiglass shields, and mandatory mask protocols provide a glimpse into what the “new normal” might look like.

In Europe, some governments are subsidizing travel to get people back on the road and revive flailing tourism industries. The U.S. might follow suit.

COVID-19 hit at a time when the travel industry was already experiencing growing pains—just look to Venice’s overtourism problem and the #flightshame movement. Since then, the question of “When will travel recover?” has slowly morphed into “How will travel recover?”

It’s the big question on avid travelers’ minds, and though the rules around COVID-era travel change rapidly, we’ve gathered the latest information to help you plan for the future.

Delta Air Lines said on Monday it would resume flying several major routes in June that were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, including some Trans-Atlantic and Caribbean destinations.

Both regional and international borders will open June 3, with the government eliminating a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving from abroad. Many hope the move will revive a decimated tourist industry, which is worth 13% of Italy’s gross domestic product.

After three consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases reported, New Zealand allowed most businesses to reopen on Thursday. The island country, which is home to nearly 5 million people, has been praised for its swift response to the spread of the coronavirus.

In an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the government of the idyllic, sun-kissed destination Seychelles announced a ban on cruise ships in Port Victoria until 2022.

Coronavirus has us all frozen in place and dreaming of when we can start booking again. We’ve been doing a lot of stories at The Points Guy about our dream trips and when we can realistically book those trips.

Every day brings new challenges. You may be burning the candle at both ends or you may have paused decision making unsure of where and how to begin.

It may feel like there are too many problems to handle between clients, staff, home and a global pandemic.

There are two ways people naturally react to a challenge: isolate or innovate. Within the affiliate channel there are thousands of innovators to work with at your fingertips. Instead of isolating, call your affiliates.

This has been a pretty tough year for our economy.  It seems that every headline is worse than the last and every industry is needing to switch gears fast. If 2008 taught us anything, it is that more consumers will be shopping with coupons. This means more online traffic to coupon sites will increase.

The past few months have been a challenging time due to the Coronavirus pandemic globally.  Advertisers have struggled to find their footing amidst an ever changing economic market and health environment. These tactics led to the best month this client has ever had through their affiliate channel.

The affiliate partners who are finding their income streams being cut off completely, while seeing merchants continuing to trade are naturally feeling that the relationship is not that strong a ‘partnership’. We have heard from several of these affiliates that they will be re-evaluating which partnerships will be worth re-kindling once business starts to return to ‘normal’ – whatever normal becomes. As one commentator said in an online forum: “This could be a good opportunity for affiliates to flex their muscle and send traffic to competing merchants“.

As consumers remain at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, retailers are moving their stores to the web, according to new data from ecommerce platform provider Shopify Inc. Shopify says the number of new online stores across the globe on its platform increased 20% week over week for each of the last two weeks of March.

We reached out to some of the networks and platforms (Skimlinks, Awin, Pepperjam and Rakuten Advertising) to discuss and understand how current trends are affecting brands, merchants and publishers — particularly on business objectives KPIs, program management and general support during these times.

The effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted in a huge shift of the way we conduct business. While this has led to unavoidable and undesirable measures for a lot of businesses, those that are fortunate enough to continue trading have rapidly evolved to meet public demand. Additionally, many companies have also been able to cater for those in need and at the forefront of the crisis, with special opening hours, discounts and donations.

The pandemic has caused a rapid change in consumer habits and spending. As more people retreat to their homes to avoid the COVID-19 epidemic, they are increasingly turning to e-commerce to get basic necessities, such as medicine, immune boost systems, cleaning supplies, and in some countries, toilet paper is becoming a gem.

With more people turning to the internet than ever before to shop, seek entertainment, stay informed and socialize, influencers and brands are finding themselves under a slightly different spotlight. While COVID-19 has undeniably altered spending habits (how much, on what, and from where), it has also created a renewed thirst for information and consumable content — both of which influencers and consumer brands are uniquely positioned to provide.

No business, industry or economy has been spared from the devastating effects of coronavirus and its infectious disease, COVID-19. One industry that is taking on enormous pressure from COVID-19 is the affiliate marketing industry. With Americans self-quarantining in their homes, hunkering down and watching their spending, affiliate marketers are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to their business as affiliate programs are cut and commission rates get slashed.

It has never been more important than now, that the consumer comes first, as Australia is in stage three lockdown due to the Coronavirus, it is evident that online retail is where consumers are spending and will continue to spend. The question is what can retailers be doing to instil confidence in consumer purchases?

