Trove Signs on Caribbean Tourism Leader William Griffith as new Advisor

January 11, 2023: Trove Tourism Development Advisors ("Trove") is excited to announce a new Advisor to join its team - Mr. William Griffith. 

Billy, who will serve as our Advisor, Caribbean and Bermuda, is a tourism leader with 30+ years in the industry. As former CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), Billy spearheaded a 30 per cent increase in visitor arrivals to Barbados to an all-time record of 682 000 in 2018, as air capacity to the island also grew by 22 per cent. Griffith oversaw high-profile partnerships on behalf of the BTMI that led to the introduction of new flights to the island including Copa Airlines direct from Panama which began in 2018; and the Lufthansa direct service from Frankfurt, Germany, which commences on Monday. His leadership of the organisation also resulted in the destination receiving several major awards during his tenure as well as his personal achievement of being awarded ‘Caribbean Tourism Director of the Year 2019’ by Carib Journal earlier this year.

Previously, Billy was appointed Director of Tourism of Bermuda in August 2008 and served in this capacity until March 2014. He served as President of the Bermuda Hotel Association; President of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda; Chairman of the Bermuda Hotel Association, served on the Board of Governors of the Bermuda College, the Board of Tourism, as well as the Board of Trustees of the Government Golf Courses. 

Danny Cohanpour, CEO of Trove, spoke about Billy's appointment: "Billy is a leader in Caribbean tourism and we are excited to have him onboard, using his industry know-how to position our business stronger in the Caribbean market. Our work in the Caribbean has been fantastic, especially in our branding and marketing strategy work, and we are excited to bring Billy on to further grow our portfolio in the region."

Billy will advise Trove on business development and growth strategy in the Caribbean and Bermuda.

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About Trove Tourism Development Advisors: Trove Tourism Development Advisors (“Trove”) is a New York-based tourism development consulting and marketing agency with experience in developing marketing, branding and tourism development strategies for destinations around the world. In particular, Trove works with tourism authorities and destination marketing organizations to use digital tools and techniques to develop a stronger brand for destinations. Trove has worked with 50+ destinations on game-changing campaigns, strategies and tourism planning efforts to help destinations “stand out” from the pack.

Upcoming Skift Forum is Bound for Success

This is a blog by Trove Associate Reema Maarouf.

CEO of Trove Danny Cohanpour is excited to be attending the upcoming Skift Global Forum, the largest creative business event defining the future of travel hosted in New York City and broadcasted online globally - September 19-22.

The event will uncover some of the most controversial topics within the industry of business travel which includes insights on how future of travel is reimagined: what actions are institutions taking to achieve net-zero emissions; more insight into the “The Great Merging” work lifestyle; emerging innovations; technology and the traveler journey; industry challenges such as travel’s labor crisis and heightened service challenges; how travel industry is looking to evolve.

The future of travel and the current change is the biggest one yet since the emergence of commercial flying. Future of travel is looking to be greener and more efficient and the way that consumers are approaching travel changed and the purpose of travel has evolved.

Skift editors and research analysts will explore the geopolitical, economic, and technological trends that are transforming travel across aviation, hospitality, technology, destinations, online booking, and more through renowned executive interviews and deep-dive panels.

The forum will also dive deep into travel booking developments, airline high-touch service, conservation and travel, hospitality talent, hotel scaling strategies, Google and the future of travel, future of mobility and aviation, travel technology, the travel ecosystem, customer data and travel demand, market drive across the industry, and topics on sustainability.

There are 30+ speakers and up to 500+ attendees and peers from leading companies including: McKinsey & Company, Sandals Resort International, G Adventures, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Hopper, Ennismore, Traveloka, JetBlue, Hertz Corporation, Visa, American Express Travel, Potato head family, Disney Parks Experiences and Products, Discover Puerto Rico, Airbnb, RedDoorz, IHG, State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, Booking Holdings, AWS, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, IAC and Expedia Group, Expedia Group Media Solutions, Waze, Cognizant, Amperity, American airlines, STR   Hilton, Marriott International, Google, Radisson Hotel Group, Expedia Group, TikTok, Emirates and many more. Trove is excited to gather the best insight to move the industry forward.

Trove Highlights: How the hosting of the upcoming huge FIFA World Cup 2022 event may impact the economy of Qatar

This is a blog by Trove Associate Reema Maarouf.

Middle East’s first-ever FIFA World Cup is expected to offer Qatar an eccentric marketing potential to place the destination securely on the tourism map. Additionally, the Qatari government has previously predicted that up to 1.5 million new jobs might be created in Qatar by the 2022 World Cup, primarily in the tourist and hospitality industries both before and after the event.

“Given the reported limited space accommodations, this event has overall increased regional coordination efforts to accommodate such a large influx of tourists. It will also notably give a boost to the Qatari economy, with an estimated $17 billion in profits”, said Caroline Rose, head of the Power Vacuums Program at the Newlines Institute in Washington, to Al-Monitor.

This event is looking to highly impact surrounding GCC nations too. Commercial connections between Qatar and the UAE will progressively improve as a result of the flood of visitors and the reopening of their borders. Moreover, the reopening of the land, sea, and air corridors will make it possible for UAE football fans to travel to Qatar.

GCC nationals will also receive an on-arrival visa. The increased cash will benefit Qatar, while the UAE may provide supporters with a different location to base themselves in for the length of the event.

The GCC region will experience greater economic stability due to the two countries' renewed cooperation, according to Nazar Musa, CEO of PRO Partner Group, a renowned UAE business services provider.

