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Indian travelers expected to spend $136 billion by 2021

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The Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018, on around 2 billion domestic and international trips, helping the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale.

The momentum is expected to continue and the industry will grow at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report, ‘How Does India Travel’. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses till 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing. The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travellers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalised marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorised each against their online research behavior:

Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.

Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.

Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.

Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.

Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

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India: Jet Airways’ demise leads to spike in airfares, massive hotel cancellations

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The abrupt shutdown of Jet Airways operations has left Indian tourism industry a worried lot as it has led to an average 25 percent spike in airfares across the sectors leading to massive hotel cancellations, says industry experts.

Some key sectors like Mumbai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Mumbai have seen the fares flying by 62 percent, 52 percent and 49 percent, while the Bengaluru-Delhi sector has had the lowest impact with a 10 percent surge shortly before and soon after the grounding of Jet.

Financially struggling for months, Jet Airways decided to call it quits from Wednesday night, leaving 22,000 jobs at stake and inconveniencing lakhs of passengers both domestic as well as international as Jet was the single largest airline out of and into the country.

“The impact of grounding of Jet Airways is not only restricted to the airlines sector as tourism has taken a severe beating due to the massive surge in airfares during the peak demand season. The impact is unlikely to fade away anytime soon and may continue into the rest of the year,” Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) president Sunil Kumar said Friday.

He said, both the domestic as well as international travel and related sectors are affected as travelers are cancelling their hotel bookings as airfares have surged by over 25 percent on average.

Leading tour operator Cox & Kings’ Karan Anand said the shuttering of Jet has upset the travel plans of many who have booked on Jet.

“This is the peak travel season and the airfares for the next 10-12 days are up by at least 25 percent as the capacity has fallen massively dissuading last minute travelers,” he added.

However, online travel aggregator Easemyyrip.com co- founder Nishant Pitti tried to downplay the impact saying airfares normally fluctuate as the aviation industry is always unpredictable.

“It is true that passengers are in panic now but going forward there will not be much impact as other airlines like Spicejet and Indigo are adding more planes into their fleet which will help balance demand-supply gap,” he said.

Train booking and discovery platform Confirmtkt cofounder Sripad Vaidya said due to the flight charges going up, there is a huge surge in people opting for trains and buses.

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Top Easter season destinations for US travelers revealed

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Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom are among the most popular destinations for travelers in the U.S.1 this Easter period, according to analysis conducted by travel experts.

As of 7 April 2019, more than 95,000 advanced bookings had been made2 in the U.S. through all global distribution systems (GDS) for return flights to Mexico scheduled between 16 April and 22 April 2019. Flight bookings to second placed Canada and third placed U.K stood at 44,975 and 32,515, respectively.

Amongst the top 10 most popular destinations, the ones which had seen the greatest year-on-year increase in Easter flight bookings were Spain, up 33.6% (+4615 bookings in 2018), Canada, up 25.7% (+9198 bookings in 2018) and a close third, Puerto Rico, up 25.6% (+4279 bookings in 2018).

Global distribution systems (GDS) are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items.

“Mexico remains by far the most attractive destination in terms of volume, for travelers in the U.S. over the Easter period. A big reason for this is the proximity and great weather all-year round. The proximity, and some great tourist attractions land Canada at the second place. Breathtaking festive celebrations and shopping sales in U.K, boosted by affordable flight options, definitely make it a top destination.

Top Easter season destinations for travelers in Spain booked through global distribution systems

Destination Flight Bookings

Mexico 96,451
Canada 44,975
United Kingdom 32,515
Dominican Republic 32,229
Italy 25,311
China 24,636
Puerto Rico 21,008
France 20,780
Jamaica 19,215
Spain 18,369

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How does India travel? Let us count the 94 billion ways

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Bain & Company and Google India are together launching a report on “How Does India Travel.” According to the report, the Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018 on around 2 billion domestic and international trips. This has helped the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale, and the momentum is expected to continue with the industry growing at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report.

