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Assistant Attorney General
The Antitrust Division is pleased to provide its annual Spring Update for 2018. This spring, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my six-month anniversary as Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division, looking back on the important achievements of our career staff and the exciting new developments and announcements still on the horizon. Some of the Division’s milestones are highlighted in these pages, and rather than recounting them all here, I would like to highlight the key priorities that the Division is pursuing to protect competition and the American consumer.
What makes antitrust great is the bipartisan consensus approach that has emerged through decades of trial and error, followed by careful empirical study of how market actors respond to legal constraints on their behavior. The consumer welfare standard is a byproduct of that approach. Antitrust enforcers across administrations have adhered to the consumer welfare standard, helping drive economic growth, innovation, and dynamic competition. The consumer welfare standard also acts as a constraint on our power. It focuses our attention and enforcement efforts on transactions and restraints that threaten to harm competition and consumers. As a caretaker of this consensus approach, my goal as Assistant Attorney General is to ensure that the Antitrust Division exercises its power so that the American consumer can reap the rewards of free market competition and innovation.
Antitrust Is Law Enforcement, Not Regulation
To protect consumer welfare, the Division exercises its power through the lens of law enforcement, not regulation. Competition and enforcement work together, not at cross-purposes. Indeed, free markets work best in the absence of regulatory barriers to innovation and growth, and antitrust law reinforces the free market by condemning transactions and restraints that harm competition. As former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote during his time as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, “The antitrust laws represent an effort to avoid detailed government regulation of business by keeping competition in control of prices. It was hoped to . . . let [government] confine its responsibility to seeing that a true competitive economy functions.” The Division has taken Justice Jackson’s words to heart in its approach to carrying out its mission.
A key component of an enforcement-first approach is evident through our strong preference for structural remedies to mergers that would harm competition and consumers, rather than so-called behavioral remedies. A behavioral remedy requires the Antitrust Division to regulate an entire marketplace through complex decrees that ignore the profit-maximizing incentives of private actors. A structural remedy, by comparison, eliminates harm while not requiring the Government to take on a long-term regulatory role. The Division’s recent settlements reflect this preference for structural relief and importantly include new enhancements to make consent decrees enforceable.
The “New Madison” Approach to Antitrust Law, Intellectual Property, and Innovation
Antitrust law likewise benefits consumer welfare by protecting incentives for innovation. This is most evident in the realm of intellectual property rights. James Madison, the Founding Father and principal drafter of the Constitution, despite his distaste for monopolies, recognized the value of patent rights. He saw patent rights “as encouragement to . . . ingenious discoveries” that are “too valuable to renounce” as mere monopolies because of their importance to fueling innovation. His vision carried the day at the Founding, as Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution empowers Congress to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
Despite its historical origins, the “New Madison” approach to antitrust law and intellectual property is forward-looking: It rests on the idea that dynamic innovation works best through policies that ensure incentives for inventors to innovate and create exciting new technologies, and for licensees to implement those technologies. In recent years, many have expressed a one-sided focus on the so-called problem of patent “hold up” by owners of patents incorporated into technology standards, while overlooking the arguably more problematic concern of patent “hold out” that occurs when licensees refuse to compensate patent holders who have already incurred significant up-front costs of innovation.
Against this backdrop, the Division will take steps to help ensure that enforcers and policymakers do not misapply the antitrust laws to undermine the incentives for innovation. We recognize that antitrust law should not police disputes between patent holders and implementers over licensing disputes where common law remedies are available and more proper. At the same time, we will be skeptical of standard setting organizations that allow blocks of implementers or innovators to engage in concerted action and skew those organizations’ rules and policies in their favor.
In the spirit of self-reflection, the Division is taking a hard look at its approach to antitrust and intellectual property to ensure that our advocacy and enforcement efforts appropriately consider incentives for innovation that benefit consumers. By refining and applying its approach, we hope to fuel the discussion of how enforcers at home and abroad can best apply the antitrust laws.
International Engagement and Exporting the Antitrust Consensus
As domestic enforcers in a global economy, our work to promote consumer welfare relies heavily on our partnerships and engagement with foreign competition authorities. The Division’s International Section grows stronger by the day, and it has been a particular focus of our resources and efforts in recent months. That trend will continue as we continue to encourage our foreign partners toward convergence on procedural norms for law enforcement.
Our global engagement has yielded real results. Last month, we saw the International Competition Network—an organization first envisioned by former Assistant Attorney General Jim Rill—adopt guiding principles for procedural fairness in competition agency enforcement. The Division took a leading role in bringing about this important document, and it is spearheading the effort to ensure that enforcers adopt norms of procedural fairness, transparency, and nondiscrimination.
This spring, competition enforcers from around the world will gather to share their perspectives and priorities with antitrust practitioners in Washington, D.C., at the ABA Spring Meeting. The Division looks forward to engaging with our friends to share best practices and other perspectives. We will also continue to explore mechanisms to improve our international norms and interactions as global business relies more and more on predictable, objective, and rules-based approaches to competition enforcement.


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Reuters, Beijing, November 19-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosted a symposium of economic situation experts and entrepreneurs on Thursday to analyze the economic situation. He pointed out that the current domestic and international situation is still complicated and severe, and the domestic economy is under new downward pressure, and there are many challenges to continue to maintain stable operation on a high base.
Xinhua News Agency published a conference press release on Friday quoting him and said that it is necessary to continue to normalize the epidemic prevention and control, strengthen the “six stability” and “six guarantees”, especially the market entities to ensure employment and people’s livelihood, and strengthen the forward-looking targeting of macro policies. We will promote reform and opening up, do a good job of inter-cyclical adjustments, and keep the economy operating within a reasonable range and the overall employment situation is stable.
“The hundreds of millions of market players are where China’s economic resilience and potential lie. It strongly supports the basic employment market. Macroeconomic policies must continue to focus on market players,” Li Keqiang said.
Specifically, while continuing the systemic tax cuts and implementing the established tax deferral policies, we will study the adoption of new combined and phased tax and fee reduction measures, and improve policies such as additional deductions for research and development expenses, and tax refunds for value-added tax. Support manufacturing enterprises, small, medium and micro enterprises, and individual industrial and commercial households in alleviating difficulties and innovating and upgrading.
Various policies to support coal power companies must be implemented to ensure stable power supply.
It is also necessary to take targeted measures to strengthen economic operation adjustment and ease the pressure that the rise in commodity prices transmits to downstream small, medium and micro enterprises.
“Every aspect must think of more ways to create a good environment for the development of market players,” Li Keqiang said.
He also pointed out that it is necessary to promote reform and opening up, and to withstand difficult pressures by stimulating the vitality of market entities. Continue to promote the reform of “delegating control and service”, optimize the business environment, maintain fair competition, treat all kinds of market players equally, drive more employment and increase residents’ income, and promote consumption expansion.
While maintaining government investment and promoting key construction, reforms should be used to mobilize social investment enthusiasm, give full play to the huge domestic market advantage, and release the potential of domestic demand.
It is necessary to further open up to the outside world, improve import and export support policies, maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level, and support the development of new forms of foreign trade such as cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses. Seize the opportunity of the effective implementation of RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) to deepen and expand international cooperation. (over)
Qiao Yanhong; Reviewer Zhang Xiliang

domain: news


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Apple Pay and Google Wallet are currently fighting to become mainstream.
While most consumers agree that the NFC tap-to-pay technologies are pretty cool, retailers aren’t jumping on board as fast as the tech world has hoped.
A big reason for that is the Merchant Consumer Exchange (MCX). The MCX is a consortium of some of America’s largest retailers.
In 2012, MCX got together and decided that they were going to create something called CurrentC. CurrentC is a mobile payment platform that uses QR codes instead of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Unfortunately, CurrentC is unsecure, self-serving, and inferior to Apple Pay and Google Wallet in many ways.
In spite of that, MCX retailers must support CurrentC. Earlier today, the New York Times posted a report showing that MCX-affiliated retailers face steep fines if they accept Apple Pay.
Here’s what the NY Times says:
“The problem is that under the terms of their MCX contractual agreement, they are not supposed to accept competing mobile payments products like Apple Pay…If these retailers break their contracts, they will face steep fines for doing so.”
The NY Times cites “multiple retailers involved with the MCX, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.” The terms of the contract between MCX and retailers has not been disclosed.
Retailers unsure what to do
When Apple Pay was first announced, Rite Aid and CVS initially supported the new payment system. Last week, they quietly pulled their support. The retailers either just found out about the steep fines, or they were pressured by the MCX to abandon their Apple Pay support.
On the one side, these retailers are facing a huge consumer backlash and potential boycott against CurrentC. On the other side, they’re bound to a contract.
Does Apple Pay have a chance?
Back when the MCX was first formed, Apple Pay and Google Wallet weren’t around. Retailers didn’t plan for competing mobile payment platforms.
If Apple Pay and Google Wallet are to succeed and become mainstream, then two things need to happen:
-The majority of consumers need to boycott CurrentC or MCX retailers
-The majority of consumers need to have NFC-enabled smartphones capable of running Apple Pay or Google Wallet
The good news is that Apple has billions of dollars to play with. And tech fans are getting angry.


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TORONTO – The owners of The Real Jerk restaurant at Queen St. and Broadview Ave. is seeking a court injunction to keep their business open.
The building that has housed the restaurant, a staple of east-end Toronto for 27 years, was sold by its owners on December 30, 2011.
The court proceedings started at 10 a.m. Tuesday, as the owners of the Real Jerk fought to keep their Riverside location. Though as Mark Mcallister, reporter for Global Toronto, reported on Twitter, “New owners of property where #TheRealJerk now sits have already arranged new lease agreement for pub to move into space tomorrow.”
The owners of the restaurant were notified of the sale and are expected to vacate the restaurant by February 1st. Owners of the restaurant, Ed and Lily Pottinger, were shocked about the sale of the building. “We knew there was a chance,” Lily said “but thought there may be a three month notice.”
Staff members claim they had a multi-year lease with building owners before it was recently reduced to a year-by-year agreement.
In an effort to keep their business alive, the owners of The Real Jerk, launched an online campaign asking Torontonians to sign a petition showing their support for the restaurant. The website, savetherealjerk.com, garnered over 2000 signatures on the petition.
The owners of the Real Jerk are planning a “celebration,” regardless of the result of the injunction, saying on Twitter, “We are celebrating if we receive good or bad news-customers are amazing-staff of #therealjerk are great individuals that have stood by us.”


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- Man accused of setting fire to Delta bar; posted photos of it burning on Facebook (9/17/17)5
- McClure man accused of leaving children in hot truck while gambling in casino (9/19/17)1
- New boutique store advocates for special-needs people (9/19/17)
- Say Cheese: The story behind the famous sandwiches at the East Perry Fair (9/22/17)
- Anne Limbaugh dies, leaves legacy of caring (9/22/17)
- Retailer may come to Jackson; rezoning needed first (9/17/17)2
- Planet Fitness to anchor Town Plaza shopping center (9/18/17)2
- Former major-league slugger Darryl Strawberry to speak at La Croix (9/20/17)
- Mo. conservation agents help fight fires in western U.S. (9/15/17)
- Owner of Mary Jane Burgers & Brew in Perryville to open new culinary concept in Cape (9/15/17)3
Gas prices climb at the local pump
CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Retail gasoline prices continue to climb at the nation's pumps, rising more than 17 cents a gallon since late December, according to a study released Sunday. Gas prices for all grades rose 3.61 cents in the past weeks to a national average of $1.68 per gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations.
The price of retail diesel fuel also was up 3 cents, reaching a national average of $1.69 per gallon.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said several factors were responsible for the hike, including OPEC's decision to cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day beginning April 1.
Also, rising crude oil prices and cold weather increased the demand for heating oil, Lundberg said.
The rate of increase was slowing, compared to the past period, but Lundberg said there is no indication "prices have peaked or will fall anytime soon."
The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.65 for regular, $1.75 for mid-grade, and $1.84 for premium.


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Will Myspace‘s latest tentpole help revive the company’s image?
First Fox parent News Corp bought it for $580 MM. Then Justin Timberlake bought it for $35 MM. Now Myspace is teaming up with Fox Digital Entertainment to release original series Wolfpack of Reseda, a horror comedy debuting February 16.
The weekly series focuses on disgruntled office worker in the Southern California’s San Fernando Valley who finds escape from suburban ennui when he’s bitten by a strange creature that he believes to be a werewolf. Part Galafianakis from The Hangover, part Fight Club, part Shaun of the Dead, Wolfpack promises a mix of white collar workplace comedy with conventional horror tropes.
But will it work?
Kia Motors seems to think so. The Korean auto-maker is the exclusive brand sponsor of the series, hoping perhaps to capitalize on the one million new users the company has added in the past 30 days, thanks to new alliances with Twitter and Facebook which has grown the social platform to 25 million registered users.
“Wolfpack exemplifies the kind of storytelling and distribution that is ideal for the current digital media landscape,” said Matt Glotzer, Senior Vice President, Fox Digital Entertainment. “We are very excited to be working closely with Kia and Myspace to bring this original and darkly hilarious story to a broad audience on a wide variety of platforms.”
Tune in tomorrow to find out.


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Cars in Pakistan are witnessing a new wave of hikes, after Kia and Toyota, Honda Atlas has now revised the prices of its local assembled products effective from the 11th of November 2021. Like Toyota, the price increase will be in two steps, as the new units booked after 10th of November 2021 will be served for post January 2022 deliveries with another layer of increase.
According to the revisions (effective from 1st January 2022), the prices of 1.2L City variants have been revised by up to Rs 150,000, the prices of 1.5L City variants have been increased by up to Rs 195,000. Honda BR-V has witnessed an increase of up to Rs 225,000 while Civic 1.8L variants have been revised by up to Rs 395,000 whereas the flagship Civic Turbo RS received a price bump of Rs 485,000.
The company has cited the same reasons including depreciating currency value and rising shipping & raw material costs behind the price hike. It was already being speculated that car prices in Pakistan were to witness an increase due to aforementioned reasons. However the government made Changan withdraw the price hike in August and later threatened to fix prices of cars sold in the country. But considering the current circumstances, this doesn’t seem to be happening as other automakers are also expected to announce the price revisions soon.
A 3d animation professional with over 20 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations & production facilities of Pakistan, an avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver writings to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com


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Summer is well underway, and with that comes grilling; lots of grilling.
For grillers looking to add new flavor to their cooked meat, Greenville resident Richard Nelson believes he has created something right up their alley: the SmokeCage.
SmokeCage is a grill accessory that houses pecan shells, which, when burned, add a wood-smoked flavor to meat.
According to Nelson, the idea came from his background as a sales manager for Sunshine Nuts. While on a tour through a factory, he noticed something interesting.
“Off to the side was this huge drum full of pecan shells,” he said. “So I asked ‘what do you guys do with all the shells?’”
Nelson said the company had hired a disposal company to come and remove the more than 10 million pounds of pecan shells going out the back door on a regular basis.
“I thought it would be good fuel for barbecue,” he said.
After floating the idea around in his head for a while, Nelson said he figured out how to implement it when he went on a competitive sailing trip with his friend.
When they were packing for the trip, he noticed a perforated metal sheet in his friend’s car he wasn’t using.
Nelson took the sheet to a design company and had them mold it into a cylindrical cage and did a test run on the grill.
“It worked, and it worked really, really well,” he said. “I can’t be too open about this because it works really well and no one has done it.”
After the test run Nelson quickly trademarked the name and began showing it to friends and businesses.
Home Depot has a diversity supplier program which is designed to promote small business growth in America. Nelson was recently accepted by the company to pitch his idea to them to sell in their stores.
“I’m pretty confident that it will be accepted,” he said.
Nelson said he is capitalizing on the recent upward trend in barbecue grill sales.
“I’ve never seen more buzz and jazz about barbecue than now,” he said. “This is the right time to be launching it.”
According to Nelson, because of the unique flavor, he is confident the local business will take off.
“It works on every meat kind there is,” he said. “I have never had anyone return one.”
For more information on the product, visit www.smokecage.com.


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Spanish-speaking victims of identity theft, consumer fraud, predatory practices and other scams in the Chicago area have a new place to turn for help.
Telemundo Station Group’s WSNS-Channel 44 has launched Telemundo Responde, a full-time consumer investigative team pledged to assist viewers who say they’ve been wronged — no matter how big or small the problem.
Heading the new unit is reporter Alba Mendiola, a 14-year veteran of the station and four-time Chicago Emmy Award winner. She also hosted the public affairs show "Enfoque Chicago." Mendiola's reports will air at 10 p.m. Tuesdays, starting this week.
Chicago is the ninth market to roll out the Telemundo Responde franchise. Since 2014, the eight other local teams have fielded more than 28,000 complaints and recovered more than $3.1 million for consumers, according to Telemundo Station Group.
Chris McDonnell, president and general manager of Telemundo Chicago, said the city’s Hispanic population may be especially vulnerable and in need of consumer advocacy.
“Chicago being the fifth largest Hispanic market, you have a lot of people who have moved here in the past 10 or 15 years and are trying to get their feet beneath them,” he said. “So things that go on in the market that some of our residents might not be as adept at is always a possibility for vulnerability. Unfortunately, you’ve got certain groups or individuals that are going to want to take advantage of that.”
Telemundo Responde not only will “help us form a relationship with our viewers,” he said, “but enable them to understand that they have somebody — us — to turn to when they don’t know where to turn if they feel like they’ve been wronged. They can call us and we’re here to help.”
McDonnell acknowledged there may be stories by the consumer investigative team that risk alienating some of the station's advertisers. “It’s always a possibility,” he said. “I’ve spent the better part of my career on the sales side, so I’m definitely aware of that. But at the end of the day, it’s our viewers and the consumers in this marketplace that we’re trying to help, trying to protect, trying to assist. If there is some pushback on that, then we will deal with those cases one by one.”
The latest addition is part of an ongoing expansion of news at Telemundo stations under NBCUniversal ownership. Telemundo Chicago last year added a 30-minute newscast at 4:30 p.m. weekdays, unveiled a new set and website, and hired additional reporters, photographers and producers.
“It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been great,” McDonnell said. “It’s recognizing the importance of the Hispanic marketplace and that we’re committed to news and serving our viewers. This particular franchise takes that to a whole new level.”


