Drawing on consumer trends in leisure and business travel, Peter shares his thoughts on the future of the hospitality and wider tourism industry. Beyond the crystal ball, what can reasonably be forecast and what can the industry do to be prepared and remain competitive?
Peter C. Yesawich is president and chief executive officer of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, America's leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel and leisure-industry clients. The agency is part of Panoramic Communications, a $1.4 billion marketing communications firm with over 900 employees in 12 different offices across the United States and Europe. YPB&R is also affiliated with Yankelovich Partners, with whom it co-authors the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR research series on the travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans. Yesawich received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Yale University. Yesawich is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and International Herald Tribune, on the CNN, CNBC and MSNBC cable television networks, and on National Public Radio. He also serves as a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing at Cornell University and is a member of its Center for Professional Development faculty. He is listed in Who's Who in America and has authored numerous articles on marketing and advertising strategy in both trade and professional journals. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Travel Industry Association of America. Yesawich has received the World Travel Award from the American Association of Travel Editors, The Albert E. Koehl Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International and the Silver Medal from the American Advertising Federation. He is also a member of the HSMAI Hall of Fame.
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Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russel (YPB&R) is America's leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency specializing in serving travel and leisure-industry clients. The company's offices--Orlando, St. Petersburg (Fla.), Boca Raton (Fla.), London, Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu and Mexico City -- serve more than 50 clients worldwide. YP&B is part of Panoramic Communications LLC, New York, an agency holding company that encompasses the Earle Palmer Brown marketing convergence network of 5 independent operating companies, with over 900 employees in 11 offices across North America and Europe.
IH&RA, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (www.ih-ra.com), is the only global business organization representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy. Visit www.ih-ra.com for further information.