gregg rockett
What to Expect for Travel to Europe in the Summer of 2023?
Gregg Rockett | July 6, 2023
By Gregg Rockett A recent CNN story predicted that the number of Americans traveling to Europe this year will be 55% greater than in 2022. Allianz Partners identified this year’s most popular destinations (i.e., impacted) to be London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Lisbon - all destinations with infrastructure already creaking under relentless year-round tourism. This massive migration occurs despite the highest airfares in six years and hotel prices that are nearly 40% higher versus 2022, according to Hopper’s report on Summer Travel to Europe. Add to that, the Euro is approximately 10% more expensive than it was at this time in ...
Revenge Travel in 2022: Are We Really Traveling With a Vengeance?
Gregg Rockett | June 6, 2022
By Gregg Rockett A recent CNN column explores the nature of ‘Revenge Travel’, a buzzword that has gained increasing attention in the media. The article ponders the term’s meaning and congruence relative to the true motivations of the travel market as travel restrictions become relaxed and more countries open to tourism. With that article as a backdrop, a commentary piece by columnist Mark Footer of the South China Morning Post takes issue with the term ‘Revenge Travel’. He uses the examples of ‘staycation’ and ‘bleisure’ travel as buzzwords that more accurately convey the trends these terms are meant to describe, a...
Placemaking – Property-Level Approach to ESG
Gregg Rockett | February 16, 2022
By Gregg Rockett, Yoon Koh ESG: The Paradigm Shift ESG—environmental, social, and governance—has gained significant attention over the years and has become the norm that firms strive to meet society’s expectation or exceed the standards for the three areas. Various stakeholders evaluate firms from the ESG point of view including major institutional investors, activists and customers. Stock markets such as Hong Kong Stock Exchange and international organizations such as Global Reporting Initiative and Dow Jones Sustainability Index set the expectations on firms for all three areas of stakeholder engagement, materiality a...
Will ‘Less Is More’ Become the Tourism Buzzword of 2022?
Gregg Rockett | October 15, 2021
Reflections on the post-pandemic approach to sustainable tourism By Gregg Rockett The unprecedented 18-month hiatus in the global tourism industry has been a unique opportunity for communities to assess the pros and cons of their current tourism strategy. Tourism receipts evaporated, but so too did the throngs packing the streets and disrupting the lives of locals. The big-name ‘Bucket List’ destinations were given some rare peace and quiet and, maybe (hopefully), time to consider that enough is enough. Traveling in Portugal and Greece this summer, I witnessed first-hand the return of tourists to two of Europe’s most en...
The Emerging Market for Health and Wellness Tourism – Part II
Gregg Rockett | May 27, 2021
Part II: Focus on Africa and the Latin America and Caribbean region Gregg Rockett, Lecturer in Management and Tourism Studies, The George Washington University - School of Business. David Nitkiewicz, Graduate Student, The George Washington University – School of Business, Masters in Tourism Administration Program. Melina Economos, Graduate Student, The George Washington University – School of Business, Masters in Tourism Administration Program. Contributing to the research were students of The George Washington University – School of Business: Manahil Alkhatrawi, Emily Baxter, Hiroshi Kandori, Aswathi Krishnan and Yusuke Tsu...
The Emerging Market for Health and Wellness Tourism
The Authors | May 14, 2021
By Gregg Rockett and Samantha Amus Part I: Background and a Focus on the Asia Pacific Region Contributing to the research were students of The George Washington University – School of Business: Arianna Fisher, Yuting Ni and Jiahui Lin. The authors acknowledge contributions from Mia Kyricos, an industry thought leader on health and wellness tourism. Background This is a two part-article addressing the health and wellness tourism eco-system, comprising a focus on three regions where this travel submarket is growing: Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. The research was undertaken by graduate students of th...
Revisiting the Public Ownership of Convention Hotels
the authors | May 2, 2019
By Gregg Rockett and Jeff Sachs Part Two: In support of public authorities that choose to own convention hotels – from professionals in the trenches. Introduction Part one of this article reviewed the controversy surrounding the public ownership of hotels and highlighted the opposition's principal arguments, which has several decades of academic and journalistic documentation. One would think that a reaction to overwhelmingly negative literature would discourage the public sector from pursuing the outright ownership of hotels, and this may have muted some initiatives. However, municipal jurisdictions in the United States continue ...
Revisiting the Public Ownership of Convention Hotels
the authors | March 29, 2019
By Gregg Rockett and Jeff Sachs Part One: Despite evoking controversy at many levels, the wheels are still firmly on the rails as it relates to public ownership of hotels Introduction The legacy of public sector whole-ownership of convention hotels extends several decades but became more prevalent in connection with provisions of the 1997 U.S. tax code (Revenue Procedure 97-13). These revisions facilitated clarity on the safe harbor status of management agreements related to facility operations financed by tax-exempt bonds. The first convention hotel to open following the revised provisions was Chicago's Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, d...