Tourism Industry

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  • Are you a Digital Dinosaur When Your Customer Needs a Tech Savvy Star?

    ruraltourismmarketing.com
    Joanne Steele
    17 May 2013 | 12:45 pm
    I witnessed a local organization’s curfuffle this week and heard an older leader exclaim, “I’m not going to let any 29 year old upstart tell me what to do!” which got me to thinking. We’re in the midst of the most momentous generational divide in the history of the world. As is typical throughout time, [...]

  • Experts in the trenches should be conference speakers

    Sheila's Guide
    Sheila
    20 May 2013 | 7:49 pm
    Caroline Bean from Visit Philly [Philadelphia] and Bill Karz from LA, Inc. [Los Angeles] show off their BlogWorld / New Media Expo session sign (photo by Sheila Scarborough)Take a look at the speaker line-up for almost any tourism conference. How many of them are working staff members at a Tourist Board, CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) or other destination marketing organization, and how many of the people who are presenting information are vendors TO the tourism industry? I know; it’s kinda crazy to call attention to this since I am a vendor myself with Tourism Currents and do a…

  • If I was going to start a travel and tourism business…

    Travel & Tourism Technology Trends
    Matt Zito
    1 May 2013 | 1:13 pm
    These are the first things I would do. I would start researching and educating myself as much as I could about the type of travel business I had interest in starting. I’d spend 1 month reading and learning, gathering informational resources, connecting with people and companies that could help me. Here is a list to get your started. I’ve curated the list so I am bias to these resources as I’ve visited all of them and find them valuable. Also in full disclosure I am the publisher of some listed here. If you have a resource, free or paid and it is not on the list, please email and I will…

  • Why You Are Paying Me To Speak

    Travel 2.0 Blog
    Troy Thompson
    17 May 2013 | 9:46 am
    What is the difference between a good speaker and a great speaker? Someone you love and someone you hate? A presentation that results in several ‘yeah, I agree’ tweets or ones where you end up just checking email for an hour. Do you want to be challenged or just entertained? Are you in Salon C to learn about new ideas or searching for verification of your own plans? As I sit in salons, conference rooms, meeting rooms and the odd ballroom, I wonder about these questions. It is partially a never-ending critique of my own presentation approach and a curious examination of how…

  • Big Data and the hospitality, travel and tourism industry

    Tnooz
    Nick Vivion
    20 May 2013 | 12:35 pm
    In a position paper, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals shows how vital it is for the travel industry to effectively manage the millions of records about travel behavior that the industry generates each day. Defining Big Data Context is always murky when it comes to the nebulous concept of Big Data – it doesn’t always mean the same thing to different people. SOCAP defines Big Data as “the productive use of data in units of measure that far exceed megabytes and gigabytes.” While this is a broad definition, the idea behind Big Data is crystal clear: use the…
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    Sheila's Guide

  • Experts in the trenches should be conference speakers

    Sheila
    20 May 2013 | 7:49 pm
    Caroline Bean from Visit Philly [Philadelphia] and Bill Karz from LA, Inc. [Los Angeles] show off their BlogWorld / New Media Expo session sign (photo by Sheila Scarborough)Take a look at the speaker line-up for almost any tourism conference. How many of them are working staff members at a Tourist Board, CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) or other destination marketing organization, and how many of the people who are presenting information are vendors TO the tourism industry? I know; it’s kinda crazy to call attention to this since I am a vendor myself with Tourism Currents and do a…

  • Carnival of Cities for 15 May 2013

    Sheila
    15 May 2013 | 7:07 pm
    Carnival ride at night (courtesy AcrylicArtist at Flickr CC) Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city or fair-sized town. We normally publish every other week, although my business travel caused a lot of delays in the last month. The next edition will be hosted on the Perceptive Travel blog. If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me as the Carnival organizer:  Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com.

  • Personal experience still trumps everything

    Sheila
    14 May 2013 | 2:02 pm
    Kia Sportage front view. My ageing minivan was a little jealous about having this vehicle in our driveway. (photo by Sheila Scarborough) The human brain is a stubborn, funny thing. It believes what it wants to believe, and trying to get someone to change that – to literally “change their mind” – is one of the most difficult challenges faced by communications professionals. I was reminded of that recently while test-driving a pretty little cherry red Kia Sportage, and I think remembering this is very important when you are marketing a destination, attraction or hotel…

  • Travel Post Friday: Beastie Boys plus Illinois mashup makes perfect travel t-shirt

    Sheila
    10 May 2013 | 11:53 am
    License to IL t-shirt from the T-Shirt Deli in Bucktown, Chicago, IL (photo by Sheila Scarborough – please give design credit to T-shirt Deli) While wandering around the resurgent Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago before the SOBCon business conference, I stumbled across the T-Shirt Deli. It was cleverly laid out like a real delicatessen, but with t-shirts as the offering instead of provolone and salami. I need another t-shirt in my closet like I need a hole in my head, but I could not resist this one. Even if you aren’t a fan of the 1986 Beastie Boys debut album…

  • The ROI of social media: one woman’s proof

    Sheila
    7 May 2013 | 1:03 am
    One person’s story matters when it is multiplied (courtesy Richard Parmiter at Flickr CC) Here is a social media ROI (Return on Investment) case study with a sample group of one: me. This is what the dashboards, analytics and all that jazz have such a hard time showing you, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. A few years ago, I heard about a guy named John O’Nolan while following a Twitter hashtag from a travel blogging conference in Europe where he was one of the speakers (I think it was Travel Bloggers Unite.)  John sounded smart and interesting. I met him in…
 
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    Travel & Tourism Technology Trends

  • If I was going to start a travel and tourism business…

    Matt Zito
    1 May 2013 | 1:13 pm
    These are the first things I would do. I would start researching and educating myself as much as I could about the type of travel business I had interest in starting. I’d spend 1 month reading and learning, gathering informational resources, connecting with people and companies that could help me. Here is a list to get your started. I’ve curated the list so I am bias to these resources as I’ve visited all of them and find them valuable. Also in full disclosure I am the publisher of some listed here. If you have a resource, free or paid and it is not on the list, please email and I will…

  • Promoting Your Tour / Activity Business Using LinkedIn’s Company Pages

    Stephen Joyce
    17 Apr 2013 | 3:13 pm
    On September 6th, 2012, LinkedIn announced huge changes to Company Page design and user experience, which completely changes the way we view the platform as a marketing tool. “For companies, this means a more powerful way to build relationships with your target audience on LinkedIn,” said Mike Grishaver from LinkedIn’s Product Management team. This all sounds great, doesn’t it? The question is: are you prepared to optimize your own Company Page once these changes roll out to you? Download the Step-by-Step Guide to LinkedIn’s New Company Pages to learn what’s…

  • Sell and distribute your tour and activity inventory through the Owned Inventory Merchant Model.

    Matt Zito
    15 Mar 2013 | 8:24 am
    The Owned Inventory Merchant Model is an inventory acquisition model and a contracting strategy used by travel wholesalers to acquire hotel room inventory.  In a nutshell the wholesaler pre-pays or guarantees cash upfront for inventory, better pricing and more favorable terms and conditions. Tour and activity providers can leverage the same strategy to their advantage by flipping the conversation with wholesalers and distributors that want to distribute your tour and activity on a free-sell basis, meaning they want to sell your inventory first then pay for it after they sell it by requesting…

  • Who should hold the bag in terms of API integration?

    Stephen Joyce
    7 Dec 2012 | 4:15 pm
    In my most recent Tnooz post titled “Putting the supplier cart before the distributor horse in travel” I discussed how creating open inbound APIs could help to foster connectivity between supply and distribution and encourage those who are not using online systems to adopt them in order to open up distribution opportunities.  In addition to this discussion I also wanted to share my thoughts on who should and should not be holding the bag in terms of the costs of the API integration. Over the years, I’ve been directly involved in the integration of dozens of APIs from…

  • A mobile booking platform is the next big opportunity in the $27B Tour & Activity Market.

