Combining the power of domestic and global tourism: Is your hotel using universal tactics to drive revenue?

By Kevin O’Rourke, EVP Global Sales, SiteMinder

Dominated by incredible athletes rewriting the history books, the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Rio, were an international spectacular watched by billions of people worldwide.

Post-Games our attention has moved away from the sporting achievements and instead turned to Rio’s legacy, and how Brazil can recoup some of the $12 billion it cost to host the Games.

Tourism always plays a vital part in the legacy analysis of any Olympics, as the success of Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012 proved.

Using these past events as a basis, Brazil’s tourism ministry is projecting a 6% increase in the number of tourists over the next 12 months.

As ambitious as that might sound, it’s not a completely unrealistic figure.

Tourism across the globe is riding a prosperous and resilient wave, with little sign of the upsurge slowing.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) projects growth in 2016 to surpass 3% globally, and despite pockets of concern around continued economic and security challenges, the industry is outpacing global economic growth by 1%.

Domestic tourism in the global driving seat

It’s often described as the ‘poor relation’ to international tourism, but over recent years domestic tourism has made something of a resurgence, boosted by weaker home currencies and renewed investment supporting domestic tourism initiatives.

More and more travellers are choosing to explore destinations much closer to home, following successful campaigns driven by tourism organisations. And the evidence of this domestic tourism boom can be found globally.