In many destinations, tourism profits are "found" money with no strings attached. That's great for short-term gains, and so very terrible for long-term thinking.
Carnival Corp. is seeing strong demand and a willingness to pay more in its key markets. That's good news for the company and the industry in general, but China will warrant close attention if the dispute with Korea is not resolved quickly.
With Carnival Cruise Line now in the mix, all the major mass-market cruise lines now have Cuba on the horizon. The question now is how travelers will respond.
It takes patience and methodical planning to build a new market — and the cruise industry seems to be settling into China until that’s done, with whatever tweaks are necessary along the way.
As Fathom prepares to enter its new chapter, the brand needs to clearly identify its mission and experience to connect with the right travelers. If "social impact" wasn't a clear enough description, will "participatory" do the job?
CES 2017 this month in Las Vegas marked the emergence of Artificial Intelligence-integrated connectivity and voice responsiveness into the mainstream, especially in terms of smart cars and smart homes. We will soon all be basically living and driving inside our mobile phones.
We think this will take some getting used to for cruise passengers and crew alike. But the widespread acceptance of Disney's MagicBand — at least in Florida parks — shows that vacationers can adapt and embrace new forms of technology, especially if it improves their trip.
Cruise lines have been working on ways to improve guest-facing technology so passengers have a better experience on their trip. But it sounds like those efforts are moving to a new level this year — which should be good news for cruisers.