French “It” Girl Jeanne Damas Brings Her Parisian Clothing Brand Rouje To NYC

A senior U.S. official found himself explaining to world leaders how tourism works within the U.S. government.

Airbnb was the top-spending travel brand on U.S. national TV during the first 11 months of 2022 at an estimated $86.5 million, but it was merely the ninth most-seen among travel websites, hotels and motels, resorts and theme parks, cruise lines and airlines.

Reducing visa delays has been a priority for the U.S. consulates in India as wait times for visitor visas has gone down from more than 600 days to 247 days in New Delhi, 332 days in Mumbai, 357 days in Kolkata, while in Chennai the wait is still around 680 days. Skift had earlier reported about how the U.S. Consulate in India had been taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to reduce visa wait times. India ranks sixth among the top source markets for the U.S, said Jackie Ennis, vice president, global markets for Brand USA. A total of 1.25 million arrivals were registered from India in 2022. The latest figures in February revealed that 203,540 Indians travelled to the U.S. so far between January and February. In 2019, Indian travelers spent $16.5 billion in the U.S. The destination marketeer for the U.S. — Brand USA conducted its 2023 India Sales Mission in Mumbai and Delhi last week. Speaking at the event Ennis spoke about how the air connectivity between the two countries has been strengthened with Air India launching two direct flights to San Francisco from Bengaluru and Mumbai in December last year and from Mumbai to New York (JFK) in February. With this, Air India now has 46 weekly non-stop flights between the two countries, in addition to seven weekly direct flights operated from Newark to Delhi by United Airlines and seven weekly direct flights from New York (JFK) to Delhi by American Airlines. Calling India a fast-growing market with tremendous potential for growth in tourism, Ennis added, “We are thrilled to see a heightened interest in exploring beyond the gateways to lesser-known destinations.”

Founded in 2000, SkyTeam is the youngest of the “Big 3” airline alliances. It combines the networks of 19 member carriers to reach 1,088-plus destinations across 184-plus countries.

Hotel brand Zoku is opening its fourth property, which is located in Paris, on May 31.

Expedia Group Media Solutions, Expedia’s travel advertising division, has released a new media platform that allows travelers to shop and book travel as they watch content. One of its first partners will be Brand USA, the U.S.’s national tourism marketing agency.

Finnish short-term rental operator Bob W has acquired Munich-based German competitor Charly Hospitality.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, May 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

International travel to the U.S. has been recovering faster since the U.S. lifted its vaccine requirement for inbound travelers in May, said Brand USA CEO and President Chris Thompson at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday. The absence of China, however, will prevent a full recovery.

Hotel executives are the first to admit they’ve been behind the curve with new technology. The problem now is that travelers expect the tech in a hotel to be as good or better than what they have at home.

Brand USA is hosting its first sales mission in Japan since the country opened to travel in October. The mission this month comes as Japan — a top U.S. tourist market — has been slow to rebound to its 2019 level.

BWH Hotels — the official corporate name of the company long referred to as Best Western — is a global hotel business with about 4,700 hotels spread across 19 brands in more than 100 countries. It provides various services, including budget accommodation, boutique hotels, and extended stays.