Tourism INTERNET Marketing Blog 1.0

I came across an excellent article about the rise of social media and a very illustrative model on Dion Hinchcliffe's Web 2.0 Blog. Have a look at his article.  I also found his ground rules on defining social media very insightful.

I also just finished reading "Wikinomics" by Canadians Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams. WIKINOMICS explains how smart firms are harnessing mass collaboration in powerful new ways to drive innovation and success. The new mass collaboration presents far-reaching opportunities for every company. It is amazing to think how the travel and tourism industry can leverage these new technology applications in order to stimulate innovation, and create relationships. Definately worth reading.

The second individual that I am featuring in my "7 Questions" series is Jasper Malcomson. Born in Canada and one of HSMAI's 2006 Top 25, Jasper heads up the development, management and finacial performance of Yahoo! Travel, and is responsible for the integration of its products in the overall Yahoo! Network. Jasper has experience in investment banking and venture capital, and started his career with McKinsey.  I had the pleasure of being on the same panel with Jasper, together with Jim Kovarik (GM of AOL Travel) and Christine Petersen (VP Marketing of Tripadvisor) at the recent TIA Travelcom Conference in Las Vegas, discussing the evolution of social media in travel and tourism.

1. Favorite 3 Websites

a. General

- Stumble Upon

- Wize

- Zuedo

b. Travel/Tourism/Hospitaltiy

- Platial

- RealTravel

- FareCompare

c. Tool/Utility

- AdBrite

- AdMob

2. Top 3 Trends in Travel/Tourism/Hospitality

With occupancy rates increasing, marketers are re-focusing on increasing margins – which is bringing brand and experience differentiation to the forefront. Further, companies are thinking now not just how to use the internet as a distribution channel to move room nights, but how to use internet viral marketing to drive brand uniqueness and legitimate brand differentiation. For this reason, the relationship between social media and hotel brands is a critical topic. Hoteliers are thinking about how to leverage social media tools to their advantage, especially as social media moves from a youth movement (MySpace) to an activity undertaken by the Yuppie demographic. For this reason, more utility driven social media tools are being developed. The role of social media, brand differentiation and margins will be a hot topic in the next two years.

We all know Web 2.0 (or Travel 2.0) are the current buzz words.  We also know that Social Networking sites in travel are the trend of the present.  I have written about a few of them over the past few months (VibeAgent, PairUp, Airtroductions), but we haven't really seen much from travel suppliers in the hotel, airline, or tourism industry, have we?

Well, I was quite surprised that of all possible travel verticals, the airline industry would be the first (at least to my knowledge) to launch social networking sites.  KLM has just recently launched customer-centric online communities that connects business people doing business in China and Africa.  KLM is also planning to launch communities for India and Russia, as well as lifestyles - and has recently launched Golf as the first sport-themed social networking community.  Why emerging markets? Well, entrepreneurs that are looking to connect with like-minded business people to get tips and tricks on how to engage and interact in those countries have been signing up and log-in at least once a month on average.  In addition to making contacts, KLM also organizes offline club events for members and provides benefits such as free airport transfers.

However, when an airline can do it, what about hotels or destinations.  I would think that Club-themed resorts such as Club Med, Sandals, etc. could build communities, as well as Vacation Ownership and Private Residence Clubs.  Interesting...my question: is this the new wave of innovative CRM strategies, and can it be a shift from expensive loyalty points programs? Is there a way to increase loyalty and increase revenues by building social networking sites in travel, or is it just a fad? In any event, I thought KLM's efforts were an innovative way of leveraging technology and the Internet by capturing a need in the market. 

I was approached by Adam Healey, the co-founder of VibeAgent.com to be one of the beta testers for his new start-up.  VibeAgent is supposed to be a combination of TripAdvisor + Kayak + eHarmony on top of a mini-Facebook.  So of course I got a little interested, and asked to do a quick interview with Adam to find out more, since there are already so many hotel websites on the market.  I was interested how his new venture is different and how he intends to get the consumers attention.  The site is not live yet, but Adam send me a few screenshots that will give "Tourism Internet Marketing Blog" readers a sneak preview. Below you can read what he had to say.  

INTERVIEW WITH VIBE AGENT

I am back with my mission to sample amazing Canadian experiences. This weekend, my colleague Gisele Danis (Executive Director of Global Brand Integration at the Canadian Tourism Commission) and I had the opportunity to visit the famous Ste. Anne's Spa in Grafton, Ontario, about 90 minutes north of Toronto.

We took the ViaRAil train up from Toronto and were personally picked up at the train station by the Spa's limousine. The great thing about ViaRail is that all cars have high-speed Internet Access, so I could have written this posting while coming back to Toronto by train. When we arrived at Ste. Anne’s, which looks like a little castle (it is a renovated 1856 fieldstone manor) and is situated atop a natural underground spring, whose healing waters are used in the spa and even for drinking, we were immediately greeted and invited by Richard the Spa Manager to get "de-stressed" and to slip into a plush robe and remain in it throughout our stay. We could rave about the amazing treatments, the equisite culinary experience, the tranquil surounding, the royal service, the beautiful surroundings, or the Eucalyptus steam room and the Grotte spa water treatment pools - but I wouldn't do this blog justice if I didn't link it somehow back to Internet marketing. Jim Corcoran, the owner of Ste. Anne's assured me that you can be a lot more focused and get inspired about your projects while at the spa, away from the hectic office. But I am always impressed with hospiatlity operators that are looking to embrace new media opportunities. Just like Dan Craig from the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, Jim not only has a nice website, but also just recently started his own blog. Check it out - and if you ever have a chance to spend a day or weekend outside of Toronto, you owe it to yourself to take a trip up to Ste. Anne's in the Stress Express. No wonder it is voted the best Spa in Canada by the readers of Spa Finder Magazine, and here you can read the Tripadvisor reviews. Even on the way back, David the Marketing Director called to make sure that we had a wonderful experience. Should you ever feel the urge to get "de-stressed", take the "Stress Express" and mention that you read about it on the Tourism Internet Marketing Blog.

This afternoon, Gisele and I are presenting at the "Leading Spas of Canada Conference", and I will use this example to illustrate the power of travel blogging in my presentation. I have been to different spas in Canada recently, the Fairmont Banff Springs, the Fairmont Empress (where my good friend April Barcham is Spa Director), and I have to say: Canada for sure is one of the most unique spa destinations world-wide...where else can you get a "Maple Sirup Scrub", an "Aboriginal Indigenous Treatment", or even an "Authentic Thai Massage on a Cowboy Ranch"???