Meeting planners find smaller is more productive

(Originally published in TOURISM)

A report published in TravelMole by David Wilkening finds a majority of meeting planners think small groups are far more productive than larger-scale gatherings, according to a recent poll.

"More than 55% said they believed the biggest advantage of small meetings over large groups is that they are more productive. Second in the poll at 22% was the idea that small meetings are easier to plan with fewer people to keep track of," notes Wilkening.

Small meetings offer other benefits, according to Laurie Sharp, president of California-based Sharp Events. These include the level of creativity, personalization and interaction among attendees.

The survey came out of a webcast themed "Bigger Isn't Always Better: Learn How and Where to do Small to Midsize Meetings Right."

Online leisure and unmanaged business travel continues to grow in USA

(Originally published in TOURISM)

According to PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition, the US online leisure/unmanaged business travel market continues to grow at a pace that far outstrips the overall travel market's rate of growth. The online leisure/unmanaged business travel market will surpass US$94 billion in 2007, over one-third of the total travel market (which includes offline leisure/unmanaged business and on-and offline corporate travel). PhoCusWright expects growth rates will continue to be at or near triple the rate of growth of the entire travel market through 2009. However, growth has slowed, especially at online travel agencies, which have seen their packaging sales come to a near standstill in some cases.

Quebec ski sector faces challenges

(Originally published in TOURISM)

A report by Jean-François Gagnon published in La Tribune says Quebec's ski sector faces serious challenges. A document obtained by Gagnon outlined a presentation to members of a Station Mont-Orford visioning committee by Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Tourism Chair Michel Archambeault, calling attention to the decrease in the number of ski operations in Quebec since the beginning of the 1980s.

Gagnon writes: "There were 116 ski operations during the winter of 1981-1982, and only 99 ten years later. Today, there are only 80 left. There are more cooperatives, municipalities and non-profit organizations running ski operations than there ever were. These account for 50% of facilities still in operation, and that percentage is likely to increase in coming years."

Meanwhile, the number of users of those facilities has not dropped in the last 10 years: "For instance, during 1996-1997, there were 5.9 million cumulative ski/days reported, which is about 500,000 less than there were last winter," Gagnon also notes.

Gagnon reports that Archambeault's presentation explained how factors like aging and climate change might affect the use of ski operations in the future, as will a predicted shorter ski season. To compensate, the organizations which run ski operations will need to look at new snow condition enhancement systems that can perform in higher temperature environments.

"It is estimated that around $80-million will be required to improve Quebec's snow-making systems, and about $100-million are needed to improve the mechanical lift infrastructure," Gagnon writes. "The problem is that current ski operation revenues make this prohibitive."

On a brighter note, Gagnon writes that Quebeckers' environmental consciousness may favour those ski operations which put sustainable operational practices to the forefront. This would have the potential to lure new client segments.