Chris Thompson travel tips

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, June 15. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

U.S. tourism businesses just finished their first post-pandemic sales missions to China — their first trips in four years.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 6. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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. 

In just the past few days, there have been two key moves that ease restrictions for travel from China to the U.S. Tourism officials have been clear that the lifting of these restrictions is critical to a full recovery –though key hurdles remain. On Thursday, China lifted pandemic-era group tour restrictions for the U.S. and other key markets. Before the lift, Chinese travel agencies were banned from selling outbound group or package travel to the U.S.

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.

The U.S. travel industry has made tremendous progress in its recovery from the pandemic. Bookings for hotels, car rentals and tour activities have risen almost 30% from last year for travel between between Memorial Day and Labor Day — numbers that are expected to increase, according to travel organization AAA.

Chris Thompson will step down as president and CEO of Brand USA, effective May 31, 2024. Brand USA is the U.S. ‘s destination marketing organization. Brand USA’s board of directors will work with an executive search firm to find a successor.

International travel to the U.S. has not returned to its 2019 peak, though some markets are doing better than others. Germany, for example, likely needs another year to recover, while India should exceed it this year, said Brand USA President and CEO Chris Thompson. None of that, however, will be enough to make up for the loss of China.

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

U.S. tourism organizations and businesses are replacing the billions of dollars in Chinese tourist spending with other markets.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 10. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines will both add more flights to China this fall and winter as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China begin easing.