Magazine

IN THIS week's print edition we looked at a new report which suggested that Britain’s tourist industry could help boost its regional economies.New research published on November 21st by Deloitte, a consultancy, has raised hopes that tourism can help Britain’s regions reduce their reliance on other industries. It predicts that the sector will grow by 3.8% a year between now and 2025—much faster than manufacturing, retail or construction. Tourism, it says, has been Britain’s fastest-growing employment sector since 2010. Unusually, northern England, Wales, and rural Scotland—areas which otherwise struggle to attract new businesses—have recently seen particularly strong job growth.The report also stresses the importance of tourism to the wider British economy. Deloitte estimates that the tourism industry, and its supply chain, already produces 9% of Britain’s GDP. And it forecasts that this will steadily grow to 10% of output over the next decade or so. Between 2010 and 2012 alone, one-third of new jobs created in the British economy were generated by the tourism industry, around 150,000 in total.However, the report forecasts that the balance between Britons and foreigners using Britain's visitor facilities will change over time. Spending by foreign visitors, the report forecasts, will grow by over 6% a year, with spending by Britons holidaying at home rising by only ...

BILL MARRIOTT may know more about the hotel industry than anyone on the planet. He has spent almost six decades working for the family group, now known as Marriott International, and still radiates enthusiasm for what he calls "the most fascinating business in the world". Having joined the company in 1957, he was quickly made manager of its nascent lodging division. Fifteen years later he took over from his father, J. Willard Marriott, as CEO, and ran the company for 40 years. He stepped down in 2012, but only as far as a full-time executive chairman's role.I met him recently to talk about his time in the industry and the changes he has seen. Much of what he said related to guests, their shifting patterns of behaviour and the way hotels have adapted. The impact of technology, in particular, has forced a fundamental rethink about what guest rooms and lobbies are actually for.“Today,” says Mr Marriott, “guests check in, they go to their room, drop their stuff. Then they go back to the lobby and hang out with friends or work on their computer."As a result, lobby designs must now accommodate what he calls "this new desire to connect". Take Courtyard, for example, one of the company's cheaper brands. “In an old Courtyard hotel, two or three years ago, there was nothing going on in the lobby,” says Mr Marriott. “Today we have a bistro. And we have a lot of cubby places ...

Presentato il report  dell’Osservatorio eCommerce B2C Netcomm, pubblicato dal Corriere.it

UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  Every step you take Fly Title:  Taj Hotels and Orient-Express Rubric:  Two luxury hotel chains will not be checking in together Location:  MUMBAI Main image:  One of the jewels in Taj’s crown One of the jewels in Taj’s crown INDIA and Orient-Express have never rubbed along. The luxury hotel firm’s buccaneering founder, James Sherwood, visited the country in the early 1990s and had “a nightmare”. His private jet was delayed for an age in Mumbai while officials checked that the bottles in its on-board bar were sealed correctly. He signed a deal to run the Lake Palace Hotel in Rajasthan (pictured), owned by local royalty. The deal collapsed when lawyers discovered that Mr Sherwood’s interlocutor was not the real Maharana of Udaipur, but his brother. The Lake Palace was run then, and still is, by Taj Hotels. It is part of Tata Sons, India’s biggest conglomerate. For the past half-decade Taj ...