Fueled by digital, Indian travelers are expected to spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next 3 years. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey, and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses until 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing.  The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travelers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalized marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorized each against their online research behavior:

  • Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.
  • Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.
  • Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online. and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.
  • Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.
  • Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

However, challenges remain in meeting the expectations of these travelers. Customers perceive online channels geared towards premium cohorts (frequent flyer and experience-oriented traveler), while mass cohorts, with $55 billion in spending, remain underpenetrated. There are about 160 million non-transacting active Internet users in India with only 5 percent of online travelers from Tier-2 or Tier-3 cities. There is a significant (20 percent) difference between the booking rates of premium cohorts and mass cohorts, the latter being also dissatisfied with online channels (~33 percent satisfied) vs. premium cohorts (~42 percent). The second challenge is in penetrating existing users who exhibit a marked distrust in use of online channels to make bookings, especially around payment and pricing terms and booking experience compared with offline channels. Consequently, their online usage drops between the research (>86 percent online influence) and booking phases (~40 percent offline bookings).

How travel businesses need to adapt to the needs of online consumers

The report cites five major shifts that marketers need to make to market to the online travelers – First, alleviate consumer concerns by improving the booking and payment experience to build a trusted brand and increase adoption. Second, they need to address the negative customer perception issues by mass customization to drive higher share in the segment. They also need to utilize consumer technology to penetrate mass segments (standardize, enable sharing), reach non-transactors (build offline presence), and create new user access.  Moreover, they need to find innovative and frugal ways to package the experience to increase both adoption and retention.  Finally, they need to create a robust digital backend to adapt to customer needs across the purchase journey.

“The contribution of travel and tourism’s spend in India has reached developed market levels, from 6.7percent of GDP in 2013 to 9.4 percent in 2018. This growth, combined with a rapidly growing internet user base and adoption of online bookings will lead to $24 billion in incremental revenues through online channels by 2021. In order to benefit from this trend, businesses need to actively increase new user adoption and increase penetration in the existing user base across the purchase journey.” Joydeep Bhattacharya, partner Bain & Company said.

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Brexit has not deterred business travelers in the UK

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UK’s 2018 Hotels Market Report shows that the UK regional capitals are performing strongly with overall room nights booked growing by 8% across the top 250 UK cities.

London continues to be business travelers’ favorite capital for work trips with 663,000 room nights booked in 2018, an increase of 5% when compared to 2017. But Edinburgh experienced the highest level of growth in 2018 with room nights booked increasing by 16%, Belfast was up 13% and Cardiff up 5%.

The 2018 Hotels Market Report analyses data from corporate hotel bookings made between January and December 2018 by Advantage’s TMC members, who represent around 40% of the UK business travel sector, highlighting business travel trends and booking behaviour.

The report also shows significant growth for cities in the Midlands and North East, with Derby seeing the highest growth with 31% more booked room nights compared to 2017, while York, Nottingham and Gateshead also saw double-digit percentage increases.

Top Ten UK Cities – Booked Room Night Percentage Increase (year-on-year), January – December 2018

1. Derby – 31%
2. York – 22%
3. Plymouth – 21%
4. Inverness – 20%
5. Nottingham – 18%
6. Edinburgh – 16%
7. Reading – 15%
8. Belfast – 13%
9. Norwich – 11%
10. Gateshead – 10%

Global Results

The business world continues to travel widely, with the 2018 Hotels Report recording that hotel demand remains strong in many international cities with New York, Auckland, Wellington, Houston, Paris and Sydney topping the Advantage Top Cities list. In total, worldwide volume grew by over 393,000 room nights, a total increase of 8.74% compared to 2017, indicating that SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) corporate accounts, in which Advantage TMCs specialise, continue to perform strongly.

The total number of bookings made by Advantage business travel members in 2018 saw similar growth – up 8.76% – while the average length of stay remained constant, at 1.87 nights. Increased demand and higher occupancy globally meant hotel rates have increased by US$2 to an average daily rate (ADR) of US$169.41.

The report also looks at trends on bookings and ADR for cities and locations around the world, with New York once again topping the list as the highest volume worldwide city outside the UK, with 90,799 room nights booked at an average rate of US$395.97 per night. Increases were also seen in Bangalore (up 54%), Kuala Lumpur (up 36%) and Boston (up 27%).

