Mandala In The News

Mandala Research In The News

Oct 2023 – Laura is speaking at this event!
For more info: The Collective Experience

Oct 2020 Black History and culture in travel planning

Sept 1 2019: Loved to Death? The Events Industry and Overtourism

August 2020: Strategic Vision paper  Black Travelers Matter

Paloma-Zapata Profitability in Sustainability paper

Costal Observer Dec 20 2021:
Ideas for Hasty Point Tract
Download the PDF here:

Americansforthearts paper: The Cultural & Heritage Traveler study

Entraveler article October 2020

June 2020 Travelage West article 10-Influential-Black-Travelers-You-Should-Be-Following

Laura has a chapter in a new book:
Americans for the Arts – Arts Tourism & Diplomacy

Mandala receives APEX Award from Black Meetings and Tourism!

Mandala Conducts Strategic Tourism Marketing Plan for Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, estimating $34B in tourism potential

A webinar Laura recently did:

Some recent stories:

For some recent news stories:

http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/7-on-your-side-all-inclusive-resorts-is-it-worth-it

http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/7-on-your-side-7-tips-for-a-cheap-vacation

Laura Mandala mentioned in various articles and papers.
Read pdf HERE


Laura speaking at Middlesex University Bahrain Tourism Conference.  Read HERE

Laura Mandala paper – 2011 ttra conference Read article HERE
Laura Mandala at the 2015 New York Travel Festival Read HERE
Laura at Georgetown University in 2005. Read HERE

Mandala Research in the Weston Magazine Group Article
Read article HERE

Mandala partners with Impact Travel Alliance on thought leadership study.
32 Tactics to Popularize Sustainable Travel engage the average traveler
Read article HERE

Alexandria News – Sustainable Travel International and Mandala Research receive SASI-ONE award
Read article HERE

SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL – Why Going Green Pays Off
Read article HERE

Fashionbeans – 6 ways That Airports Secretly Influence you
Read article HERE

Boston Globe – Trump Travel Ban affects Tourism
Read article HERE

Top Women in Travel Recognized with New Award Program
Read article HERE

Mandala Research: Why “Going Green” Pays Off
Read article
HERE

Mandala Research and Sustainable Travel International Team Up to Examine Sustainable Tourism Growth and Traveler Expectations
Read article HERE

Forbes Article – Vacations for People who Love to eat!
Check out this Forbes Article citing Mandala Research!
Read article HERE

NY Times: Traveling While Black
Mandala Research study featured in the NY Times:
17% of African-Americans take international trips each year; spend $48B on travel in US.
Read article: Traveling While Black

Study: Travelers Hungry for Culinary Experiences: Associations Now
A new study from the World Food Travel Association illustrates the importance of promoting food and drink when marketing a destination to meeting planners and attendees.
Read article: Associations Article Sep 3, 2013

Study: Traveler Eating Interests Shows Promoting Culinary Activities Can Pay Off
“For ‘deliberate’ culinary travelers, the availability culinary activities is a primary reason for taking a trip,” said Laura Mandala, managing director of Mandala Research. “In fact, authenticity and local flavors are the greatest drivers of destination choice for these travelers.”
Read article: Food and Beverage News August 28, 2013

Eating and drinking interests: Study shows promoting culinary can pay off

Eating and drinking interests: Study shows promoting culinary can pay off. Almost a third of travelers choose destinations based on access to activities focused on food and drink, including beer and wine festivals, farmers’ markets and farm-to-table experiences, according to the study for the Oregon-based World Food Travel Association and other tourism organizations conducted by travel market research firm Mandala Research, LLC.
Read article: Group Tour Magazine August 27, 2013

23% of all leisure travelers are “deliberate” culinary travelers

Almost a third of travelers plan trips based on culinary opportunities –
Read article:  Business Traveler August 27, 2013

Two New Research Studies Highlight Challenges and Opportunities in the Arts Sector

President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities: A new study sponsored by Heritage Travel Inc and conducted by Mandala Research confirms that despite the weak economy and a decline in spending, interest in cultural and heritage experiences has not diminished. The research study reveals that 78 percent of all U.S. leisure travelers participate in cultural and/or heritage activities while traveling, translating to 118.3 million adults each year.
Read Article Here

