Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

Not much has happened with drugstores since the famed Le Drugstore atop the Champs-Elysées in Paris (now Publicis Drugstore) opened in 1958 when founder, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, created a new concept for Paris that became a legend.

The guest directory of Berlin’s Minilofts, an apartment hotel owned by two architects, gets my vote for one of the best I’ve ever seen….and used. Written by the hotel manager, who works part time at the English language magazine for Berlin, the 18 page guide is comprehensive and perfectly geared towards its guests, which Minilofts describes as “international guests….(with) an independent streak and a fascination with culture.”

Over the last couple years, we’ve seen that increasing destination content and SEO go hand in hand, because researching destinations has been shown to be the most popular use of Google in the travel category. Case in point: planning for an upcoming trip to Paris, I was online researching museum exhibits. Among the top results served up was Plaza Athenee’s hotel website summarizing the cultural highlights of the season.

Did you see me on TV at the demonstrations in Damascus? There I was with thousands, part of history in the making, at the plaza in front of the central bank with its huge poster of Bashir. Everyone was chanting God, Syria and Bashir. What a day!

I’m currently on a World Affairs Council trip to Jordan, followed by a private tour of Syria and Istanbul, Turkey. The timing could not be more interesting…a new name for a Middle Eastern trip? Emerging democracies tour!

The country of Lithuania is pioneering a new type of national symbol to convey the character of the ex-Soviet Baltic state – a perfume called “Lithuania” They say, the scent is a good example of how to communicate Lithuania to the public in an innovative way.

Graffiti tourism, danger tourism, grief tourism (tours to Holocaust museums, Khmer Rouge killing fields, etc) and slum tourism (though Brazil’s favelas and Kenya’s slums) are all travel micro-niches that have surfaced in the last few years. These travel niches cater to small markets in terms of numbers, but keep in the mind the Long Tail business model about selling less of more. The focus is on offering a large number of niche products, each of which sells relatively infrequently. This pattern is illustrated with the transformation of the book publishing industry by Amazon.com and DVD rentals by Netflix.

New York City and Miami tourism officials announced a new partnership (“Rivals, Not in this Arena”) to boost travel between the two destinations, 1088 miles apart. Launching in 2011, this novel approach involves joint advertising, sales on American Airlines airfares between the two cities, and promoting special events and deals in both destinations to boost tourism during their respective slower seasons.

Effective crisis management can help to limit the damage caused by intense, negative media coverage. To be prepared, an organization must create a detailed crisis communication plan with a crisis communication team assigned to execute the plan that spells out the official spokesperson, key audiences, and internal and external communication chains of command. Practice crisis scenarios and recommended action, and have prepared fact sheets, statements and news release templates on hand. Sometimes, the best course of action might be to “wait and see” rather than risk fanning the fire.

Be proactive with positive news. There is always something positive to say, even in a time of crisis. New tourism appointments, new flight service, new attractions, increased cruise ship arrivals, festivals, events, hotel packages and hotel developments generate positive news that helps rebuild an image in the eyes of overseas visitors, namely, potential tourists. Social media is a ripe avenue to share your positive news with a large audience, and it’s recommended to set up a news feed on your website to ease browsers search for updates.