Hoteliers tend to hate TripAdvisor - because they have no control over the content - but your clients love reading reviews posted by other travelers. Marie van Rooyen from our Consumer Marketing Office just spent a day at TripAdvisor's corporate offices - meeting with executives to explore how our clients can work with TripAdvisor to help promote their hotels. Marie came back with lots of great ideas that will be of special interest to Tourist Boards and Hotel Associations.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Who says the Caribbean can't change?
It wasn't long ago that CHA sponsored a workshop that Caribbean Consulting conducted with the Curacao Hotel Association. With a cross-section of the tourism community assembled, we asked
'what is Curacao better at than anyone else in the world?'
no response...
'well then, how is Curacao better than anyone else in the Caribbean?'
still no answers...
'OK, well - is there anything that Curacao does 2nd best in the Caribbean?'
blank stares all around....
finally, one timid hand raised in the back....
'Could it be something that we're 3rd best at...?'
Well - what a change a few years can make.
Curacao has taken the lead in the Caribbean to create new target markets, build a cultural identity and show the world why they should make Curacao their number one choice for a tropical vacation. Diving, Culture, Shopping, Cruise Conversion and now Gay Friendly Travel have been identified as major sources of new business.
We've been impressed by their efforts for a long time, starting with the buzz that their cruise conversion efforts created among cruise passengers who came back with a CD that made them want to go back and stay on the island longer.
Now, Tourism Review highlights the efforts to make Curacao a major gay-friendly destination.... not bad for an island that had one of the most closeted gay populations less than a decade ago... They have even created www.gaycuracao.com to highlight this stunning change in attitude - taking a lesson in gay-friendly marketing from their tiny sister island of Saba which pioneered gay-friendly travel in the Dutch Caribbean in the early 1980's.
'what is Curacao better at than anyone else in the world?'
no response...
'well then, how is Curacao better than anyone else in the Caribbean?'
still no answers...
'OK, well - is there anything that Curacao does 2nd best in the Caribbean?'
blank stares all around....
finally, one timid hand raised in the back....
'Could it be something that we're 3rd best at...?'
Well - what a change a few years can make.
Curacao has taken the lead in the Caribbean to create new target markets, build a cultural identity and show the world why they should make Curacao their number one choice for a tropical vacation. Diving, Culture, Shopping, Cruise Conversion and now Gay Friendly Travel have been identified as major sources of new business.
We've been impressed by their efforts for a long time, starting with the buzz that their cruise conversion efforts created among cruise passengers who came back with a CD that made them want to go back and stay on the island longer.
Now, Tourism Review highlights the efforts to make Curacao a major gay-friendly destination.... not bad for an island that had one of the most closeted gay populations less than a decade ago... They have even created www.gaycuracao.com to highlight this stunning change in attitude - taking a lesson in gay-friendly marketing from their tiny sister island of Saba which pioneered gay-friendly travel in the Dutch Caribbean in the early 1980's.
Monday, May 21, 2007
TripAdvisor Forum Comments on Travel Agents & Evolution of Online Marketing
Marie van Rooyen in our Consumer Marketing Office found an Interesting thread on TripAdvisor Provo, Turks & Caicos forum that gives a good overview of online travel marketing from a former travel agent's perspective.
Check the forum topic for travel agent vs making own reservations
Check the forum topic for travel agent vs making own reservations
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