The corporate hotel sector continues to grow, with another significant increase in bookings year-on-year, made by independent TMCs. Despite continued uncertainty in both the global and UK economies including Brexit, hotel room night demand is at record levels in many destinations. Although not all destinations in Britain saw an increase in room nights booked, ADR remained strong.

The report is representative of hotel bookings made across most of the major international and independent hotel groups including: Accor, Apex Hotels, Choice Hotels, Citadines, Clayton Hotels, Design Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Edwardian Hotels, glh Hotels, Hallmark Hotels, Hilton, HotelREZ, Hyatt, House of Daniel Thwaites, IHG, Jurys Inn & Leonardo Hotels, Loews Hotels, Macdonald Hotels, Maldron Hotels, Melia Hotels International, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, The Montcalm Hotels, NH Hotels, O’Callaghan Collection, Omni, Park Plaza, Pegasus, QHotels, Quest, Rotana, Radisson Hotel Group, Sabre Hospitality, Small Luxury Hotels, TravelClick, Travelodge, Village Hotels Club, WorldHotels Collection and Wyndham Hotel Group.

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Gleam of hope for tourism

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On March 27, all roads led to Mombasa, Kenya, for a joint business meeting organized by Uganda and Kenya and the two Presidents of both countries actually attended. The meeting gathered ministers, key business persons from both countries to discussing topics of mutual interest for the growth. I was personally hesitated to go because my wife and daughter were traveling same week and did not want them to leave without me saying a goodbye.

I also do not like meetings where people talk and do not come up with real solutions for the existing problems. I only made the journey after my family blessed it. I took a morning flight aboard Kenya Airways to join two Kenya friends (Shivam Vanayak and wife) out of Nairobi to Mombasa and thankfully, they had managed to secure three tickets on Madaraka train. Securing seats on the train from Nairobi to Mombasa is an uphill task because of high traffic.

I had been to Nairobi a number of times with an aim of securing seats and failed because of the demand. The business class is even worse because the tickets are booked out first way in advance.

The staff of Madaraka train dress more like air hostesses with a proper Kenyan hospitality. The train carries about 1,500 people each way and there are two trains departing Nairobi daily for Mombasa and vice versa which means 3,000 individuals are dropped into Mombasa daily which is a massive business opportunity for the Mombasa service providers such as hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, entertainment joints, boats, bars, etc.

The train goes through Tsavo National Park which is Kenya’s largest and oldest standing at 13,747 square kilometers. While on the train, we also saw the 300 kilometer long Yatta Plateau, the longest lava flow in the world. Tsavo is home to the larger mammals, vast herds of elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions, leopard, pods of hippo, crocodiles, water bucks, lesser kudu, genenuk and the prolific bird life.

At the business forum in Mombasa, I was given an opportunity to address the audience which included President Museveni and President Uhuru Kenyatta on behavior Uganda and Kenyan tourism group. My address focused on seven points we had agreed upon before the Presidents arrived at Sarova sands where the meeting took place.

The first point focused on the flights between the East African countries especially Kenya and Uganda. Our observations are that the tickets between Uganda and Kenya are very expensive because of the high taxes levied by both governments. Kenya for example charges $50 on every ticket and Uganda charges $57 which makes a total of $107. That figure is what should be the cost of a ticket between the two countries. We actually recommended that flights between the two countries be domesticated.

The second point focused on the East African tourists’ visas which have Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda working together. Our proposal was that the two presidents convince the Tanzanian leadership to join the good arrangements. Many tourists are finding it easy paying $100 for a visa that covers the above three nations which allows them to move back and forth.

Since some local airline operators such as coastal want to fly into Ugandan national parks, it would positively affect the tourism business between the four nations. The third point focused on politics. Overtime, we as the tourism operators in the region have seen politics affect tourism a lot especially during campaigns and since insecurity and tourism can’t co-exist, foreign tourists will fear to travel in the region.

The leaders were asked to remember what their actions mean to business and practice restrain. This particular point was well received by both leaders and we hope to see some change with time. The fourth point focused on trans-boundary tourism opportunities which focus on the shared tourism attractions such as Lake Victoria and Mountain Elgon.

