Why Google City Tours is Important to Tourism
Google released their latest labs project called “City Tours” last week. I was quick to jump on the bandwagon and take a look, but I resisted from posting right away because I wanted to think a little more deeply about the implications of the application. Let’s not forget that Google is a powerhouse...
5 Tools for Building On-line Trust in Travel
One of the biggest challenges for any on-line business, especially on-line travel businesses is building trust with the on-line consumer. In my Tourism week post titled “Building On-line Credibility” I discussed ways that businesses can build their credibility on-line. In this post, I am going to share with...
Open Travel Alliance and the Future of Travel Distribution
For many in travel, distribution would be considered the lifeblood of the industry. The triumverate of travel, or the BIG THREE of distribution, would tend to agree. These companies, born from the days when the only products you could distribute were airline tickets, have now expanded into other products like hotel...
Tourism is an Experience Industry, So Deliver Experiences
One of my favorite things about speaking at conferences and seminars around the World is what I learn while I’m there. I often find that I learn just as much being at these confernences as the attendees learn from me. One such experience was at the Creative Lapland Seminar in Rovaniemi, Finland. The theme of...
Tourism Week - Technology Tip #5 - Sell Globally Deliver Locally
Distribution has been a common (if not cumbersome) part of life for airlines and hotels for many years now. But hotels and airlines are only the thin edge of the wedge when it comes to the abundance of tourism products that could potentially be distributed. Destination product suppliers like walking tours, whale watching,...
Tourism Week - Technology Tip #4 - Social Media Must Dos
One of the major benefits that small tourism companies have over larger competitors is that they tend to me more nimble and quick to respond to opportunities with technology. The other clear benefit is that the owner/operator or someone very close to the company can add a human face and element to the organizations social...
Tourism Week - Technology Tip #3 - EmbraceYour Mobile
To demonstrate my point, I’m writing this post on my iPhone. Why, you ask, would I take the time to tap out a full post on my mobile? Partly because I wanted to prove a point but mostly because the battery on my laptop ran out and I really wanted to get this post done. Okay, back to the point. Mobile devices like...
Tourism Week - Technology Tip #2 - Building On-line Credibility
One of the biggest on-line challenges for a small business, especially a tourism related business, is developing on-line credibility. What do I mean by on-line credibility? Basically it is how credible or legitimate your business appears to be to yout on-line audience. On-line credibility is very much like your real...
Tourism Week - Technology Tip #1 - The Costs of a Website
In celebration of Tourism Week 2009, I would like to present a series of posts that will provide you with the basic tools you’ll need to take the leap to on-line marketing and sales for your tourism business. Although the principles are shared across many industries, I will be referring to tourism specific terms...
Australia’s Tourism E-Kit Model is one to Emulate
I was recently informed that Rezgo.com has been included in the latest version of the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse Tourism E-Kit. This is exciting news because I really like the concept of the Tourism E-Kit and the way that it is put together. I would gather that most tourism businesses outside of Australia have...
New Addition to My Top iPhone Apps for Travel - The TripIt App
The TripIt App was just released in the App store on Friday April 11th. I received an email from Peter at TripIt letting me know about the app and within five minutes I had it installed on my iPhone. A Closer Look at the TripIt App Once installed you have to sign into your TripIt account using the Open Authentication...
Technology Can Drive Tourism Innovation
One of the most powerful aspects about tourism is that it is an industry that everyone in a destination can participate in. Whether they know it or not, everyone from the local bus driver to the hot dog vendor on the corner is contributing or benefiting from the tourism industry. In a mature market like Vancouver, most...
Interview with Scott Woodhouse, Travellr.com
Scott Woodhouse, CMO of Travellr.com contacted me in early March to invite me and my readers to participate in a private beta test of Travellr.com, a new website he has launched. What I really liked was the fact that Scott was proactive and created a beta code “t4blog” before he contacted me. For all you...
Photoshop Elements + Photoshop.com + Shozu + iPhone = Awesome Travel Photo Package
Usually I’m a little more focused on travel industry and innovation related commentary, but today I wanted to share my point of view as a travel consumer using technology. I’ve been playing with a variety of tools for both the iPhone and PC for handling photos. Why phots? Because photos, in my opinion, are...
Welcome to the T4 Blog
The travel & tourism industry is all about connections. Connecting people, places, and cultures. Using new technologies, social media, and social networks can help to foster the connections that we share. I would like to share with you some of my experiences as an innovator in this new world of connectivity and build connections for all tourism related businesses both large and small.