    Matt Zito
    6 Nov 2012 | 9:38 am
    In a recent article I wrote at Tnooz, I discuss a big entrepreneurial opportunity I see in the tour and activity market by selling 1-day activities to in-destination travelers via a mobile only booking app. This would be a pure transactional business via traveler’s mobile devices, one that I am very familiar with having successfully built and sold a youth-based ski travel agency or OTA, where we sold ski packages direct to consumers online. Why I am so excited about the opportunity is that the current in-destination traveler purchasing behavior aligns perfectly with the needs of the travel…
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    ruraltourismmarketing.com

  • Are you a Digital Dinosaur When Your Customer Needs a Tech Savvy Star?

    Joanne Steele
    17 May 2013 | 12:45 pm
    I witnessed a local organization’s curfuffle this week and heard an older leader exclaim, “I’m not going to let any 29 year old upstart tell me what to do!” which got me to thinking. We’re in the midst of the most momentous generational divide in the history of the world. As is typical throughout time, [...]

  • Polish Rural Tourism Study Has Lessons for American Agritourism

    Joanne Steele
    3 May 2013 | 11:21 am
    This week my “rural tourism” Google Alert dished up a 16 page booklet on agritourism in Poland that offers tons of information and ideas for agritourism organizations and farmers worldwide. Tempting Tourists: Rural Tourism in Poland details how Polish governmental organizations and regional associations support local agritourism operations. Here’s what I took away: European agritourism [...]

  • Is Agritourism Good for Small Family Farmers?

    Joanne Steele
    11 Apr 2013 | 3:44 pm
    No doubt about it. Agritourism may be the fastest growing rural tourism niche in the US. My question, and reason for blogging today is to examine whether agritourism is in fact good for small family farmers. I’d appreciate your thoughts and concerns on this subject as well. I have a Google Alert set up for [...]

  • What Small Business Needs to Know About Retaining a Happy Workforce

    Joanne Steele
    29 Mar 2013 | 11:37 am
    Happy, engaged, committed employees are something that every small local business wants. Few seem to achieve this to their satisfaction. And many blame their lack of success on the fact that they can’t pay enough to achieve their workforce goals.  But big companies are demonstrating that a happy workforce isn’t always about money. Big companies [...]

  • How to Use Rural Entrepreneurship to Save Your Small Town

    Joanne Steele
    22 Mar 2013 | 2:49 pm
    Whether you go to the USDA rural development website or check out your local micro enterprise assistance organization, you’re going to run into talk about “entrepreneurship.” In the not to distant past, rural development in the United States focused on moving some kind of industry into a rural area to replace or supplement the farming, [...]
 
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    Travel 2.0 Blog

  • Why You Are Paying Me To Speak

    Troy Thompson
    17 May 2013 | 9:46 am
    What is the difference between a good speaker and a great speaker? Someone you love and someone you hate? A presentation that results in several ‘yeah, I agree’ tweets or ones where you end up just checking email for an hour. Do you want to be challenged or just entertained? Are you in Salon C to learn about new ideas or searching for verification of your own plans? As I sit in salons, conference rooms, meeting rooms and the odd ballroom, I wonder about these questions. It is partially a never-ending critique of my own presentation approach and a curious examination of how…

  • Stop Creating Questions and Start Creating Answers

    Troy Thompson
    10 May 2013 | 8:20 am
    How many people downloaded the app? Do visitors bring the guide with them? How are you measuring success? Are consumers sharing the content? You create a lot of questions when developing marketing programs. Apps, guides, websites, content, social, campaigns. Often, these questions pull down an otherwise successful outreach opportunity into an abyss of speculation and confusion. It is an unintentional result, but one that you have surely experienced. One that occurs because you created more questions than answers. Rather than consider the viability of your destination’s marketing in…

  • Time to Own Something

    Troy Thompson
    9 May 2013 | 9:22 am
    As my wife and I walked through O’hare, catching our return flight to Denver from a speaking appearance in Montreal, we passed by a curious sight. A Marriott Courtyard lobby in Terminal 2. ‘You should tell DMOs to do that’ my wife remarked as we passed by. ‘Free wifi and a nice place to sit? I would go for that.’ I suspected that part of the request was a subconscious plan to place comfortable seating areas in airports frequented by our family, however the suggestion of ‘why not a DMO?’ was intriguing. Unfortunately I did not have time to enjoy the…

  • 3 Strategic Website Lessons from Los Angeles and Illinois

    Troy Thompson
    4 Mar 2013 | 10:52 pm
    Recent website updates to enjoyillinois.com and discoverlosangeles.com have drawn favorable praise from peers and consumers alike. Beyond the modern look and clean feel of both digital properties, a massive amount of thinking, research and consideration went into the overall user-interface (UI) and user-experience (UX). It was not simply a case of make it look pretty. We had the privilege of providing our tourism consulting expertise on both the LA and Illinois web development projects and wanted to share 3 strategic website lessons that you can apply to your DMO, CVB or NTO site. Also, a…

  • How Should I Start My Mobile Strategy?

    Troy Thompson
    28 Feb 2013 | 10:31 am
    When it comes to developing a mobile strategy for your tourism organization the suggestions, best practices and peer examples are all over the place. Some have an app, others a mobile website. Text campaigns, AR, landing pages, where and how should you start your tourism organization’s mobile strategy? As part of my keynote presentation at the Hoosier Hospitality Conference, I created the Mobile Strategy Decision-Making Pyramid…or, MSDMP for short…to definitively answer the question, where do I start my tourism organization’s mobile strategy? Reading the Pyramid The…
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    Tnooz

  • Big Data and the hospitality, travel and tourism industry

    Nick Vivion
    20 May 2013 | 12:35 pm
    In a position paper, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals shows how vital it is for the travel industry to effectively manage the millions of records about travel behavior that the industry generates each day. Defining Big Data Context is always murky when it comes to the nebulous concept of Big Data – it doesn’t always mean the same thing to different people. SOCAP defines Big Data as “the productive use of data in units of measure that far exceed megabytes and gigabytes.” While this is a broad definition, the idea behind Big Data is crystal clear: use the…

  • MapQuest releases place sharing and traffic rerouting to mobile product

    Nick Vivion
    20 May 2013 | 10:36 am
    MapQuest continues to bolster their brand with a refreshed and reinvigorated product offering. The latest update to the mobile experience is an integrated social sharing feature for places. Similar to a pin drop on iOS, users can now share a specific place with a contact on their mobile phones, facilitating place-based sharing for friends, family, groups and social networks. Groups trying to meet up at particular places, families heading to sports games at different fields, and friends meeting up at new restaurants will all find this new feature useful. Another use case is for users…

  • Booking.com crawls towards TripAdvisor – Top US travel websites, April 2013

    Kevin May
    20 May 2013 | 8:00 am
    TripAdvisor might have a strong position in the list of leading travel sites in the US but Booking.com is slowly catching up. Priceline-owned Booking.com is less than 5% market share behind the user review site after adding another 0.25% to its tally between March and April this year. It is now over 1% ahead of Hotels.com, which lost 0.25% of its own over the same period. Most popular travel websites in the US for April 2013: Agency RankWebsiteDomainPercentage of VisitsPrevious Position 1Expediawww.expedia.com14.10%1 2Priceline.comwww.priceline.com10.77%2…

