Tourism INTERNET Marketing Blog 1.0

I know I have been absent and not posting anything lately on this blog.  We are working on a lot of exciting projects at the Canadian Tourism Commission which I will be able to announce soon here.

However, I am currently in China.  I was invited to join the China Search Marketing Tour, to tour the exciting country of China with search engine experts from Canada, USA, and Mexico.  Only being a “Hobby SEO” (smile), I am honored to be able to participate in the China Search Marketing Tour.  Tour members include tour organizer David Temple, who has lived in China and is contributing to many search marketing blogs; Rand Fishkin from Seattle, who is CEO of SEOmoz.org, one of the most-read SEO blogs around; Ian McAnerin from Calgary, who is founder of McAnerin Networks and President of the North American Search Marketing Association of North America; Nicole St. Martin from Minneapolis, CEO of SEMgirl.com; as well as Vanessa and Gabriella Berlanga from Mexico City, co-founders of e-xistes, one of the only search marketing agencies in Mexico.

The tour will cover Beijing, Shanghai, and will end with the China Search Engine Strategies Conference in Xiamen.  Over the next few days, I will write about my impressions of China, and internet marketing in this exciting part of the world.

Groupe Germain out of Montreal is planning to launch ALT HOTELS later on in 2007, with its first location in Montreal. Some of the core elements are design, atmosphere and chic interiors with the best possible price *and* with serious efforts to minimize impact on the planet. The Montreal hotel will incorporate geothermal technology (use the earth's constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (at a depth of about three meters) to help heat and cool the hotel as needed), which is an industry first in Canada - and eco-friendliness becomes a focus.  Other energy-saving measures include efficient lighting throughout the building, and heat recovery from water used in commercial washers.  To save costs without skimping on style, ALT Hotels is using a new construction concept: pre-fabricated rooms. The sleek, modular rooms are built off-site by a furniture manufacturer, making it possible to assemble rooms while the hotel itself is still being built.
In addition, once in operation, every day, one happy customer that booked online will only be billed $1.  A very interesting concept from the creators of Germain Boutique Hotels - congratulations to Co-President Christiane Germain, who also serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Have a look at the press release here.

Sax sells! (I changed the "e" with the "a" to avoid spam filters)

Innovative Destination Marketing Organizations have been trying to capitalize on this fundamental fact.  During the Soccer Worldcup last year, the Switzerland Tourist Board (MySwitzerland) offered women from all over the world their hunky Alpine boys as an alternative to the event in Germany.  Funny that Switzerland is now host of the European Soccer Championship – wonder if Switzerland will have a similar offer available next year.  The Arlington CVB (between Dallas and Fort Worth) invited women down to Texas to go wild and hook up with men.  When Men's Health magazine recently named Arlington as one of the top 5 cities to meet men, the ACVB rapidly responded by developing a Girlfriends Getaway package called "Where the Men Are." (seen on Bill Geist blog)

Taking it another notch up is the Scottish Tourist Board that invited ladies from all over the world to date a scot.  Women could vote for their scot of choice, learn about Scotland, and then win a trip to Scotland to meet their favorite scot.  The "Date a Hot Scot" promotion is aimed at single, female tourists around the globe by highlighting the fact that, while the countryside may be gorgeous, so are the men. Twenty of Scotland's finest are featured in the unconventional competition launched on Valentines Day. Single women from 16 countries including Canada, Australia and South Africa are eligible to cast their vote for the hottest Scotsman of 2007. Every vote gave a chance to win a trip for the lady and a girlfriend to visit Edinburgh for a four-day, three-night trip of a lifetime where you'll meet all 20 Hot Scots. The contest closed April 3, 2007.

I agree with Bill Geist on wondering when DMOs are targeting men to find women…maybe something for some destinations to think about…?

It was almost a reunion of the first crew that launched the Hotel Internet Marketing Committee (launched at TravelCom in April 2002), which lead to HSMAI’s Travel Internet Marketing Special Interest Group. The group organized the first HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference in Miami in 2003.

From left to right: Mike Wylie (former VP E-Commerce, Wyndham International, now CEO, Standing Dog Interactive - founding past Vice Chair of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Committee), Jens Thraenhart (former Director of Internet Strategy, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, now Executive Director of Marketing Strategy & CRM, Canadian Tourism Commission - founding past Chair of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Committee and Chair of the HSMAI Travel Internet Marketing Organization), Gino Giovannelli (former VP e-Business, Carlson Companies, now with Miles Development - founding Advisory Board Member of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Committee), Jim Zito (former Director of E-Commerce, Affinia Hospitality, now Director of E-Commerce, Morgans Hotels - founding Advisory Board Member and current Co-Chair of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Committee), Michael Hayward (Director of E-Commerce, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts - founding Advisory Board Member of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing Committee).

This was the 8th successful Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference, featuring a “state of the Internet marketing landscape,” the event, attended by more than 200 industry professionals, featured industry experts and Internet marketing specialists debating online behavior and travel search. Held recently at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, HSMAI partnered with the Travel Industry Association (TIA) as the conference was presented in conjunction with TIA’s TravelCom. during TIA TravelCom in Las Vegas, which featured Philip Wolf, CEO of Phocuswright as a keynote speaker. Philip focused on Social Media, Web 2.0, and the Long Tail and its affect on the travel industry.

Guy Kawasaki did an inspiring keynote presentation at TIA Travelcom in Las Vegas.

Here is his speech about "The Art of Innovation". To view the presentation with slides, click here: