"2009 was a challenging year," said Caroline Bremner,
global travel manager at Euromonitor, "We predict that 2010 will be
much better.” In particular, the following trends spell opportunity for
global destinations going into the World Cup Year.

Over-60 market ignores economic crisis for travel

The
report revealed that the Grey Market (travellers over 60 years) refuse
to let the recession kill their holidays. The Grey Market makes up
nearly two thirds of the 54% of people who have declared their holidays
sacrosanct and decided to ignore completely the economic downturn.
"Eighty percent of the public sampled admit issues such as poor
currency exchange rates and flight taxes won't deter them. And of those
people, the over-60s is the biggest grouping (84%)," said Fiona Jeffery, chair of the World Travel Market.

Obama factor boosts tourism to Africa

As for Africa, the Global Trends Report 2009
reveals that tourism to the continent is experiencing a revival largely
thanks to US President Barack Obama. The election of a President with
an African heritage has encouraged many Afro-Americans to not only
trace their roots but also visit the lands of their ancestors.

The
US represents Africa's largest source market with 41 million
African-Americans in residence. Of the total, 31% make up Generation Y
(people born in the ‘80s and early ‘90s) presenting a strong
opportunity for tourism to the region to continue to grow in the
long-term.

Furthermore, DNA testing to trace ancestral origin
has increased in popularity and is boosting cultural and heritage
tourism to the region. There are now more than 2000 genealogy companies
in the US and 35 000 African Americans have done DNA tests since 2002.

Golf tourism in Asia on the rise

The
rising standard of living across many Asian countries combined with the
desire of emerging destinations such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, to
develop tourism infrastructure through high-value, high-spending
visitors is fuelling the golf tourism trend. Current leaders Thailand
enjoyed revenue from golf tourism totalling US$800 million, growing at
10% per year, putting the niche sector in a much better position than
the overall tourism sector.

Many tour operators have devised
value-add packages offering unlimited rounds at a discounted price to
attract golfers from Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The Southeast
Asian Golf Trail combines top-class courses across Thailand, Vietnam
and Cambodia for a value-for-money price.

Women-only hotels growing across Middle East

The
growing young and female population in the Middle East is encouraging
suppliers to target this market with culturally acceptable and tailored
concepts. Saudi Arabia is leading the way with the first women-only
hotel, Luthan Hotel & Spa.

Egypt and Iran are also key
target markets for female-only concepts, especially with women
accounting for almost half of the total population in 2008. In
destinations such as these, where cultures are conservative, women-only
concepts are likely to appeal to Middle-Eastern Women and Westerners,
who want the additional reassurance.

“Pop up Hotels” sprouting up in the UK

Whilst
the local hotel industry was recently wringing their hands at the 2009
Hospitality Investment Conference, estimating the current over-supply
in hotel rooms at 25% (and growing), a new concept hailing from the UK,
called "pop up hotels", provides hotel operators with greater cost
efficiencies because the hotels are temporary structures which can be
constructed at short notice to meet demand almost as you go.

A
number of UK companies are spearheading the use of pop-up hotels.
Travelodge opened its first one in Uxbridge, west London last year. The
budget chain plans to open 40 hotels a year between now and 2020, half
of which will be pop-up builds.

Said Fiona Jeffery:
“Pop-up hotels are a great concept. In such uncertain financial times,
managing the overheads of a fixed place hotel can be difficult … Pop-up
hotels only have to fill the bedrooms for a set period of time. The
buzz created by a pop-up hotels leads to positive PR and word-of-mouth
marketing.”

The implications for 2010 are clear: No longer is
the shotgun approach to destination marketing sufficient, the
traditional waxing lyrically about one's own beaches, sunshine and
scenery, but the new travelling class of 2009 demands unique value
propositions that are geared towards meeting their very own needs; and
many times, what travellers really want, are meaningful activities that
enhance their quality of life.

By:: Dr Nikolaus Eberl