  • STARTUPS – Product news, launches and more – May 2013

    Tnooz
    20 May 2013 | 7:03 am
    The latest startups news, launches and more from around the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in May 2013. Monday 20 May 2013: Flee taps up Vayant for flight search tools. The Canada-based trip recommendation engine will use the Vayant Pricing Cache to power its flight search functionality. Once a users selects a flight they are able to book it on Flee via the Travelocity white label service. New Zealand-based corporate travel management solution provider Serko is planning to list on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) by floating 25% of its shares in September to raise $20 million of…

  • Hotel digital conundrum: brand building VS demand generation

    Special Nodes
    20 May 2013 | 6:02 am
    NB: This is a viewpoint by Parag Vohra, general manager for hotels at Sojern. Hotel marketers may come to look over the previous century as a time of simplicity and certainty. Their job was, and still is, to create a brand that resonated, but unlike today, they did not have to worry about getting their hands dirty with tiresome issues like attribution and conversion metrics. I was overcome by this bout of nostalgia as I watched the season premier of Mad Men, where Don Draper and the Sheraton executives discussed the appropriate imagery for the resort in Hawaii. Dilemma Nowadays, the…
 
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    Resort Marketing

  • Travel Shifting Across the Screens

    Eric Hoffman
    16 May 2013 | 9:02 pm
    I’ve found a lot of great research that’s been published in the past few months (I’ll be posting my favorites in the coming weeks), and one of my favorites is this piece from thinktravel with Google. I am fascinated by the multi-screen usage by day part chart (if you haven’t made serious effort to ensure your web presence accommodates various screens besides desktop, just stop reading now). In addition the major increase in mobile usage by leisure travellers certainly should be of interest to resort marketers as well. One of the big question this presents is just how…

  • Back in the Game

    Eric Hoffman
    5 May 2013 | 8:11 pm
    It’s time to get the ball rolling again with The Resort Marketing Blog. It was another super busy winter and with my work responsibilities, family responsibilities and side projects something had to take priority and this side project was not anywhere near the top of the list. But, things have mellowed (a bit) and I am definitely looking to pick this back up. So, here’s a list of topics that I want to touch on in the near future: What is the current state of digital marketing for resorts. What is the future. What has changed. What has stayed the same. What is going on outside the…

  • Trends

    Eric Hoffman
    30 Oct 2012 | 9:08 am
    I’m a data geek and I always like to look at how data can help predict future trends. Google trends is a fairly basic tool to help sort through the big data of Google’s search history and by using the “predict” toggle you can view their prediction for a search term, or set of terms. I chose “Ski Resorts” and you can see the results: This search is a bit better if you click-through to the Google Trends site, where you can even check a toggle to “Forecast” searches into the future. There’s also a regional map and related searches to help you…

  • Multiple screens – a challenge for any marketer

    Eric Hoffman
    25 Oct 2012 | 9:45 am
    I’m writing this post on my laptop while watching a football game on my satellite served TV, with my tablet next to me on the coffee table and my smart phone charging in the kitchen. Once the football game is over I’ll probably grab my tablet to do some reading and when it’s time to head over to a friend’s house for a part, I’ll grab my phone on which I might Instagram a photo of the party, or at least keep in touch if there are any pressing emails. I’m not at all unique in my constant switching from one media device to another. There is a wonderful report…

  • Back at it – Instagram Filters

    Eric Hoffman
    21 Oct 2012 | 12:38 pm
    It’s the only excuse I have for slacking off on my posting to the Resort Marketing blog – it’s been crazy busy! With a slew of deadlines at work, a 5 1/2 year-old in kindergarten, dance, enrichment and soon to be ski school and getting the house, and me, ready for winter, this blog has unfortunately slipped down in my priority list. But, I’m digging out and am back – at least for a bit! One of the items that has recently caught my eye is a great guide to what each of those oddly named filters on Instagram really do. My go-to filters seem to usually be Lo-fi (or…
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    Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

  • The Exception to the Rule

    Bill Geist
    20 May 2013 | 6:36 am
    You don't see it as much today as we all did a number of years ago. Governor's starring in their State's Tourism ads was never a great idea. And, whether it was vanity or an unabashed attempt at publicly funded face time on the run up to an election (assuming the spots ran in-state), the results were predictably unimpressive. Nobody chooses a state for a getaway because of its governor. Except when that Governor is a bonafide celebrity. And, while not quite on the level of an Arnold, Chris Christie is a personality. With guest spots on SNL and the very funny viral video (which…

  • Shape of a Heart

    Bill Geist
    17 May 2013 | 8:40 am
    It wasn't much of a hit...but I played the shit out of it on our deep track-formatted rocker. And, to this day, still think it is one of Jackson Browne's most painfully beautiful love songs. Pain has always been his muse...and his voice has always plucked that heart string like no other. I'm doubting that he does a lot of the pain/love thing when he opens for the Jimmy Buffett Tour on a couple dates this summer...but on this Music Friday, it's a sensational live version of "Shape of a Heart."

  • Adaptation

    Bill Geist
    16 May 2013 | 5:38 am
    My neighbors acquired a 6-week old puppy last weekend. On day one, it basically sat in place, shaking and totally overwhelmed by its new surroundings (it's a big yard). On day two, it strained against the leash that was so foreign. By day three, it was following the lead of the older, more experienced canine in the household. On day four, it was chasing it. Yesterday, it was proudly prancing through the backyard with a chew toy in its mouth. Master of her world. At one pound and six inches high. Why is it so easy for dogs to figure out how the world works...and so hard for humans? Just a…

  • The Name Game

    Bill Geist
    15 May 2013 | 5:53 am
    Great article in this month's issue of Convene (which, sadly isn't online yet...so dig through that stack of magazines in your office that you swear you'll get to someday) that explores the movement of Destination Marketing Organizations away from the traditional "Convention & Visitors Bureau" moniker to "Visit," "Explore," Experience," "Choose," "Meet," etc. Hunter Slaton nails the commentary as well as I've ever seen it done. Complete, in-depth, good quotes...and even puts a fork in dot travel (thank you). A…

  • My Original Question Still Stands

    Bill Geist
    14 May 2013 | 5:50 am
    Back in March, the FAA announced it would be shuttering 149 air traffic control towers across the land as part of the "required" cuts brought on by "The Sequestration." We were told not to worry; that Americans would remain safe as we criss-crossed the country at 30,000 feet. Which prompted the following question: If that's true, why were we spending $600 million to operate these superfluous spires in the first place? With recent emergency legislation in hand, the FAA has now cancelled plans to close the towers. According to Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, "This…
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    Canadian and World Tourism

  • How did TBEX end up in Canada? It all started at the Canada-e-Connect eTourism conference

    Jaime
    7 May 2013 | 1:03 pm
    In January 2010, I had the privilege to serve as the Chair of the now defunct (not my fault) Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference (first founded by Jens Thraenhart, when he was at the CTC and later ran by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada). 3 years is an eternity in digital time. Back then, Facebook and Twitter were not as big as they are now. In fact, the year before, 2009, when I also chaired the conference, there were only 3 twitter users at the conference, including me! But back to 2010. As an avid student of all things related to digital and social marketing, I became…

  • Toronto's landmark Delta Chelsea Hotel to be rebranded and renovated as the Eaton Chelsea

    Jaime
    26 Apr 2013 | 11:52 am
    One of the hotels I recommend the most to friends, family and clients who visit Toronto is the Delta Chelsea Hotel near Dundas Square in the heart of the city. Full disclosure: Delta Hotels have been clients of mine in the past, but I knew the Delta Chelsea way before I had any business relationship with Delta Hotels. I always liked the hotel because it's a large property with all the amenities in a prime location in Toronto very close to Dundas Square, the Eaton Centre and the subway.  Every year I have lunch with my friend Mia Dario, Director of Tour and Leisure Sales, to chat about…

  • Is Calgary coming of age (as a tourism destination)? The Canadian jewel of the West deserves a visit.

