At the recent World Travel Market in London, an international trade show brought recent news and insight into the state of health of the international tourism market. Although the show purportedly had a record 50,000 participants from 200 countries, analysis and moving forward predictions were virtually the same. Since global tourism to Florida has such a strong impact on the Orlando vacation villas rental market, this analysis must be viewed as a leading indicator for the strength of vacation home rentals in the area.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported that global tourism (as measured by the net arrivals) rose a stagnant 2% during the recent summer months. Unfortunately recent global tourism numbers indicate that it is getting worse before it returns to strong positive growth. Economists now predict that at its most optimistic point in the next year, the global tourism market will show signs of recovery in late 2009. Local vacation villa rental management companies, as voiced by feedback from the CFVRMA show (see blog posting), indicate similar trends for the Orlando vacation home rentals market. Recent financial analyst meetings from Disney and Orlando travel and tourism trends also confirm this overall prognostication for Orlando vacations.
Pearls of wisdom from the UNWTO show and forums indicate that successful tourism marketers are focusing on travelers to make more trips closer to home. On a former blog posting, we indicated that because of the petro prices dropping (relative to airline ticket pricing) drive-to destinations become a better Orlando vacation “value” for consumers. So while international tourism trends will return to fill Orlando vacation rental homes soon, successful vacation home management companies may look to build a compelling case for renting a vacation home over other traditional means of lodging in the short term. This begins with testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing for those who have enjoyed the vacation home concept and guest experience in the past for their Orlando vacation. All Orlando vacation home management companies have a vested interest in making sure our brand of hospitality is a good one.