Along with Dubai, the other Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and Oman are also making an effort to attract tourists. Both nations are organizing events to attract football enthusiasts and developing plans to streamline their travel arrangements for them. In fact, the Saudi Tourism Authority has made it quite clear that it expects to welcome close to 30,000 tourists for the World Cup in Qatar, and those who possess Qatar's Hayya fan card are welcome to apply for multiple-entry visas to the Kingdom.

IPA Qatar, the investment promotion agency of Qatar notes that Qatar’s GDP has grown at a steady rate of 4.5% since it awarded the tournament in 2010 and the Ministry of Commerce since then has identified 83 commercial investment opportunities for the private sector until 2023 that is related to preparing for the tournament.

Nasser Al Khater, the CEO of the FIFA  tournament, has said that once the tournament is over he is expecting “the country’s focus to shift from infrastructure development to tourism.”

Below listed are key takeaways from a captivating conversation between the leading travel industry intelligence platform, Skift and the chief operating officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel:

• Qatar Expects to bring in 1.5 million fans through FIFA World Cup 2022.

• On infrastructural efforts and tourism asset building, in order to make the most of all lodging options, Qatar is currently building more hotels and tourism products. Fans will have novel options including camping in the desert and staying on a cruise ship that is temporarily anchored and offers views of Doha's skyline. Moreover, for the one million or more spectators anticipated throughout the duration of the 28-day tournament, Qatar will have up to 36,000+ keys. The Quest theme park, which has the tallest indoor shot and drops tower and an indoor rollercoaster in the world, is one of the most recent additions to the theme park industry. This is an opportunity for Qatar to showcase the world its spectacular hospitality

• Development projects that are in progress in Doha during the FIFA World Cup include Qetaifan Island North, Katara Towers, Place Vendôme, Rosewood, Aljaber Twin Towers, Pullman Doha, Dream Doha, The St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, ME Doha and West Walk. Last but not least, the brand-new public transportation system - The Metro Rail - and feeder buses will be an important asset in building connectivity.

• Qatar looks to both position itself as the destination for sporting events and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions and as a destination for family vacation, adventurous holidays, romantic getaways, and staycations

• On sustainability, Qatar promises to hold a carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup and ensure that stadiums use sustainable approaches from the design stage all the way through construction and energy and water use. Sustainability is a fundamental theme of the stadiums. For instance, Stadium 974, made entirely of demolished ocean cargo containers, was constructed using recycled materials.

• Hosting major events, festivals and fairs is crucial for boosting local economies. Trends show that sports and business events help build stronger and more diverse economies as they serve as a basis for attracting trade, foreign investment, talent, and global assets. 

If you are looking to build a strategy focused on highlighting your destination’s potential or are looking to host a major event to attract tourists and build local partnerships, our destination advisors and investment consultants at Trove are eager to offer expert guidance and support.

Trove’s highlights on Skift Sustainable Tourism Summit 2022

This article was written by Trove Associate Reema Maarouf.

It is evident that the world’s largest corporations are consciously heading toward a time where promoting sustainability in an environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspect is an urgent call. There is an emphasis on the tourism, travel, and hospitality industries as they hold the greatest impact in our communities. To guarantee long-term sustainability, a balance must occur between the needs of travelers, the environment, the government, the industry, and host communities should all be addressed.

To explore further actions being taken across the industry directly from thought leaders, Trove Associates Reema Maarouf and David Nicholson attended Skift’s Sustainable Tourism Summit 2022 led by Skift editors and research analysts. There was huge insight given regarding topics on how travel companies are tackling climate change, traveler expectations, top-tier community-led approaches, and how online travel agencies look to foster sustainability and social impact across different sectors.

When talking about consumers’ needs in a trip planning process during the summit, after conducting research on motivations, behaviors, and Influences on travelers, Jennifer Andre from Expedia Group Media Solutions said that consumers want and were looking for an authentic commitment. Consumers are making sacrifices and are willing to pay more for sustainable experiences.

Aditi Mohapatra, VP of Global Social Impact and Sustainability at Expedia Group, highlighted that there are constant efforts targeted towards finding ways to make marketplaces and advertising more inclusive overall.

Inge Hujibrechts, Global Senior Vice President of Sustainability, Security, and Corporate Communications at Radisson Hotel Group, noted that all B2B corporates are heading towards achieving net-zero targets. Moreover, Jane Ashton, Sustainability Director at easyJet, talked about the importance of encouraging hotels to hold the sustainability certification. 

Moreover, when discussing models for better collaboration across sectors, Elke Dens, Global Director of Programmes at The Travel Foundation, presented Deloitte’s study and stated that the top drivers of challenges when creating partnerships nowadays are investors, governments, and regulators. Dens also followed up by sharing an interesting insight: “Destinations are everyone’s business, by design, it is a public and private co-ownership, therefore companies should be on the outlook to join forces and collaborate rather than compete and compare.”

There was a very clear pattern throughout the Summit: the past two years of pandemic and recovery had led to huge changes in the way the industry operated, altered business goals and leaders’ priorities in the industry. Flexibility and Sustainability are two main core components that the industry is heading towards achieving. There has been great advocacy and there always is room for more as continued actions with impact will be implemented. Impact not only on preserving our planet but on our communities and stakeholders.

If you were looking to develop your service, product, or destination to compete in your area of expertise, reach out to one of our destination development advisors at Trove to discuss how you can develop through moving towards a more sustainable direction or simply through promoting your existing initiatives using the latest digital tools and trends to reach your targeted audience.