    Jaime
    11 Apr 2013 | 11:15 am
    When it comes to cities one may want to visit, Calgary does not come immediately to mind. In Canada, the city is known for basically 3 things: 1) being the center of Canada's powerful oil and gas industry; 2) a bastion of Conservative politics (Prime Minister Stephen Harper's riding as a Member of Parliament is in Calgary, and 3) the Calgary Stampede, one of the largest if not the largest cowboy/cowgirl, rodeo, Western culture Festival in North America. But Calgary is much more than that. The city has been growing up as a sophisticated city in the last 10 years. New art galleries, new…

  • What is going on with our Canadian Visa offices? Mexicans travellers choosing other destinations.

    Jaime
    9 Apr 2013 | 9:01 am
    On November 28 2012, the Huffington Post published the following Canadian Press article after the then President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto visited Prime Minister Harper in Ottawa: -- OTTAWA - The end of a much-maligned visa for Mexican travellers to Canada would be a good thing for both North American countries, Prime Minister Stephen Harper affirmed Wednesday.   Harper offered his government's most conciliatory view to the visa that it imposed in 2009 to stop an influx of bogus refugee claimants. It came after his Parliament Hill meeting with Mexico's president-elect Enrique…
 
 
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    Awesome Alpharetta

  • Alpharetta Brings on Another Street Party

    20 May 2013 | 6:11 am
    Gather your friends and celebrate summer with beer, wine and delicious food at the Alpharetta Brew Moon Summerfest on Saturday, June 1 from 6:30- 11 p.m. on Milton Avenue in Historic Downtown Alpharetta.

  • The Alpharetta CVB Announces its Sponsorship of the 2013 Craft Beer Festival and 5K Road Race

    20 May 2013 | 6:09 am
    The Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is excited to announce its sponsorship of the 2013 Craft Beer Festival and 5K Road Race in downtown Alpharetta on June 22, 2013. The festival will take place from 6 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. with beer, live music and entertainment with the race beginning at 8 p.m.

  • Alpharetta Historical Society Presents "The History of Quilting"

    2 Apr 2013 | 9:01 am
    Alpharetta, Ga. - April 1, 2013-- The Alpharetta Historical Society’s March meeting will be held on Thursday, April 18th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mansell House and Gardens. Ben Hollingsworth, Vice-President of the Alpharetta Historical Society, will be the featured speaker for April and his presentation will be the History of Quilting. Mr. Hollingsworth will touch on the development of the textile industry and significant events and people who had a part in making quilting what it has become. He will show several quilts that he has made or owns and will include some history that is specific to…

  • Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau Offers Free Family Reunion Workshop

    1 Mar 2013 | 11:17 am
    Join the expert staff at the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for a free Family Reunion Workshop on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 16785 Old Morris Rd in Alpharetta. The CVB’s family reunion specialist will help attendees gain insight into the planning process and show how Alpharetta’s easy access, mild climate, exceptional facilities and world-class shopping, dining and entertainment make it the perfect location for fun-filled special events.

  • Alpharetta Historical Society Presents The History of Buttons

    1 Mar 2013 | 11:04 am
    The Alpharetta Historical Society’s March meeting will be held on Thursday, March 21st, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mansell House and Gardens. The Peach State Button Club, featuring Debby Johnson, will share information on collecting and preserving antique and vintage clothing buttons. Those attending will learn how historic events and time periods affected the designs of clothing buttons. Buttons through the years are treasured by collectors as well as the National Button Society, formed in the late 1930s. Please plan to attend the meeting and enjoy an interesting talk on a historical hobby.
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    OC Up Close

  • What to Wear for a Spring/Summer Wedding in OC

    kbrandenburger
    16 May 2013 | 8:43 am
    What to Wear for a Spring/Summer Wedding in OCPosted May 16, 2013 by Amy TaylorIf you find yourself attending a wedding this spring or summer in the OC, you won't want to be caught off guard by the weather or location - after all, the beach can be very different and often much cooler than a wedding farther inland. To ensure that you're prepared and dressed appropriately, I've pulled together some tips on what men and women should consider wearing to both a coastal wedding and an inland wedding.  Coastal Wedding Wear CONTINUE READING

  • Restaurant Review: What a Dish Café, Dana Point

    kbrandenburger
    15 May 2013 | 8:48 am
    Restaurant Review: What a Dish Café, Dana PointPosted May 15, 2013 by Amelia WinslowWhether you’re looking for a quaint café to enjoy lunch with a friend, a sweet baked good on a weekend morning or the freshest local cuisine to serve at your large catered event, What a Dish Café has it all.CONTINUE READING

  • Best of OC: Wedding Venues with an Ocean View

    kbrandenburger
    13 May 2013 | 12:00 am
    Best of OC: Wedding Venues with an Ocean ViewPosted May 13, 2013 by Allyson RawlinsThe most important day of your life is upon you. You have decided to say “I do!” Now the planning begins, and you are faced with a very important decision: where will you tie the knot? Whether you are a local resident or a visitor seeking a destination for your wedding, the beautiful beach cities of Orange County have numerous options to choose from. Here, we have highlighted three locations that promise superior service and some of the best views Orange County has to offer.CONTINUE READING

  • An Arizona Resident's OC Experience

    kbrandenburger
    9 May 2013 | 5:35 pm
    An Arizona Resident's OC Experience Posted May 09, 2013 by Heather RiccobonoIn blogging about this SoCal region we all love, we have received numerous comments, emails and tweets from visitors who share our passion for O.C. With so many fans of the area, we thought we'd mix it up a bit and post stories from other bloggers who have visited Orange County and want to share their experiences.  Our first blog in this series is from Heather Riccobono, an Arizona resident who recently visited O.C. with her family during Spring Break. Here is Heather's O.C. Experience: CONTINUE READING

  • "Ultimate Ducks Fan" Twitter Contest

    mvogel
    8 May 2013 | 4:31 pm
    "Ultimate Ducks Fan" Twitter ContestPosted May 08, 2013 by Melanie VogelWe're looking for the "Ultimate Ducks Fan!" If you consider yourself an Anaheim Ducks fan, now is your chance to prove your team loyalty -- and win a hockey stick autographed by Teemu Selanne! CONTINUE READING
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    tourism industry news - Google News

  • Official urges good faith in tourism industry - China Daily

    20 May 2013 | 10:03 pm
    Official urges good faith in tourism industryChina DailyBEIJING - China's tourism industry has been urged by a senior official to promote practices of good faith. Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the comment during a four-day inspection tour and more »

  • Falkland Islands' tourism industry keeps growing despite a drop in cruise visitors - MercoPress

    20 May 2013 | 5:51 pm
    MercoPressFalkland Islands' tourism industry keeps growing despite a drop in cruise visitorsMercoPressThe Falkland Islands International Tourism Statistics Report released to the public this week records that 2012 was the second highest year on record in terms of overnight visitors travelling for leisure. There were 7,791 overnight tourists (as opposed and more »

  • Firstgroup slumps on £615m rights issue - Irish Times

    20 May 2013 | 2:40 pm
    Irish TimesFirstgroup slumps on £615m rights issueIrish TimesSectors · Financial Services · Commercial Property · Health & Pharma · Energy & Resources · Manufacturing · Media & Marketing · Retail & Services · Transport & Tourism · Agribusiness & Food · Technology. /. Transport & Tourism. Business and more »

  • Big Data and the hospitality, travel and tourism industry - Tnooz

    20 May 2013 | 12:41 pm
    TnoozBig Data and the hospitality, travel and tourism industryTnoozBig Data and the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. May 20, 2013 By Nick Vivion 1 Comment. In a position paper, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals shows how vital it is for the travel industry to effectively manage the millions of and more »

  • Russian visitors helping Goa tourism: official - Business Standard

    20 May 2013 | 8:47 am
    Business StandardRussian visitors helping Goa tourism: officialBusiness Standard"The Russian tourist arrivals is really helping Goa tourism industry in the backdrop of sagging number of arrivals from European destinations like the UK," Victor M Albuquerque, honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Goa, told reporters here today.Russia seeks to burnish image in Goa - The PeninsulaPeninsula On-lineall 5 news articles »
 
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    Travel and Tourism Industry News

  • Travelling in Style

    admin
    14 May 2013 | 2:23 am
    With winter practically on half the world’s doorsteps, many people are opting for vacationing in some warmer and more exotic places, even the Kardashians just went to Greece for a “family vakay”. So what are some of the best places to travel to over the next few months and why? Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur – [...]

