Travel Agent Group Turnaround + Low-Cost Airline Hurdles + Puerto Rico's Concierge App

The Travel Industry's Daily Agenda-Setting Newsletter

October 8, 2018 View in browser

Editor's Note As part of our effort to cover travel agents more aggressively, we can't think of a better story to help you understand the rollercoaster ride this travel sector has been on the past two decades than Executive Editor Dennis Schaal's analysis of the turnaround of the trade group representing agents, now called travel advisors. It feels a lot like a tale of entrepreneurial know-how, building something from scratch. Here's how Zane Kerby, the CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors, described reviving the group. "It was a big role and a challenging role, especially because the association had gone through 13 years of financial losses, and so we had to fix a lot of things quickly. It felt like a startup. We had to go to our investors and say, you gotta believe in us, and here's why." It seems to be working, but now ASTA must make good on its ambitious goals, and remind itself that the battle for relevancy is ongoing. — Tom Lowry, Managing Editor We Have Even More Exciting Events in 2019 Want to attend Skift Forums next year? Now's your chance to get the best deals! A limited number of early bird priced tickets are available for each 2019 Forum. Register Now Top Stories Skift Call Oct. 12: The Next Big Challenges for Low-Cost Airlines Low-cost and ultra-low-cost airlines have had great success, but the model is not a panacea. Many discounters never disrupt as promised, or realize the profit. We'll explore all the potential hurdles facing low-cost carriers on Friday, October 12 at 11 a.m. EST on a Skift Call. Please join us for this all-important discussion. How Travel Agent Trade Group Fought Its Way Back From Near-Extinction These travel advisors have a certain swagger about them these days. Their U.S. trade association, the newly named American Society of Travel Advisors, is now back among the living, and has the challenge of keeping things moving in the right direction. Puerto Rico Takes New Digital Steps to Enhance Tourism Efforts As far as we know, a planned mobile app from Puerto Rico will be the first by any tourism board that offers text-based concierge help for visitors while they're in a destination. The island's other new efforts at speeding up and enhancing digital marketing by independent operators show promise. Air Baltic Looks to JetBlue Founder David Neeleman for Guidance Six years ago, Air Baltic took a chance on an airplane that few carriers wanted. Now, that decision has proven to be the right call. But Air Baltic can't remain independent forever, right? Luxury Hotel Loyalty Programs Are Missing Out on Experiences We have a feeling that things are certainly shifting as more luxury brands see themselves as "experience platforms." Delivery Services Take Subscription Cues From Amazon Prime Affordable subscription plans create happy and loyal customers. Happy and loyal customers place larger orders with restaurants. Wins all around? Maybe. Popular Now American Airlines Feels Vindicated in Its Second Try at Direct Distribution American Airlines has moved away from its earlier belligerence to navigate a cooperative path with distribution middlemen. The airline appears to be making a lot more gains this time around. Delta Is Betting on Tablet Technology to Solve In-Flight Entertainment Conundrum Maybe Delta's new in-flight screens on its Airbus A220s will be better than previous generations. Or maybe they won't be. Either way, Delta deserves credit. Few of its competitors put screens on domestic airplanes anymore. Delta could have easily gone without them. 4 Trends Defining Tourism Marketing in 2018 We've seen a lot of tried-and-true marketing tactics from destinations this year, but we also saw some newer, smarter strategies on how to use the masses of content and opinions available these days, thanks to social media. 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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