The tourism fraternity feels we need a combined effort in exploiting the above because we miss out on potential billions of dollars that could come out of activities such as cruises, sport fishing, water transport, accommodations on the shores and the many islands found on the lake. We also talked about the joint marketing opportunities across the globe that would see millions flock to Uganda and Kenya hence more revenues.

We asked the presidents to go easy on the yellow card requirements for citizens from both countries because it inconveniences the business travelers most since they are frequent.

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What smart travelers know

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A record-breaking number of Americans are traveling, but most are unprepared for the journey – more than 90% of US travelers don’t know their rights, according to AirHelp, advocate for air passengers.

For easy reference, they have compiled a brief overview of U.S. air passenger rights below, along with insider tips for smart travelers. Knowing your rights could make you eligible to claim compensation. These include what to do regarding:

  • Flight Delays
  • Cancellations
  • Bumping, Denied Boarding and Overbooking
  • Lost Luggage
  • Missed Connections
  • When to fly
  • How to pack
  • And more

Disruptions: If you are flying within the U.S. and you are denied boarding due to an overbooked flight, you may be eligible to claim 400% of the one-way fare to your destination in compensation, of a value up to $1,350. Also, for flight cancellations or lengthy delays, if you’re flying to the EU on an EU airline, or departing from an EU airport, you may be eligible to claim up to $700 per person in compensation under European law EC 261.

Lost Luggage: Did you know airlines that lose or damage travelers’ luggage are obligated to pay out compensation of $1,500 – $3,500 to impacted passengers and reimburse them for lost items? Many travelers are unaware of these rights. Whether a traveler is flying within the U.S. or to one of the other 120 countries that ratified the Montreal Convention, if that person experiences luggage issues while traveling, they may be entitled to compensation under air passenger rights laws, including U.S. national law and the Montreal Convention. In order to successfully get the compensation that they are entitled to, a passenger must file a claim before leaving the airport. Travelers should fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) claim for misplaced luggage, including the case number of their bags. The more detailed the claim, the better off that passenger will be, including an itemized list of the contents of their luggage, including the value of each item.

Missed Connections: If flights are booked together under one reference code, passengers can claim $300 – $700 in compensation from the airlines if they miss a connecting flight due to an earlier disruption under EC 261.

Fly during off-peak days or times to avoid the largest crowds at airports. The late night flights are often the least crowded, which means that your flight may be less likely to be overbooked, and your wait time at security will be shorter.

Consider flying out of alternate airports, if your airport is known to have delays. If flights from one airport typically experience significant disruptions, you can anticipate the new screenings will create longer lines at security and additional delays. Look into flights through different airports that fit your travel needs.

Leave extra time for traveling to the airport. No matter when people are traveling, they should anticipate traffic near the airport and overcrowding inside, thanks to overtourism. Pack the car with your luggage the night before departing to help save precious time the day of. Schedule extra time for driving, plan to arrive at the airport at least three hours before takeoff, and be sure to leave ample time to get through lines at security in case of large crowds. If it is easy enough, travelers can also consider public transportation to eliminate parking fees and cut costs.

Be ready for longer lines at security. With larger flights, waiting for luggage can take a lot of extra time at the airport. For short trips, travelers may consider using only a carry-on item, as long as all items fall under TSA requirements.

Strategically pack your luggage to have your ID and all liquid items at the top so that they’re easily accessible to TSA staff.

Pack larger electronics at the top. In July 2018, the TSA announced rules that require electronics larger than a cellphone to be placed in separate screening bins. If you’re one of the many travelers who are opting to bring bags on board rather than pay money to check them, pack larger electronics at the top so they’re easy to remove and place in a separate screening bin.

Consider wearing a pullover jacket or sweatshirt instead of a zip-up – this will allow you to quickly get through security without having to worry about removing articles of clothing.

Bring chargers and extra entertainment for the airport. Sometimes, flight disruptions are inevitable, so consider packing an extra phone charger and book to take on the flight.

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The Internet knows you are planning a vacation and will charge you more

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People are starting to plan their summer vacation, and for many, the planning process itself is the beginning of a well-deserved rest. However, it does cause frustration when after a couple of price checks on the Internet, one starts to notice how flight ticket and apartment booking quotes take an upward trend. Such behavior is called price discrimination and is a prevalent tactic across the travel industry, but there are ways to protect yourself from it.

