Celebrating an unexpected milestone of 100 issues of NY PATA newsletters in 18 months. NY PATA Newsletter open rate metric is 64%. The industry average is 22% – 34%.

The 3-day event, from June 21-23, brought together delegates from the public and private sectors for inspiring and insightful discussions on some of the major issues in marketing and managing tourism growth as the travel and tourism industry looks for new opportunities to promote sustainability within the industry.

“The systematic approach to sustainable tourism entails attributes, measurement, and verification. It involves setting realistic targets and timelines for businesses and destinations to gradually improve their sustainability practices. Compared to other sectors, the tourism industry is vulnerable due to loose verification; to address this, a robust verification system such as GSTC’s Accreditation Programme is necessary, which includes training, awareness, and a reliable certification process.

It is also important to understand the levels of verification. It goes from zero verification to 1st party assessment which is most likely an internal guidance system, then 2nd party verification where the impartiality might be unclear, and finally 3rd party certification by an accredited certification body.” Highlights of speech by Randy Durband.

Sustainability is a journey that is constantly evolving as we learn to know more about what we can do and what we can do better. It is a purpose-led business’s responsibility to educate its customers, even if it’s at a speed of one step at a time. It is important to consider the long-term economic feasibility of the “sustainable tourism” plan before reaching out to the communities. It is also essential to partner with local organizations that are impactful at the grass-root level, so they can engage the local communities and show consumers convincing proof that they could also create impacts through joyous, uncompromised travel. Highlights of speech by Natalie Kidd.

This year, for the first time in four years, the Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori returns in all its glory, August 27 and 28. Catch the action in Koenji, Suginami City, just six minutes by train from Shinjuku Station. The “Awa Odori” (Awa Dance), originally a local performance art of Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku, has become one of Japan’s most important festivals. The Awa Odori was first held in Koenji in 1957 to attract crowds to the shopping district, and is now an event that draws the thrumming energy of as many as one million spectators. Dancers and musicians parade through the main street and shopping district in a long procession, whipping up excitement throughout the whole neighborhood. Moved by the roar of the passionate crowds, over 10,000 dancers will flow through the town of Koenji across the 8 routes that form the shape of a giant “8”.

President Luis Abinader and Tourism Minister David Collado launched the DO Travel Rewards platform on Thursday. The platform is an innovative global loyalty program aimed at rewarding travel agents who bring tourists to the Dominican Republic. The launch took place at the Hotel Jaragua and was attended by over 500 international travel agents from across the Americas.

The Minister of Tourism highlighted that this loyalty program is the first of its kind in the country’s history and underscores the government’s commitment to continue promoting tourism in the Dominican Republic. The platform aims to build loyalty, provide information, and strengthen relationships with travel agents.

Minister Collado mentioned that the initiative is part of a broader strategy that involved visits to major cities responsible for sending tourists to the Dominican Republic. The program offers rewards, training, information, and familiarization trips to various destinations within the country.

Tour operators and travel agents have long played a crucial role as marketing, sales, and service channels, contributing over US$5 billion to the Dominican economy annually. The DO Travel Rewards program aims to recognize their efforts and foster continued collaboration in promoting the country as a top tourist destination. Dominican Today

Asia accounts for a third of the world’s passenger flights in August, according to Cirium data. China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Thailand are all in the world’s top 20 most-served countries. For most, big domestic markets are critically important.

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Guangzhou has more passenger flights in August than any other Asian airport, as detailed in the following table. It is so busy that it is also the world’s eighth-busiest by this metric and the only airport in Asia to feature in the world’s top 10. Guangzhou has jumped from third place in 2019, overtaking Beijing Capital – which was first – and Shanghai Pudong. Beijing’s huge fall was mainly because of the new Daxing airport, which has split its operation. Daxing itself now ranks 12th in Asia. This is a problem when examining airports rather than cities. At the city level, Beijing would be second in the vast continent, behind Shanghai.

Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta is the only airport in Southeast Asia in this top 10 list.