I was recently asked what I would buy with my lottery winnings (should I be so lucky) if real estate, yachts, and airplanes were not allowed. My thoughts immediately turned to Italian luxury fashion, fixtures, furniture, and experiences (including wine, spirits, and travel). Italy is at the head of the line in the highly competitive […]
Drink More Wine. Help to Grow the World Economy
The year was 2020, and I, among others, spent US$326.6 billion on wine. Thanks to the pandemic, we wine drinkers are finding solace by drinking more wine, pushing revenue to a projected US $434.6 billion by 2027, representing an increase of 4.3 percent between 2020-2027. Dessert wines (i.e., Sauternes/France; Tokaji Aszú/Hungary; Muscat/Italy) are a growing category […]
Death Tourism: Travel with a purpose
Planning to travel? Your motivation is likely going to fall into one of these boxes: 1. Visits to friends and family2. Vacation3. Business What is missing from the list? People who travel to commit suicide. What is it? Death tourism (a specific type of medical tourism) is a system whereby non-terminally ill individuals travel to […]
Tourism and Pandemics: Do They Coexist?
What makes COVID-19 different from previous diseases in the speed and reach of the virus and the extent of the contagion beyond the traveler to the destination? Tourism is about movement. Pandemics are about stopping a spread. It does not matter if your news source is social media, television networks, or print, the link between […]
Airplanes: Part of the COVID-19 Problem
Since the beginning of COVID-19, many people have stopped flying! Why? The reasons are multiple and complex. Business travel has declined thanks to Zoom and other remote meeting options. International restrictions on American passports has put a crimp in leisure travel, and 24/7 media coverage of the virus and its spread has convinced us that the […]
Tourism Impasse: Cannot Stop or Go
The hotel, travel and tourism industry contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, most notably cruise lines and airlines; however large their role, these enterprises cannot be held accountable for its origin or for the irresponsible approach of governments and global health agencies to the identification, mitigation, control, and elimination of the virus. First Hide, […]
Tourism in a Time of Chaos
Chaos Theory Chaos is a term used to describe the world when nothing makes sense; when 2+2 does not equal 4, leaving us completely and totally confused. Sometimes the “butterfly effect” is used to explain the phenomenon: the idea is that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Argentina could cause a tornado in Texas […]
Sea Sick: Is Cruising Still a Happy Business?
The cruise industry before COVID-19 generated $134 billion in travel and tourism revenue prompting the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to paint a rosy future. This was before COVID-19. Before COVID-19, almost 351 million posts with the tag #travel on Instagram were generated by happy voyagers. Passengers supported the wellness programs including oxygen bars, healthy […]
Will meetings return? Can hotels really open safely?… Or should we stay home?
Tourism Encounters a New Paradigm Up to, and including the beginning of 2020, many professionals in the hotel, travel, and tourism industry would have agreed that “bigger is better.” Demand created a need to build larger cruise ships, more and differentiated hotels, additional stadiums and convention centers, faster and bigger aircraft. There appeared to be […]
Covid 19 Dining Out Becomes a Dilemma
Life BC (Before Covid 19) Before Covid 19 dining out was a no-brainer; grabbing a pizza or making a reservation at the newest, trending restaurant – no problem. However, thanks to the President of the USA and other elected officials, having a drink at a bar with friends, or eating a burger at a nearby pub has […]