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Color Star Technology (NASDAQ: HHT), a company engaged in the businesses of providing education services, today announced its entry into a securities purchase agreement on September 15, 2020, with certain accredited investors to purchase $6.6 million worth of its ordinary shares in a registered direct offering and warrants to purchase ordinary shares in a concurrent private placement. Under the agreement, the company has agreed to sell 13.2 million ordinary shares and, in a concurrent private placement, to issue unregistered warrants to purchase up to 11.88 million ordinary shares. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.55 and will be exercisable immediately upon issuance and expire five years and 6 months from the date of issuance. The purchase price for one ordinary share and corresponding warrant will be $0.50. Color Star Technology will secure an estimated $6.6 million in gross proceeds from the registered direct offering and concurrent private placement, which are expected to close on or about September 17, 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.
To view the full press release, visit http://nnw.fm/RU3xd
About Color Star Technology Co. Ltd.
Color Star Technology offers online and offline knowledge-paid services for music and entertainment industries globally. The company routinely posts important information on its website. Its business operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiaries Color China Entertainment Ltd. and CACM Group NY Inc. The company’s online education is provided through its Color World music and entertainment education platform. Color Star Technology also offers after-school entertainment tutoring in New York via its joint-venture entity Baytao LLC. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ColorStarInternational.com.
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China’s Giant Export Opportunity in Africa
January 19, 2022 is a day Ethiopian Ambassador to China Teshome Toga will likely remember for years. That day was the day he – and Chinese live-streaming star Austin Li Jiaqi, also known as the “Lipstick King” – helped sell more than 11,000 bags of three coffee brands from his country in a second.
It’s easy to think of this as a marketing gimmick promoting Alibaba, one of China’s biggest e-commerce platforms. But it is also an example of a serious trend that deserves to be understood, not least because it also has links and implications for Africa’s new continental free trade area.
The 11,000 sales came on the heels of the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 8), just two months ago in November 2021 in Dakar, Senegal – at which one of the authors of this article attended alongside Ambassador Toga and others.
While headlines from Bloomberg and the FinancialTimes focused on major financial commitments made at the conference, among the lengthy speeches and papers released were significant trade commitments that were the precursor to the Ambassador and Lipstick King accomplishment, but did not yet been really digested by African companies and organizations.
New commercial commitments
Let’s explain. New trade commitments set the framework under which these bags of coffee were sold, commitments which Ambassador Toga and others have worked hard to propose and negotiate, and which we believe will impact African businesses in 2022 and the rest of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger.
In the headlines, the documents included a commitment by China to reach $300 billion in annual imports from Africa by 2025. That’s not a particularly big step forward – given that imports, even in 2021, were $106 billion – but this could nevertheless make China Africa’s top export destination, ahead of the EU, not least because the commitments came with three specific measures.
First, China has pledged to open “green lanes” for African agricultural exports to China. Secondly, the country has pledged to explore the recognition of “geographical indications” of African products, and thirdly, it has even announced specific e-commerce ideas – claiming that online shopping festivals to promote African products and a campaign to market 100 African stores and 1,000 African products would all be created.
As we know from running a Chinese market access program for African companies, it’s not just promises or numbers that matter when it comes to working with China, it’s specific details.
Three promises that will boost trade
Rationalization of agricultural imports
“Green lanes” mean that certain entry processes can be streamlined to allow products like coffee to be sold in the Chinese market, minimizing formal tariffs as well as so-called “non-tariff barriers”. » when products cross the border, such as certificates and labels of origin, which can lead to long delays at customs or the destruction of African agricultural products.
Indeed, many important African agricultural exports, such as maize, raw cotton, rice, sugar, wheat, wool and wool fibers are effectively excluded from duty-free regimes for least developed countries. advances.
Beyond that, “geographical indications” are a way to preserve and potentially increase the value of products such as Ethiopian coffee that have special and unique processes that should be recognized as intellectual property in the rest of the world, thus preserving their value, such as Canadian maple syrup or French champagne.
With this commitment, China has become the first country or region to agree to a process of recognition of African intellectual property associated with agricultural products, which means that 11,000 bags of branded coffee could well be sold at much higher values. higher in the future.
Promotion of e-commerce
And last but not least, e-commerce is the only way forward in China, a country where 80% of the population is registered with online outlets, and retailers use online platforms for business-to-business transactions, trends that Covid-19 has necessarily accelerated. This means that the country’s potential market size is huge and growing. Shanghai already has 7,000 cafes, almost double those of New York.
However, when it comes to African products, most Chinese consumers are unaware of what the continent has to offer. This means that all subsidies and platforms for marketing African products to Chinese consumers – as announced in Dakar – can make a significant difference.
So how does this relate to the AfCFTA in 2022, and will the Dakar FOCAC commitments be positive for African trade or not? Could they, for example, encourage a continued focus of African producers on external sales rather than internal trade?
This is certainly still possible, but we believe it is possible to do both at the same time. China’s new policies, although some are ostensibly focused on agricultural products, have the potential for value-added brand entry and therefore create new incentives for regional value chains, particularly if African governments and the Secretariat of the AfCFTA itself is quickly engaging with the Chinese authorities to ensure this.
In the meantime, we can expect a lot more online exploits in the headlines. Perhaps we will see Kenyan and Ethiopian roses being sold in China for its unique Valentine’s Day equivalent on August 4, 2022? Watch this place!


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K.J. Wari's staff at Chick-fil-A at Albany Square on Dawson Road sets the standard for customer service at fast food restaurants in Albany.
Day after day, they're difficult to top with their speed of service and friendliness.
Wari now has an opportunity to widen the scope of that service.
Effective Sept. 1, Wari is taking over franchise rights to the Chick-fil-A at Albany Mall. The previous operator, Lovett Young, is moving to Waycross for another franchise opportunity.
Also, Wari said he is attempting to become the franchise holder for a new Chick-fil-A that is expected to open in Lee County in 2012.
Wari said the company has closed on a new restaurant in the parking lot of the new Publix store off U.S. Highway 19.
"It's a done deal, but there's still a matter of paperwork and planning for the unit," Wari said.
While he has not been awarded the franchise, Wari said he will attempt to gain that opportunity.
Further, Wari said he is working with Aramark, an international food service company, to open a Chick-fil-A Express in the new student center at Albany State on Aug. 8.
Aramark will operate the restaurant, but Wari said he is the operator consultant for the ASU site. His role is to make sure the facility meets company standards in regards to food quality and customer service.
Wari said he is training the ASU site manager this week, and will work with training staff members at the site.
QUAIL FEEDBACK: In regard to last week's column about the financial woes of Quail Unlimited, I received considerable feedback.
Most were supportive of the organization, but whether that translates to people buying memberships remains to be seen.
Some, however, think QU has a tough road ahead.
Paul Jones of Albany, a quail hunter of many years, says he is pulling for Bill Bowles to succeed in reviving the organization, but he is not optimistic.
"Unlike Ducks Unlimited that has created northern nesting grounds for wild ducks and geese that have no permanent habitat, quail, are native to the farm or plantation where they survive," Jones said.
'The few supporters of QU find little reason to have an interest in developing quail habitat on private land."
Jones suggests that QU undertake programs to give hunters that pay to hunt their money's worth, that hunting dogs are properly cared for and that facilities meet an acceptable level of quality.
To that end, Jones said QU could become the professional group to police the "for profit" quail farms.


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The complete functioning of popular Chinese app Tiktok, has come to a complete halt in India. It was in last night, which the country has banned 59 Chinese apps, including Tiktok. Soon then, Tiktok app disappeared from the Google Playstore and Apple Store for Indian users. However, from today onwards, those that had already installed the app on their phones, too would not be able to access the app. Tictok is now disabled on all devices including the desktop.
Stating that they were complying with the Indian government’s decision to ban 59 apps, the officials of the application also maintained that it is important to protect the privacy and security of all of its customers in India. Last day, the Union Ministry issued an order banning 59 apps, including Tiktok. The action was taken under the section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The ban on Chinese apps was taken after considering concerns raised in parliament, regarding the security of the customers of the banned apps. Subsequently, Tiktok was blocked from downloading from Google Playstore and Apple Store, making it impossible for Indian users to download. Whenever someone from India tries downloading the app, the following dialogue box will appear – This app is not available in your country.


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ATIA is delighted to announce that the 2024 NTIA's will be held on Saturday 26 October at ICC Sydney.
The well attended Friday pre-NTIA networking and finalist events will also be repeated so please hold Friday 25 October in your calendar too!
NTIA recognises and rewards excellence in the Australian travel industry, through a process which includes nominating, voting and judging candidates, culminating in the announcement of the winners at a Gala Awards Dinner.
For 2023, nominees will have the opportunity to showcase how they have demonstrated outstanding conduct and excellence in customer service and industry / trade support.
It is important that we come together to celebrate and acknowledge the innovation, determination and resilience of our people and our sector.


