Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 6. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
25.08.2023 - 13:44 / skift.com / Rashaad Jorden / Peden Doma Bhutia / Matthew Parsons
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, April 25. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Companies delivering walking tours of Manhattan often deliver stereotypical tours with no originality. So Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy writes about an initiative in New York that helps entrepreneurs develop compelling and original walking tour experiences.
Brophy reports the Alliance for Downtown New York is in the final stages of its Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program. Five walking tour businesses have been chosen to receive grants of up to $12,500. Brophy adds the money for creating more diverse walking tours of Lower Manhattan is set to launch in the summer of 2024.
Nikki Padilla, one of the program’s mentors, said diversity in product is important, noting that many tours are mirror images of each other. Padilla added that travelers want to be immersed in different facets of communities, acknowledging the tour guide is often the only meaningful interaction a visitor might have with a destination’s history or culture. Meanwhile, Stephen Oddo, another of the program’s mentors, said the challenge for the entrepreneurs is to find unique ways to reach prospective customers about different facets of New York’s attractions.
Next, India’s aviation sector is poised for a major boom. But Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia reports it needs an entirely new policy in order to fulfill its enormous potential.
As India’s aviation sector is among the fastest growing in the world, aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA India projects the country might need the infrastructure to be able to welcome 1 billion passengers annually within two decades. The firm has outlined a plan for a new civil aviation policy. India is expected to be the world’s third-largest aviation market by 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association. CAPA India also predicted the aviation industry could inject $1 trillion yearly into the Indian economy by 2043.
Finally, Colombia’s flag airline Avianca has unveiled a subscription program just for business travelers, reports Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons.
Avianca has partnered with Caravelo, a company that creates subscription platforms for airlines. Parsons notes the new program, Avianca Access, provides corporate travelers opportunities for potentially cheaper trips without their employers having to commit to an annual quota. Caravelo CEO Inaki Uriz said the program is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises. The program is operational, but Parsons noted it’s expected to be officially launched later this year.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 6. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Skift has looked into the hurdles that several major U.S. cities face in trying to boost tourism — San Francisco and Portland are just two examples.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Airbnb and New York City have often had a tough relationship, one marked by lawsuits and other disputes. Airbnb has argued that New York City’s regulations have hurt its ability to do business, which the company believes will become more challenging when the city starts enforcing its host registration law regarding short-term rentals on September 5.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 31. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Moving away from mundane heritage walks, Eesha Singh, co-founder of No Footprints, brings a new take to storytelling through tour experiences.
Buoyed by the strong recovery in India’s domestic travel demand, online travel company Yatra.com plans to launch its Indian initial public offering by March next year.
Adventure travel specialist G Adventures has made a “significant financial investment” in Reforest, a digital platform that connects travelers with local communities that are restoring their ecosystems using reforestation.
Marketers beware: Prior ways of marketing to Chinese consumers, including travelers, won’t work as well today because their preferences changed during the pandemic.
China’s latest loosening of its stringent zero-Covid policy, mostly for domestic tourism, comes across as too little too late, at a time when the rest of the world is living with the virus.
Big ticket sporting events will go hand-in-hand with -style tourist experiences next year, as the International Olympic Committee and U.S. event specialist On Location team up to launch a new e-commerce website to sell tickets with hospitality packages.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 11, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.