PETS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PART OF OUR SOCIAL FABRIC, BUT LATELY PETS HAVE become, well, big. The pet industry is experiencing tremendous growth, and for many of us pets signify home as much as members of our families do. An increasing number of hotels are now allowing pets to stay with their owners, and just last issue we reported on a TripAdvisor™ survey of more than 1,500 travelers worldwide that showed pets are actually travel influencers.
According to the survey results, more than 50 percent of respondents took their pets with them in their travels. What’s more significant to our industry is the fact that 13 percent admitted their pets actually prevented them from taking vacations, and 29 percent take fewer vacations because of their pets. This issue’s It Factor, which always focuses on what’s hot on the social barometer, shows there’s a lot of support available for traveling pets.
The idea of taking your pet with you is a natural, and in a way it’s what our industry is all about — taking a little bit of home with you in your travels. That’s portable comfort — it’s what we sell. You can see this idea at work in our photo feature as we outfit a couple for a weekend escape. And, you can see it in the accompanying feature showing how different retailers would outfit you in travel gear for that weekend getaway. It’s even reflected in the way the hospitality industry sells itself — the best hotels are always described as having “all the comforts of home.”
So, as you leaf through this issue’s Travel Goods Show Preview, and especially when you review the awards nomination forms, it’s a good idea to keep comfort in mind. The best products, and the best travel services, are all about comfort. Wheeled luggage by itself wasn’t big news — what was big news was how it made travel much easier, more streamlined and helped shrink the world. When you think about how to position your goods, and who or what you might nominate for award-winning status within our industry, think about it from a comfort perspective.
We are presumably in the travel goods business — it’s the name of our Association, after all — but really, what we’re about is comfort and convenience. And, that’s a pretty ingenious thing to be selling.
Editor-in-chief
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