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'Ads-funded' Microsoft Works pilot barges onto your PC this year
Interrupts you while you work
Microsoft will test a free, "ad-funded" version of its Works productivity suite with selected PC manufacturers this year, in another attempt to size up on-demand services.
The pilot program will rollout during the next few months and continue into the middle of next year, Microsoft told The Register.
"Microsoft is continually looking for ways to improve its products and bring more value to customers and partners and as a result, Microsoft is initiating a pilot program featuring an ad-funded version of Microsoft Works - Microsoft Works SE 9," a spokeswoman said.
It's not entirely clear what Microsoft means by "ad-funded", although senior management has talked since 2005 of putting clickable, internet ads in the UI of Windows applications. The non-ad-funded version, Works 9.0, is currently priced $39.95.
Microsoft was attempting to clarify earlier comments made by recently appointed corporate vice president of Microsoft's search and advertising platform group Satya Nadella, who'd caused confusion by saying Microsoft had already released the ad-funded version of Microsoft Works.
Despite scouring the internet in general, and Microsoft's own Works site in particular, however, the ad-funded version could not be found.
This "very small" pilot is Microsoft's latest attempt to find new revenue and delivery models for its software, particularly Office and collaboration, under the software plus services strategy. Microsoft recently expanded an Office subscription plan in South Africa and Romania to include the latest version, Office 2007.
Already billed as a Google Docs and Spreadsheets competitor, Works SE 9 could also pose a challenge to OpenOffice and StarOffice. We emphasize could given so little is known about the Works SE 9.0 architecture or it's ability to integrate online and because so much of Microsoft's Live online offerings - into which Works SE 9 could hook - are so very embryonic.
Certainly, StarOffice - once billed as an alternative to Office by Sun Microsystems for certain groups of users - has proved a let down both in terms of functionality and roadmap. Works SE 9.0, meanwhile, couldn't do much more harm to Microsoft's existing Office business, either, given so many consumers already use Works as a cheap alternative to Office.
Many OEMs shipped Works with their PCs for free, saving customers the need to shell out several hundred dollars for a full version of Office.®


text: Government enlists leading digital designers from the US to help nurture local talent at cutting-edge training centre Late-night television talk show host Jay Leno once described a university course in video-game design as 'a degree more useless than political science'. Perhaps he did not realise video-game sales have exceeded Hollywood box-office receipts in the past few years. The worldwide market for video games and interactive entertainment is expected to grow from US$23.2 billion last year to $33.4 billion in 2008, according to Dublin-based Research and Markets. A report from consulting group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu said the 'unrelenting progress in processing power, network bandwidth and storage capacity' would enable the electronic games industry to expand the worldwide installed base of electronic games devices, excluding personal computers, from about 415 million units at present to 2.6 billion by 2010. In the United States, starting salaries for digital games developers have been estimated to average about US$50,000 a year. The amazing growth of the digital games sector shows how people who grew up playing video games are finding their love of gaming can become their ticket to a successful and rewarding career. Industry experts Atussa Simon and Jon Skinner, lecturers from the Guildhall at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Texas, said Hong Kong had been making aggressive strides in developing the potential of local electronic games designers. Ms Simon, the chief executive and lead game designer of US-based Artemis Software, said: 'The Hong Kong government is serious about growing its game development industry. The government believes that this industry is the entertainment industry of the future, and it doesn't want Hong Kong to fall behind.' Proof of this commitment is in the government-backed Vocational Training Council's efforts to get Ms Simon and Mr Skinner to share their knowledge with local game development professionals. The lecturers led a three-day educational course on game design, which ran until August 27, at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education in Tsing Yi. The Guildhall at SMU is the world's premier training centre for video-game developers. It started offering a unique graduate-level digital games education programme in July last year. Ms Simon was one of the Guildhall's original staff members, invited by the university to work with the Guildhall team in 2002 to help establish the new programme at SMU. Mr Skinner, who joined the Guildhall last year, also works as a games designer at Artemis Software. Since the Guildhall opened its programme, plenty of applications have come from outside the US. Graduates include designers from Australia, China, Britain, Iran and Mexico. On whether a creative process such as game design could be reduced to lectures and classes, Mr Skinner said: 'Of course, it all relies on personal creativity and teamwork, but there are certain elements that can be taught.' Ms Simon said: 'To get started, students are going to need to understand the tool sets, so they can work on the art of making games.' At SMU, the Guildhall lecturers focus on computer-based electronic game development to help students become more versatile designers. 'We don't want students who can just develop games for the PlayStation 2,' Ms Simon said. The Guildhall's first students at SMU will complete their studies in December, following six three-month terms in which they have progressed from building basic two-dimensional games to making full three-dimensional games using a graphics engine that they created themselves. Such research and development could be emulated in Hong Kong if government initiatives worked. In the updated Digital 21 Strategy, the government identified digital entertainment as one of the focus areas for information technology development in Hong Kong. Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang Chun-wah said: 'We are working out a set of initiatives to broaden and deepen our efforts in promoting this focus area. 'As a first step, we are working to build up a critical mass of digital entertainment companies in Hong Kong that are capable of producing creative and high value-added contents.' The opening of the Digital Media Centre at Cyberport early this year was supposed to be a step towards building the necessary infrastructure to support digital content creation and improve the skills of industry professionals. Funded by Cyberport and the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), the centre provides high-end production facilities to developers at affordable prices, and technical support from experts. During their visit last week, the Guildhall lecturers found the facilities at Cyberport to be of 'extremely high quality', adding that game developers in Hong Kong should make full use of them.


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This season, holiday sales are expected to hit at least $942 billion dollars, which is a 6% increase from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. But with online shopping and earlier sales, does Black Friday still hold the same power in holiday shopping as it has in the past?
Kristen Gall, the president of the cash-back app Rakuten Rewards, says Black Friday “is not dead” but instead that “it’s just changing a lot.”
“A lot fewer of us are willing to go to the stores on Black Friday and battle people and use our elbows,” Gall said.
The National Retail Federation estimates that 115 million people plan to shop in stores and online this year on the traditional day of discounted shopping, which comes the Friday following…
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Read more from original source here…


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Shop Direct names new chief executive
Shop Direct, the owner of Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and VeryExclusive.co.uk, has appointed Henry Birch as its new chief executive.
Due to join the business later this year, Birch is currently chief executive officer at Rank Group, which owns and operates Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo alongside several European gaming and casino businesses.
Prior to this, he spent four years as chief executive of William Hill Online, where he launched the company’s mobile business, driving 170% growth in revenue and more than doubling operating profit.
At Shop Direct, he will take the reins from interim chief executive and group finance director Derek Harding and succeed previous chief executive Alex Baldock who is taking up the same role at Dixons Carphone.
Aidan Barclay, chairman of Shop Direct, said: “Henry is an experienced CEO and an exceptional leader. From both Rank Group and William Hill Online, he brings a track record of reshaping businesses to become more customer-focused, data-driven and technology-enabled while simultaneously driving outstanding financial performance.
“We’re delighted to attract somebody of Henry’s calibre and very much look forward to working with him as we continue the digital transformation of Shop Direct.”
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When the owner of the Hemporium in Rapid City read the attorney general’s recent proclamation about hemp and CBD oil, he felt “shock.”
Jason Ravnsborg wrote that “hemp and CBD oils remain illegal in South Dakota” but at another point writes that just “industrial hemp illegal and all forms of CBD oil illegal.”
The March 25 press release was “so detrimental to so many businesses,” Leonard Vandermate of the Hemporium said.
He said customers have been calling him, including an older woman inquiring whether she would be in trouble for buying a purse made of hemp.
The release, titled “Attorney General Ravnsborg clarifies questions regarding industrial hemp and CBD (cannabidol) oil,” “made more confusion than clarification,” Vandermate said. He said while Ravnsborg shared his opinion, he didn’t share enough of his legal analysis and which laws he is relying upon.
The press release says anyone with further questions should reach out to Ravnsborg’s office, local law enforcement or the local prosecutor.
Read the full story at AgWeek


