Re-Launch of the Tourism INTERNET Marketing Blog

Exactly 1 Year ago, I developed and launched this blog just for the fun of it, and to play around with the technology and the medium. At that point, there were not many travel-related bloggers out there, and the few of us quickly became a virtual community, with the creation of the "T-List" by Mathieu back in March. That then lead into the travel-related blogging communities on Facebook (by me) and WIWIH (by Guido), as well as Henri's blog consolidation, and finally the global launch of the "Tips from the T-List" book (together with publishers Stephen and Phil from Rezgo and our editorial board Kevin, Siew Hoon, Mathieu, and myself as Editor-in-Chief) at premier online travel conference worldwide in Vancouver/Canada, London/UK, Orlando/USA, and Singapore. Darren from Travel Rants is looking to showcase different travel-related blog posts via his Blog Carnival, a great idea that maybe leveraged for future versions of the "Tips from the T-List" book. And these are just some of the iniatives - but in the end it all comes down to mass collaboration in understanding this ever-changing space. The bottom line for me, I have had so much fun with the blogging experience, but more importantly would have never imagined in my wildest dreams to meet so many great people around the world! I have gotten to believe that this travel blogging community has become the new influencers when it comes to the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. That realization was confirmed when Phocuswright invited us to host the first Bloggers Summit at the PhocusWright Conference, and Phil, Stephen, and myself are now working with Bruce from PhocusWright on the second Bloggers Summit at the biggest annual tourism fair in the world, ITB in Berlin/Germany in March. Please watch for announcements soon - and it will be a must-attend event! Other Bloggers Summits (by the "Tips from T-List") at other top travel and tourism events are in discussion. But I give Philip Wolf a lot of credit for embracing these sometimes controversial bloggers, and inviting them to his event - something unheard of probably just a year ago. Bravo!

I would like to thank all my loyal readers (I am still amazed by all the traffic!), and my new blogging friends who I converse with now on a regular basis. I wish you all a very healthy, happy, and successful new year. 2007 was an amazing year, for me predominantly with the first Canadian e-Tourism Strategy Conference, Canada-e-Connect and the first Canadian e-Tourism Awards. 2008 will be another unbelievable year, and I cannot wait for all the exciting changes and developments to come to fruition.

But one change I can already announce - and that is the re-launch of the Travel Internet Marketing Blog! I have been experiencing some real frustrations with my hosting provider, and have decided that it is time for a real upgrade. I have also decided to allow select guest bloggers to be part of the Travel INTERNET Marketing Blog. I hear from many travel and tourism executives that tell me that they would love to share their opinions, but do not want to start their own blog as they don't think they have the time to commit (it's like getting a little doggy). So please feel free if you are interessted in becoming guest bloggers on Tourism Internet Marketing. I am also extremely pleased to announce my Senior Guest Blogger, Chris Clarke. Chris will continue to be writing on his popular Vacant Ready Blog about the Hotel Industry, and will be sharing his online marketing and social media insights right here on this site. I have agreed to become his Senior Guest Blogger on Vacant Ready, where I will be focusing more on the hotel industry. Chris was the Co-Blogger for the Canada-e-Connect Blog together with myself and did a tremendous job. Chris also has some amazing changes in store, which I am sure he will share soon.

So expect, some great content to be published on www.TourismInternetMarketing.com starting January 6th, 2008. The current Tourism INTERNET Marketing Blog will continue to exisit here at www.JensThraenhart.com/cblog.

Since this is the last post on Tourism INTERNET Marketing 1.0, I thought I finish with wishing you all a Happy New Year with U2's virtual concert in Second Life, in the spirit of social media. Enjoy, and see you all very soon on Tourism INTERNET Marketing 2.0.