The Power of Travel: How Travel Dollars Support America

The public normally thinks that the travel and tourism industry consists of travel agents, airlines, hotels, and rental cars. However, this industry is 95 percent small business. Many of these segments are represented in a template titled, "The Power of Travel: How Travel Dollars Support America."TIA created this PSA as an artwork template that you can use to make your own window posters, meeting flyers, counter cards, tent cards, luggage tags, buttons, full size posters, advertisements, publication covers, newsletter fillers, and presentation slides. Help tell travel and tourism's story and add your own message too in the space available below the artwork.

Download a color version of the The Power of Travel Template

[Source from tia.org]

Finding a Hotel Room for the Right Price

With lodging prices in New York at record levels and nudging upward (averaging $243 in 2005), the biggest hurdle is getting a rate that leaves enough cash for a show, a nice dinner or a day of sightseeing. Even at exorbitant prices, New York hotels book up quickly; the occupancy level, also edging up, was 85 percent last year.

Still, there's hope for the bargain hunter. Last week, you could have snagged a double at the Sheraton Manhattan on Seventh Avenue, an easy walk to Broadway theaters, for $120. A bed at the Park South, a chic property near Union Square, was going for $179. A room at the handsome Mansfield, right off Fifth Avenue, was $219 -- including a buffet breakfast and complimentary espressos.

You just have to know where, when and how to hunt.

Check the online discounters. Quikbook ( http://www.quikbook.com/ ), one of the most reliable booking agencies with NYC rooms, is where the Park South offer popped up. Like most of the rooms on Quikbook, that rate was well below the $259 quoted on the hotel's own Web site. One of the virtues of Quikbook is that, with the exception of a small number of prepaid rooms, bills are settled at checkout (no fee is charged for booking and none for canceling, as long as reservations are voided at least 24 hours in advance). But not all of its hotels are top-notch. As a general rule, steer clear of what are described as two-star properties.

Other online agencies worth checking are Hotels.com ( http://www.hotels.com/ ), Expedia ( http://www.expedia.com/ ), Travelocity ( http://www.travelocity.com/ ) and Orbitz ( http://www.orbitz.com/ ). Hotels.com charges for rooms at the time of reservation, while the other agencies offer some prepaid rooms at deep discounts (most hotels, however, can be paid at the end of the stay). With the exception of Orbitz, the agencies charge a reservation fee that's rolled into the rate. They also charge fees ranging from $10 to $25 for canceling or changing reservations on the prepaid rooms.

Besides their usual slice off standard hotel rates, these discounters occasionally come out with grab-it-quick bargains. Hotels.com, for instance, is advertising a Memorial Day special featuring discounts from May 23 to June 5 at properties in New York and elsewhere. Doubles at the 2 1/2-star Newton Hotel, located on Broadway on the Upper West Side, are going for $147 a night during that period, down from the usual $185.

We found the Mansfield -- whose rates usually start at $269 -- at Travelzoo ( http://www.travelzoo.com/ ), which compiles discounts from sources throughout the Web and regularly offers hot hotel deals. Sign up for Travelzoo's weekly Top 20 alert; that and other sites' newsletters will give you a heads-up on hotel deals in New York and elsewhere.

[Source from washingtonpost.com]

New directions for Thailand Tourism

The Thailand tourism industry is to be marketed under a new tagline, "Unforgettable Thailand", as part of the new strategies for 2006/07 finalised at the Tourism Authority of Thailand's annual marketing meeting.

The new advertising and PR campaign will be launched soon and "focus on delivering an unforgettable experience to visitors," said TAT Governor Mrs Juthamas Siriwan.

"In a major departure from previous policy, targets will now be revenue-based designed to achieve a revenue target rather than an arrivals target," she said.

Marketing activities by head office and branch offices will be geared towards stimulating consumers to spend more money in Thailand, with each overseas office and domestic region having a certain revenue target to meet.

This may include more aggressive promotion of shopping, for example through joint promotions with major retail and shopping complexes, more emphasis on Thailand being a hub for wellness and spas and other revenue-generating activities. These new initiatives were discussed at the TAT Marketing Action Plan 2007 held between 15-19 August 2006. Mr. Pracha Maleenont, Caretaker Minister of Tourism and Sports presided over the opening day and the private sector and media were given a briefing on August 21.

A number of focus groups were organised prior to the main meeting to generate proposals and ideas for further in-depth discussion. On the international marketing sector, the most important consideration is the creation of a clear, appropriate and potentially long-term brand image, solving the growing problem of zero-cost tours, boosting tourism during the low season, expanding land transportation, and stressing linkages with the Greater Mekong Subregion.