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (June 7, 2018 | Grand Junction, CO) – Violet Gro, an agricultural LED lighting company announced the start of a local research consortium to evaluate and further the development of solutions that will incorporate the benefits of ultraviolet light into indoor growing of hemp. The consortium will include Violet Gro, Colorado Hemp Solutions, Salt Creek Hemp Company, and Speedy Grow.
“As part of our commitment to hemp, based on the impact we know it can have on people’s lives, we want to be a part of collaborations like this one that are working to advance the industry. We truly believe that this part of Colorado can become a major part of the supply chain for cannabinoids worldwide,” said Wacey Clarke, Owner of Colorado Hemp Solutions.
“Violet Gro is an exciting company that combines innovation and technology with manufacturing and agriculture and we’re looking forward to seeing the hemp industry grow in western Colorado. This type of collaboration is unique and a great example of the collaborative spirit that exists here in Grand Junction” said Robin Brown, Executive Director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership.
The initial focus of this collaboration will be to evaluate best practices for incorporating UV-A and/or UV-B light into the indoor grow process to provide enhanced benefits to the plants and to protect the plants from infections and pests.
“Violet Gro’s patented technology enables our light bars to incorporate UV light without the risk of lens degradation and LED destruction that occurs with other lighting on the market. This consortium will allow us to further explore the impact that UV can have for growers as well as the optimal ways to deploy it during the grow process,” said Terrance Berland, CEO of Violet Defense Group, the parent company of Violet Gro.
Numerous studies have shown that the right UV spectrums can drive increases in the plant production of active substances in medicinal plants, including antioxidant benefits of numerous plants, as well as cannabinoids. Speedy Grow, a new hemp extraction specialist will help assess the impact that the UV light has on the various cannabinoid levels in the plants produced.
“Our commitment as a local company is to work very collaboratively with strategic partners, as we believe this valley can be known for the highest quality CBD anywhere in the nation. We are excited about the potential for UV integration into the growing process and the opportunity to produce higher quality and healthier crops,” said Dustin Jensen, co-owner of Speedy Grow.
In addition to the ability to enhance the medicinal benefits of plants, UV light can also help maintain a healthy growing environment by reducing mold, mildew, and certain plant pests – all of which need alternatives to chemicals due to increasing fungicidal resistance.
Powdery mildew has been shown to be a significant threat to indoor growers, causing widespread disease to crops, ranging from strawberries and tomatoes to hemp. This is also true of spider mites that can expand rapidly throughout a crop, significantly reducing yields or even destroying entire harvests.
“We are excited to be a part of this research to evaluate UV as a way to not only further improve the quality of our product, but also address some of our biggest challenges, including spider mites which are a huge threat to our crops,” said Margaret MacKenzie with Salt Creek Hemp Co.
To learn more about this new collaboration, join us at the 3rd Annual Hemp on the Slope, July 21, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Salt Creek Ranch – Collbran Colorado. The event is hosted by Salt Creek Hemp Company and Violet Gro is serving as the Farm-to-Table Dinner Sponsor for the event.
About Violet Gro:
Violet Gro brings together patented technology with cutting-edge design to optimize plant growth in indoor growing. The right lighting plays a critical role in the ability to grow healthy, viable plants, but Violet Gro also believes in focusing on the system economics of growing. Our lighting designs – create a more cost-effective, long-term solution to indoor agriculture by giving your plants more light with less heat, which results in lower energy costs. For more information, visit www.violetgro.com.
About Colorado Hemp Solutions:
Colorado Hemp Solutions (CHS) exists to create premium phyto-cannabinoid rich industrial hemp materials in a sustainable and responsible manner. All the products offered by CHS are derived from hemp grown in our own fields and facilities, offering the peace of mind to consumers that we are entirely accountable for these offerings. Mesa, Delta, and Montrose counties of Western Colorado represent the most ideal microclimate in the world for growing premium high CBD hemp. Our superior location and premium genetics take full advantage of the conditions in the arid high desert. We are excited to be at the forefront of the hemp revolution that is changing the world by getting CBD products into the hands of consumers in need.
About Salt Creek Hemp Company:
Through sustainable and organic cultivation of industrial hemp, the goal of the Salt Creek Hemp Company is to provide a quality product for the unlimited applications for hemp. The company was founded by four friends that decided to do something good, not only for themselves, but for their community and the environment. Salk Creek Hemp Co is the annual host for Hemp on the Slope, a hemp-centric event focused on the topics of farming industrial hemp for food, fuel, fiber, animal nutrition and bedding, building materials, paper and textiles, dietary supplements and many other benefits of the non-psychoactive cannabis-hemp crop.
About Speedy Grow, Inc:
Speed Grow, Inc is a CBD extraction facility located in Grand Junction. The company is partnering with local hemp farmers to provide Speedy Veg, an organic growth supplement, as well as provide extraction services for them to generate higher quality refined product that can sell for higher prices. The company does not charge for its extraction services, but rather, offers a revenue-sharing model for its customers.
About Grand Junction Economic Partnership:
The Grand Junction Economic Partnership (GJEP) is the official economic development agency for Colorado’s Grand Valley. GJEP works to recruit and retain businesses in the cities of Grand Junction and Fruita, the town of Palisade and surrounding regions. As a private non-profit incorporated organization, we provide free business services and operate with the support of our generous investors and economic development partners.
Media Contact for Violet Gro:
Jessica Jones, Vice President of Marketing


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Overwatch 2 fans have been starved of teasers but that will end soon. Here’s when Blizzard is set to announce more about its upcoming sequel.
Blizzard Entertainment’s impending release of Overwatch 2 will be the single biggest change the 2016 hero-shooter has received in its history. Since its release, the title has become one of the world’s most popular esports franchises, securing a spot next to behemoths like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends. Even so, Blizzard’s plans for the sequel have remained murky, especially any information about Overwatch 2‘s release date.
The follow-up was revealed to be a mix of all-new Overwatch characters and new multiplayer modes, most notably a more fleshed out co-op experience where players face-off against hordes of computer-controlled enemies as part of a campaign. Overwatch 2 will also introduce cosmetic changes and new skills to classic characters, like Tracer and Lucio. It will be a World of Warcraft-style expansion that builds on top of Overwatch‘s success by widening its borders past purely player-versus-player game modes.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Since Overwatch 2‘s announcement at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has been extremely secretive about the status of its next big release. The company has published little in the way of teasers for the title, but diehards of the series recently received a morsel of what the game will have to offer as well as an encouraging message from Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan about its progress. Here’s when Overwatch 2 is scheduled to be released.
When Blizzard May Announce An Overwatch 2 Release Date
Currently, Overwatch 2 doesn’t have a firm release date, but Kaplan recently revealed when Blizzard will be announcing updates for the sequel and even teased a new map in a developer update video the company published in mid-December 2020. The developer stated that while Overwatch 2 still has “a ways to go” before it’s fully released, gamers have a date to look forward to for news about the upcoming release.
Kaplan unveiled that Blizzard will have something to share about Overwatch 2 during BlizzConline 2021, which will take place between February 19 and 20. This will be the first time in the event’s 16-year history that it will be held exclusively online due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it will hopefully give Overwatch fans the update they’ve been waiting for: a release date window for Overwatch 2 and potentially a playable demo or beta.
Kaplan’s statement made it seem like Overwatch 2 might still have at least a year of development to go before it’s ready for a final release, but that doesn’t mean gamers won’t be able to test it out. Blizzard gave BlizzCon 2019 attendees the opportunity to test a handful of Overwatch 2 game modes in an exclusive demo of the game at the event. That included a couple of co-op levels, a new PvP mode called “Push,” and it let players take a peak at the character progression Overwatch 2 will incorporate into its player-versus-environment modes. These additions will be completely complementary to the original game and players won’t need Overwatch 2 to continue playing the classic PvP mode.
Many portions of the game already seemed fully developed, which means Blizzard might launch a full-fledged beta for Overwatch 2 come February 19, or at least another demo fans can jump into. The Overwatch team already supports a “Public Test Realm” where it offers PC-players the ability to try new characters and balance changes to the game early. Overwatch 2 might receive its own PTR that player will be able to sign up for following BlizzCon 2021.
That being said, since it still isn’t ready for a final release, Blizzard might not give players an exact Overwatch 2 release date but instead offer a broad release window. Long-time fans of the game might still need to wait longer for the sequel’s full launch, but some kind of playable demo or beta seems very likely based on the progress the company had already made back in 2019.
Next: Overwatch McCree And Ashe Outlaw Backstory Filled In By Prequel Novel
Source: Blizzard Entertainment/YouTube
Superman Reveals The One Reason He’d Run From A Fight


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The cost of living soared 1.1 percent, more than forecast, after a 0.6 percent gain the prior month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Excluding food and energy, so-called core prices climbed 0.3 percent, also more than anticipated.
The figures underscore why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday said inflation risks had ``intensified.'' The surge in energy costs has also trimmed consumer and business spending, hurting growth and making it less likely policy makers will boost interest rates to stem even bigger price increases.
Treasuries dropped after the report, with yields on benchmark 10-year notes rising to 3.87 percent at 8:37 a.m. in New York, from 3.82 percent late yesterday.
Consumer prices were forecast to rise 0.7 percent, according to the median forecast of 79 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from gains of 0.2 percent to 1.1 percent. Costs excluding food and energy were forecast to rise 0.2 percent, the survey showed.
Prices increased 5 percent in the 12 months to June, the most since May 1991. They were forecast to climb 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the survey median. The core rate increased 2.4 percent from June 2007, also more than forecast.
Energy expenses jumped 6.6 percent, the biggest gain since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. Gasoline prices soared 10.1 and fuel oil jumped 10.4 percent.
The cost of fuel will continue stoking price pressures. Crude oil futures reached a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 and have risen almost 90 percent in the past year. Regular gasoline, which topped $4 a gallon for the first time in June, kept rising this month, AAA figures show.
The consumer price index is Labor's broadest gauge of costs. Almost 60 percent of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services ranging from medical visits to airline fares and movie tickets.
Wholesale prices rose 1.8 percent in June, the most in seven months, the Labor Department reported yesterday. From a year ago, prices climbed 9.2 percent, the biggest surge since 1981.
Food prices, which account for about a fifth of the CPI, increased 0.8 percent, driven by the biggest gain in the cost of vegetables in seven years.
The report showed that food and fuel weren't the only items on the rise. Costs for airline fares jumped 4.5 percent, the most since 2000. Prices for all commodities increased 1.9 percent, the biggest gain since records began in 1956.
Rents which, make up almost 40 percent of the core CPI, also accelerated. A category designed to track rental prices rose 0.3 percent after a 0.1 percent gain in May.
Today's figures also showed wages decreased 0.9 percent in June after adjusting for inflation, the biggest drop since August 1984, and were down 2.4 percent over the last 12 months. The drop in buying power is one reason economists forecast consumer spending will slow.
Americans trimmed purchases of automobiles, furniture and restaurant meals last month as the cost of gasoline soared, a Commerce Department report showed yesterday. Retail sales rose 0.1 percent, less than forecast, a sign the boost from the tax rebate checks is already fading.
Bernanke, testifying before Congress yesterday as part of his semi-annual report on the economy, cited ``significant downside risks to the outlook for growth'' in addition to the heightened threat of inflation.
Companies, unable to fully recover ballooning raw-material costs by raising prices, have cut staff and reduced equipment purchases as profits shrink.
The consumer-price and wholesale-price reports reflect differences in timing. In calculating wholesale prices, the government asks survey participants to report costs as of the Tuesday of the week that includes the 13th. Consumer prices are based on average costs over the entire month.


