The Road Warriors

“We’ve also seen restaurants that put things on there, such as, ‘bring your keycard and get $2 off your entree,’” Grimes said. This trend continues now that tourism is returning to full strength. Still, Hutchinson has observed a lull in tourism, but it may simply be that the economic impact from tourism has not quite reached the restaurants yet.

Grimes noted several trends pointing to a revitalized tourism industry. One is an Australian company using specially adjusted plastic cards as trendy luggage tags. According to Grimes, these have been “selling briskly.” In addition, he has observed significant new business from discount airlines. These companies now offer frequent flyer cards because they simply would not thrive in a tourism-poor economy. This is good news for both the independent restaurants and the chains.

So for distributors interested in this niche market, the war for hungry travelers is always good. The use of plastic printed products can be marketed to independents and chains alike. Chains can take equal advantage of system-oriented menu designs. It doesn’t matter who you’re marketing to; any business can take advantage of these ideas and it is always wise to keep a good eye on the competition’s schemes. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone.

In an attempt to promote tourism, discount airlines are offering frequent flyer cards, which are starting to gain popularity at a fast pace.