Reports highlight travel habits of minorities

Travel Weekly The National Newspaper of the Travel Industry
The Hispanic-traveler research was the focus of an ASTA webinar conducted last week called “Understanding the U.S. Hispanic Traveler.” Nearly 80 agents took part in the webinar, which was designed to provide agents with the skills to break into this market.
Laura Mandala, managing director of Mandala Research, said during the webinar that there was a need in the travel industry to identify profitable niche markets and for travel agents to appropriately focus marketing efforts on them.
Read article: Here

Mandala Research on The SIAT Task Force Of The TTAB Research SubCommittee

June 10, 2013 Mandala Research on the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.
Read article Here

Daily deals from online services offer immediate gratification

“This economy may be officially over the recession, but people are still struggling,” said Laura Mandala, Crain’s New York Business
Read article Here

Kenner Star, Kenner, LA local paper

Mandala Research tapped to lay groundwork for tourism development.
Read article Here

NTA Addresses Shift to Younger, More Diverse Tour Market January 24, 2013

Read article to see what Laura Mandala’s insight is about ‘Everyone has to eat’

Reports highlight travel habits of minorities

Laura Mandala, managing director of Mandala Research, said during the webinar that there was a need in the travel industry to identify profitable niche markets and for travel agents to appropriately focus marketing efforts on them.
Read article Here

Nebraska’s Heritage Tourism Plan Cites Mandala Research Study

Nebraska’s Heritage Tourism Plan cites Mandala Research’s 2009 study on cultural and heritage travelers.
Sept. 2011
Read More Here

Culture & Heritage Tourism Study Noted In Quest For National Designation of Butterfield Trail

The Old West never seems to get old.
Posted 11 PM, Saturday, April 7, 2012
By: Loretta Fulton
Read article Here

Livingsocial Survey March 2, 2012

Survey Finds Americans Think We Are World’s Worst Travelers; 78 Percent of Americans Have Visited At Least One Foreign Country; 40 Percent Have Stolen from Hotels
Read article Here

World’s worst tourists? Americans say … Americans

A new LivingSocial survey conducted among more than 5,600 respondents in five countries by Mandala Research finds that Americans self-rate themselves as the world’s worst tourists.
Read NBCNEWS Travel Article Here

Where is America’s Vainest City?

Teaming up with Mandala Research, LivingSocial surveyed 4,000 online users in 20 major U.S. cities, including 200 from the Miami area.
Read more: Miami Named Vainest City by LivingSocial Study | TIME.com

On March 21, 2012: Liz Devine, Rainbow Travel in Toronto writes

“Thanks for an informative webinar about your research on the Drive Market.”
See details on the report here

On Friday, March 16, 2012, Danielle Haar wrote

“On behalf of the Florida Business Travel Association I want to thank you for speaking at our March Luncheon and providing such interesting and useful insights on the Industry. I am sure the audience enjoyed your presentation and took away lots of information and data they will use in their day to day activities. We hope to see you again and maybe have you as a Speaker once again, some time soon!”

Americans Say Americans Are Worst Tourists – Study For Living Social

Could there be something to that ugly American stereotype?
Posted: 12:43 PM, March 2, 2012
By: Joy Jernigan, Senior Travel Editor, MSNBC
Read More Here

Star Gazing Spurs Movie Tours in NOLA

A husband-and-wife tour team could be the start of a new stream of business in Hollywood South.
POSTED: 08:36 AM Thursday, May 5, 2011
BY: Jennifer Larino, Staff Writer
On any given day, Jonathan and Michelle Ray can be found sitting in a white van with a group of strangers watching actor Jean-Claude Van Damme fend off a gang of street thugs on Frenchmen Street.
Read more Here

Shopping Study Cited In Mall Make Over

The come. They shop. They leave.
Posted 11:54 AM, Wednesday, October 6, 2010
By: Allison Ross
Read More Here

African American Travelers Follow Civil Rights Movement

A new poll suggests cultural heritage plays a key role when it comes to destination selection for African Americans travelers, with more than one-third “very likely” to take a trip where stories and sites related to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement are available.
Read more Here