The world of online travel has changed dramatically over the years. Suppliers have moved away from traditional distribution in order to sell directly to consumers. Distribution companies have purchased online travel agencies in order to control sales and distribution. Traditional travel agencies have lost out to consolidation and the seemingly endless marketing budgets of the large OTAs. But now we are beginning to see some new phenomena appear. Travelers are asking more questions, doing more research, and taking their time as they find products and destinations that meet their specific needs.
One of the largest and most influential spheres of online research is the blogging community. As a travel technologist and a proponent of non-traditional product distribution, I am intrigued by the power of user generated content. Recent research shows that peer reviews have a dramatic effect on how travelers make travel buying decisions. More than ever, travelers are relying on the opinions of peers, non-commercial writers, and the average passenger, rather than relying on the recommendations of agents, commercial writers, or corporate marketers. By examining these travel & tourism technology trends we can better understand how user generated content, social media, and peer reviews impact e-tourism globally and how to use these emerging trends to the benefit of our organizations.
Tips from the T-List brings together the collective intelligence of dozens of influential travel industry bloggers from around the World. The blogs and the authors that are represented in this book are recognized online resources; they are the people the industry turns to for advice, recommendations, tips, and insider knowledge. By sharing their experience with you, these authors are providing you with an opportunity to embrace e-tourism in a new way. My hope is that this book will provide you with inspiration and insights that help your e-tourism efforts flourish.
Why a book comprised of the best travel blogs?
Well, quite frankly, there is a lot of information about internet marketing and e-strategies in travel and tourism online, however it is very hard to find, especially when it comes to evaluating the source. Lots of great information is published by practitioners that write about their experiences on their own blogs - instead of academics writing about internet marketing concepts in textbooks that are very quickly outdated. Not to discount the value of textbooks and whitepapers, we felt a compilation of the best travel blogs and their best marketing-related posts would bring another dimension to this fast moving subject. In the end, we want this book to add some value to the global hotel and travel industry, but it should also be just a little bit of fun. Bottom line: it’s an experiment. Anthony Williams, the author of the bestselling book “Wikinomics” (http://www.wikinomics.com/), preaches the concept of mass collaboration, and is the opening keynote speaker at Canada-e-Connect. We thought we’d put this concept into action and leverage the T-List community to collaborate on this exciting project.
What is the T-List?
The T-List (T standing for Travel) is basically a collection of travel blogs on the Internet that was first compiled by Mathieu Oullet in March 2006 (/) with just a handful of blogs. It was born out of the desire to see what other travel blogs are out there. The list grew very rapidly, as it was a way for bloggers to get exposure and increase traffic, and also a first step to get connected with each other. In July 2006, Jens Thraenhart decided to leverage Facebook as a potential platform to build a community of travel-related bloggers (/). The list grew and became almost too big. Then Kevin May finally decided to publish the Recommended T-List, which included travel blogs that seemed to consistently output valuable content.
How was this idea born?
The mandate of the first Canadian e-Tourism Strategy Conference, Canada-e-Connect, is to create a platform for the Canadian travel and tourism industry to embrace and leverage emerging technologies and new media channels. It is not enough for the Canadian Tourism Commission, progressive Provincial and Destination Marketing Organizations, strong travel, hotel, and airline brands to build engaging websites and execute innovative campaigns; the entire industry should leverage this new medium and understand changing consumer research and purchasing behaviors. So basically taking the concept of the power of the weakest link into consideration when it comes to the success of marketing an entire country such as Canada as a tourism destination.
When Stephen Joyce contacted Jens Thraenhart to express his excitement at having Canada-e-Connect in Vancouver (http://tourismtechnology.rezgo.com/), and wanted to show his appreciation in supporting the conference, he proposed the idea of giving something back to the attendees that leveraged all of the communities voices and provided value. These discussions led to the birth of the “Tips from the T-List Book”.
