360DigitalInfluence

Hello, travelers and marketers, alike.  We know we’ve been a bit MIA lately but please know we are eager and willing to share our thoughts, perspectives and ideas about travel in 2010!  We’ve been putting together our editorial calendar, leaving room for spontaneous posts of course but at the onset, wanted to share some ideas about trends and hot spots in the industry that we’re keeping a close watch on:

- Let’s Make a Deal: travel is buyers’ market not more than ever

-  Rise of the Web: viral offers, reviews, experiences and new tools

- The -isms within tourism: eco, medical, religious, volunteer, etc.

- The Best of the Best: analyze our favorite and the most successful campaigns we are seeing come to life

- A POV on Thier POV: Watching travel watch travel leaders are saying and breaking it down

These are just some broad strokes of what we’re looking to get into this year - what else would you add? What are some of your favorite travel trends yet this year?  We’ll be watching our favorite travel brands (destinations, airlines, hotels, carriers and online aggregates) as well as our fellow travel bloggers (Jaunted, WorldHum, Earth, Matador and the Window Seat, to name a few) for inspiration and thoughts as well!

Looking forward to many traveling thoughts in 2010!

We saw it with The Hangover with Facebook promotions about Las Vegas vacations, there was so much buzz about Up in the Air promoting a global airline and hotel brand and now, watch out for travel trends from Alice in Wonderland?

This morning I was surprised but more than anything I was really excited to hear Oxford, the city of dreaming spires, has plans to leverage the buzz and excitement about Tim Burton’s latest adventure in Wonderland.  In college, I spent my junior year studying in Oxford and I was lucky enough to have an English courses that focused on the works of Lewis Carroll, headlined of course with Alice.  When we had completed the book and a deep dive into its’ meanings, our professor took us on the Alice Tour which took us to Binsley Village, Christ Church (where portions of the Harry Potter flicks are filmed), and along the River Thames, where the story was first told.

While Oxford didn’t aid in the filming of this movie, they can certainly stand to gain tourism revenue with the star-studded cast bringing to life a story that emerged from its’ backyard.  So, if you’re looking to attend the Mad Hatter’s tea party and follow Alice’s footsteps, take a trip across the pond and see it all first hand.  What a great way to recognize an international pop culture trend and bring it back to it’s roots.  Cheers, Oxford!

Well, if you continue to live outside of social media trends, you might not know Twitter has rolled out it’s new latest functionality in the form of lists - and it’s all the rage.  Of course, it didn’t take long for users to complain about the list option - it’s interface, accessibliity and how it inevitably becomes a popularity contest of sorts.  In effort to get people back to the homepage, seems as though the leaders at Twitter have come up with something that’s both helpful and stirring some buzz.

In reality, the lists are great for new Twitter users who wonder what they should be doing there.  Lists provide a quick way to find interesting people to follow, by category and interests… enter tourism.   For those looking to be in the know on tourism trends, deals and more but are new to Twitter, lists provide a great solution.  If you’re not sure what your handle (read: name) should be or who to follow and how to gain followers, lists are the perfect solution to browse a selection of tourism enthusiasts and pick who’s right for your niche.  From tourism blogs to specific countries, hotels, influential tourism leaders and travel columnists, it’s all just a tweet away. 

Today’s Jaunted newsletter spotlighted the top five tourism lists which serve as a great kick start.  With that as ammo, you should have a great base to get out and start tweeting to build buzz and awareness of your destination, carrier or hospitality clients!  Or follow me @EEPR_17 and check out the influential travelers on my lists!

As a PR girl on the go, and a practicing tourism marketer, I am always trying to keep my eyes and ears open to hot travel trends…so, what led me to business travel, something tried and true for many professions?

Well, if nothing else, business travel a constant and it struggles, has issues and is something tourism clients from all categories - airlines, hotels, and destinations can flourish or flounder with the support (or lack) of.  So, it’s an inherent trend that ebbs and flows… we have to keep up with those jet setters! 

The latest from the New York Times is telling us the business traveler must “work harder. Fit more productivity into each trip. Become a lot more accessible on the road — even on airplanes, using new in-flight wireless services.” 

As a business traveler myself, I’m inclined to agree.  When I’m in NYC for a meeting, I make the most of catching up with media, clients, colleagues and even vendors.  There’s not a minute that passes on a business trip that I can’t squeeze another opportunity to find a new business connection, further develop an existing relationship or brainstorm ideas for the next great Ogilvy opportunity in the tourism sector.  

So: we’re busy.  The business traveler gets that by now, I think.

Conde Nast’s Business Travel Awards were recently published and the results proved that business travel, while down (flat is the new up according to some), the industry has never seen such hard work and harder bottom lines: Yes, more than 50 percent report their companies have reduced the number of employees who hit the road.   But one-fifth believe their spending will return to pre-recession levels in a year or less. 

What does that mean for us - it’s time to roll out the red carpet.

Not with prices, fees and the like… but instead, with hospitality.  At the core of all tourism clients - hotels, destinations, airlines - lies hospitality.  The business traveler’s patience is wearing thin and customer service is more important now than ever before.  We, as representatives of the companies they keep, the companies they rely on and turn to during these increasinglybusy trips must be transparent and hospitale in our offers and communication.  In doing this, we’ll have another opportunity to secure return customers - both our clients and their clients, the business traveler. 

