How Travel Quietly Moved from the Metaverse to Digitally Augmented Travel
The metaverse promised virtual travel. What emerged instead is something more practical: digitally augmented travel, where AI, translation, mobility and intelligent systems enhance the real-world journey rather than replace it.
Your Exhibition Stand Is a Live Business. Who Is Running It?
Exhibition stands absorb considerable investment in design, travel, people and time. But once the doors open, success depends on something much more fundamental: how the stand is actually run. This article looks at the stand as a live customer-facing business, from team briefing and visitor flow to lead intelligence, unexpected opportunities and the crucial role of the Stand Manager.
Tourism is attracting record investment. But are we investing in what really matters?
Global tourism investment has passed US$1 trillion. John Boulding asks whether capital is strengthening the people, culture and capability that create long-term value.
Europe’s Summer of Operational Resilience
What fifty years of disruption have taught John Boulding about tourism operational resilience, leadership, supplier relationships and guest trust.
Working Across Cultures: Familiarity Is Not the Same as Understanding
What decades of international tourism taught me about cultural context, shared human aspirations and working more effectively with local teams.
Escorted Touring in 2027: What the 2026 Season Is Telling Us
Europe remains one of the world’s most desirable travel regions, but changes may be needed for escorted touring in 2027.
Why Trade Shows and Expos Still Matter in a Digital World
In an automated world, trade shows and Expos remain vital platforms for trust, tourism recovery, national promotion and commercial confidence.
Crises don’t remove tourism demand. They move it. Here’s where to look.
As disruption continues to affect long-haul air routes, global travel demand is not disappearing, it is shifting. Drawing on decades of experience, this article explores where demand is moving, how operators can adapt quickly and win market share in uncertain times.
Tourism has always lived with crisis. Here is what experienced operators do next.
Having worked through nearly fifty years of geopolitical shocks, financial crises and global disruptions, John Boulding shares a practical perspective on how experienced travel operators manage uncertainty and prepare for the inevitable return of demand.
The Boomers Are Not Done Travelling. Yet the Industry Is Not Ready for Them
The travel industry spends a lot of time talking about the future traveller. In doing so, it risks overlooking the most valuable travel market it will see for the next decade and beyond.