IMEX Frankfurt brings out delegates from over 100 countries

The following is an article by Trove Associate Olivia Silverman-Franklin.

This past week, the Travel and Tourism Industry reconvened in person for the IMEX convention in Frankfurt, Germany. The mood had an overwhelming sense of joy and optimism as the 20th year brought out over 100 countries coming together to show the vast investments that have been established during the pandemic for a more sustainable tourism future.

Recovery was the principal focus of this year's highly anticipated event. The pandemic impacted the events industry as it halted in person events and “hybridized” many significant global exhibitions and conferences. Many events saw event participant numbers dwindle.

When speaking about this event, the CEO of IMEX, Carina Bauer, spoke about how this one is vastly different than past events. "All the indicators suggest that 2023 and 2024 will be very good years for our industry. However, we can’t deny the challenges of a new business reality – labor shortages, travel disruptions, supply chain issues. However, planners are resourceful, adaptable and determined by nature. They’ve learned a lot, and I sense a strong determination to rebuild, but on new foundations. Equally, suppliers are doing their level best to flex and respond. The future looks bright.”

The Trove Team is especially looking forward to the many destinations ramping up their MICE amenities for the future of international business travel. Destinations such as Seoul, South Korea, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Thailand have taken this hiatus to re-evaluate and adapt to rapidly changing work cultures and changing business needs.

In addition, we are delighted to see more destinations make an appearance and enter the tourism market to showcase their endless opportunities as a travel destination. "Among the announcements are ExCeL London’s expansion and new Elizabeth Line connection, Ethiopia’s new convention bureau, the launch of Transcend Cruises and St Louis’s new direct flight to Frankfurt." The MICE industry is no longer an industry that DMOs can ignore and many destinations have created convention bureaus or have built small but mighty MICE-specific marketing and sales teams devoted to growing the MICE accounts.

We are looking forward to the remainder of 2022 and until next year's IMEX event, Auf Wiedersehen!

Tourism in Malaysia makes major waves in April as it re-opens to the world

This is a blog by Trove Associate Jane Noela-Braimah.

Malaysia opened its borders to international travelers and returning Malaysians alike in March 2022, and since then, the nation has been loosening restrictions and going full force on global promotional events.

On April 1st 2022, the Southeast Asian country started the transition into the endemic phase of COVID-19, completely relaxing all protocols for the first time since its stringent lockdown and restrictive procedures after two years. At the time, to curb the rise of COVID-19 in the country, foreign travelers were barred from entry, while returning nationals, permanent residents and select diplomats went through quarantine and other extensive measures before returning to their (home) country.

 From April 10th to 12th the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board participated in Borsa Internazionale del Turismo, Milan Italy. Led by Mohamad Libra Lee Haniff, Director of Tourism Malaysia in Paris, the country was promoted as an ideal covid-compliant holiday destination. Information on traveling to Malaysia was made to travel partners and holiday tourists alike, with hopes of establishing strong business networking opportunities. Libra saw the BIT as an ideal marketing location for Malaysia, and with over 40,000 guests in attendance, the opportunities are not overstated.

In an interview that followed days after the opening of national borders, vice president Ganneesh Ramaa of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents was confident in Malaysia’s direction towards international tourism, pointing to leading examples in Europe and other Asian countries who made similar moves already. He however insisted that speculations on the recovery rate of Malaysia’s tourist market cannot be made this early, with a note made to the global impact of the Russia-Ukraine war as a contributing factor to this uncertainty. China’s slow recovery in its tourism market also plays a role in this uncertainty as the nation is one of Malaysia’s major contributors.

Still, the government and organizations in the industry remain hopeful about Malaysia’s economic future with the opening of its borders, given the statements from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Tourism Malaysia is set to globally launch the “Malaysia, Truly Asia” campaign again following the opening of the borders.At the launch of its Strategic & Marketing Plan for 2022 - 2026, Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukrie stated that the Government is projecting at least two million tourists. With priorities focused on six key factors of domestic tourism and promotions, international tourism recovery, digital adoption, innovation, health and safety, Malaysia’s players in travel and tourism prepare and anticipate the increase of a market that had plunged significantly in the year 2020.

The events and campaigns of April, organized by Tourism Malaysia and the Ministry of Tourism,, are proving promising. In line with the Strategic & Marketing Plan for 2022 - 2026, more is expected to come from Malaysia Ministry of Tourism and the country’s industry players. 

Learn more about our Digital Marketing and destination marketing work here.

A Jam-Packed Weekend at the Travel and Adventure Show in New York

This is a blog update by Trove Associate Olivia Silverman-Franklin on our team’s experience at the TAS Show in New York’s Javits Center.

Founder and CEO Danny Cohanpour and Olivia, Trove Associate, took a trip to the Javits Convention Center in New York City last weekend for the Travel and Adventure show. The show was teeming with eager travelers excited to see destinations, from the new and familiar, showcased what they have to offer as we transition into a post-pandemic time. 

While the show had been reduced in size compared to previous years, it did not hold back on the representation of destinations. We talked to booths from nations in East and Southeast Asia like the Philippines and Taiwan and to North American destinations like Newfoundland and the Gulf County of Florida.

The show's mood was very energizing and optimistic; everyone seemed happy to socialize in person compared to a virtual setting. The show also was bolstered with live performances. We particularly loved Destination Miami's LGBTQ+ concert featuring fabulous drag queens. 

