Meetings and events are in the midst of a renaissance heading into 2025, with numerous contributing factors as to why. Top of the list for the corporate and group segments is the need to bring people together in a world that has embraced hybrid or fully remote working arrangements.
Building on the pillars of Panamanian pride and sustainable tourism, Panama is offering stimulating, regenerative experiences for purpose-driven travelers. To inspire travelers to experience the Central American country’s unique history, geography, and culture, its destination marketing organization (DMO), Visit Panamá, has been busy rebranding the nation’s image and vision. They partnered with us at Expedia Group Media Solutions to help communicate their vision: to put Panamanians at the heart of their offering, while encouraging travelers to connect in a meaningful way. In this post, we’ll describe this vision plus the ways our marketing campaign highlighted the diversity of this dynamic and exciting destination.
No matter your personal circumstance, it's likely that you've begun counting down to the new year.
As a hotel industry sales and guest services trainer, on average I experience six or more hotel stays each month. Although I have clients across all segments of lodging, many of my clients are in the ultra-luxury five star or five diamond categories. Once thing I have learned is that the level of authentic and genuine hospitality, which travelers treasure the most, has little to do with the number of stars or diamonds hanging on a plaque behind the front desk. In fact, I've experienced some of the most memorable service encounters at economy lodging properties, whereas I find that hospitality too often falls short at ultra-luxury properties and instead feels scripted and robotic.
With the television landscape becoming increasingly fragmented by cable, satellite, social media and internet streaming options, reaching many people at once via traditional, 20th century media placement methods comes with its fair dose of anxiety. One interesting effect of this channel nichification is that large-scale events and compressions are now all the more precious.
June 2014 is set to be the most exciting time for Brazil hotel industry as the country hosts the world's biggest sporting event - the FIFA World Cup. The event which is expected to bring some 600,000 domestic and international tourists - will undoubtedly lead to major boom for the hospitality industry in the country.
I haven't written in a few months because of my heavy speaking and travel schedule, which was highlighted by a trip to Colombia for a three-day symposium on the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions industry. The first International Symposium for the Conventions and Event Management Industry was put on by COTELCO, Columbia's Hotel and Tourism Association, and took place at the Plaza Mayor in the city of Medellin.
World Youth Day next year, FIFA World Cup in 2014, the 450th anniversary of Rio in 2015, the Olympic Games in 2016 ... Theatre of a growing number of world events in the coming years, Brazil has a great future in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. Having earned $ 79 billion in tourism revenue in 2011, the country will have, according to the World Tourism Organization, an increase of 7.8% in the same sector this year. If the destination attracts many foreigners, It is mainly driven by local tourism, boosted by the steady rise in the standard of living, which is experiencing significant growth: + 6.5% in 2011.
Having seen significant expansion over the past several years, it has become clear that Mexico's urban and industrial corridors offer growth opportunities for developers of business-oriented hotels and brands. The national economy remains on a stable, long-term trend of post-NAFTA growth and investment, and the media's focus on peripheral drug-related violence notwithstanding, the vast majority of markets in Mexico remain safe and hospitable to businesses and business travelers alike.
With its stable economy, Chile is regarded as a model nation in Latin America, earning the respect of other countries in the region. Known as the Switzerland of Latin America, this small nation lacks some of the resources of larger nations; however, its people have consistently demonstrated the energy and motivation to build a nation that is respected worldwide and to honor every day with the continuous effort to create a better world.
As they gear up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) are looking to refresh the country’s hotel inventory with a 1-billion Brazilian reais (US$544.5-million) line of credit for property refurbishment, expansion and ground-up construction.
In a recent assignment, HVS was asked to project the likely market behavior of a proposed luxury hotel in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Presently, the Zihuatanejo market features two luxury and two upscale properties, with up to four new projects being proposed in similar or superior service categories. In conducting our analysis, several questions arose: Would a new luxury hotel in Zihuatanejo compete exclusively with properties in the local market or also with others in markets outside of Zihuatanejo? That is, would the proposed project be part of a self-contained local market, or rather part of a broader, more disperse market defined by factors other than location? If all of the proposed projects actually came online, would this redefine market dynamics such that the local market could be considered self-contained? If this were to occur, how would lodging demand behave and how can we model projections?
The luxury hotel market in Mexico has been somewhat overshadowed by other market segments. Here we shed light on its potential. Mexico’s ancient Mayan pyramids and Aztec temples, fusion of European and Meso-American cultures, and exotic subtropical forests and beaches are among its chief enticements. Travelers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America annually descend en masse upon iconic destinations such as Acapulco and Cancún. Over the past 15 years, Mexico’s economy has risen on the shoulders of structural economic changes and a steady trend of foreign direct investment. Tourists are drawn to hotels of all sorts, including European Plan and all-inclusive resorts operating under domestic and international brands. Business travelers likewise visit a wide selection of properties tailored to their needs.