Weekend Review: Sofia's Tourism Dilemma + Cheap Fares Becoming Scarce

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

August 4, 2018

Editor's Note Sofia, Bulgaria is an emerging tourism destination and Skift Senior Research Analyst Rebecca Stone captures the destination's potential and quandaries in a probing analysis that is a must-read for anyone in the travel and tourism business. Sadly, Sofia, the capital of the poorest country in Europe, likely won't adequately grasp its tourism opportunities. It doesn't have the money, a substantial segment of the population is fleeing the country for better prospects elsewhere, and there is no well-defined tourism strategy. Bulgaria's tourism and economic problems aren't isolated ones, of course. While many developed countries try to find ways to cope with overtourism, many emerging markets in theory have the chance to shape a sustainable tourism economy, but they may not have the means and the clear-cut vision to do so. — Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor Free eBook: How Destination Marketers from the 50 U.S. States are Using Facebook Advertising Sponsored by CrowdRiff A Facebook advertising campaign can help destination marketers effectively reach potential travelers, if done right. CrowdRiff looks at examples from 50 U.S. states to see what works and what doesn't. Read More Top Stories What It Means to Be an Emerging Destination in New Europe: A Sofia Deep Dive While destinations with overtourism issues are getting a lot of attention, other cities are emerging as new frontiers for tourism. Sofia, Bulgaria, is one of those cities with a unique opportunity to declare to the world what it wants to be as a destination, and to define a vision and strategy for how tourism can develop sustainably. Are the Good Times Ending for Cheap Flights? Airline passengers never know how good they have it until it's too late. Airfares are going up, and passengers are going to remember 2016-17 as the glory years for fare bargains. Of course, at the time, they didn't think so. HotelTonight and Expedia Offering New Twists on Hidden Hotel Deals It's so rare to see something new in online travel. Expedia's Add-On Advantage appears to be a new wrinkle, and HotelTonight's Today's Daily Drop is a flash sale variation that disappears within 15 minutes. Both gives hoteliers new ways to target travelers, who may find some good deals in the process. AccorHotels Buys Lifestyle Chain 21c Museum Hotels Again, we ask ourselves, what is out there that AccorHotels will not buy? Skift Basics: 10 Essential Reads to Understand Global Travel, If You're New to It Skift deciphers and defines the big trends for professionals in the global travel industry. If you're new to it, or considering getting into it, you will be up to speed after reading these. We guarantee it! Editor's Picks Hyatt's New Alliance Hints at the Future of Hotel Loyalty Programs If independent hotel collections like Small Luxury Hotels of the World and its peers want to thrive, pursuing more loyalty tie-ins seems likely, but they have to be careful to stress the additional value they can bring for independent hotels. Otherwise, what's stopping independents from flocking to the hotel soft brands? Trivago and Booking Slash U.S. TV Ad Spending Trivago and Booking.com have dramatically reduced their U.S. TV advertising. Trivago is doing so to try to stem losses, and Booking.com, which last year indicated it would lean into TV advertising, may be trying to tighten control of some marketing costs. Belize Is Latest Test Ground for Luxury Development and Environment Belize should serve as a case study for conscious luxury development. There will be successes and lessons to watch for in the coming years as the effects of a small group of hoteliers' decisions play out in the local environment and culture. Making Sense of the Hyatt, NH Hotels, Minor International Saga Thus Far Would NH Hotel Group have been better off with Hyatt? Perhaps we'll never know. But maybe there's another company out there that isn't afraid to get into a bidding war with Minor? The Top 6 Skift Podcasts of All Time Relive some of our finest interviews, events, and behind-the-scenes moments with these popular podcasts from Skift. For Gmail users: If you are using the tabbed inbox, Skift emails may be pushed to the 'Promotions' tab. To get updates from Skift direct to your primary inbox, drag and drop this email to that tab. You received this email because you are subscribed to Skift Daily Newsletter from Skift.

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