Chicago’s Taylor Swift Concert Was a Tourism Boost. City Hopes There’s More to Come.

With the pandemic now over, what’s the future of tourism? What does the decline of full-time office employees mean for tourism and business travel? Why hasn’t U.S. solved its visa delay mess? We’ll discuss these topics with the executives of NYC Tourism+Conventions, U.S. Travel Association, Visit Britain, Intrepid Travel and others on-stage at the Skift Global Forum in New York on September 26-28. 

Destination DC will spend nearly $20 million on marketing in an upcoming advertising campaign as the city deals with a slow travel recovery.

Choose Chicago today announced the launch of the Chicago Brew Pass, a new initiative to promote exploration of Chicago’s award-winning craft brewery scene. Through the Brew Pass, the first-ever digital pass of its kind in Chicago, locals and visitors can check in at breweries across the city and earn points that can be redeemed for fun, limited-edition prizes. Participants can use the Brew Pass to explore over 20 participating craft breweries at their own pace and start earning rewards one pint at a time!

The U.S. travel industry is cheering on the Biden Administration’s new push to get more federal employees back into the office. 

New Orleans & Company will have a new president and CEO on January 1. Walt Leger III will be replacing Stephen Perry, who has been in the role for 20 years. He wants the destination marketing organization to embrace a more direct-to-consumer strategy and take more risks with emerging technologies.

Peru’s post-pandemic recovery will take longer than expected because of the violent political protests that started in December. As the protests continue, the country’s competitiveness as a tourist destination is at risk if the political situation isn’t resolved and images of unrest and chaos stay in the international spotlight.

Rural and outdoor destinations are contending with slower growth rates compared to their pandemic boom as big cities become competitive again and Americans travel internationally. 

Chicago tourism officials plan to drive visitation into and expand its marketing coverage for South Side and West Side neighborhoods after receiving a $5.5 million grant from the city government.

The great promise and hype by travel executives several years ago about the potential of voice search to revolutionize the industry have gone nowhere. Voice-based search hasn’t progressed as serious destination marketing avenue because the technology underpinning it yet can’t drive effective engagement, inspire travel and handle the complexity of travel search.

It’s been over a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The war has had ripple effects on the global tourism economy. Ukraine and its tourism sector have suffered immensely in lives, infrastructure and more, but after a year into the conflict, they are seeing some bright spots.

New York launched a marketing campaign last week that plays on Milton Glaser’s iconic “I Love New York” tourism slogan and logo to drive local civic engagement. It’s operating in an environment where it’s harder than ever to sell a tourism slogan to a skeptical public.

New York’s tourism industry has roared back from its rough pandemic years, but local pessimism and empty offices could hamper the sector’s long-term trajectory.