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NTTO Data Show U.S. Gateways Losing Share
Seven of Top Ten U.S. City Destinations Lost Share from Overseas Markets Last Year vs. 2018: With the COVID-19-driven global pandemic having utterly destroyed the chance for meaningful comparison and analysis of what happens this year versus 2019, one has to look long and hard at the numbers recently posted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) and wonder what they truly mean for the U.S. inbound tour and travel industry.
What is apparent at first blush is that New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Boston and Chicago lost market share last year against 2018.
Does this suggest a trend? One cannot say without having reliable survey information that would cover a three-year window. But, because of the cratering of the inbound tour and travel industry this year, we will have to wait till 2022 to do some serious comparison and analysis.
In the interim, one possibility worth contemplating is that efforts of the past several years by second-tier destinations to persuade overseas visitors to the United States to try new and different places have realized some degree of success. Or, it might mean that Brand USA’s “Beyond the Gateways” promotion of the past several years has begun to yield some results.
In reviewing the data below, perhaps one would do well to pay heed to one pollster who said a generation ago, “If you look at the data long enough, they begin to talk to you.” So, you are welcome to look at the numbers below, and wait to find out if you hear voices.
Domestic Operators: DMOs Need to Be Flexible
The top takeaway from the recent panel discussion domestic tour operators, held as a part of Connect Travel’s ongoing “Staying Connected—Virtual Roundtable Series” was the need for their partners to be flexible as they work to make it through until that point at which the tour and travel industry has recovered from the impact of the coronavirus global pandemic.
Shari Bailey, vice president, Connect Travel and general manager, Connect Travel events, moderated the session. And the operators who took part in the discussion included: Charlene Troggio, owner, Breakaway Tours; Suzanne Slavitter, owner, Sports Empire Inc./Authentic California Vacations; Joey Spellerberg, president, Moostash Joe Tours; and Gary L. Haverkamp, product manager, Vacations By Rail – A Great Rail Journeys Company.
Key Takeaways from the Session:
1. Flexibility: Operators are working hard to get tours moving again; offering fully refundable programs and stressing safe and clean protocols to entice clients and make them feel safe. They need help with the details. Terms and Conditions have varied and grown more stringent as the industry has celebrated record years. Look at your cancellation, deposit and comp policies. Be flexible on all terms and conditions, as we work together on recovery.
2. New Product: Rescheduling 2020 customers into 2021 has caused operators to come up short on key products for next year. While contracting new or additional products are exciting for suppliers, tour operators are a bit nervous. Take this opportunity to review what was on the books for 2020 and check availability for 2021. Create and share enticing offers; just be mindful of rate, T’s & C’s and operator apprehension.
3. Testing the Water: The creation of “Introductory Tours” is a way for tour operators to test the water with their clients. These are generally close to home, 1-day programs with enticing pricing. Review activities and tours in your area and create offerings that may work well for these types of programs.
4. Guidance: Updated information on guidelines, protocols and openings are essential for tour operators. Regular updates on restaurants, area openings, safety requirements, urgent care locations, COVID testing centers, and visitor center specifics (hours, facilities, etc) are appreciated.
5: Connect: Operators need and want to know about your destinations, services and activities. Please be mindful that most are still working from home or only in the office a few days a week. Responses may be slow but know they look forward to hearing from you.
Selected quotes gleaned from the panel discussion include the following:
—Suzanne Slavitter: “It’s been a real challenger for us. We’re hoping that the Kentucky Derby (rescheduled from May 1 to September 4) will lift back off on the new date, which is held Labor Day weekend. So, we’re hopeful for September.
—Charlene Troggio: “We’re really trying for the reschedule. We’ve probably had to refund 300-400 checks, or charge backs, so far. But there are a lot of people who are willing to keep their money in the pot and are hoping to reschedule.”
—Joey Spellerberg: “We’ve come out with a ‘Peace of Mind’ policy. Part of the ‘Peace of Mind’ policy is that we’re not only trying to get our customer’s trust when it comes to booking; when they book at this point, we’re offering a full refund to the date of departure, no questions asked. During this time frame, it’s going to require a lot of flexibility from you (DMOs and suppliers) to help us.
—Gary Haverkamp: “We’ve had a very high percentage of bookings (81 percent) that have moved to 2021. On strategic products, we are going out and getting more space for 2021, because we already have sold-out dates—there would be no more room for new bookings. To help garner some confidence in the traveler, we’ve reduced our deposit requirements and made them refundable up to a certain period of time so we could at least get more business on the books.”
Industry Meetings to Reboot in September for 2020 & Beyond
First Major Tour and Travel Industry Tradeshow to Convene in September in Orlando—Do Connect Travel’s innovations mean more than the elimination buffet lines the length of the meeting room foyer? The answer to that and other questions follow—as the tour and travel industry in the USA gets ready to re-activate six months after it began to shut down.
• The Who, What, When, Where and Why: There will be two tracks at the event—one for those attending the RTO Summit South, which mostly targets the large community of receptive tour operators located in Orlando and Central Florida, and another track for Connect Tour, a domestic travel show specifically designed to address the particular interests of U.S. buyers and suppliers. Both tracks will be staged September 8-10, 2020 at the Rosen Shingle Creek® Hotel in Orlando, Florida.
• What makes Connect these shows different from other events? They combine the right timing, a unique format that creates an efficient and effective environment to expedite the sales process and close business and a robust educational track to inspire and inform industry leaders in a rapidly evolving market.
—Connect Tour is the premier hosted-buyer event that brings together the most active tour operators, suppliers and experts in domestic tour and travel for preset appointments, keynote general sessions, planner/supplier roundtables and quality networking.
—RTO Summit South, now more than a decade old, fulfills the same needs of the mostly Orlando-based receptive tour operator community and the DMOs and suppliers
• Is there anything else that makes Connect Tour/RTO Summit South unique? Yes. September 8-10 will mark the formal launch of Connect’s Safe + Clean Connect plan which includes safety measures to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus as well as promote healthy best practices that planners can adopt at their events.
Here are the measures that will be implemented, which can be adapted to any event:
1. Temperature checks will be conducted before entering the event. Anyone with an elevated temperature or fever will not be allowed into the show.
2. Cotton masks will be required for attendees and staff at a minimum. Up to three KN95 masks will be provided for any attendee or staff who wants one. KN95 masks are almost identical in performance to the N95 mask used by hospital employees.
3. No on-site registration lines. Attendees will be shipped a welcome kit that includes a badge, a KN95 mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, agenda, magazine and other conference materials.
4. Glove and hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the event. There will be enough nitrile disposable gloves for each attendee to wear 3x a day, and touchless hand sanitizer stations will be plentiful throughout the trade show floor and in common areas.
5. Disinfectant foggers will be placed in the indoor convention space. Professional disinfectant electrostatic sprayers will continuously disinfect the air and neutralize germs.
6. New appointment design that allows for social distancing measures. This includes plexiglass shields and sanitizer on appointment tables, which will be wiped down between appointments.
7. Greater and more creative use of indoor/outdoor spaces for receptions, education sessions and other breakouts.
8. Larger aisle ways with dedicated travel lanes in trade show and appointment areas. This will help manage traffic and prevent attendees from bumping into each other or crowding in certain areas on the trade show floor.
9. Six-foot space between chairs in education sessions. The trade showfloor and other spaces will also have 6’ space markers for attendees to follow to help them maintain an acceptable amount of space between each other.
10. No-contact F&B via pre-packaged food, pre-packaged silverware and no self-serve buffets. Extra funds will be spent on service staff serving coffee and refreshments for each attendee while wearing gloves, masks and protective gear. Grab-and-go pre-made alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and other items will be ready and sanitized at receptions.
11. No large general sessions. Instead, money will be spent on showcasing and implementing the most cutting-edge safety precautions into the programming that attendees can use as inspiration for their own events.
For more information:
Suppliers register here.
Operators register here.
A Conversation with Mike Gallagher
In this issue, INBOUND talks with Mike Gallagher, co-founder and co-chairman of CityPASS, the discounted package of tickets for attractions, tours and entertainment experiences, about the state of this sector of the tour and travel industry. He is the natural “go-to” choice for such a discussion. Why? First, he knows the sector as well as anyone, having been a part of it for nearly a half-century, serving in different capacities at the places such as the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom before creating CityPASS, along with his friend and professional colleague, Mike Morey, late in 1996. It has grown to provide ticketing for more than 100 attractions and activities in 14 North American destinations.
Second, Mike is an innately likable guy who reminds one of George Bailey, the fictional character in the old, classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” who saves his family bank with the help of townspeople. In the midst of the economic trauma brought about by the COVID-19 driven global pandemic, Gallagher and Morey have managed to keep all of their more than 50 employees by reducing salaries but maintaining the jobs. Gallagher also stepped in to volunteer his services pro bono to Brand USA for some four months in the latter part of 2012 as the agency recruited a new president and CEO in the wake of a surprise resignation.
