| 1. CHINESE TRAVEL TO U.S. DROPS FOR FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS: Chinese travel to the U.S. has dropped for the first time in 15 years, as the Trump administration wages a trade war with China. The National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data from U.S. Customs forms, reports travel from China to the U.S. fell 5.7 percent in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors. U.S. cities and tourist spots are hoping to reverse the new trend. CBS News: “Most industry-watchers agree that any downturn is temporary, since China's middle class will only continue to expand. The U.S. government forecasts Chinese tourism will grow 2 percent this year to 3.3 million visitors, and will reach 4.1 million visitors in 2023. ‘Even if the Chinese economy cools, it's still going to continue to be a very good source of growth for the travel industry,’ said David Huether, senior vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association. … Washington also recently launched a Welcome China program that teaches hotels, restaurants, and other venues about Chinese customs and encourages them to offer things like Chinese-language menus or in-room slippers. Forty-four hotels and a handful of restaurants have signed on.” 2. DISCOVERY WILL MOVE TO UPFRONTS WEEK IN 2020: Discovery Inc. will move its annual New York presentation to upfronts week next year. The media company will hold its event May 12, 2020, at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, replacing ESPN, which became part of Disney’s combined presentation. Discovery previously held a nationwide upfront tour. Adweek: “The company won’t completely abandon the tour next year, but the upfronts event will take the place of the New York presentation that was held on April 10 this year. During that event, Discovery played up TLC, which ad sales chief Jon Steinlauf told Adweek at the time will be his top priority in this year’s upfront talks. As for why Discovery is moving into upfronts week, Steinlauf told Adweek that after the company acquired Scripps in March 2018, it has a bigger story to tell. … Discovery’s move will add yet another multi-network upfront presentation to a week already bursting with them: NBCUniversal and Fox Corp. on Monday, Discovery Inc. and Disney on Tuesday and WarnerMedia and CBS Corp. on Wednesday.” 3. BOOKEXPO TO HIGHLIGHT ‘SIDELINE’ PRODUCTS: Selling books is obviously the main purpose of bookstores, but many customers also go to purchase “sideline” products, such as pens, mugs, chocolate, and notebooks. These products are slated to take the spotlight at BookExpo, the national publishing convention that kicks off today in New York. Associated Press: “BookExpo, which runs Wednesday to Friday, will feature such companies as Taza Chocolate, Calypso Cards, and Streamline Inc. in an ‘UnBound’ section at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Jenny Martin, event manager for BookExpo and for BookCon, the fan-based show which immediately follows BookExpo, says the ‘UnBound’ exhibits and programs are meant to help booksellers ‘integrate merchandise in an effective way.’ … Books will still take up much of the space at the Javits center. Guest speakers, all with upcoming releases to promote, include Ta-Nehisi Coates, Rachel Maddow, Lupita Nyong’o, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Among others attending are Jason Reynolds, Lyz Lenz, R.J. Palacio, Jennifer Weiner and Laurie Halse Anderson. Events will include author breakfasts and luncheons, ‘Buzz’ panels for some of the most anticipated books of the next few months, and an audiobook ‘tea,’ dedicated to the industry’s fastest growing format.” | 