  • Action & Adventure At Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort, Maldives

    admin
    13 May 2013 | 7:47 am
    For those seeking the ultimate aesthetic adventure, picture-perfect Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort is the ideal destination providing a beautiful backdrop for thrill seekers and active holidaymakers wanting to make the most of the Maldives’ watery wonderland. Located an exhilarating 45–minute speedboat transfer from the airport, this four-star deluxe resort is nestled amid tropical vegetation [...]

  • NEW Albania Tour With Balkan Road Trip

    admin
    25 Apr 2013 | 4:49 am
    Balkan Road Trip (www.balkanroadtrip.com / 0845 257 8289) is launching a brand new two-day Albania add-on to its existing Croatia to Greece Pass tour. Running from 11 May – 5 October, the two-day add-on will take travellers to UNESCO-listed Gjirokastra Old Town where travellers can visit its castle that overlooks the town as well as [...]

  • Relax And Rejuvenate At Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort

    admin
    16 Apr 2013 | 7:48 am
    It’s been a long winter, but with spring just around the corner, those wanting to relax and rejuvenate winter-worn, neglected bodies should head to Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort in the Maldives. This luxury island retreat enables guests to do as little or as much as they want, offering gorgeous, quiet beaches, a choice of [...]

  • Web Reservations International Merger With HostelBookers

    admin
    12 Apr 2013 | 8:31 am
    Web Reservations International, which operates the award winning web-sites hostelworld.com, hostels.com and bedandbreakfastworld.com, has announced its intention to merge with HostelBookers.com Limited, which operates the hostelbookers.com and anytrip.com web-sites. hostelworld.com With this merger, the company hopes to bring to you the resources of a larger company resulting in improved technology, support, and revenues. As is [...]
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    *Star In The Margin

  • What's The Point Jam Session with 100 Mile Race Finisher, John Self

    [Your Name Here]
    1 May 2013 | 4:35 am
    Just over two years ago John went for a 32 minute walk/run...he walked for 28 minutes and ran for 4 minutes. That day marked a dramatic shift in his life...and his purpose. He made a decision to stop letting excuses get in the way of doing something that mattered, prolonging his life and making a difference.Earlier this month he completed the Umstead 100 mile endurance run in North Carolina. While this is certainly not the end of the journey, it was a monumental achievement and milestone. Surely, there will be many more to come.If you need some inspiration to do meaningful work and to remove…

  • Sticking Your Neck Out

    [Your Name Here]
    20 Apr 2013 | 1:41 pm
    Part of practicing art...doing something remarkable, something that gets noticed is to go where others choose not to go. By putting this sort of skin in the game you almost always get two things…a connection with at least one person who sees the world as you do. And someone else will be offended, annoyed or angered. Art is never appreciated by everyone. Nor should it be. If it were, all things would be relatively the same, alas we'd live in a very boring and average world. Thankfully there are people who enjoy sticking out their necks to do work that matters…the understand the…

  • What Can I Do to Improve?

    [Your Name Here]
    15 Apr 2013 | 5:15 am
    Most of the time we wait for someone to tell us…because that's what we've been taught. Rarely do we take the initiative to ask (our boss, customer, friend/spouse) this question without solicitation…mostly because we're afraid to. Asking the question invites criticism of our work, our world view and what we stand for. Asking suggests that we aren't good enough and that we have issues to correct. Perhaps the questions should be rephrased…how can I help make things better? As a leader imagine if your front line employees came to you with that sort of initiative. Now imagine…

  • Margaret Thatcher- RIP

    [Your Name Here]
    10 Apr 2013 | 5:14 am
    Thanks Hugh for the image

  • Why Do People Follow You?

    [Your Name Here]
    30 Mar 2013 | 7:38 am
    Stumbled upon on of Simon Sinek's videos and was reminded of one of the most important leadership principles...Leaders have people that follow them because they have to. People who Lead have people who follow them because they are inspired and because they want to. Why do people follow you? Better find out if you don't know the answer.
 
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    Different places to travel

  • Taveuni is third largest isle of Fiji – Part 2

    Traveller
    19 May 2013 | 3:55 am
    The third largest isle of Fiji is Taveuni. About Attractions in Taveuni • The Waitavala Waterslide is approximately 20 minutes from the Waiyevo town when taken on foot. • There are natural streambed chute plummets which length for 50 meters down the hillside. • There are plenty of underwater attractions in Taveuni. • There are [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Taveuni is third largest isle of Fiji – Part 1

    Traveller
    17 May 2013 | 4:56 am
    The third largest isle of Fiji is Taveuni. Overview of Taveuni • This isle comes after Vanua Levu as well as Viti Levu. • This isle covers a total land area of 435 sq km’s (169 Sq Miles). • This is a cigar-shaped isle. • It is a substantial shield volcano. • This volcano soars [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • About Fijian Culture and Cuisine – Part 3

    Traveller
    16 May 2013 | 7:56 am
    Fiji is a Melanesian country that is placed in the South Pacific Ocean. It is located between Hawaii and New Zealand. It consists of an archipelago. Cuisine of Fiji • Modern Fijian Cuisine is very diverse. • It is greatly influenced from Indian cuisine and spices. • The eating becomes interesting when these are used [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • About Fijian Culture and Cuisine – Part 2

    Traveller
    15 May 2013 | 8:00 pm
    Fiji is a Melanesian country that is placed in the South Pacific Ocean. It is located between Hawaii and New Zealand. It consists of an archipelago. Music of Fiji • Music of Old Fiji includes various chants. • These chants engrossed a story or philosophical information which was meant to be passed on from generation [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • About Fijian Culture and Cuisine – Part 1

    Traveller
    15 May 2013 | 8:30 am
    The culture of Fiji is a combination of: • Fijian • Indian • European • Chinese • Tongan • Rotuman • Other nationalities Culture of Fiji would include: • Culture polity • Traditions • Language • Food • Costume • Belief system • Architecture • Arts • Craft • Music • Dance • Sports Arts [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Softscribe Inc.

  • Softscribe Inc. Wins 2013 Communicator Award for Buyer Persona MessagingTechnology Public Relations Company Earns Award of Distinction for Second Consecutive Year, Honored from Among 6,000 Entries

    Julie Squires
    14 May 2013 | 8:31 am
    Atlanta – May 14, 2013 – Softscribe Inc., an Atlanta-based technology public relations firm, announced that it earned a Communicator Award of Distinction for the second consecutive year. This year’s award is in the Integrated Campaign category. The International Academy of Visual Arts (IAVA) bestowed Communicator Awards on “work that made a lasting impact” with marketing and communications excellence. It selected winners from more than 6,000 worldwide entries. IAVA recognized Softscribe Inc. for a body of marketing communications work created for Kaba Lodging, a division of a…

  • Why Storytelling Drives SEO and Sales

    Julie Squires
    14 May 2013 | 3:00 am
    A new idea thundered during Brian Easter’s presentation at Atlanta’s recent Search Engine Marketing Professionals meeting. Brian is the visionary CEO and co-founder of award-winning Nebo, a top digital marketing agency. His revelation? “Your company’s story drives success in search, social media and sales.” Wait…here’s a search guy talking about Story? More than anything else, story matters… It’s what drives decisions for one brand over another throughout the entire buyer journey.” – Brian Easter, CEO, Nebo The fusion of story, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and…

  • What Time of Day is Best to Post Your High Quality Messaging?