We were also able to attend a few speaker events. Brian Kelly, the founder of The Points Guy website, piqued our interest in how our spending could turn into free travel and that many people in that audience have more than 20 credit cards—mind-blowing! Alvin Adriano of Travelwise spoke highly during a presentation of the Philippines, the diverse landscape, dreamy beaches, and amiable people, making for an enjoyable choice when returning to international travel. There are some incredible people throughout the travel industry. 

The Travel and Adventure show is making its way throughout the United States these next few weeks, hoping to capture the hopeful eyes of travelers. See if they are stopping by your city sometime soon and join in on the excitement. 

Trove will be here as we provide digital marketing services to help your destination stand out in this hyper-competitive 2022-2023 travel market.

Resilience in times of a Pandemic: Can LGBTQ+ travelers help the tourism industry recover?

This is a blog by Trove Associate Jane-Noela Braimah after attending the ITB Berlin 2022 Virtual Conference.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community from around the world gathered during last week’s ITB Berlin Conference to discuss the rising trends of LGBTQ+ tourists and travelers, as well as the impact of these trends on the travel industry post COVID.

David Paisley, Senior Research Director for agency Community Marketing & Insights (CMI), provided points on the motivations behind LGBTQ+ travel in the United States. These points included the need for queer people to seek out community and reconnect with their found families, especially where many would experience isolation, even in cases where they were in lockdown with their biological families. Points were also made on research revealing that members of the queer community were vaxxed, boosted and willing to show proof of evidence. The demographic of gay men in particular reveals the anticipation to return to an active travel lifestyle.

CMI research also reveals that many LGBTQ+ travelers in the United States have also stirred activity within the local tourism industry, visiting queer-friendly small town settlements and rural communities. While many are experiencing these types of travel scenes for the first time, David reveals that urban and international travel appear in the future of the many queer tourists prepared to meet to travel requirements. After an insightful brief on the transition of travel marketing from large scale queer events in society to smaller travel activities tailored to queer travelers, David closes out with a welcome to a panel discussion on the travel experience as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Panelists brought up interesting points on the external factors behind some of the travel trends we see in recent times. Representatives discussed the economics motivations of many countries that are now prioritizing queer travelers in their contingency plans to revive and sustain their tourism industries. The discussions wade into the advancement Columbian government in creating a more queer friendly travel destination for queer travelers. The LGBTQ+ positive strategies employed in Brussels was also explored with the Brussels representative. They discussed the presence of international queer people from LGBTQ+ hostile countries at their Pride events, as well as the provision of safe queer spaces in society through the partnerships of the government with the local community.

Representatives from Italy and Florida also discuss the change and evolution of the queer travel industry in their locations and amongst their LGBTQ+ members. They discussed the movements towards social sustainability and the recognition of the queer community as a new market demanding unique and targeted attention for the first time. She discusses the movement of international queer travelers in tourist groups and the plans made to host the IGLTA convention in Milano. The focus is especially centered on the economic prospects of their markets receiving a large influx of international consumers, who happen to be queer, as well as taking advantage of this influx and creating more LGBTQ+ tailored tourist attractions to maintain and retain them as international consumers in their market. The representative from Florida expanded on this fact, looking at the opportunities during the pandemic, where they remained open to leisure and corporate travelers. They also discussed the forward and progressive thinking of Tampa Bay and its longstanding hospitality to queer travelers.

The question arises, though, why haven’t destinations always prioritized marketing to and providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ travelers? And why is this a priority only now?

In total, this event at ITB Berlin provided deep and unique insights on LGBTQ+ travelers and the importance of both marketing to and providing products for community members in hopes of creating safe spaces. Read more about our work in Visitor Experience Design at Trove and the work we do with destinations to target and develop experiences for travelers.

THE COUNTRY OF A THOUSAND HILLS: Rwanda and Virtuoso Partnership Marks New Age for Tourism Trade

This is an article by Trove Associate Jane-Noela Braimah.

Rwanda’s official tourism board, the Visit Rwanda, has recently gained admission to Virtuoso’s prestigious portfolio of luxury and experiential travel partners, with a network of over 2,000 partners in 100+ countries. 

Virtuoso is a top global network of agencies specializing in luxury and experiential travel. Virtuoso now offers Visit Rwanda direct relationships with the world’s leading leisure travel agencies all over the world. 

Rwanda is one of the most remarkable destinations in East Africa. It is the true definition of beauty and is rich in culture, wildlife, rolling hills, lakes, birds and rivers. The country is most famous for hosting treks with the mountain gorillas, an adventure in the Virunga Mountains of Northern Rwanda that was brought to the limelight by Dian Fossey, an American primatologist.

The country has also made great strides in technology. Rwanda planned to turn into a cashless society and has been successful in two areas - payment of services, banking and transport. 

With interoperability of banking services, ATM services have been connected to commercial banks making 72% of Rwandans able to access financial services. Rwanda has been awarded and recognized as one of the top 20 most clean, green and safe places in the world, according to the World Travel Guide.

This announcement by Virtuoso will open doors to new sales, growth and marketing opportunities to the network’s more than 20,000 luxury travel advisors. Their coveted clientele sell an average of (U.S.) $25–$30 billion a year.

“Now that we’re part of this renowned network, we look forward to offering Virtuoso advisors and their clients the special amenities, values and experiences that surpass their expectations,” said Mandi Stefanak, the North American representative of Visit Rwanda.

