Travel Marketing in the Age of Web 2.0 & Beyond

Will they choose to go elsewhere?

Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: Dashboard: Online Failures Impact Loyalty Offline

this article raises an interesting issue about customer experiences online. Of course, it's doubtful that a site visitor with an unhappy experience on a destination site will decide to spend his vacation elsewhere, but why take the risk at all. The website is a tool that should reflect the brand values of the destination and give site visitors a first impression of how pleasant a visit to the destination will be.

Here is an article on this subject with some suggestions that are valid in any industry not only financial services which are addressed directly.

 

Is this the 21st century or what?

Boston wooing foreign tour operators

I sincerely hope that Boston is not relying only on tour operator brochures to get a bigger share of foreign tourists. This sounds like a line right out of the '90s or earlier, when there was no internet.

If that's a DMO strategy then no wonder the figures are down. A majority of destination searches are started online - and that's true for the key European markets more or less - so that's where I would focus my marketing efforts on.

Of course, as part of a multi-destination U.S. trip by European visitors it helps to be included but that is a nice add-on today and no longer the core of a strategy.

 

Good for you Barry....

Diller takes the prize for paid the most

I know this is a bit off topic, but isn't this just another blatant sign of how out of whack today's CEO compensation is with the company performance and it's share price? Come on, look at Expedia the past year! If that's worth this kind of money - and don't give me the excuse that it's not salary but options, it's all real money, right? - then something's wrong with the system.

 

How will they respond?

Joystar begins beta test on VacationCompare.com

I have my doubts about the effectiveness of the system described here. Two issues come to mind. First, how well will the lead recipients respond, both in terms of time and quality of advice and second, will customers really want to be dealing with proposals from different agents that maybe can't really be compared. As a previous shopper for health insurance online, I'm a believer of comparison shopping but the product really has to be presented for easy online comparison. I wouldn't want ot just have choice of products thrown back at me as that really is no improvement over the present online buying process which for complex vacations leaves a lot to be desired.

If they can pull it off correctly, it might work but I remain to be convinced.

 

Seth's the man

Top 10 Secrets of the Marketing Process

Great list to remember for any marketer

How true it is.....!

Five common cliches (done wrong)

Another great post by Seth Godin. The man is amazing in his focus on the core issues.

Far too early to tell...

Travelers take their vacations to the Net - USATODAY.com

these new tools for user generated content and feedback will certainly have an impact on how travel information is collected and viewed but it will take a while until it becomes clear if they will be able to replace the supplier and destination information. Who would want to make their vacation decision based on some blurry YouTube video taken by someone else? Highly unlikely, but a comment and short clip on a hotel or its facilities might well sway an opinion or two or validate the official version. Key attributes will be authenticity and credibility of the material, whether it's user or supplier generated.

 

Ideal for the iPod generation

Tourism goes techno | EastValleyTribune.com

These tools are increasingly being used by DMO to provide information in the preferred format for today's traveler. Switzerland is another destination that offer these downloads. What better way to preview the destination and then explore it with your own personal guide right in your pocket.

Plus, it saves quite a few trees!

 

No surprises in this survey....

Top Stories & Trends - USTOA Survey Reveals Sources of Vacation Information

as to the where travelers inform themselves - the web has been the leader for quite some time. When you add the fact that word of mouth is now increasingly enhanced by word of mouse via blogs, tags, feedback sites etc. the path seems clear.

It is quite a stretch, to assume that a majority of these people will gather all this information online and then go offline to wade through brochures and consult travel agents for the actual booking. Some will certainly do so, for instance to book a safari or other type of exotic trip, but that is one a minority and two a very limited niche market, definitely not large enough to sustain all the traditional companies that provide their services in it.

Another development that is a threat to the old distribution model is the increasingly important role that destination websites play in this online information gathering process. Many are not well structured and user friendly enough to really be true one-stop shops, but some are making efforts to get there, one good example Bermuda.

Destination portals that embrace the concept of becoming an eCommerce platform with selected partners providing direct online access and booking capability will be able to participate in the process and prove to their stakeholder their market viability and usefulness. Including the aforementioned tools of Web 2.0 and embrace customer participation will only enhance their position.