    Julie Squires
    12 Apr 2013 | 9:43 am
    We all spend time and energy to create high quality messages that achieve our companies’ business goals.   Ever wondered what is the best time to post them for stellar results?  If so, here they are, and please note: All times are ET. Tip: We use HootSuite to schedule posts. It frees up your weekends. Twitter.  Best time is between 1:00pm and 3:00pm, especially on days earlier in the week. Worst time is after 8:00pm and after 3:00pm on Fridays. Facebook.  Best time is between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, with Wednesday at 3:00pm being the best time all week. Worst time is after 8:00pm and before…

  • How to Profit from the Micro + Visual Trend in Messaging

    Julie Squires
    14 Feb 2013 | 10:14 am
    Click here for Josh Martin’s SoCon2013 preso on “Customer Engagement in the Palm of Your Hand, Going Mobile.” Josh Martin is the manager of social media for Arby’s.  He’s big on “short, bite-sized bits of content.” Josh says we are in the Thank You economy and I agree. Go mobile with your social media Thank You’s. He gave a strategy-rich presentation on mobile and social media at Atlanta’s annual SoCon conference this month, and centered on: Did you know 54% of the world’s brands use Instagram [follow me @Juliesoftscribeinc ], which uploads 5 million photos every day?

  • How We Use Buyer Personas to Simplify Marketing

    Julie Squires
    3 Jan 2013 | 5:00 am
    First published by Adele Revella’s “Buyer Persona Institute Blog,” as “PR Agency Uses Buyer Personas to Simplify Marketing.” Reprinted with permission. “I’m excited to see more marketing agencies among our workshop attendees because by training just one agency to develop actionable buyer personas, we can help many more companies. To get a sense of how agencies are leveraging buyer insights in the messaging, content marketing, advertising and campaigns they deliver for their clients, I interviewed recent Buyer Persona Institute graduate Julie Squires, CEO of…
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    Amadeus Corporate Blog

  • Looking for smarter corporate travel spending? Online adoption is the key!

    Florian Tinnus
    20 May 2013 | 8:38 am
    Last year we released an infographic entitled Smarter corporate travel spending which revealed hidden savings opportunities for travel managers based upon a study we conducted with the consultancy company Hermes. This research really highlighted some of the challenges travel managers face in addition to the opportunities; reducing spend by up to 25% while keeping the indirect costs arising from routine tasks in check. It also presented us with an opportunity to create cost saving enhancements by applying what we learned from the study. With this information in hand we augmented our Amadeus…

  • Hotel Bookings – it’s not all about the travel agency commissions!

    Kartikeya Tripathi
    17 May 2013 | 1:34 am
    When making a hotel booking, commissions have always been a key decision factor for a travel agent. It’s logical, that’s their business model and one way to source revenue. However, although commissions remain a top priority, our recent Asia Pacific hotel distribution survey shows travel agents’ needs have evolved…. This year’s hotel survey – the largest ever conducted by Amadeus – examined travel agents’ and travellers’ perspectives on the hotel selection and booking process – drawing information from the views of more than 1,000 travel agents across nine countries…

  • ATM 2013: Amadeus chosen by travel agents as preferred Global Distribution System

    Ahmed Youssef
    15 May 2013 | 2:01 am
    Amadeus’ final day at Arabian Travel Market 2013, the region’s leading travel and tourism trade show, was marked by the travel agency community’s recognition of our services and solutions. We emerged as the leading Non Air Solutions provider for travel agents in the MENA region for the second consecutive year at the 20th Arabian Travel Market (ATM) that ran from 6 -9 May in Dubai. Amadeus’ selection followed the Technology Show panel discussion on ‘Using the GDS to make Big Bucks’. The session saw the three key GDS players presenting their innovative offerings. An audience…

  • Attention all travel managers: save up to 23% in T&E costs!

    Luc Pannecoeck
    14 May 2013 | 12:44 am
    Further to our recent Blog post, we can now bring you the full details of research conducted by the consultancy company Hermes and commissioned by Amadeus. The white paper “Corporate Travel Management in Western Europe: Challenges and Opportunities” looks at current travel management practices and gives concrete recommendations to help optimise travel spend. It is clear that travel managers face challenges in achieving cost-efficient travel procurement, but it is possible to make important savings in the T&E budget without compromising on business objectives. It is important to have a…

  • Full steam ahead to a better connected Europe

    Philip Martin
    10 May 2013 | 2:52 am
    In the first of a new series of posts that will explore developments within the global rail industry, we take a look ahead at what the future holds for Europe’s high-speed rail sector. Rail travel in Europe has experienced a revival over recent years. With increasing numbers of high-speed lines taking passengers direct from city centre to city centre, more travellers are opting to take the train in favour of other modes of transport for a more convenient, stress-free travel experience. When the journey time is less than four hours, rail is a particularly popular choice as it is often not…
 
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    Marketing Times for the Hotel & Travel Industry from Net Affinity | Hotel Marketing News

  • Top 30 Irish Hotel Pages on Facebook #Top30IEHotels

    William
    20 May 2013 | 5:35 am
    This week 1 hotel has moved up and there have been 2 new entries. Has your hotel made the list? Well done to The Glenside Hotel who is celebrating their 39th week at the top of the list! Download list as PDF here Rank Hotel/Group Location Fans 1st The Glenside Hotel Co. Louth 43,899 2nd Bewleys Hotels Nationwide 36,889 3rd The G Hotel Co. Galway 35,402 4th Galgorm Resort & Spa Co. Antrim 27,950 5th Carlton Hotel Group Nationwide 27,802 6th Slieve-Russell-Hotel Co. Cavan 26,746 7th Hastings Hotels Northern Ireland 24,178 8th The Merchant Hotel Co Antrim 21,226 9th Carton House Ireland Co.

  • Google+ gets 41 feature updates!

    William
    17 May 2013 | 7:24 am
    Yes 41 feature updates – here’s a secletion of 5 from the Google I/O announcements 1. Related hashtags – this is likely the most important for content marketers. Hashtags are no longer just for Instagram and Twitter. The new, and optional, related hashtags feature lets Google+ analyse posts and in turn recommend hashtags.A menu in the corner of each post display hashtags, clicking on them will reveal related items based on Google’s search and social sources. Similarly, trending hashtags will be displayed in the right hand corner of the newly updated Google+ Stream. Already a huge…

  • #Top30 Hotels Irish Hotels on Twitter #Top30IEHotels

    William
    17 May 2013 | 6:31 am
    This week’s Top 30 Irish Hotels on Twitter is up. 3 hotels have moved up the list. Congratulations to Jurys Inns Hotels who is #1 on the list for the 6th week! Has your hotel made the list? Download the list as a PDF here Rank Hotel Location Followers TwitterGrade 1st Jurys Inns Hotels Nationwide 8,837 100 2nd Cliff House Hotel Co. Waterford 8,428 100 3rd Sheen Falls Lodge Co.Kerry 7100 100 4th Mount Juliet Co. Kilkenny 7,023 100 5th Ireland Blue Book Nationwide 6,793 100 6th Ballymaloe Co.Cork 6,772 100 7th The Merchant Hotel Belfast, Northern Ireland 6,658 100 8th Gregans Castle Co.