Some of Rwanda’s “once-in-a-lifetime troves” include a trek through Volcanoes National Park where visitors can interact with the rare mountain gorillas and Big Five animals on a safari in Akagera National Park. Recently, a luxury hot air balloon ride experience was launched, adding to the myriad of activities to choose from.

Our job at Trove Tourism Development Advisors is to work with destinations to uncover their troves. Learn more here about our branding strategy work to attract consumer visitation and trade investment.

Australia’s Campaign Is Full Steam Ahead as the Nation Re-opens

The following article is by Trove Associate Olivia Silverman-Franklin.

Did you happen to catch a 30-second ad for Australia this past Superbowl weekend? “Don’t Go Small. Go Australia” Is the latest marketing campaign for the country to garner the interests of those living in the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition, “The Come and Say G’Day - Don’t Go Small. Go Australia” campaign will be marketed through social media platforms, TV, and print ads in Germany, Italy, and France. 

The campaign featured some iconic and picturesque scenery like the Northern Territory, Sydney Harbor, and the Great Barrier Reef. “We have chosen locations and activities to reflect the wide diversity of tourism experiences Australia has to offer. We also considered the popular destinations and cities that have been impacted the most by the pandemic and put them in the spotlight”, said Dan Tehan, Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment. Australia’s focus to highlight places most affected by the pandemic is a step in the right direction.

On March 19, 2020, Australia closed its borders and initiated a lockdown for all citizens. Melbourne held about six lockdowns, totaling 262 days, the longest of any city in the world during the pandemic. In November 2021, Australia first started allowing its citizens to leave; they gradually allowed workers and foreign exchange students to enter strictly for studies. The last phase of reopening was this past Monday, February 21st, 2022, for all leisure travel for international visitors to resume. This is huge news for a country that has been closed off - and one of the tourism powerhouses in the world

The first installment of this campaign comes as COVID infections slowly decrease and vaccination roll out in most countries have reached third dose status. Australia is still taking significant caution by opening again to international tourists. Tourists will need to be fully vaccinated, hold a valid Australian visa, have a completed travel declaration, and a negative RAT within 24 hours of departure in addition to a negative PCR within 72 hours of release. This may seem a lot to some travelers, but hopefully, these requirements could be reversed by the next installment of this campaign, and Australia will soon reap the benefits of this well-thought-out campaign.

Could Australia influence other countries for future post COVID marketing tourism marketing? That will depend on the data, branding strategy, visuals and social content underpinning their efforts. You can contact us here to start planning your destination campaign.

Trove facilitates roundtable at City Nation Place Global Conference

Trove’s CEO Danny Cohanpour had the opportunity to attend the City Nation Place Global Conference as a Hub Partner for the organization. Danny also facilitated a roundtable on “digital brand identity”, and the innovations and techniques destinations and places can use to streamline their brand message online. A streamlined place brand showcased through targeted digital assets is key to any tourism organization recovering from the pandemic

According to City Nation Place, The 7th City Nation Place Global conference brought together 100 international delegates in person, and over 150 virtual delegates from around the world, for a hybrid conference designed to explore the evolving role of place brands in the rebuilding of more sustainable place economies.

Thank you City Nation Place for having Trove Tourism Development Advisors at the event, and we are grateful for the opportunity as a Hub Partner to meet like minded individuals from around the world.

The Trove team is excited about more in person events and gatherings in the spirit of a resilient sector.

Trove presents at September’s SPTO Webinar

Trove’s CEO, Danny Cohanpour, was the main speaker at September’s Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) webinar. The event was entitled “5 Digital Steps to Help Destinations Stand out as the World Begins to Recover and Reopen”.

In honour of World Tourism Week and this year's World Tourism Day festivities, Trove founder & CEO Danny Cohanpour was invited to share the team's insights with Pacific tourism organizations, tourism authorities and operators.

Danny shared Trove’s five-step process - what we call the ARDIM method - for destination recovery and re-opening, which includes simple steps for any DMO, tourism authority, DMC or tour operator that wants to perfect their digital strategy or marketing operation at this stage.

He covered the team's tools and techniques in five areas: (1) analyze (2) research (3) discover (4) influence and (5) measure.

Danny outlined Trove’s proprietary tools - highlighted here - and also worked through Q&A situations with various Pacific islands tourism organizations on the line.

We thank the SPTO for this opportunity and for all of the tourism organizations on the line for a great event focused on tourism rebound and recovery!

Trove is excited to announce that we are TravelTech’s “Leading Global Innovator”

Trove is excited to share that we have been selected as TravelTech’s newest “Leading Global Innovator” and that we will be presenting at the TravelTech Show from September 14-15th!

Throughout the 2 day period at our booth we will be connecting with leading solution providers, discovering the latest technological innovations that drive digital transformation. Our team is looking forward to meeting fellow pioneers in the travel space and presenting our digital strategy approach to creating tourism "troves". We will be demonstrating how Trove works to make a positive difference through our tourism development work. We are so excited to join fellow thought leaders in the digital tourism space!

Information on TravelTech Show is below:

Travel Technology Europe has been running for 18 years as a face-to-face exhibition based in various venues around London, UK. Over this time, the event has established a niche platform to provide European marketing, digital and commercial technology specialists in the travel industry with the relevant software to enhance business efficiency and improve business performance. In 2019, Travel Technology Europe was acquired by Northstar Media and became part of the world renowned Northstar Travel Group, which includes leading international media brands Phocuswright, Phocuswire, Travel Weekly and Web in Travel. In 2020, Travel Technology Europe was powered by Phocuswright and this partnership and input from the Phocuswright team contributed to one of the most successful events to-date, despite the start of a global pandemic.

