
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP NEWS
Where to Source Consumer Protective Gear
TGA
Masks and other personal health safeguards are the new consumer attention-getter. And a lot of them can be sourced from fellow TGA member companies. Turn to TGA’s COVID-19 Resource Page to find masks, portable hygiene kits, sanitizer sprays and other items to protect your staff and draw consumers in as you reopen. If you make personal protective equipment and aren’t on the list please contact Cathy Trecartin to be added: cat@travel-goods.org, 877-842-1938, x-702.
TGA Urges U.S. Government to Create Backstop for Commercial Credit
TGA
On June 23, TGA signed on to a letter with more than 20 other associations urging the Trump Administration to create an emergency, temporary federal backstop for commercial credit.
TGA Again Urges Congress to Expand Employee Retention Tax Credit
TGA
On June 17, TGA again joined over 100 other organizations in urging Congressional leadership to approve the bipartisan JOBS Credit Act (H.R. 6776). The legislation would expand the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) by expanding the credit percentage from 50% to 80% of qualified wages; increasing the per-employee limitation from $10,000 for all calendar quarters to $15,000 per calendar quarter (and an aggregate of $45,000 for all calendar quarters); and creating a phased-in credit, which will allow employers with more than a 20% decline in gross receipts to be eligible for a portion of the credit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trump Says China Deal ‘Fully Intact’ After Navarro Roils Markets
BLOOMBERG
U.S. President Donald Trump said the phase one trade deal with China was “fully intact” after his adviser Peter Navarro sowed confusion and spurred a temporary stock slump with comments interpreted as a decision to end the agreement. “The China Trade Deal is fully intact. Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the Agreement!” Trump said in a Twitter post earlier this week. READ MORE
The U.S. is Hurtling Toward Another Trade War – But This Time It Isn’t with China
POLITICO
Europe and the U.S. are hurtling toward a trade war over who has the right to tax Google, Facebook and Amazon. After Washington confirmed last week that it had pulled out of talks on global rules for taxing the digital economy, officials including Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, and Paolo Gentiloni, the European economy commissioner, threw their weight behind national or EU-wide digital levies – plans that would likely bring retaliation from the U.S. READ MORE
Thank You Gifts for Shelter-in-place Kindness
TRAVEL BAGS WITH ANNITA
Our shelter-in-place gift list features items perfect while home sheltering in place and organizing our time at home, and as each state lifts their mandates, the group of gifts offers items for traveling, ready to get you on the road again. Take a look at our list and find a gift that will express the sentiment you want to share. READ MORE
ADVERTISEMENT
Free Event Alert: National Retail Federation to Host Free Virtual Expo
NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION
NRF NXT All Access is a 3-day online event from July 20-22 for retail ecommerce and digital marketing professionals. The program features 9 keynote and case study sessions, a virtual Expo with the latest tech solutions and numerous ways to interact with peers and partners. Mark your calendars and register now! READ MORE
The New Escapism: Isolationist Travel
THE NEW YORK TIMES
As travelers seek safety amid social distancing, the travel industry is adapting with outdoor trips, remote lodgings and private camps. READ MORE
Facebook Launches ‘Summer of Support’ Program to Provide Digital Marketing Training to Businesses
SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY
With more businesses looking to shift their operations online in order to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 shutdowns, Facebook has announced a new, six-week series of digital marketing education courses, starting this week, in order to provide key tips, insights, information and support, primarily for SMBs. READ MORE
Rethinking Skift’s 2020 Travel Megatrends in a Pandemic World
SKIFT
Right before coronavirus brought the travel industry to its knees, we released our Megatrends Defining Travel in 2020. We’ve gone back and looked at those trends through the prism of the pandemic. Check out how things have changed. READ MORE
Hospitality Startup Sonder Raises $170 Million at a $1.3 Billion Valuation During COVID-19 Travel Collapse
FORBES
Sonder appears to have broken out of the hospitality slump. As COVID-19 has pushed traditional hotel occupancy rates below 20%, shrunk airline demand by 95%, and all-but obliterated business travel – the short-term apartment rental company has closed a $170 million Series E round. READ MORE
Integrated Corporate Governance: 6 Leadership Priorities for Boards After the COVID-19 Crisis
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The COVID-19 crisis is accelerating a shift toward a more integrated approach to corporate governance that has been gathering force for some time. The pandemic has put people’s lives, livelihoods and learning at the center of the public policy and business response in almost every country and industry sector. And, it has highlighted companies as stakeholders themselves with an intrinsic interest in and shared responsibility for the resilience and vitality of the economic, social and environmental systems in which they operate. READ MORE
What Will the Retail Experience of the Future Look Like?
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
In this environment, reading “future of” pieces can feel like a trip to the World’s Fair. There are hundreds of new gadgets and designs being dreamed up to keep us safe from biological threats, mediate our hesitancy to socialize again, and further the integration of our digital and physical lives. As much as this excitement will help us in the long run, what retailers need most right now are tested solutions they can deploy immediately. But brands need more than a checklist of sanitization practices. They need actionable vision that will set them apart and entice people back inside their stores. READ MORE
Bipartisan Senate Passes Great American Outdoors Act to Finally Fund Maintenance Backlog in National Parks
GOOD NEWS NETWORK
In a rare moment of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted 73-25 to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, a funding bill that one lawmaker called the “single greatest conservation achievement in generations.” The Outdoors Act creates a fund into which not less than 50% of all revenues made from energy production on public lands – from oil and gas drilling and renewables – to be dedicated to finally funding over $20 billion worth of delayed maintenance projects in America’s national parks and public lands. READ MORE
TRENDING ARTICLES
Missed last week’s issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
- Will a $4,000 Tax Credit for Travel Be in the Next Stimulus Package? (FORBES)
- Flying Now: Not So Crowded, Not So Germy, Not So Friendly (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
- Looking at the Post-Pandemic In-store Experience (NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION)
- Clothing Stores, Not Bars and Restaurants, Took the Biggest Sales Hit from the Coronavirus (MARKETWATCH)
- Worried About Social Distancing When Traveling? Join the Crowd and Rent an R.V. (THE NEW YORK TIMES)