Mallorca’s Ill-Advised Gamble and 10 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

Throughout the week we are posting original stories night and day covering news and travel trends, including on the impact of coronavirus. Every weekend we will offer you a chance to read the most essential stories again in case you missed them earlier.

Lessons From Mallorca’s Rushed Reopening: Mallorca’s slammed tourism industry could see recovery begin this summer, but there are huge “ifs” — vaccine rollouts, source markets reopening, and the ability to move away from mass tourism. Did moving too quickly add to these uncertainties?

Backpacker Tourism Faces a Changing Landscape Post-Pandemic: While some popular backpacker destinations will target high-end visitors after the pandemic, this category of outdoor tourism is not dead. Far from it, as backpacker tourism will evolve and attract new markets.

Egypt Sidelines Locals by Importing Global Travel Influencers to Boost Luxury Tourism: Even in the best of times, hitting the right notes can be tricky when launching marketing strategies, but Egypt’s latest tourism campaign seems far removed from reality.

Marriott’s New CEO Is Global Development Exec Tony Capuano: New Marriott CEO Tony Capuano can’t celebrate for long: The world’s largest hotel company still faces a long recovery from the global pandemic.

Interior Secretary Nominee Deb Haaland’s Congressional Grilling Keeps Travel Industry Waiting: It’s no easy task facing members of Congress who are pro-fossil fuels when you’re a climate change and outdoors advocate. Deb Haaland skillfully deflected contentious questions by promising to listen, collaborate, and serve both aisles of Congress, while staying firm on clean energy and conservation.

IHG Will Focus on Non-Luxury Brands as It Pulls Back on Wild Portfolio Growth: IHG leaders still think their portfolio, heavily focused on mid-priced brands like Holiday Inn Express and the newer Avid Hotels, is more resilient than the competition. The financial figures back their claims.

Behind Marriott’s Choice of Tony Capuano Over Stephanie Linnartz as CEO: All things being equal, there were a lot of travel industry stalwarts hoping that the world’s largest hotel chain, Marriott International, would tap a woman as CEO in a signature statement at this juncture in history.

Expedia, Others Poised for Hotel Market Share Battle Over Wholesale Sales: Hoteliers sent about $50 billion of rooms a year through wholesalers in normal times. Expedia Group and WebBeds want to take larger shares of that market. But private equity-backed companies like Hotelbeds and Fastpayhotels see an opportunity, too.

Digital Nomad Visas May End Up Being a Bureaucratic Hell for Big Companies: There’s momentum building to make remote work a reality at some of the more progressive multinational companies, but the question of travel policies and tax liabilities could prove too much of a headache.

Booking’s Subtle Message to Airbnb: We’re Coming to the U.S. and We Like Our Position: Is there one little thing that Wall Street is forgetting about the Booking Holdings-Airbnb face-off? Booking Holdings has a huge hotel business and Airbnb doesn’t. Booking is certainly lagging in short-term rentals, but CEO Glenn Fogel is probably justified in liking his cards.

Auberge Resorts Carves Out Luxury for These Times: Auberge is making a run at the high-touch, yet as a colorful and unique boutique play. And so far it is finding an audience.

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