Trove is proud to be City Nation Place’s new Hub partner

Trove is excited to announce that we are the newest Hub Partner for City Nation Place! We are excited to share our expertise in all things digital and tourism to the prestigious CNP global network. Learn more about our work in Digital Strategy & Marketing here.

As described on the City Nation Place website:

Trove is a digital strategy and marketing agency for tourism boards, tourism authorities and tour operators. Our focus is on tourism development through the development of "troves" which are treasures or gems in a destination that have major potential for rapid visitor growth. We bring innovation to tourism organisations - from sentiment analysis, to data-driven market segmentation, to branding & influencer strategy, to smart social media campaigns and predictive data analytics. Our goal is to help destinations create better digital branding, marketing, and analytics programs and “stand out.”

City Nation Place provides a forum for cities, nations and places to collaborate and share best practice on place branding and place marketing strategies in order to generate sustainable tourism and economic development, build cohesive communities, and encourage global cooperation.

The first City Nation Place Global conference was launched in London in 2015 and is now an established, must-attend, annual event for engaged decision-makers from around the world who are actively involved in developing and implementing place brand strategy for their city, region, nation, or place.

The Americas conference launched in 2017. This annual event now brings together the leadership teams of municipality, city and state marketing boards, DMOs, CVBs, and EDOs across the USA and Canada, who are keen to increase economic opportunities by taking a forward-thinking, collaborative approach with all stakeholders engaged in placemaking and place story-telling to attract talent, tourism, and investment.

City Nation Place has also organised events in Asia [Singapore], Latin America [Costa Rica] and in the UK for a specifically UK audience, and is actively engaged in the process of developing more opportunities around the world.

In addition to our programme of conferences, City Nation Place provides year-round insight and information through research, “how to” advice, trends articles, and interviews with place leaders around the world. The annual City Nation Place Awards are now recognised as the benchmark for creative, effective place branding and place marketing and attract entries from around the world, providing a library of best-practice case studies for reference and inspiration.

Trove to support marketing of Dubai’s cultural products

This article was written by the Trove Online Marketing & Social Media team.

Trove is so excited to announce that we will be working on a new project in Dubai. We are supporting the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU), with strategic partner Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, on a digital content strategy and development project to prepare its marketing operation for success during Expo 2020. We will be supporting through digital content strategy in preparation for a successful marketing operation during @expo2020dubai, running from Friday, October 1, 2021 – Thursday, March 31, 2022.

The Trove’s team of digital marketers and Middle East tourism experts will boost marketing to tourists coming to explore Dubai, bringing them to Heritage Express, Jumeirah Mosque, the SMCCU, Dagger Museum, Creekside tours and other experiences.

Our Online Marketing & Social Media Team, composed of English and Arabic marketing experts, are excited to work with SMCCU and in our favorite city Dubai!

Thailand to be first Southeast Asian destination to reopen without quarantine for vaccinated travelers

This is a news article by Southeast Asian Tourism Associate, Alizee Drizet.

- The first country to reopen its provinces in mid-2021.

On July 1, 2021, after vaccinating 70% of the province's population, Phuket was able to welcome back vaccinated international travelers under the "Phuket Sandbox," a program that allows tourists to land on the idyllic island and stay quarantine-free for 14 days in certified* accommodations, before being able to travel anywhere they want in the Kingdom of Siam.

Since then, the program has been successful and other Thai provinces (with vaccination rates above 70%) have been able to follow in Phuket's footsteps, such as: Ko Samui, Krabi and Phang Nga. It is now even possible to combine these programs by staying 7 days in Phuket, then 7 days in Krabi, Samui or Phang Nga.

- What is the way forward for Thailand?

According to a recent communication from the Thai government, on October 1, 2021, 5 other provinces should also reopen: Chiang Mai, Rachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin), Chon Buri (Pattaya), Phetchaburi, and Bangkok!

Finally, with the goal of reaching a vaccination rate of 70% by the end of 2021, the government announced that the country should reopen its borders completely without any quarantine for vaccinated travelers in January 2022!

Learn more about Trove’s Strategic Planning practice, and how it can help your destination reopen to international travelers.

*Accommodations must be SHA+ certified to open their doors to international travelers, which means that at least 70% of their staff must be vaccinated.

“Phuket Sandbox” program serves as experiment for tourism industry

This blog was written by Trove Associate, Maeve.

Last week, Thailand launched the “Phuket Sandbox” program, allowing fully vaccinated travelers from 63 low to medium-risk countries to visit Phuket and travel freely within the island. Among other minor restrictions, the plan requires travelers to obtain a negative PCR test 72 hours before departure and to stay at a Sandbox Hotel (SHA+ certified with over 70 percent of staff vaccinated.) After these initial 14 days, visitors will also be allowed to travel freely throughout the rest of Thailand. The inauguration of this plan aligned with a surge in Covid cases to a record high for Thailand as a whole. So, while Phuket has managed to vaccinate a high percentage of their island (84 percent of the population have received their first vaccine dose and 67 percent have received both doses as of July 5th) and keep covid numbers low, the Sandbox program serves as somewhat of an experiment in the tourism industry. 

Although flights are currently limited, this is very exciting news for those who have been anxiously awaiting a trip to the beautiful beaches of Phuket. Not to mention, this is great news for the people of the island. Pre-pandemic, the tourism sector accounted for 95 percent of Phuket’s economy, but only 20 percent of Thailand’s as a whole. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, in the first five days of the launch, the island saw 32 inbound flights and close to 1,900 tourists. In the month of July, it is expected to rise to 426 inbound flights to the island and over 11,800 travelers. By the end of September, Phuket will see around 100,000 tourists. 

