Over the next decade, North America's dominance in luxury travel may be supplanted by Middle Eastern and Asian travelers looking to upgrade to a luxury travel experience.
It's impressive how much U.S. travelers will spend in Asia-Pacific, trouncing even China--the world's largest outbound travel market--in their own backyard.
Brand USA expects to spend about $140 million marketing the U.S. abroad this fiscal year, but it's still hard to deduce the tangible impact its programs have on stimulating demand for American vacations.
With more people traveling abroad than ever before, travel brands are increasingly expected to provide international customers with a seamless digital experience. The ones taking the tech-first approach are winning the battle for loyalty and direct bookings.
The cruise industry has struggled for years to shake its habit of discounting to fill ships. Royal Caribbean is sending a message that it is willing to lose a little revenue in the short term to achieve long-term gains.
This likely will be a year of building out what TripAdvisor already has in hotel Instant Booking, vacation rentals and tours and activities. One big challenge will be how to focus effectively in so many huge areas simultaneously without some getting short shrift.