“The Princess Bride” (a fantastic film unrelated to the business traveler) is memorable for many quotes but one comes to mind used throughout the movie: “as you wish.”  This phrase should be a tenant to those service industries targeting the business traveler but also to us as marketers who ought to be hospitable in all interactions with clients, media and business travelers…

Anyone can boast cool travels and show off pictures on Flickr and Facebook.  It’s the two weeks before  you go, when you are hyping up your next big trip, when family and friends start to come out of the woodwork and hint for gifts and trinkets from a foriegn destination.  So, this got me thinking - does everyone seek out the same type of momento when asking others to pick them up something?

This summer, more than ever before, people are taking advantage of the summer travel trend - deals.  The media can’t get enough about writing how Americans are “drunk on deals” but once we’re there - wherever there might be - we’ve got to buy something to show we’ve been.  A right of travel passage, if you will. 

For me, it’s jewelry, snapping great pictures of water or unique door fronts and finding unique travel posters.  I’m a sucker for outdated travel posters - detailed drawings, one line tags with a dollop of copy and scenic depictions that make you want to visit again and again.  Old school advertising at it’s best - aspirational and attainable.  My living room and kitchen both attest for my vintage travel poster obsession and it’s now become something I am seeking out for myself…before I check off the laundry list of family and friends trinkets and travel treasures. 

Do you have certain travel trinkets you seek out when on the road?  My sisters look for shot glasses, I have a girlfriend who loves shoes from different areas codes and my mom might have a t-shirt for every American city she has ever visited (not too proud of that accomplishment).

Once it’s all bagged up and I’m ready to head home, it’s just a matter of praying my luggage isn’t too hefty - and based on Ian’s post, that they get home to adorn the walls at all!

Word of mouth - as marketers we talk about buzz and word of mouth time and time again.   As travelers, we rely on it. From destinations to activities, hotels to airlines - more often than not, travelers turn to peers and family members for recommendations before clicking ‘book.’  

Travel research consistently shows the importance of word of mouth in the travel decision-making process - and for those looking to make long or short-haul trips, this source is free.  As we’re growing more conscious of our wallets, we are becoming that much more aware of others opinions to really trust a destination - or the means to get there.

A recent surveyfrom HotelMarketing.com showed 56% prefer to look at travel Web sites on weekday evenings.  What does this mean for us travel marketers?  Talk to the folks at travel Web sites or influential travel bloggers - and talk to them often.  

We can certainly talk with travel folks in the social media sphere - enlist them to host a contest on their blog, find an angle we know resonates with their audiences or send them on a familiarization trip where they can blog live from the destination.  All of these show an unbiased approach to experiences a hotel, a new destination, an airline or even a game for road trips.  The travel bloggers’ influence is unmatched in terms of reviews and recommendations as they call it like the see it, show pictures, share rates and are pretty reliable for all around vacation recommendations.  Some of my favorites to follow are Jaunted, The Mindful Tourist  and The Art of Nonconformity.  Each of these offer ideas, recommendations and visuals - with links - to different getaways, with various focuses and are written in a casual tone, allowing for many followers who turn to these bloggers as if they’re friends  - and word of mouth then comes full circle.

A 6 a.m. flight to NYC, the redeye home from a Vegas trade show or even an overnight, international flight to meet new clients. PR professionals, travel-focused or not, have their fair share of trials and tribulations with delays, hotels and rush hour traffic. If you’re one of the lucky few, you will have learned about how to best parlay travel experience into opportunities for existing clients and ideas for potential new ones. It’s our chance to be the audience we target on a daily basis - the traveler, the consumer.

In four years in PR and airports, I’ve traveled to Las Vegas, Arkansas, Ouro Puerto, Miami and North Carolina to name a few. My travels provide insight into what a destination, hotel and airline should highlight.

One thing I focus on now more than ever is niche travel programming. Last week I had the opportunity to travel with tour operators, meeting hotel managers and destination promoters.  In taking some key insights and tricks of the trade from them and from my ongoing conversations with media, I’ve learned tailoring programs to meet a specific audience’s need is how to best create actionable messaging, creating results for clients.

More often than not, tour operators are planning trips that talior to specific requests according to The Travel Zone.   So we, the people who share messages, should be offering more specific adventures - ecotourism, gastronomic, nightlife of otherwise (Check out this site for a variety of niche travel ideas: Niche Travel: The Full Report).  These are the stories that inspire once-in-lifetime trips near or far, unique memories and ultimately, the effective word of mouth that increases similar visits.

So here’s to the places we go - delays and all - here, there and everywhere!

Architecture, beaches, adventure, relaxation — any of these can serve as the basis for booking a trip, but one thing each trip has in common is something we need and continue to learn about as we discover new corners of the world: food.

As an avid traveler and occasional amateur cook, I seek out adventures in travel and the meals that fill up each trip’s dance card and am often influenced by Food & Travel Blog . In doing so, I’ve found a lot about a population’s culture and way of life can be discovered by diving fork first into new experiences. Living in England, I realized breakfast was a big meal and lunch was often a lite snack and fresh fruit was never more prominent than in my trips to Brazil.

From Dublin to Des Moines, every destination has culinary strengths that highlight local flavors. Foods like moqueca, a fish stew full of fresh catches and local spices, is best experienced in its native Salvador, Brazil, while delicious pasta and wines go unmatched in top-rated restaurants in Rome.

Thanks to low airfare prices (Bargain Babe) travelers are lucky to find authentic food experiences globally, truly tasting the destinations’ local flavors. What’s more important is that anyone, whether they’ve traveled to every culinary corner of the world, can do their part to bring various cultures into their home by expanding their cooking repertoire. As marketers, it’s key to showcase the gastronomy of a destination as food is something we all have in common, we can experience as we trek around the world and each of us can bring those varied cultures to our own kitchen tables, if we’re brave enough to expand the grocery list.