Following the reboot of Phuket’s tourism industry, Thai authorities are now looking into the future to hopefully reopen the Surat Thai province by July 15th. This means that the popular tourist spot Samui Island will be accessible to travelers under similar, relatively lenient, circumstances. From September 1st onward, travelers can expect to see the cities of Krabi, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya start opening up - followed by the Thai capital of Bangkok opening on October 1st.

Visit our Instagram account @trovetourism to continue to stay up to date on what countries are beginning to reopen to the world as well as the latest tourism and travel updates.

Tourism Rehabilitation Workshop highlights need for partnerships and digital payments in Cambodia’s recovery

Trove’s Visitor Experience Design team reports from the Cambodian workshop with major experts from Cambodia and the wider region.

The cross-sector workshop on July 1st was a turning point for Cambodian tourism as it united major stakeholders to discuss some of the most important trends and learning points from pre COVID and during COVID. Present on the call were influential members of the Ministry of Tourism, including H.E. Thong Rathasak and Mr. CHOUB Ratana, as well as members of the private sector, donor funds, and other regional and domestic government agencies.

Panelists for the first part of the workshop on Cambodian tourism recovery.

The first part of the workshop also highlighted the trends in Cambodia around private and public stakeholders working together during COVID-19 to recover socially and economically from the financial impact of the pandemic.

A few strategies highlighted to rebuilding tourism include cross-border tourism cooperation (as regional tourism will be the new trend in 2021 and 2022), a regional tourism board, and communications across six member governments. H.E. Thong Rathasak highlighted a high rate of vaccination across the Cambodian population as well as the nation’s recovery plan, which includes an inbound vaccinated travelers policy which is currently in progress. The first workshop also set up the role of the private sector in investing in technologies to catalyze tourism development (for instance, the Wonderpass solution).

As an extention of the first half of the webinar, the second half of the webinar focused on the light at the end of the tunnel and the potential of digital payment technology for catalyzing recovery. It is time for "new solutions", stated Gavin Bell of the AFD who served as MC. The "track and trace" technology has shown major improvements for contact tracing through QR codes in Cambodia thus far, and contactless payments are more relevant now more than ever. In addition to Mr. Bell, present in this panel were H.E. Thong Rathasak (Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation of Cambodia), Mr. Jeff Laflamma (Haystack Asia), Mr. Ray Cabrera (Acting Director of Merchant Management of Wing Bank), Lok Chumteay Chea Ratha (CEO and Founder of Khmun eShop), Lok Chumteav Chhay Sivlin (President of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents - CATA), H.E. AING Sovannroath (Executive Director of Cambodia 4.0 Center), and Mr. Thourn Sinan (President of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Cambodia Chapter).

The second part of the workshop on the advent of digital payments in the tourism sector in Cambodia.

According to H.E. Sovvanroath using technology to gain productivity is a major factor to tourism growth post-COVID. Tourism is the #1 method of bringing more and more economic development in the country. Tourism will be a key factor to the recovery of the Cambodian economic sector in the near future as well.  We need to incorporate new elements in the tourism development in order to make that happen, such as contactless products.

COVID-19 has affected the local spending and shopping behaviors, as well as the e-commerce platforms that are local to Cambodia. COVID-19 has made many local businesses shut down. Khmun, as an example, is an ecommerce marketplace and payment gateway. Innovative approaches to shopping have supported Cambodia through lockdowns and will continue to support Cambodia's tourism recovery post-COVID. In addition, through Wing Bank and other bank partners, QR and contactless payments are provided for merchant partners. A merchant solution is all-in-one and can cater to various segmentation to pay using QR codes at those outlets. Merchants are able to accept payments from tourists in a variety of languages and messaging platforms. Wing Bank's merchant application, for example, was launched recently to try to drive less cash transactions. Currently, the tourist sector has been affected so Wing Bank's solution is working to be ready when international tourism opens back up in Cambodia. Preparing for the future is critical, especially on a digital perspective.

The tourism industry also has realized the criticality of contactless payments in the bounce-back of the tourism and hospitality sector. CATA stressed that the tourism sector has a responsibility to encourage customers and work with operators to stress e-payments in transactions. Online payment platforms are not a problem, said PATA. But a major area for improvement is payment platforms in the tourism sector specifically, where bank transfers between countries are difficult. Other challenges include working with multiple vendors, rules and regulations on the supplier side, and dealing with out of stock suppliers.

Haystack Asia, the creator of Wonderpass, underscored the importance of digital payments in the tourism sector. Wonderpass is a wristband technology that allows payments, attractions, and a marketplace that is able to provide safety to travelers while providing data to the industry. Wonderpass integrates with tourism products and is fully mobile compatible.

As H.E. Sovvanroath stated at the end of the event, as Cambodia continues to use digital payments in the tourism sector, there is potential to serve as an example for the rest of the world on how to use technology to help tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, and other tourism products bounce back in a safe and effective way. The event demonstrated that there is a lot of work to do but that in Cambodia, innovation and public-private partnerships are key to progress.

At Trove, our Strategic Planning and Visitor Experience Design teams work closely with tourism boards to integrate new technologies and streamline planning for during COVID and post-COVID. Our fundamental mission is to not let technology sit on the shelf and to incorporate the right marketing campaigns, branding strategies, online and social strategies to get technology in the minds of the highest value users and secure long-term adaptation of new technology. Learn more here.