  • The Press Release is NOT dying

    William
    17 May 2013 | 2:10 am
    The press release is not dying; it is evolving, expanding and interacting with “New Media” in many dynamic and effective ways. Unfortunately, some hotels have stopped sending or posting press releases on their web sites, leaving the task of reaching out to media to their Facebook and Twitter pages. The Press Release is Dead. PR’s most time-honored tool will soon wind up in a virtual landfill, alongside video cassettes, Hostess Cupcakes and print newspapers. It’s electronic all the way. Press Releases are an anachronism, and the tweets the thing – your entire marketing message in 140…

  • Top 30 Irish Hotel Pages on Facebook #Top30IEHotels

    William
    14 May 2013 | 2:40 am
    This week 2 hotels have moved up and there has been 1 new entry. Has your hotel made the list? Well done to The Glenside Hotel who are celebrating their 38th week at the top of the list! Download list as PDF here Rank Hotel/Group Location Fans 1st The Glenside Hotel Co. Louth 43,918 2nd Bewleys Hotels Nationwide 36,275 3rd The G Hotel Co. Galway 34,322 4th Galgorm Resort & Spa Co. Antrim 27,841 5th Carlton Hotel Group Nationwide 27,563 6th Slieve-Russell-Hotel Co. Cavan 26,712 7th Hastings Hotels Northern Ireland 24,117 8th The Merchant Hotel Co Antrim 21,218 9th Carton House Ireland Co.
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    The Travel Word

  • Six Things to Do in Nairobi, Kenya

    laurel
    6 May 2013 | 12:00 am
    Mention Nairobi to the Average Joe and you’re likely to be subjected to a barrage of incredulous questions along the lines of “You do realise it’s EXTREMELY dangerous, don’t know?” Elephant playtime at the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi National Park, Kenya. Photo courtesy of Samuel Hopkins Often mislabelled and maligned by a sometimes ruthless and distorted media as the granddaddy of hazardous African cities (alongside Nigeria’s Lagos and South Africa’s Johannesburg, of course), Nairobi, Kenya, is to many travellers simply a no-go zone.

  • Miraculous El Sauce, Nicaragua

    laurel
    2 May 2013 | 6:00 am
    The river swelled and prevented his crossing. When Guadalupe Trejos was ordered to oversee the safe passage of El Christo Negro back to El Guayabal, a number of strange occurrences befell him. The final one sent him to his grave. The statue of the Black Christ would remain where it had been placed, beneath the willow tree (in Spanish el sauce) in the rich emerald valley. Catholic officials from Guatemala would twice more attempt to return El Christo Negro. Twice more the river would rise, malaria would strike and those sent to remove the relic would perish. El Christo Negro refused to move,…

  • The Thermal Greenhouse Town of Hveragerði: Iceland’s Offbeat Hotbed

    cynthia
    29 Apr 2013 | 12:00 am
    “Warning! Hot Spring Area” cautions a sign on the outskirts of Hveragerði, Iceland. Bilious clouds of steam rise up from the ground. I take the message as a sign that I’ve found what I was looking for in Iceland – hot springs in their most raw and natural form, without a manmade pool in sight. The goal: bathe in a babbling thermal river. The town of Hveragerði, just 45 minutes outside Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik, was built over a volcanic magma chamber, capitalising on the abundance of steam and hot water rising from the ground. Here, superheated groundwater can reach…

  • Why Earth Day Should Become Earth Year

    editor
    22 Apr 2013 | 10:27 am
    Today is Earth Day, the annual global event held to highlight environmental issues and demonstrate support for environmental protection. It is being celebrated in 2013 by more than one billion people across 192 countries, having grown over the years from an active street protest in the United States to multiple platforms all over the world for talking about and committing to “acts of green.” NASA celebrates Earth Day online and at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo courtesy of Flickr/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center It All Starts with Raising Awareness I think we can all agree that raising…

  • Sustainable Design and Adapting Tourism Architecture in Jordan and Morocco

    laurel
    18 Apr 2013 | 5:00 am
    This article was published by our friends at The International Ecotourism Society, who have agreed to its republication here. View the original article on their Your Travel Choice blog. It is interesting how globalization affects us. For example, how an idea comes to fruition in the USA, can be nurtured in Canada, and then achieved in the Middle East. While attending the 2012 Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), attendees were fortunate enough to listen to a fantastic panel discussion led by Muna Haddad, from the Baraka Consulting Agency, on conducting tourism in a crisis…
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    Small City Branding Around the World

  • Successful City Branding: Don’t Hire a Painter if You Need an Architect

    Bill Baker
    13 May 2013 | 12:08 pm
    We have recently encountered situations where advertising, web design, visual design and communications agencies pitch for, and win, the development of brand strategies for cities and regions with disastrous results. Unfortunately, few of these agencies had any tourism or city brand planning credentials. Brand planning can be a very confusing situation for city leaders and marketers or panelists on a selection committee. In some cases, unsuspecting locals have been lured by the “glitter” of the advertising examples and designs presented by these agencies, causing them to lose sight of…

  • Is Glasgow Heading in The Right Direction for Its City Brand?

    Bill Baker
    30 Apr 2013 | 4:41 am
    Over the years I have admired the way in which Glasgow, Scotland overcame its reputation for urban and industrial decay to be recognized as European City of Culture in 1990. In recent decades Glasgow has also been at the forefront in developing several brand strategies to define and project its identity. Glasgow City Council is once again “set to launch a new brand” and the media reports have me scratching my head. Firstly, I must say that journalists frequently don’t understand city branding and often try to boil it down to a catchy slogan, hence the reports may not reflect the true…

  • Brand Planning Should be the CEO’s Baby

    Bill Baker
    22 Apr 2013 | 3:46 pm
    At the conclusion of a recent presentation on place branding, I was approached by the CEO of a mid-west Chamber of Commerce who lamented that their brand planning had resulted in a bland and uncompetitive outcome. To my surprise, the CEO went on to take the blame himself by saying, “I made the mistake of delegating the project to our marketing manager and not taking responsibility to drive the process myself.” I’m sure that he hasn’t made the admission within his community or to his Board, but it’s commendable that he recognized this as being a major factor in the brand's mediocre…

  • Developing a Place Brand Calls for a Different Approach

    Bill Baker
    14 Apr 2013 | 2:11 am
    When discussing the differences in branding places and consumer products with friends in advertising agencies, they frequently maintain that there is no difference between the two. To some extent they are correct. However there are differences that have a profound influence on the brand planning, brand implementation and brand management. These relate to the complexities of ownership, consultation, decision-making, product development, and experience delivery. The path to revealing a city or place brand can be a tricky one that usually involves a multitude of stakeholders and departs somewhat…

  • Washington State Legislators Didn't Get the Memo

    Bill Baker
    8 Apr 2013 | 2:23 pm
    I was pleased to read the report “Travel Means Jobs” by the U.S. Travel Association which highlighted the growing awareness of the role that tourism can play in the US economy. Unfortunately, the Washington State legislature didn’t get the memo because its new draft budget again provides no funding for tourism marketing.    Two years ago the state tourism office was closed when State funds were originally cut. Since then the state has lost market share. The State’s move made Washington the first state in the country with no state money to promote itself. To help fill the void, the…
 
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    BookingCounts

  • Title Tag Optimization for Travel SEO and Book Later Bookmarking

    Scott (BookingCounts)
    30 Apr 2013 | 2:11 am
    The all-important html page “Title Tag” is often mentioned as one of the first SEO areas for tour, hotel and vacation package websites.  It’s original purpose is to name each unique web page, similar to the subject line in an email message.  The title tags get shown in the tabs of your web browser (hover over with your mouse if it is truncated) and often on the list of open windows (e.g. the status bar) for a minimized browser. More importantly nowadays, it is a basic element to being discovered on search engines.  Optimizing the booking-friendly title across a travel…

  • What to Include in a Hotel Email Newsletter

    Scott (BookingCounts)
    5 Apr 2013 | 11:16 am
    Publishing an email newsletter for your hotel, inn, B&B, or specialty lodging is a smart idea to acquire new customers and encourage repeat business. The easy part is to sign up with an email list service like MailChimp or Constant Contact (see a previous post about selecting an email service provider for travel). The challenging part is figuring out what to include in each hotel newsletter. It must be fresh and appealing to both past guests and potential future guests. Visitors that sign up to your hotel email list have already expressed a strong interest in staying at your property.

