AND THE WORLD goes 'round and 'round and 'round . . . Automakers are forging partnerships . . . Airlines are forming alliances . . . Super-fast trains have arrived worldwide super-fast . . . (Except the United States, where a high-speed train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is taking eons to build and might be financed by the world's bankers, the Chinese) . . . Call it the global urge to merge and converge . . . Global business travel spending hit $929 billion in 2008, according to the National Business Travel Association, Expedia's Exgenia and IHS Global Insight . . . The mighty gas-emitting United States ruled with 28% of the spend . . . ("Global Business Travel Spend Projected to Exceed $986 Billion by 2013") . . . But before you break into "Yankee Doodle Dandy," U.S. growth over the next five years will be less than 1%, while China and India will grow 7% and 5% . . . Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia also will see strong growth . . . “Developing countries are proving to be fertile business-travel areas,” said Rob Greyber, president of Egencia . . . The U.S.A. will tumble over the next five years, trailing China, Japan, and South Korea in business travel spending by dollar growth . . . Ouch, that hurts . . . Can you say "All aboard!" in Mandarin?
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. -- Recession be damned, bluechip companies keep pouring billions of bucks into expansion, new investments, new global markets. The idea: When the global economy inevitably booms again, they'll be better positioned to hit the ground running. The smart business juggernauts like Walt Disneyalso remember to thank their customers -- especially the 2 billion who've passed through Disney theme park gates over the past 50 years.
Disney the company was created in 1923, and they've got the happy drill down. At the D23 Expo ("The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience") last week at the Anaheim Convention Center, Disney displayed its marketing might and strategic chops, showing why the company will still be around when Mickey and Minnie are doddering on canes. Even this reporter, who recalls high-school grad night at Disneyland in another lifetime, cracked a few smiles. Thousands of diehard Disney fans milled around exhibition booths and enjoyed sneak peeks of The Princess and the Frog and other films. They cheered wildly for stars like John Travolta, Johnny Depp, Robin Williams, Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) and the Wizards of Waverly Place TV show cast. They also heard Disney CEO Robert Iger(above left) and other executives sing the praises of Disney's offerings. "It's your passion for Disney that keeps the magic alive," Iger said, according to BusinessWeek.
In news of moderate growth that should make long-term shareholders happy, Disney will double the size of FantasyLand in Walt Disney World by 2012 and create interactive attractions with Disney princesses, Tinkerbell and Dumbo. Global travelers will embark on 19 new trips and two new state-of-the-art cruise ships heavier than an aircraft carrier. What's more, Disney Parks will open a glistening mega-resort on Oahu, Hawaii, in two years and continue to expand Hong Kong Disneyland, among other expansion plans. "Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams," said Jay Rasulo (right, photo courtesy of Disney, unveiling new 3D "Star Tours" attraction), chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and head of global growth strategy for Disney's theme parks and vacation sites. "We're always exploring new ways to tell stories and in new places."
The same goes for Disney's retail stores. Jim Fielding(below left), president of Disney Stores Worldwide, vowed that Disney shops -- enduring rough cycles since the first store opened in Glendale, California, U.S.A. in 1987 -- would give consumers high quality and that old Disney magic. Some 191 million people a year visit the 700-plus Disney outlets around the world, and Disney may add permanent stores in Scotland, England, Italy, Canada and other countries. Many are "popp-in" (as in Mary Poppins) stores, or temporary two-year shops used to test the real-estate and consumer markets in various cities. Disney hopes to copy the success of its European retail outlets and revive its mature U.S. stores. The stores will show off new designs, new employee's costumes and other features to entice kids and to get parents to swipe their credit cards. "We're not building stores, we're building destinations and experiences," Fielding told a theater of Disney fans. "We want to give you a reason to come to the malls in which Disney stores are located."
Disney, McDonald's, Walmart and other iconic U.S. multinationals have been the target of anti-globalization critics for years. But the companies are still standing -- like cross-border trade, foreign currencies, the sun and the moon. Disney's earnings and stock price have slowly and steadily risen over the past generation (it's stock-market value is $50 billion-plus), and that's unlikely to change. Like it or not, Disney is a master of media and entertainment, a merchant of memories. It's a landmark of the global economy, and pleased consumers of all hues have let their wallets do the talking for many a season. Two billion Disney customers and a global wave of kids can't all be wrong.
BEIJING, China -- Interview a hundred China experts, and you'll hear a hundred views of the emerging superpower. China, the economic juggernaut. China, the rising geopolitical threat. China, the human-rights violator. Here's one slant you don't see or hear as much from policymakers and big thinkers: China, the everyday populist nation where people shop, work, study and play, just like you and me. Nearly a year after the Summer Olympics, Beijing has settled back into the rhythm of any big city.
The fiery controversies of the day -- trade relations, geopolitical security, Internet censorship, Tiananmen Square, the environmental crisis -- are no less urgent or important, but seem far removed from the daily pulse of China's largest metropolis, so normal on the surface. Once you orient yourself, that Olympic slogan, "One World, One Dream" seems a little less bogus. Here's a fantasy: We all convene in the village green, eating potluck, sunning ourselves, listening to jazz. But then we wake up. There's money to be made, and politics to be played.