Following are excerpts of our conversation with Mike Gallagher.
INBOUND: How does it look till there is a full re-activation of the tour and travel industry in the USA?
Gallagher: Right now, we are focusing on our partner destinations that are reopening. We can certainly sell tickets for places like Houston, Dallas and Tampa, but it doesn’t make sense for travelers to purchase a CityPASS ticket until a majority of the attractions in a city are operating. You can find out which sights are open by visiting our website. When you click on the destination you want to visit, you’ll see the list of included attractions. Those that are currently open are flagged.
INBOUND: How does it look for the CityPASS’ sector of the industry?
Gallagher: Bundled attraction tickets should be quite attractive for travelers because of the budget angle. With so many Americans out of work and others dealing with financial uncertainty, affordability will be a major factor in travel decisions. People, especially families traveling with children, have a lot to worry about right now. Anything that makes life a little easier is good.
You know, it’s summer now and schools are about to go on summer break. And after weeks of being stuck mostly at home, I’m sure families with kids want to get out and do something fun. We can help with that. I was very happy to see that Disneyland is planning to reopen on July 17. For many people, once Disneyland is open, summer has officially started.
INBOUND: Are you picking up any insights of particular interest from international tour operators?
Gallagher: We’re in contact with our international third-party sellers, ensuring that they have all they need from us for when international visitation begins to rebound. But it seems as though local travel will come back first. Understandably, people seem to feel more comfortable exploring closer to home. I don’t think we’ll see a large uptick in interest from international tour operators until countries are more fully open to visitors and people feel less anxious about getting on flights and traveling farther from home. And flights need to be available.
INBOUND: Most of us see “normal”—as in “return to normal”—as something different this time. We use the term “new normal.” What does that mean to you?
Gallagher: When current CityPASS President and CEO Megan Allen took over (in late 2012), one of her main goals was mobile. She and our team have worked very hard to make sure we have mobile tickets for all of our destinations. And many of our buyers chose mobile tickets because of the convenience. In the post-pandemic world, I think we’ll see an increase in travelers choosing mobile tickets for safety reasons, since those tickets reduce contact with other people. So, I’m very happy that we had that option in place. For our partner attractions in general, the new normal means timed ticketing for many attractions and more guest safety procedures.
Also, we’ve always had a generous return policy. We’re making that policy more front and center on our website to reassure buyers that they’ll be okay if their travel plans change. They have 365 days to return any unused tickets for a refund.
INBOUND: There have been articles and webinars ad nauseam on the subjects related to the coronavirus-driven global pandemic and the resulting new protocols for cleanliness and security. Are there any that stand out as uniquely different or seriously challenging?
Gallagher: Recently, the New York Times ran a great article—actually a collection of several short articles—called “The Future of Travel: How the industry will change after the pandemic.” It touches on changes the airline industry is making, when consumers will feel comfortable cruising again, where travelers will go first, what’s newly important to travelers, and lots more. It’s a very comprehensive look at the industry. Of course, depending on what happens with the virus, all of this careful reporting could be turned upside down. That’s the most frustrating thing about this new reality: It’s very hard to make specific plans or to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
INBOUND: How does all of the pandemic-affected activity influence the actual distribution of product by your segment of the industry? That is: Are ticket packets gone? Is everything going to be touchless? No paper ticket passes?
Gallagher: That’s a good question. Many people love mobile tickets because they’re fast, convenient and easy. You can purchase a ticket through our website and have it appear on your mobile device almost instantly. The fact that mobile tickets also reduce touch points is an added benefit in this current situation. And we are definitely encouraging its customers to do so everything they can to stay safe and healthy.
Having said all that, we do have customers who prefer printed ticket booklets, so, for the foreseeable future, we don’t have a plan to discontinue them. It’s funny that many of the people you’d think would be most comfortable with mobile tickets—younger travelers—like the printed tickets, because they use them as props in their Instagram photos, their YouTube videos and their Facebook posts.
INBOUND: Anything you want to add?
Gallagher: Beyond the pandemic, we have other challenges in our country, including the current protests calling for racial equality. To quote Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” I think those words have never been truer. Travel is a way to connect with friends and family, but it’s an equally important way to connect with new people, places, cultures and beliefs. Travel is educational for children. We often look at travel as something that’s an extravagance, but it’s also one of the best ways to build tolerance and understanding. And you don’t even need to go far; even a day trip to a new neighborhood or a nearby town can be beneficial.
For Germany, Will “Flat” be the New “Up”?
Unless there is a major turnaround in the damage to visitation from the overseas markets of China and Brazil which is expected to be major, it is likely that Germany will begin 2021 as the Number 4 overseas source market for inbound tourism to the United States.
However, what the recent behavior of the market seems to tell us is that one won’t see dramatic shifts upward, nor will it experience a significant decline, either. A quick review of the information made available in the latest market profile for Germany released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) suggests that there is likely not to be much variation of travel to the U.S.
In fact, the number of visitors from German to the United States in 2019 was almost exactly the same as it was six years ago in 2014. The count was 2,064 last year, while it was 2,074 in 2014. The “sameness” has prevailed in what Germans like to do when the visit the United States. For the five-year period of 2015 through 2019, the top three activities of German visitors to America are the same: shopping, sightseeing and visiting national parks.
There are some shifts in activities and or in the purpose of their trip, but you have to look for nuances and what they mean if you are selling the German market.
So, in sum, do not expect much of a change of any sort in this market. And in the context of the mess that 2020 is, “not much of a change” will serve us well if we can get back to “more of the same” in 2021. Following are some selected tables from the NTTO market profile which, in some cases, we have slightly reformatted.
Notes on NTTO material: Only country and world region destinations having a sample size consistently of 100 or more are displayed. Visitation incidence was rounded to two decimal places in NTTO source files beginning in 2014 to reduce artificial ‘jumpiness’ in the data caused by rounding to only one decimal places, especially for destinations having incidence of less than two percentage points. Due to quarterly data weighting by country and port of entry, some unreported destinations may have a higher proportion of total than those reported.
For additional information, visit https://travel.trade.gov/
News Bytes Worth Digesting
• A look at Capacity of the Big Three U.S. Airlines and Their Most Important Airports: With international airline lift capacity in 2020 running at less than a tenth of what it managed in 2019, last year has become a benchmark year for analyses of the industry. From anna-aero (“anna” is the acronym for Airline Network News and Analysis), we have this detailed review of the major USA legacy airlines—American, United and Delta. As the report’s summary introduction explains, “Across these three airlines and 18 airports … American and United each had two airports within the top-five against one for Delta. Of course, Atlanta overshadows the others, with almost exactly three times as many seats for Delta as the median volume. Stripping out each carrier’s largest airport, United’s remaining top-five airports had an average 38 million seats against 35 million for American and ‘just’ 25 million for Delta.” For the complete report and article, click here.
• A Most Challenging Time for U.S. Tourism’s “Jewel”—its National Parks: “During a Great Depression radio address from Glacier National Park, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared, ‘there is nothing so American as our national parks’,” author Jim Morrison tells us in an article in the latest Smithsonian magazine, adding, “Amid another national reckoning, it’s natural for today’s Americans to turn to the parks for a respite from the restrictions of pandemic life.”
But, Morrison points out, “the promise of wide-open spaces comes with a set of complications, especially with crowds gathering at popular viewpoints, cultural sites and trails. As parks across the country began reopening in phases during May, they did so with a cautious eye on the risk to visitors and to the people who keep the parks, tour companies and nearby towns running.”
Click here to read the complete article, which explores issues faced by some of the more popular U.S. national parks which, as a whole, comprise what is arguably the most popular travel brand of America.
• TUI and Booking.com to Partner: Earlier this month, the tour and travel industry’s largest tour operator, Hanover, Germany-based TUI, and Booking.com—it is more or less in a tie with Expedia.com for title of world’s largest OTA— announced a strategic global experiences, activities and excursions partnership, providing millions of Booking.com customers worldwide with direct access to the rapidly growing activities segment of TUI and its digital subsidiary Musement. The contracts have been signed and the cooperation starts this summer 2020. The key points stressed by the two companies in making their announcement were these:
—Booking.com customers will eventually have direct access to a product portfolio of more than 70,000 tours and attractions globally through TUI subsidiary Musement, launching incrementally on Booking.com over the coming months.
—The partnership includes a robust offering that’s also relevant for domestic and local tourism
—As global travel restrictions begin to relax on a local level, customers will be able to start booking Musement’s tours and attractions inventory via Booking.com starting this summer.
