Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 3 TALKING POINT Arnie Weissmann has been involved in virtually every aspect of travel jour- nalism, publishing and media for the past 25 years. His writing has won more than 40 national awards, he created the industry's first destination information service (Weissmann Reports), authored a best-selling textbook and has served as publisher of critical hotel and destination guides for the travel industry. How do trend-spotters and futurists identify and label that which is invisible to others? Rohit Bhargava has perfected a way. He's a business writer who has published "nonobvious trends" books since 2013, and many of the patterns he identifies soon shift from nonobvious to very obvious. I saw him speak at SXSW* this year. Though Bhargava didn't provide travel examples to illustrate his points, the industry can find inspiration in his observations. He said we are living through a "believability crisis." Everything from fake news to disinformation campaigns make people more cynical. It's why some embrace the identity of enragement, and why it's tough to be trusted. And, very possibly, it explains the growing strength of travel advisors. In an age when it's reflexive to question whether the photo of the beautiful hotel rooms online has been enhanced, building a long- term relationship with an advisor is an attractive alternative. Further bolstering agents is the "retro-trust" trend. Because we've become so skeptical, we want to reconnect to things we possessed or used when reality seemed clearer and life less complicated. Examples he gave were the re- emergence of board games and the increasing number of people who are downgrading their phones to simpler models. For better or worse, much of society views travel agents as inherently retro, and retailers can capitalise on this. Bhargava suggested looking for ways to "collaborate with history within your enterprise," and advisors can tap deep associations connected to fond memories of travel as it was -- and still is if travellers are pointed in the right direction. That is soooooo nonobvious Another nonobvious trend he spoke about that I felt had special application for the travel industry was the notion of "enterprise empathy." Empathy used to be nice-to-have, not need-to-have, he said. Examples he cited were "relaxed" checkout lines in grocery stores, whose appeal is the exact opposite of the express lanes. They attract older people who dread the pressure to move swiftly through the process. Other grocery stores open an hour early, pressing the pause button on restocking and other noisy distractions that can create stress for some shoppers on the autism spectrum. Even if empathy is only directed at a thin slice of one's clientele, it nonetheless signals to all that you care. 'Made with empathy' "is a business strategy", Bhargava asserted. I've observed that empathy is on the rise among travel suppliers and agents, motivated in part by a desire to attract aging baby boomers. Some with special needs also have the time and money to travel well and long. The final trend that I thought could strengthen support for the industry is "backstory telling". Many large suppliers already have media divisions that do nothing but create messaging about their brands across multiple platforms. Dispensing practical information within the context of an aspirational experience is what travel advisors do. Bhargava's advice suggested that travel sellers take care to place practical information in a useful and contextual narrative arc. 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Kemp CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Lisa Cohen PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER Matthew Yorke EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER David Blansfield EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Arnie Weissmann SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/CHIEF CONTENT DIRECTOR Lori Cioffi SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Janine L. Bavoso SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION Roberta Muller SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS Rich Mastropietro VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION PRODUCTS GROUP Sheila Rice VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS Elizabeth Koesser TRAVEL WEEKLY EVENTS PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS, TRAVEL GROUP Alicia Evanko-Lewis *South by Southwest (abbreviated as SXSW) is an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, music festivals and conferences in Austin, Texas.

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