Wildfires cause drop in tourism to British Columbia: Despite the government in British Columbia declaring a state of emergency because of the almost 600 wildfires in the Canadian province, those who depend on tourists to make their livelihood are hoping travelers realize the entire province isn’t closed for business, the CBC reports.
In Vancouver, smoke from the wildfires is blocking out views of the nearby mountain. Saschie MacLean, spokeswoman for Tourism Vancouver, told the CBC the smoke is hurting local businesses who rely on tourists, but the nearest wildfire is more than 80 miles away. Her agency is receiving an increased number of calls from American travelers who want to visit the area, she told CBC, but they’re concerned about the state of emergency declaration.
China, Taiwan dispute hurts Palau’s hotels, tour boats: The archipelago nation of Palau is caught in the middle of the ongoing political struggle between China and Taiwan, Reuters reports. Palau is a popular tourist destination, but China has banned tour groups from traveling to the country because of its support for Taiwan.
“There is an ongoing discussion about China weaponizing tourism,” Jeffrey Barabe, owner of Palau Central Hotel and Palau Carolines Resort in Koror, told the news agency. “Some believe that the dollars were allowed to flow in and now they are pulling it back to try and get Palau to establish ties diplomatically.”
The impact from Chinese pullback is showing, Reuters said, as hotel blocks and restaurants remain empty.
Before China implemented the ban, Chinese tourists made up about half of visitors in Palau, Reuters reports. Data from 2017 shows that of the nation’s 122,000 visitors, 55,000 came from China and 9,000 were from Taiwan.
Insights into Marriott’s newly merged loyalty program: In a Q&A with Marriott International’s David Flueck, SVP of global loyalty, HNN’s Robert McCune reports the company has made great headway into the back-end integration of the Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Ritz-Carlton Rewards programs.
“While we are not at the finish line yet, by all accounts, the loyalty integration has gone exceedingly well,” Flueck said. “It started on the first day as a combined company when we enabled our members to link their accounts and have their status matched at our properties around the world. This was a first in the travel industry and a crowd-pleaser to everyone who followed the news. To date, millions of members have enjoyed having their statuses matched and earning points across both portfolios.”
Weakening Hurricane Lane to pass near Hawaiian Islands: While Hurricane Lane reached Category 4 strength over the weekend, the storm is expected to gradually weaken as it passes to the south of the Hawaiian Islands, AccuWeather reports. Even though the storm will be at Category 1 strength as it travels about 250 miles south of the Big Island, meteorologists are warning boaters and swimmers the hurricane will generate rough seas.
It is possible the storm might turn north as it passes along the chain of islands, potentially passing closer to the islands and delivering tropical storm conditions to Oahu, Kauai and Nihoa.
American households saving ‘significantly more’ money: Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows Americans are saving “significantly more” of their after-tax income in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reports. During the first quarter, the agency revised its savings estimate of the personal saving rate (the difference between disposable income and spending) from 3.3% to 7.2%.
That change in estimate amounts to $613.5 billion more in savings, according to the article.
However, the data doesn’t show whether lower- and middle-income households are in a better place financially. Most of the savings that spurred the revision came from interest, dividends or business owners’ profits, not actual wages, the article states.
“This suggests the newfound savings may have been concentrated in wealthier households,” the newspaper reports.
Compiled by Bryan Wroten.