For the complete news release on the announcement, click here.
Half of UK Travelers Still Willing to Fly Overseas in 2020
According to a recent study by Holiday Extras—the UK-based company that handles everything from airport parking and hotels to travel insurance—a good number of British holidaymakers would be willing to fly this year if airports and airlines observe precautions such as masks, temperature checks and social distancing. And as many as 43 percent of those responding to a survey said that the government’s two-week quarantine when they return would not stop them taking a foreign holiday.
The survey results came out at about the same time as the UK government’s latest COVID-19 safety guidance for airlines, airline passengers and airports, and re-confirming the need for all airline passengers and workers to wear face masks.
According to the updated guidance, passengers will have to check in all baggage. It does not, however, make any note when restrictions on travel to and from the UK will be lifted.
The Holiday Extras poll questioned 1,000 UK travelers on what precautions they would need to see before they next board an aircraft also revealed that more than half (53 percent) still expect to fly overseas before the end of the year. This is welcome news for those selling Visit USA product, as historically, the U.S. is the number one long-haul destination for UK travelers.
Following are results of the Holiday Extras research showed what safety measures travelers expect to see in place next time they fly.
Commenting on the findings, Ant Clarke Cowell, associate brand director for Holiday Extras, said: “While bookings are inevitably down on last year, thousands of people have already booked their holidays for later this year or next year in the past week alone.”
China: Light Coming thru Cracks in Door
In the brief period between this INBOUND Report and the last issue, the rather gloomy outlook presented then (“USA & China: The Sound of Nothing Happening”) has brightened a little. The reason is a somewhat upbeat outlook one receives from a comprehensive survey of Chinese consumers by McKinsey & Company. A global consulting firm headquartered in New York, but with seven offices in the greater China region, it gave pause to those skeptical about the near-term future, but hope to those seeking light at the end of the horizon.
While the specific focus of the McKinsey COVID-19 Travel Sentiment Survey—it is a collection of two surveys, really, taken in mid-April and last month—was on the domestic side of the equation, it tells the reader in summary form the following.
Four trends highlighted in April are consistent with the responses to the McKinsey survey in May, “which gives us confidence that these trends will persist through the summer and early fall”:
First, domestic destinations remain a top choice due to outbound travel restrictions, with 52 percent of respondents preferring this choice versus 55 percent in April.
Second, trips to scenic outdoor spots, “foodie” tours, and trips to family attractions constitute the most popular types of trips, as people continue to avoid crowded tourist spots.
Thirdly, McKinsey anticipates fewer leisure travel groups as people plan to travel mainly with immediate family members.
Finally, guided group tours remain less attractive to travelers than self-guided and self-driven trips, compared with pre-COVID-19 traveler patterns.
Of all the tables in the McKinsey report, the one that captures the essence of its findings is this:
Planned Resumption of Travel¹
(% of Respondents²)
¹ Question: When do you expect to take your next leisure trip? (n=1,569 respondents for data collected in May 2020 and n = 1,682 respondents for data collected in April 2020)
² Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Source: COVID-19 Travel Sentiment Survey
To access a complete copy of the McKinsey & Company report—“China’s travel recovery gains steam: How families are planning their summer vacation—click here.
HODGE PODGE: Appointments & Changes
Mark Jaronski, a 25-year travel and tourism industry leader and veteran Disney marketing executive, has been tapped as the new CEO of Explore Georgia, the state tourism office within the Georgia Department of Economic Development. During his career, Jaronski spent 16 years at The Walt Disney Company in a variety of marketing roles that included manager of Disney Cruise Line Public Relations, brand manager of Walt Disney World theme parks, and director of external communications for Disney Parks Worldwide. Following his Disney tenure, Jaronski oversaw global communications for Visit Orlando, the official tourism association for Central Florida. Most recently, Jaronski has served as CEO of Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America since 2016.
China Travel News reports that that Fliggy, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba‘s travel brand, has undertaken a series of major restructuring in senior management, including the appointment of Fliggy’s new president— Zhuoran Zhuang, vice president of Alibaba Group, who is adding the responsibility as the new president of Fliggy. Zhuang previously served as chief technology officer of Alibaba’s cultural and recreational unit and chief operating officer of the Youku video business. He joined Alibaba in 2009. As a result of the change, Angel Zhao is no longer acting as president of Fliggy, but she will still serve as president of Alibaba Global Business Group and senior vice president of Alibaba Group.
HTTA.US a recovery registry for travel and tourism professionals who are unemployed and furloughed, lost job because of COVID-19 and other causes, has announced that Rebecca Barnes has officially joined the ranks of its volunteers as its trade associations and DMOs outreach coordinator. Barnes was most recently PR and projects manager for the International Inbound Travel Association.
The tour operator software company, Tourwriter, has announced a new leadership structure, with Glenn Campbell (left) and Pierre Malou taking on a co-CEO partnership. Malou, with a background in sales, marketing and business acceleration, will be focusing on the growth and operational excellence of the company. Campbell will apply his knowledge of tourism, technology and financial knowledge to the product. Said Tourwriter director Serge Van Dam, “This dual leadership enables us to continue innovating and providing travel designers with the quality products and services that they have come to expect from Tourwriter, while positioning us to continue to grow when travel resumes.”
Joanna Reeve has been appointed head of industry and tailor-made sales EMEA at group tour operator Intrepid, replacing Andrew Turner who left the company in March to join DMC Discova. Reeve will lead on industry and tailor-made sales, and will spearhead new domestic and international sales strategies in the region following “a period of hibernation.” Reeve has been with the London-based company for nearly eight years.
Blanca Rosa Espinosa was recently named senior vice president of sales at A&H Limo Corporation in New York City. Previously, she was regional business development director for SuperShuttle. She has also held senior sales and marketing positions at Gray Line Worldwide and City Sights New York/Airlink NYC.
Finnbar Cromwell is now the senior industry head for travel at Google in the UK. Cromwell, who joined Google’s UK operation January 2016, had been industry head, travel. He joined the company as manager, EMEA sales strategy and operations. Cromwell replaces Ruairidh Roberts, who has joined Waze–the GPS navigation software app owned by the search engine–as UK country manager.
Tabbi Burwell has been named as the new executive director for the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma. She joins the organization from the Oklahoma City CVB, where she served for more than six years, most recently as senior manager for destination communications.
Cherie Richards, has been appointed chief business development officer for Not Just Travel. She joins the company from the Global Travel Group, a dnata brand, where she was director of commercial. Richards had been with dnata since 2008.
Sean Dixon has been hired as the next president of Visit Topeka and the Greater Topeka Partnership. Dixon joins the organization from the Springfield, Missouri Convention & Visitors Bureau where he was director of marketing. He had served the Springfield bureau for more than 10 years.
Keith Backsen has resigned from his post as executive director of Visit Omaha, after serving in the position for five years. Previously, Backsen was vice president of sales and services for Visit Spokane, where he served for more than a decade. In announcing the move, Backsen indicated that he wanted to be near his ailing, 95-year-old mother in Portland, Oregon.
Larry Alexander, long-time president and CEO of the Detroit Metro CVB for more than 20 years, as announced that he is retiring from the post, effective December 31st. Before he joined the organization in 1999, Alexander had spent 20+ years in the hospitality industry.
Larry Sieg, a long-time veteran of the tour and travel industry in Atlantic City who served for many years as vice president of marketing for the city’s convention and visitors authority before it was dissolved and its functions became a part of Meet AC, has been tapped to be the new president and CEO of Meet AC, succeeding Jim Wood, who moved to Indiana earlier this year where he is now president and CEO of Visit Evansville. Until his appointment as the new head of Meet AC, Sieg has served has director of communications and marketing for the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) in Atlantic City.
Posted Industry Jobs
From SearchWide Global:
—The Park City Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for a new president. Click here for more information.
—Travel Marquette is looking for a group marketing/sales manager. For more information, visit here.
—Meet AC (Atlantic City) is seeking a new President & CEO. Click here for more details.
—The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau has an opening for a senior national account director for the Chicago Metro Area. For more information, click here.
—Visit Santa Clara is searching for a president and CEO. Click here for more information.
—Destination Ann Arbor is looking to hire a vice president of sales. For more information, visit here.
—The Port Aransas & Mustang Island Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce is searching for a president & CEO. For more information, click here.
—The Galesburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau in Illinois is looking for an executive director. For more details, click here.
—The Spartanburg (S.C.) Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a chief tourism development officer. Visit here for more information.
—The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (Explore St. Louis) has an opening for a vice president of sales. Click here for more information.
—An international hotels & resorts company has an opening for a regional director of sales and marketing; the position is based in Vancouver, B.C. Visit here for details.
—The Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new executive director. Click here for more information.