Reduced commission rates on select product categories go into effect today for Amazon’s affiliate marketing program. Those who reply upon the program to monetize their websites are unsurprisingly unhappy; many, however, saw the cuts coming and have one word for those caught off guard: Diversify.

A story emerges of two drastically different consumer spending situations; essential spending on food, gas, and grocery in additional to non-essential spending on accessories, beauty, home items and automotive.

Rakuten Advertising is dedicated to supporting our clients and partners with the insights needed to successfully navigate the digital landscape. Each week, we will provide the latest consumer intelligence from our global performance marketing channels and our U.S. e-commerce panel, as well as research from leading industry resources.

The coronavirus spurs online grocery sales to increase 100% since the start of March. Plus, buy online pick up in store orders have increased 62% year over year, according to new data from Adobe Analytics.

Although it’s true that many regions experienced a drop-in activity in February or early-March, it’s increasing across our global network from mid-March into April.

Expedia to cut more than 80% from its advertising spend. The travel industry has been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus and in this interview with CNBC, Expedia Group chairman and senior executive Barry Diller, explains how annual advertising spend for the company will fall from around $5bn to less than $1bn.

75% of participants in the discussion think it will be more than a year before things return to “normal.” Indeed, marketers are adapting to a situation with deep effects that may go on for quite some time. How are they changing their mindsets and strategies? What opportunity do they see in this crisis? Here are a few of the insightful answers we heard from Amy Vale, CMO of cash-back app Dosh; Kevin Scholl, Director of Digital Marketing and Partnerships at hospitality brand Red Roof Inns; Chris Vitti, SVP Marketing at content-intelligence player Knotch; and Seema Kumar, CMO of facilities management platform ServiceChannel.

To help advertisers and publishers determine how to best respond to consumer needs in the current market, CJ created the weekly updated COVID-19 Network & Consumer Trends Report. This report includes network-wide data and sector-specific analysis to provide visibility into recent consumer behavior. This report was last updated on 5/6/20 for data 3/1/20 through 5/2/20. This is best viewed in a Chrome browser.

People love to travel. Exploring our world is a passion for some, a source of inspiration for others and an opportunity to connect to our world for everyone.

“The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what you’ve had in previous years,” Mitsotakis told CNN’s Nic Robertson when they sat down — socially distanced — in his office this week.

Carnival Cruise Line says it’s making plans to resume sailing August 1. Carnival says it’s “committed to supporting all public health efforts to manage the COVID-19 situation,” and is consulting with “experts, government officials and stakeholders” in developing its plan to resume sailing.

“I think by Christmas you will see a significant amount of flying again,” Strauss said, adding that the company is taking a pessimistic view so that they can “react to it rather than pull back from it.”

With the current global pandemic crisis, I think it will be fascinating to see how both consumer behavior and the industry change over the next decade. There will likely be many changes, as we’ve seen over the past century, where leisure and business travel exploded in volume and diversity.

With so much at stake, Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus that couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. The focus is to help those unemployed and to support businesses large and small. But questions remain: Will the aid package be enough as the country slides into a recession, and what does it mean for travelers?

As travel grinds to a halt in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, the industry is floundering. Here are six numbers that sum up the damage so far.

Everything must change: the way we fly, the way we dine, how we wait in line — even how we go to the beach. Our very concept of vacation may have to change.

“I certainly hope that we can start traveling again, despite the restrictions, and as soon as this summer,” Breton said.

Human nature being what it is, however, I have a feeling that avid cruisers will keep cruising once the coronavirus is under control, despite the fears and obstacles. So the future of cruising seems at least somewhat secure.

Instead, like everyone else in travel, the family-owned global business is charting its way through the biggest crisis the sector has ever seen. Where properties have closed, staff have been providing meals for the elderly or volunteering in local hospitals.

The travel industry experienced a staggering decline. For every… 100 people traveling the week prior to the crisis, 3 were traveling by the end of week 1.

Even as the coronavirus pandemic brings the cruise industry to a global standstill, customers are already booking for 2021.

Every corner of the travel industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. One light at the end of the tunnel? There are small ways you can help support tour ops, local communities and more…

The context is important. Viral epidemics are not uncommon. The sector will recover. But first the outbreak must be contained and pass its peak.

Conversly in the UK where coronavirus has hit the country a bit earlier than in the US, although the year started off strongly for the travel sector with sales up by 22% year-on-year.