TODAY: Bali's significant growth in tourist arrivals will continue, The Inexorable Rise of Google Travel and Points or Perks? 3 Ways Hotel Loyalty Programs Are Changing.

Bali's significant growth in tourist arrivals will continue
Friday, 7th September 2018

Executive Summary: Bali continues to be seen as the jewel in the crown of Indonesia’s burgeoning tourism industry and with the exponential growth in tourism, it is important that the demand for the island’s tourism product grows in alignment with the facilities available in a sustainable way.

Clear strategies are required to cater not just to the economic aspects of tourism, but to the environmental and social effects as well. Well-targeted advice is also needed to inform future planning and investment decisions >>

Fairmont turns cinematic moments into memories with a new generation of filmmakers
7 Sep 2018 : Fairmont Loves Film Event Series launches with Gia Coppola as Film Ambassador and retrospective photographic exhibits in Toronto, London and Shanghai​ >>

Mandarin Oriental announces new resort project in Phuket
7 Sep 2018 : Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has announced that it will manage a new luxury resort on Phuket Island in Thailand which is scheduled to open in 2022 >>

HIGHLIGHT ARTICLE

The Inexorable Rise of Google Travel
Friday, 7th September 2018

Google's entry into metasearch may be more than half a decade old, but it continues to be a closely watched obsession for the travel industry.

Deep dive on metasearch revealed two clear trends: 1/Google is gaining ground, but especially so in flights, where it appears to have overtaken KAYAK in overall traffic and referrals and 2/Google Flights and Hotels send a great deal more traffic to airline and hotel websites than they send to OTAs >>

Points or Perks? 3 Ways Hotel Loyalty Programs Are Changing
The traditional hotel loyalty program is losing its luster — and perhaps its effectiveness as well, so while frequent travelers carry around dozens of loyalty program cards, they’re rarely truly loyal to any of them and less-frequent leisure travelers see little to no benefit from joining a program, studies show >>

Sometimes It’s Just the Right Thing to Do
We can train people on how to deliver good customer service, we teach people how to greet customers when they walk in the store, how to properly answer the phone when customers call the company plus much more and it’s easy to teach the basics, they are part of the operation and the process >>

Five Tips to Improve Your Wine Tasting Skills
With more than 1000 different grape varieties around the world and an ever-growing number of wine-producing regions, it’s getting tougher to differentiate a wine from another. In addition, some basic knowledge appears as essential when tasting a wine or when talking to someone during a fancy dinner >>