Golf-Hotel-Resorts AND CASINO News: Puerto Rico's Tourism Revival + Flight Crews Shill Credit Cards + UK Cruising Keeps Graying

July 12, 2018

Note From the Editor

As gut-wrenching as a crisis can be, Hurricane Maria served as a painful catalyst for Puerto Rico to effect real change on the island. Skift chose Puerto Rico for its annual company retreat this year, and our visit in late June included meetings with hard-working people trying to rebuild the island's economy through tourism. The challenges are still formidable, as Tourism Reporter Dan Peltier points out in his story today. But what we witnessed during our several days in Puerto Rico and what we heard from the leaders of the Foundation for Puerto Rico and of the new destination marketing organization there was encouraging. A genuine plan seems to be in place, hopefully free of corrosive politics and business-as-usual practices that stifled Puerto Rico well before Maria.

To underscore this optimism, we looked at, what else, the food. Skift Table reporter Erika Adams' story below talks about the real momentum a farm-to-table movement is having on the island for the first time, just months after Puerto Rico depended on imports for 95 percent of its food. The reminders of Maria's devastation can still be seen all over the island, but something is happening in Puerto Rico that is starting to feel more hopeful than dreadful.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

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For more than a century, Puerto Rico has been divided along two identities – Puerto Rican and American. But Hurricane Maria has forced it to reach a point where its tourism industry must merge the two, and market the destination in a way like many others on the mainland have done for decades if it hopes to become a global success story.

United Becomes Latest Airline to Deploy Flight Crews to Pitch Credit Cards

In-flight credit card pitches are officially coming to United Airlines, which is great news for revenue and maybe less-great news for frequent flyers.

UK and Ireland Cruisers Are Actually Getting Older Despite Push for Millennials

While some cruise lines have had success targeting younger travelers, it is older people who are still the most interested. But so what? There are plenty of wealthy retirees who are happy to while away their days sipping cocktails at sea.

Skift Table: Puerto Rico's Farm-to-Table Dining Is Gaining Steam

In the year after Maria, restaurateurs are building new relationships with local farmers and seeing more interest from customers in supporting local agriculture and celebrating food that is grown entirely on the island.

The U.S. Braces for More Airline Competition. Finally.

U.S. airline consumers hate to admit it — they love bashing airlines, after all — but the competitive environment is strong right now, and considering rising fuel prices, fares are decent. But if there's a new entrant into the marketplace, like David Neeleman's proposed new carrier, things could get even better for customers.

American Airlines Says Tech Snafu at Regional Airline Will Hurt Earnings

Glitches happen and airlines lose money. But American probably could have handled last month's PSA Airlines debacle better. If it had, maybe it would have lost less money from the debacle.

Accessibility That Goes Beyond the Event

It's one thing to make your event as accessible as possible, but the rest of the travel industry needs to do more to adequately present suitable options for every traveler. In a welcome development, online booking is finally placing a new focus on accessibility.

For all its imperfections, Valencia still has its spirit and a sense of authenticity that other destinations have lost in some ways in the age of overtourism. As the city fights to maintain equilibrium, it has a unique opportunity to set an example via the proper management of tourism. Don't put doors in the field. Set up bike lanes instead.

All The Ways U.S. Travelers Use Mobile at Destinations: New Skift Research

From finding things to do, to making spontaneous bookings, and more, mobile has a role to play at each part of the in-destination journey. Travel brands that can add value to this mobile journey have a lot to gain.

Analysts Are Puzzled Why Booking Holdings Acquired HotelsCombined

The deal surprised analysts, some of whom didn't see an obvious logic for it. Yet one thing is sure: Online hotel sales are a bit like an old-fashioned butter market. A big chunk of butter changes hands multiple times and everyone gets their hands greasy.

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