Intuitively unfair, the concept of price discrimination (if not based on race, religion or national origin) is legal and can take many forms. Its general principle is that potential customers get to see different prices of the same product or service based on their willingness to pay as perceived by the seller.

“Many online retailers who use special algorithms to create an illusion of high demand and an increasing price. Let’s say, the quotes for all the hotel rooms you checked yesterday have increased only to encourage you to make a fast decision to book,” explains Naomi Hodges, Cybersecurity Advisor at Surfshark. “The same goes for flight tickets and car rentals so that excellent offer you found an hour ago might have deteriorated to ‘it’s still ok, but I have to hurry’ at your second check.”

Various online businesses are using personalized pricing techniques to manipulate people’s emotions. The leaders in this field, for example, Uber, hire behavioral economists who help to craft the logic of algorithms of differential pricing.

The core ingredient to make the algorithms work is your online data which is acquired when websites insert cookies into your browser and get to know your IP address.

“Such information can reveal where you live, how new or expensive device you use, which websites you visit, what are you interested in, whether you are an easy spender or not, and much more,” says Naomi Hodges.

When your data is being used for personalized pricing, the car rental might become expensive if you already booked a flight to some destination. The same goes for hotel and domestic flight booking.

The price manipulation can go even further by knowing that you are a user of a brand-new iPhone model which indicates higher purchasing power and in turn – your willingness to pay more than other customers.

How to avoid price discrimination?

Naomi Hodges reveals that it is rather easy to check if you are being differentiated from other potential travelers. Taking a few steps can help you save a sum worth a couple of nights at a great hotel or even a return flight ticket if you are an occasional traveler.

If you notice a higher flight ticket/car rental/hotel booking price than before, relax and follow these tips:

  1. Clear your recent digital footprint. You can do that by clearing your browser cache, history, and cookies in the browser settings.
  2. Turn on a virtual private network (VPN) app. This trick can help you change your location by giving you a different IP address. In many cases prices are based on the device’s location, so you can avoid higher prices simply by pretending that you are in another country. Check different countries to see how people there
  3. Turn on Incognito Mode (Chrome), Private Mode (Safari) or Private Window (Firefox) in your browser. This step will allow you to browse cookie-less.
  4. Check the prices using a different device. Differentiating between desktop and mobile users is a common practice.
  5. Change the top-level domain (.com, co.uk, .fr, .net) to a different one. For example, flights4u.com might display different prices than flights4u.de.

Best results can be achieved if all these tips are used simultaneously.

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Hyatt Regency Cologne says no to President Obama after WTTC Summit Seville

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U.S. President Barak Obama is on a tourism trip. Today he is expected to be the star participant at the World Travel and Tourism Council Annual Summit 2019 in Seville, Spain.

On Thursday the popular former president is on his way to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cologne. Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of Hyatt is listed to be a participant at today’s WTTC Summit and most likely would love to make sure the president could enjoy the presidential suite at the four-star Hotel in Cologne Deutz.

Unfortunately, not even the CEO is able to arrange this for the popular former US president,  since the suite is fully booked and occupied until April 30, according to sources at Hyatt.

The hotel is known for an unobstructed view of the famous Cologne Cathedral from Rhine River Facing rooms and junior suites, however. The Hyatt Regency is in a short walk over a pedestrian bridge crossing River Rhein to the Cathedral and the Roman museum are in walking distance from the hotel.

President Obama will be a speaker at the World Leadership Summit in Cologne on Thursday at the Cologne Lanxess Arena. This is a public event, and tickets are available from 85,55 EUR bis 206,30 EUR plus a number of VIP tickets for EURO 5,000.00 that includes a dinner with the president.

According to local media reports the event in Cologne sold 10,000 tickets so far, but there are 5,000 tickets still available.

The former president will meet her half-sister Auma. She studied in Heidelberg and speaks German.

From Cologne, the president will move on to Berlin and will be answering questions by your people on Saturday in a town-hall meeting.

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