Travel & Tourism Technology Trends

Prerequisites: In order to successfully complete this daily action, you will need:

1. An Internet connection because you will be doing on-line research.
2. A file folder marked “Website Content”.
3. A folder on your MAC or PC called “Website Content” with sub-folders for documents, photos, and videos.

Estimated Time for Completion: 1-2 hours

Details: By far the most difficult part of any website project is the content creation process.  If you choose to outsource the development of your site including the design, development, and hosting, you will still be responsible for the content.  So why not just outsource the content too?  Simply because no one knows your business like you do.  I doubt you would be happy with third party content no matter how well it was written.

Trying to come up with content for your website can seem overwhelming.  This is where your web plan and site map can save you from hours of frustration and confusion.  Before you refer to your web plan and site map though, I recommend you follow these simple steps to get content ready:

1. Locate and collect all the written material you have for your tour or activity business.  This might be brochures, flat sheets, newspaper ads, and/or notes on a napkin.  At this point, it doesn’t matter what the content is, you are looking for material.  Place all this hard copy material into a folder marked “Website Content”.  This will serve as a physical repository for your content.
2. Write down or gather up all the information you have for your tours and activities.  This includes itineraries, schedules, photos, and videos.  If you have these items in electronic form then copy or move them into a folder called “Website Content” (or something similar).  Be sure to create a sub-folder for photos and videos so that it is easy to see what assets you have.
3. Visit your competitor’s websites and download screen shots or print off pages that you think are a good example of the kind of content you want on your site.  Important! You are doing this for research only, please do not copy content from a competitor’s websites.

Now that you have aggregated all your existing content into a physical file folder and an electronic folder you are ready to build your content plan.  As you do your on-line research or continue to keep tabs on your competitors, I recommend you use your physical and electronic folders as a way of organizing content moving forward.

Outcome: If you are successful at completing this daily action, you will have a physical file folder filled with clippings, print outs, and existing assets.  You should also have an electronic folder filled with documents, photos, and videos.