By Feature Writer Frederic Gonzalo: For travel marketers, in particular at the destination level, travel blogs play an important role in crafting the attractiveness of the place, its people and the stories that shape its daily life, no matter what time of year. The important thing is to know what role this content is intended to play in the overall online destination marketing strategy, in order to find a good fit for all parties involved: the travel blogger, the destination… and the traveler. Or holidaymaker.
The Growing Trend of Bleisure Travel
By Feature Writer Frederic Gonzalo: What do you get when more and more business travelers extend their stay at their destination for leisure purposes? Bleisure travel is the awful moniker coined to define what is undoubtedly a growing trend in the travel industry, as the blurring of personal and professional lives of travelers increases on a global level.
The Evolving Role of the Transactional DMO
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: The Destination Marketing Organization looks after the marketing and communications of a territory, municipality, or region. In most cases, a DMO represents a variety of industry stakeholders, such as accommodations, transportation, restaurants, festivals and events, attractions, shopping, spas, and meeting planning facilities and providers. As such, destination marketing is a vital component of the travel decision and purchase funnel for consumers as they plan their next vacation or business trip. Both the New York City's public/private tourism promotion company NYCGo and the San Francisco Travel Association recently announced they had reached agreements with Booking.com, an online travel agency (OTA), to have it openly provide the transactional engine on their official websites. Could this mark the beginning of a new and lasting trend?
Can Social Networks Contribute to Responsible Tourism?
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: Personally, I don't think social networks alone contribute to responsible tourism, yet I firmly believe they act as catalysts to empower locals and travelers to shake the industry and create a new order that has yet to be specified. This disruption aligns in many ways with what defines responsible tourism, thus destinations need to take notice.
How Our Flying Experience Is Changing
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: Within both the international and domestic travel industries, airlines and airports play a pivotal role. International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that airlines will carry some 3.6 billion passengers in 2016 – an increase of around 800 million over 2011 passenger numbers! Yet with increasing mobile device adoption, new technologies and social media disrupting the customer experience at various levels in the hospitality world, how is our overall flying experience changing? A recent report produced by SITA sheds interesting light on this perspective.
The Holy Trinity of Digital Travel Marketing
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: Which digital marketing tactic do you think is most important?
Mobile usage in travel on the rise
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: In December 2012, I wrote a piece called The Mobile Revolution in Travel about recent trends and reports that painted what seemed to be an optimistic portrait regarding mobile adoption rates and its impact for the travel industry. Less than a year later, it appears as if reports were, if anything, very conservative: the growth is in fact staggering!
Collaborative Economy in Travel: The Big Disruptor
By Frederic Gonzalo: What do sites such as AirBnB, Relayrides, Cookening or Vayable have in common? They are all, in their own way and in their own niche, web platforms presently shaking the travel & hospitality industry inside out, with a groundswell that few are considering seriously: the collaborative economy.
Why The Destination Marketing Organization Model Is Broken
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: Today, destinations are facing a much different reality with traveler behaviors and decision-making processes shifting like never before. This is due in great part to four important disruptors shaking the foundations of the industry.
Big Data in Tourism & Hospitality: 4 Key Components
By feature writer Frederic Gonzalo: Identified as one of the major trends impacting the travel industry, among many other industries, big data is already playing an important role in how travel organizations are shifting their efforts. Many people think it's a "technology thing" when it's really about business processes and intelligence to better deliver the customer promise. What is big data all about and how can we better understand the phenomenon?