Tourism Cares event highlights importance of inclusivity in tourism sector

On Tuesday June 30th, 2021, Danny and Maeve from the Trove team attended a Webinar entitled “Inclusivity is Sustainability” hosted by the organization Tourism Cares.

The webinar was a moderated conversation with a panel of leaders in various sectors of the travel industry. The common thread between the experts was their extensive work focusing on the inclusion of people of all identities, abilities, and backgrounds in the tourism space. The panel included Sherry Rupert (CEO of American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association), Billy Kolber (CEO and Co-Founder of HospitableME), John Sage (President of Accessible Travel Solutions), and Sonya Bradley (Chief of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Visit Sacramento.) This group has a wealth of knowledge about their respective niches in the tourism industry. They shared incredible insights about what inclusivity looks like and what it means for our industry as a whole. 

The Webinar began with a question being posed: “What are the greatest challenges the trade needs to address in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion?” In general, the panel spoke about a need for increased education and awareness, as well as the lack of diversity and inclusion internally in the corporate travel industry. However, there were many specific stories of ways travel-related companies miss the mark on inclusion, a gap which is not only damaging to the consumer but also to the business. 

For example, John brought up the fact that most companies do not think about accessibility beyond what is legally required. They often think the only physical disability that needs to be accommodated for is people in wheelchairs. This completely disregards a large market of older, retired travelers who have the most time and money to travel compared to other market segments - but often have bad knees. Increasing safety and comfort for travelers with bad knees would create a very profitable opportunity for companies while also improving people’s quality of life. 

Along the same lines, Sherry spoke about the importance of tour operators educating themselves on native culture. It is crucial to listen to and respect the needs of indigenous people when it comes to tourism on their land. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is good for the operations of the travel business. She relayed how tribal communities are very cautious when it comes to tourism on their land and if visitors are disrespectful they will not allow the opportunity for partnerships in the future. 

One concept discussed that resonates with our mission at Trove is that a great way to increase traffic to your location is to develop tourism products that will drive more diverse travelers. There are so many diverse markets that can be tapped into to make travel a welcoming experience for all people. At Trove we have always been dedicated to diversity and inclusion, but the panelists gave us concrete methods and outlined distinctive ways of thinking and innovating that will undoubtedly improve our ability to create strategies for our clients to develop more inclusive and inviting spaces for travelers. It is education like this that allows for proactive, instead of reactive, problem-solving. The tourism industry cannot operate in a silo from the local environments in which it operates. As a result of this, Trove and its partners and clients face an imperative to integrate social development and inclusivity into marketing or strategy solutions.

Learn more about the Trove team as well as the impactful organization Tourism Cares.

Dubai seeks new source markets to drive tourism recovery

With vaccinations becoming more readily available and countries opening borders, dreams about traveling are becoming reality this summer. Trove has the inside scoop on where to visit first, and Dubai will be at the top of the list for many travelers.

Dubai Tourism Executive Issam Kazim made a statement this past week on his hopes that new markets can make up for recent COVID-related visitor losses. Dubai welcomed 5.5 million overseas visitors in 2020, compared to 16.7 million arrivals in 2019. This is improving in 2021, with the exception of the Indian and UK markets who are for the most part banned or under strict quarantine restrictions upon arrival. These are two usually prominent markets to the UAE, so Dubai is working to continue forging its partnerships with new markets, including in Europe, Africa, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets.

With Expo 2020 coming in October of 2022, there are major hopes of recovery of the tourism sector, especially for the Dubai market which has historically seen very high inbound tourism numbers.

Dubai houses some of the world's best hotels, restaurants, architecture, shopping, and beaches, and the city began to re-open on August 1st. As the country with the 12th most efficient vaccination roll-out, the UAE has recorded 1,710 deaths related to COVID and 39.27% of its population fully vaccinated so far. If you are planning to go to Dubai make sure you pay a visit to the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU). They aim to have ‘Open doors, open minds’, where anyone can come in and learn more about Emirati culture. They offer cultural learning with meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), Arabic classes, tours of Dubai and Mosque visits, and presenters which consist of a unique team of Emirati nationals and members of Emirati families, all while being located in a beautifully restored wind tower house.

Event-based tourism is also showing major gains in Dubai, with Arabian Travel Market in May 2021, the UFI MEA (the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) Conference in June 2021, seeing 150 attendees from 10 countries attend the UFI event at the Dubai World Trade Centre, and the upcoming Arab Health and The Hotel Show. Momentum is building towards Expo 2020 Dubai.

In addition to consumer based adventure or cultural based experiences, Dubai is set to be the next big health tourism destination, Dr. Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of the Health Regulation Sector at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recently stated. The UAE’s high vaccination rate is boosting visitor’s and patient’s confidence in Dubai as the next big destination for health tourism. The profound health infrastructure as well will lead Dubai to be a big draw going into the second half of 2021 and early 2022. As the COVID-19 global pandemic turns a corner, Dubai will be looking at traditional target markets like India, West Africa, Russia and Europe for medical tourist visits in 2022.

To facilitate ease of travel, Dubai is planning to scale up its lata Travel Pass, a digital pass initiative from the International Air Transport Association that allows travelers to register their personal information, find out about COVID testing requirements for their destination and share pre-departure test results with airlines before flying.

It is exciting to see life beginning to return back to normal as we are able to share cultures across borders once again. Once in Dubai, what will be your first stop?