WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), co-chairs of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, introduced legislation that will help improve the tourism industry across the country by studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel and tourism industry and identifying policy recommendations to assist struggling businesses. The Protecting Tourism in the United States Act builds upon Klobuchar and Blunt’s efforts to support the travel and tourism industry and workforce, including securing the reauthorization of Brand USA through 2027. Brand USA is a public-private partnership that enhances tourism and job creation across the country. The program, which was established under the bipartisan Travel Promotion Act of 2009, brings in millions of additional international visitors to the U.S. each year at zero cost to taxpayers.

This month, Klobuchar and Blunt, along with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), reintroduced bipartisan legislation to provide economic support for organizations involved in promoting and hosting tourism, travel, or other special events. The Sustaining Tourism Enterprises During the COVID–19 Pandemic (STEP) Act would modify existing Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant programs to provide direct support to the hard-hit tourism and travel industry to promote economic recovery and help increase public confidence as these industries look to reopen safely in the future. These programs help drive local economic development projects, develop new industries, build vital infrastructure, and enhance tourism and travel.

In the first of a series of catch-ups with our CEO, Carina Bauer, we set out our 12 commitments for 2021-2022 {well six of them at least) including the return to IRL, sparking joy and connection through micro experiences, nurturing innovation, embracing Nature+, living our diversity, equity and inclusion values, and cherishing analogue moments. We’ll be back with the next six next month.

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Displaying their unique brand of personalized service to the meetings industry, Visit Anchorage recently held a series of Zoom discussions on how their destination is coping with and addressing the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 2020 was forecast to be a banner year for Visit Anchorage with an economic impact of 90 to 100 million in annual meetings revenue. Fortunately, 78 million of this expected income has moved to future years.

Their presentations began with D.C. planners, 100% of whom are working from home. 30% of those attending were also open to in person meetings with suppliers. Close to 50 planners attended the webinar led by David Kasser, V.P. of Sales and Shelli Stanton, Convention Sales Manager. They were joined by a panel of industry partners from the “A-Team” of organizations representing Anchorage’s dynamic meetings and conventions task force. Included were Alex Wong – Hotel Captain Cook, Kate Sprout – Hilton Anchorage, Gemma Hawley – Alaska Airlines, Alyeska Hotel – Chris Block and Phyllis Rice – William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center & Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center.

Predictably, much of the agenda was given over to the various safety protocols and related mandates in place by the city to make organizers feel comfortable about choosing Anchorage as a viable meeting destination. Each sales manager also discussed the ways their individual businesses were adhering to CDC and local procedures.

But then Visit Anchorage took it one step further by being the first organization to actually host an in-person event in the city since February with the successful execution of their July monthly membership luncheon. Normally 75 to 150 members participate in this event. This time, 75 actually attended the            luncheon demonstrating that networking is still important – especially in times of crisis. And when queried as to whether or not they felt safe enough to be present at a future monthly luncheon, 95% of those attending voted yes.

As always with Visit Anchorage, this was a two way conversation between the CVB and their clients. So, the panel ended the session by addressing inquiries submitted by the attendees prior to the event. These questions revealed the following:

• “Hybrid” will remain a component of most meetings moving forward
• Covid-type clauses will need to be part of all future contracts
• Creativity and flexibility will be the key words in any conversations between planner and supplier

Learn More about Visit Anchorage at https://www.anchorage.net/meetings/

Delta, like all airlines, faces a very real, very big challenge. Right now, the vast majority of people aren’t that interested in climbing onto an airplane with 100 people they don’t know for a few hours. 

It turns out that traveling isn’t as bad as you think it would be. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t very different. For example, when I flew to New York City last month, I had no idea what to expect. Even as a fairly regular traveler during “normal” times, I had more anxiety about getting on a plane than I ever had before. 

That’s entirely natural considering that most people don’t like the “unknown.” We tend to avoid uncertainty as much as possible. Flying simply involves too many variables out of our control for most of us to take what seems like an unnecessary risk during a pandemic.  

But if you’re Delta, that’s bad news. In fact, it’s very expensive bad news. As a result, the company has made an extraordinary effort to keep passengers and crew members safe. 

In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle at The Atlantic Festival, Delta’s CEO made clear the cost of COVID-19 to the airline’s business:

We’re flying today at a 60 percent load factor cap. So that means 40 percent of the seats we fly, we are deliberately not filling and not selling. That is not cheap. But the more important decision we make is we gotta put people over profits. And we know that instilling confidence in our customers, as well as our own employees, is job number one. That’s our priority right now.

I’d much rather people remember Delta as the company that took care of them through the pandemic… Customers are making a decisions about who Delta is by the values that we put out on display.

All of that is great, but the key here is “instilling confidence.” None of the rest of it matters if people are too anxious or afraid to do business with your company. To that end, Delta has a brilliant strategy for providing information for customers: Instagram. This morning, I was swiping through my feed, when I came across the following post.