The TAT executives also discussed ways to boost utilisation of the Internet, especially to raise Thailand's brand image among tour operators, organise more special events, introduce new tourism destinations and encourage foreign investment in tourism, especially in new products.

In addition to the ongoing marketing plan, the meeting discussed ways to adapt and adjust the plans in accordance with changes in the underlying conditions and the occurrence of crises.

It was noted that in addition to the growth in numbers, Thailand is becoming a year-round destination with the low-season period now confined only to April to June. Although Bangkok and major tourism destinations remain popular among international visitors, tourism income is also growing in some of the new destinations.

Overall, the arrivals are doing well with strong growth in the first half of 2006, indicating strongly that the impact of the December 2004 tsunami is long over.

Markets like China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are all growing again, mainly due to good economic conditions and more public holidays, leading to more travel to short-haul destinations.

However, Thailand can expect to face high competition in these markets as other destinations like Vietnam and Philippines are also raising their marketing profile.

[Source from breakingtravelnews.com]

Hotel check-in kiosks multiplying rapidly, but who wants them?

We’re used to it at airports. We’re resigned to it at grocery stores. Now self-service check-in kiosks in hotel lobbies are multiplying faster than bunnies in springtime.
Major chains such as Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton and Fairmont are installing kiosks that allow busy customers to check themselves in and get a key—without ever talking to a human being.

A person who checks in at a kiosk can speed the process by 48%, according to kiosk maker NCR Corp. and Hospitality Technology research. No wasted time chit-chatting with the all-too-human desk clerk. No waiting in line behind the couple from Cleveland with six kids and an upgrade demand.

Embassy Suites in Detroit has a kiosk. It’s used mostly by travelers used to technology. In 18 months, it hasn’t reduced front desk staffing. “Most people, if they see the kiosk and see a body at the front counter will still go to the body,” says general manager Ben Joos.

That’s backed up by a Forrester Research study of San Francisco published in Fast Company magazine in July. The study found seven of 10 guests would rather interact with a person at check-in

But that’s what people said about airlines and grocery stores. Nearly 80% of people use electronic check-in at airports; 47% do in groceries.

[Source from freep.com]

Lodging Keywords or Hotel Key Phrases?

The value of the search engines continues to grow in regard to their impact on your online sales results. The search engines have become the single most important distribution channel on the Internet. Even more so than the Merchant Sites!

With 50% or more of your reservations coming to you via the Internet and one or more search engines affecting 70% of these sales, I think its a safe bet that you need to evaluate how much of your marketing budget goes into search engine marketing.

Search engine marketing consists of two basic elements; a paid listing and an organic listing. The one common element that critical to both your paid and organic search programs is choosing the right keywords or phrases. A recent report release by OneState.com, a leading supplier of search analytics gives us some interesting information about how search terms are used by the consumers.

This information is no surprise to Lodging Interactive as to the value of key terms and phrases compared to other companies who continue to rely on single keyword meta tags and optimized content. A successful search optimization program whether paid or organic has to match the terms being used for the search process. What you are paying your search engine marketing service for is their optimization skills and keeping up with search engine user trends so these trends can be integrated into how your website is optimized.

[Source from lodginginteractive.typepad.com]

Travel websites for the myspace generation

Less than a decade ago, the arrival of huge online travel agents such as Expedia revolutionised the way we bought holidays and gave even the hardened technophobe a reason to log on to the internet.

But now a new wave of interactive travel sites that allow holidaymakers to post their own hotel reviews and destination advice are attracting just as many browsers looking for up-to-the-minute, honest information that can’t be found in guidebooks.

Unlike sites such as Travelocity and Expedia, which sell the components of holidays - flights, car hire, hotels - the new ‘social’ or ‘me media’ sites allow readers to swap information about holidays, chat or make friends. The most popular of these ‘user-generated content’ sites is Tripadvisor.com, which launched six years ago and now receives 20 million visitors a month worldwide - the same number as Lastminute.com, which was rated the most visited ‘destinations and accommodation’ website in the UK for 2005.

Although Tripadvisor is funded by advertising and is owned by Expedia, its principal purpose is to provide a place for people to post independent reviews, and share information. It is updated by readers every minute.

Current most-visited pages include a posting about family holidays to Niagara Falls and what to see in Boston. Chatroom discussions include where to buy Russian military memorabilia in Moscow and how one should dress in Paris.

[Source from http://observer.guardian.co.uk]