Maui’s western region will be fully reopened to the public on November 1, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen announced on Monday. The reopened will area span Kahana to Ka’anapali. Only burned-out sections of the historic Lahaina will remained closed.
04.10.2023 - 21:21 / skift.com / Greg Ohara / Geoff Freeman / Dawit Habtemariam
The U.S. travel industry shouldn’t get its hopes up that the newly created assistant secretary of travel and tourism position will make the U.S. more globally competitive, said U.S. Travel CEO and President Geoff Freeman at the Skift Global Forum.
“It’s a positive step that we have this new assistant secretary position, but it is not a panacea and all of us have to recognize that,” said Freeman.
In December, Congress passed legislation that created an assistant secretary of travel and tourism in the Department of Commerce. The position has not been filled and its office needs $3.5 million in funding.
The assistant secretary’s job is to set visitation goals, craft a national strategy and establish interagency coordination. The office-holder will help bring international large conventions, sports competitions and special events to the U.S.
But it doesn’t actually have the power over federal agencies causing problems for the travel sector, such as long visa wait times and air traffic control shortages.
“You look at so many of our challenges in the Department of Transportation, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of ‘Let’s keep people from traveling’ – across the federal government and people in the Department of Commerce are going to be limited in their ability to solve those problems,” said Freeman.
For over 20 years, the travel industry has been pushing for higher level representation at the federal level.
The absence of a ‘tourism czar’ has put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage against destinations like Saudi Arabia, said private equity firm Certares Founder and Senior Managing Director Greg O’Hara in a separate conversation at Skift Global Forum.
“The U.S. government is not as well organized from the outside,” said O’Hara. ”I don’t know how many of you do business around the world but there’s almost always a tourism minister or a tourism secretary.”
That doesn’t matter as long as the U.S. doesn’t have a coordinated strategy at the executive level for growing their travel sector like Saudi Arabia, UK and Canada does. “We do not have that type of strategy in the United States and we’re not going to have it because we have an assistant secretary for travel and tourism within the Department of Commerce,” said Freeman. “This starts at the top.”
Maui’s western region will be fully reopened to the public on November 1, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen announced on Monday. The reopened will area span Kahana to Ka’anapali. Only burned-out sections of the historic Lahaina will remained closed.
India was the U.S.’ s second top market for travelers outside of North America between April and June, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s data released Monday. Over 500,000 Indian travelers came to the America in the those three months, up from 392,000 and 498,000 for the same period in 2022 and pre-pandemic 2019, respectively.
When summertime temperatures start creeping up to triple digits in Denver, I know I'm bound to get a text from a friend.
Since ChatGPT was released last November, several other well-funded companies have released their own versions in an effort to compete.
International travel to the U.S. continues to make a post-pandemic recovery, according to new data on international air travelers released Monday by the U.S.’s National Travel and Tourism Office. International air travelers spent $18.9 billion in the U.S. in the second quarter, up 33% from the same period in 2022.
One of the biggest trends for fall is the return of the ballet flat, shepherded in by celebrities including Meghan Markle, Hailey Bieber, and Sofia Richie. Ballet flats first surged in popularity in the ‘40s and ‘50s, worn by style icons like Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie Kennedy. Inspired by shoes worn by dancers, they convey a certain je-ne-sais-quoi French elegance that can transform a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans into a thoughtful and refined outfit.
The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel alert to all Americans traveling abroad on Thursday, urging them to exercise caution due to heightened tensions in various locations and potential terrorist attacks and violent actions against U.S. citizens. The alert is in response to the global consequences of ongoing the war between Israel and Hamas.
The U.S. State Department issued on Thursday a “worldwide caution” to Americans traveling abroad as the war between Israel and Hamas stokes tensions globally. Americans were advised to “stay alert in locations frequented by tourists.”
Florida is highlighting its nature trails and trail towns in a $5 million marketing campaign.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, October 17. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Nearly 6.5 million international travelers came to the U.S. in July, representing 84% of its pre-pandemic level, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data release. Compared to July 2022, international travel to the U.S. is up 25%.
There was a travel boom this summer in Europe. Famous destinations and attractions were more crowded than ever with tourists. Destinations, tour operators and communities have been trying to adapt to the tourism surge.