If you tap on it, it reveals individual profiles for each of the different steps the company is taking to make the boarding process safer. If you select one of those profiles, they provide additional information. For example, if you tap on the Customer.Face.Masks profile, it explains:

For everyone’s safety, customers must wear a mask or face covering, and extra masks and Care Kits will be available if you need one. Those with underlying conditions who can’t wear a mask or face covering are required to complete a “Clearance-To-Fly” process before being permitted to travel.

Think about that for a moment. Delta took the time to create a dozen Instagram profiles so that it could better communicate with its followers. Sure, you can argue that Delta has plenty of resources and staff to do this. That’s definitely true. But the thought behind this makes it effective for two reasons.

The first is that it helps create expectations. In that example about face masks, it provides a potential traveler with all of the information they need to know about what is required of them. It even details the process if a passenger has an issue with wearing a mask. (As a side-note, Delta’s CEO says the company has already put 350 people on a no-fly list for refusing to wear masks.)

The second reason I think this is so effective is that it’s not just about creating expectations for someone who has already decided to travel. In my article describing my flight last month, I explained the steps the company is taking to do just that. In a statement, Delta told me, “Our community management team has been highly engaged and very responsive with customers to help increase confidence and reduce anxiety.”

This, on the other hand, is meant to reach people who haven’t decided to travel. It wasn’t on their website or in an email. It was on Instagram. Remember Instagram, that place where we all used to share images of the cool places we visited when we traveled? Delta clearly wants us to get back to that, which is why the fact that it ran this content there is so effective. 

Delta is meeting travelers who have a sense of wanderlust where they are, and is helping them better understand the effort the company is taking to keep everyone safe. That, in turn, helps to reduce the anxiety and uncertainty around travel.

None of that is easy, especially now. And, it doesn’t mean people are going to suddenly start buying plane tickets. This, however, is a creative and interactive way to create expectations. In fact, I think it’s brilliant. 

BY JASON ATEN, TECH COLUMNIST@JASONATEN INC.

KUALA LUMPUR, 30 September 2020 – The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) is looking forward to hosting two consumer exhibitions during October, when the venue welcomes visitors for the Beautylife Bonanza from 1 – 3 October and Ekspo Kucing (Cat Expo) 2020 from the 2 – 4 October.

The inaugural Beautylife Bonanza will provide Malaysians with great value and irresistible package deals from an extensive range of beauty and lifestyle brands.

For all the cat lovers out there, Ekspo Kucing, the largest feline-related exhibition in Malaysia, will be a must visit. With lots of great deals, massive promotions, giveaways and savings of up to 80%, this is one exhibition that your furry friends don’t want you to miss!

Both exhibitions offer free admission and will be taking place in a hygienic, controlled and secure environment with stringent safety and security measures in place, which are in line with the approved Malaysian National Security Council Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

According to the Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor, “Is it great to be welcoming consumer exhibitions back to the Centre and we are pleased to be kicking off with these two fun events. Being able to host exhibitions again is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Malaysia’s Frontliners and Government in combatting Covid-19 in the country.”

To enhance the visitor experience, the Centre’s Café 88 conveniently located on the Ground Level in the Centre Core will also be open for guests to savour true Malaysian tastes to grab and go or relax and enjoy local favourites with a spectacular view of the PETRONAS Twin Towers overlooking the KLCC Park. With many delicious and affordable dishes, it is the purr-fect place to take a break when attending events at the Centre.

He continued, “Since we reopened our doors on 1 July, we are grateful to have safely and successfully hosted 84 events – two conventions, two entertainment events and 80 meetings and events (up to 25 September). We have been working tirelessly to restore consumer confidence in events and are starting to see signs of recovery, with 10 exhibitions (trade and consumer) in the pipeline for the rest of 2020.”

Gerard Leeuwenburgh, Country General Manager – Malaysia, Informa Markets (Organiser of Beautylife Bonanza) shared, “We are excited and ready to bring our trade shows back in the new normal and are happy to be hosting the inaugural Beautylife Bonanza at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.”

“As part of our commitment to being a socially responsible organisation, we always aim to do more for the betterment of life in the societies we operate in while providing our customers the best possible solutions for their business. This is why we have themed this year’s event ‘Giving Back to Community’ to help alleviate the impact on the underprivileged community and to achieve and maintain a sustainable livelihood through economic opportunities. So, we hope to see a great turn out from the community to support these organisations,” he concluded.

While the 14-day quarantine for US inbound arrivals remains in place, Great Britain is one of only a few destinations in Europe that Americans can actually enter.  The UK Government re-evaluates the travel advisories every three weeks. For the latest details, be sure to check the guidelines on GOV.UK. The new ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard has been a success with 38,000+ applications from UK businesses received. The “We’re Good To Go” mark signals that a tourismand hospitality business has adapted their operations in line with respective Government and public health guidance and has a COVID-19 risk assessment in place to aid staff training, social distancing and cleanliness. Go to https://goodtogo.visitbritain.com/discover to view our new interactive map showing all the businesses which have received the mark, so you can plan your client’s trips with ease.