  • Be a Travel Remarketer with the Book Later Button Early Adopter Beta

    Scott (BookingCounts)
    8 Mar 2013 | 11:21 am
    Your “Book Now” button has a new partner – the “Book Later” button from BookingCounts. It makes it possible to capture your typical visitor who is interested but “Not Ready” to click the Book Now button. By asking for their email address it can automatically send them a reminder to return at a later date. Now you can leverage both paid and search traffic to get a second chance to convince people to make a booking in the future.  The travel email remarketing widget + app from BookingCounts delivers this and more. Do you engage in online marketing for…

  • Email Auto-Responders for Hotel and Tour Customer Service

    Scott (BookingCounts)
    21 Feb 2013 | 2:49 am
    Your hotel contact and reservation requests arrive from all over the world and throughout the day to your inbox. For the independent hotel, B&B, and tour operator, it is simply not possible to respond to email requests immediately. And there is no reason to if you set up an automated response message for when you are not at the reservation answer desk. So is turning on the auto-responder message a smart idea for your hotel or tour contact email address? Why Set Up an Auto-Responder for your Hotel or Tour Booking Website There are many reasons why someone who reaches your tourism website…

  • Review of Email Newsletter Providers for Travel Marketing

    Scott (BookingCounts)
    8 Jan 2013 | 2:41 am
    Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of Internet marketing. And it is still one of the most effective despite the popularity of sharing on social media networks. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are great ways to push out travel content and encourage sharing but does it really increase booking rates?  Sending an email newsletter is the optimal way to remind past visitors to come back to your site to resume trip planning activities. So you are already convinced that publishing an email newsletter is an essential part of your travel marketing strategy.  Now it is time to review a few of…
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    Our Blog

  • Chinatown Restaurants in San Francisco Offer Exotic Taste Treats

    Kevin Clarke
    15 May 2013 | 7:48 am
    In San Francisco, the Chinatown restaurants offer exotic flavors from Canton, Hunan and other Asian cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese. Chinatown sprouted from the area originally settled as Alta California. A Swiss engineer laid out La Calle de la Fundacion (now Grant Ave.) in 1839 when he plotted the original town (from Sacramento to Pacific and Grant to Montgomery). Portsmouth Square was the central plaza for this already multi-national population. The small lot size and quirky streets of that era can still be found in the maze of dead-end alleys at the heart of Chinatown. Hang Ah Tea Room…

  • Conscious Business, Lifestyle & Travel: Bettina Gordon on Niagara Falls

    Natalie Costa
    28 Feb 2013 | 7:56 am
    Former Mauiva AirCruise travel host and current travel writer, Bettina Gordon reviews her experience visiting Niagara Falls the Mauiva way. Read on for an excerpt from her in-depth reflection of her watery wanderings. "I decide to let go of the rail and raise my face so the water hits me straight on and makes breathing difficult. I sway, hit the person next to me, try to stand up straight again and get doused with another wave of raindrops. Can’t stop smiling from ear to ear. I want to be part of a most intense natural performance that has been going on for millennia. I want to feel it,…

  • Take a Walk on the Wild Side

    Natalie Costa
    20 Feb 2013 | 11:00 am
    And now, coming in at 34 feet in diameter and an astounding 209 feet tall, The Grizzly Giant! Nestled in Mariposa Grove, California of Yosemite National Park, this giant Sequoia is known worldwide and is estimated to be “born” around 700 B.C.E. The majesty and grandeur of the massive sequoias (or Sequoiadendron giganteum) that sprinkle the Grove are evident, but there are more than just sticks and leaves to these barkin’ old trees. Image courtesy of U.S. National Park Service How to See It Mariposa Road Grove is an often-travelled two-mile path that is open to visitors April through…

  • Love is in the Air: Come Fly Away with Mauiva AirCruise

    Natalie Costa
    13 Feb 2013 | 12:59 pm
    With Valentine’s Day upon us, San Francisco is the perfect place to celebrate love! There are a variety of activities for all ages. Some that highlight the amorous holiday and others that let you just relax. In fact, February 8th through the 17th marks San Francisco Beer Week, which boasts over 325 craft beer events in the Bay Area. But, you don’t have to put your trip to San Fran on the expressway. If you're looking with something with a little less of a timelime, you can check out Dinosaur Revolution at the San Francsico Zoo now through May 12th. Or, if you prefer adventures of the…

  • Blogger Spotlight: Travel Destination Bucket List

    Natalie Costa
    6 Feb 2013 | 8:46 am
    About the blogger: Freelance travel blogger and photographer, Anita Mac of TravelDestinationBucketList has slowly been crossing bucket list destinations and adventures off her many bucket lists. The question on her lips: where to next?            The Allure of Niagara on the Lake With something for everyone in Canada’s Niagara on the Lake, what is not to love?  With accolades like the prettiest city in Canada, Top Canadian Food & Wine destination and most recently, named Canada’s 2nd most romantic city by Reader’s Digest, Canada...what could be…
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    Tourism Management Education

  • Things To Consider If You’re A Regular Traveller

    Tourism Management
    4 May 2013 | 7:13 am
    Travelling is one of the most exciting things a person can experience. Everybody dreams of travelling to a new city or even to a new country. If you are thinking of travelling, or if your job includes a lot of travel, then there are many things you need to keep in mind. Travelling can certainly [...]

  • Crazy Weed Restaurant in Canmore, Alberta

    Tourism Management
    3 May 2013 | 4:53 am
    Crazy Weed in Canmore has an awesome menu. It’s not too big or too small, and fits on one page. The menu changes weekly based on what products are available, and what new creative insights inspire the chef. I went with a group of eight people. This was on purpose and for the sole reason [...]

  • Top 5 Things to Do in Dubai

    Tourism Management
    26 Apr 2013 | 7:01 am
    Getting off to the beaten path, camel rides in Golden Dunes, thrash ride on two-wheels, shopping from over-filled market, simply restful time on pleasant beaches and diverse color of the city- is all you envision before heading to a place for vacation. An elegant country such Dubai truly lends itself on the ground of adventures [...]

  • 5 Places To Visit For Wildlife Lovers In USA

    Tourism Management
    23 Apr 2013 | 12:27 am
    When one thinks of the USA, images of Hollywood, New York or Los Angeles comes to mind. These are definitely a large part of the country however it is only a part of what the country has to offer. There are large spectacular areas of abundant wilderness for the visitor who wishes to take in [...]

  • Platis Gialos, Mykonos

    Tourism Management
    7 Apr 2013 | 1:39 pm
    Platis Gialos, or sometimes otherwise spelled as Platys Gialos, is a popular tourist resort in Mykonos. Found to the south side of the island, it is a distance of 4 kilometers from Chora. This beach is a very well-organized beach with beautiful stretches of sand and water. The crystalline waters, the long, sandy beach and [...]
 
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