What We’re Reading About … Who Hates Bus Tours, Instagram, Hong Kong & More

A curated weekly list of great reads that recently caught our attention.

Bus tour
Reading Time: 3 mins 30 sec

Instagrammers aren’t just a potential opportunity for marketing influencer partnerships. They’re also a ripe client base for operators who are catering tours specifically to capture the most Insta-perfect photo. At Arival Asia Pacific in Bangkok, we heard GetYourGuide explain how designing tours showcasing hotspots such as the Gates of Heaven located in East Bali led to big gains. The “Instagram Effect” has a far-reaching impact… well, nearly everyone in the travel industry. 

Political strife also affects tour operators, and we read articles this week that told the stories of people who depend on areas victim to bombings, protests, and more to learn the lasting impact unrest can have on a region. 

Here are the stories we think you should read this week: 

Why Would Anyone Want to Take A Bus Tour?

This negative and somewhat narrow-minded take on tour buses caught our eye. While not a positive take on our industry,  it’s always important to read contrarian takes and perspectives to widen our understanding of how the media and consumers think about aspects of our industry … Read More at Telegraph

Now, we can think of several reasons ourselves to take a bus tour (being the tours, activities and attractions junkies that we are), but instead, we enjoyed rereading this fine piece, published in the very same newspaper. Enjoy! Read More at Telegraph 

Travel Brands Are Attracting Millennials with Instagram Tours

As Instagram creates a wave of social media-fueled tourism among millennials worldwide, operators are creating photo-driven tours and itineraries with massive success … Read More at TTG Asia

Sri Lanka Bombings: Three Months On, Tourism Workers Tell Their Stories

The Spring attacks hit the tourist trade hard. Learn what this means for Sri Lankans whose livelihoods depend on visitors … Read More at The Guardian

Hong Kong Protests Will Put Off 350,000 Mainland Chinese Tourists This Year, HSBC Estimates

HSBC Bank estimates the recent Hong Kong protests will put hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese tourists off visiting the city this year. Arival wonders: What does this mean for operators …. Read More at South China Morning Post

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