The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau has reported that Gail Sterrett, its long-time director of marketing, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, Feb. 9. She was a frequent attendee at past E-Tourism events and headed the destination’s online marketing strategy. After she did not report to work that morning, bureau staff called her family, who later discovered [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 26, 2009
Gail Sterrett, a highly respected industry marketing executive, passed away recently.
February 25, 2009
Is Twitter Good For Business?
Derek Halpern, who produces Prevential, a blog dedicated to helping entrepreneurs use the online tools to expand their business, has compiled the Ultimate Twitter Resource Book, with each chapter functioning as a landing page with a series of links he has found to construct the online book. Very clever. I must admit, I did not [...]
February 23, 2009
Five Ongoing Shifts in the Fundamentals Of E-mail Marketing
Old is new again, and boring is the new sexy. At least, that is what we’re seeing with regard to email marketing’s renewed role as a central digital communications hub during this rough-and-tumble economic time.
A recent StrongMail study showed that more than half (51 percent) of the nearly 1,000 global business leaders polled plan to [...]
February 19, 2009
“State of The American Traveler” January ‘09
I’ve just returned from an Industry Outlook Seminar organized by the San Francisco CVB and wanted to share with you some of the information that you might find pertinent.
David Bratton, founder Destination Analysts, (and a presenter at the past two E-Tourism Summit events) released the results of the company’s recentState of The America Traveler [...]
February 18, 2009
Hedonism is Out, Recession Chic Is In…
Hedonism is out in the travel business and “recession chic” is in, according to experts at a travel show in New York where customers were looking for bargains to brighten the gloom.
“People are being more value conscious, but just as important, they’re being more conscious of their values, and what that means is that they’re [...]
February 12, 2009
UK Company develops “Guilt Trip” Calculator to promote volunteer tourism.
With one-in-three Brits admitting to feeling guilty at least once a day, and worries about not being eco-friendly enough topping the list, a tour operator has launched a range of breaks which aim to offset personal guilt. While of little interest to a worry-free 15 per cent who claim to have never felt guilty in [...]
February 10, 2009
New Report, “The Austere Traveler” details effects of corporate cutbacks on hotels.
The report titled “The Austere traveler – the effect of corporate cutbacks on hotels” from the Economist Intelligence Unit finds that executives will make fewer, shorter and cheaper business trips in 2009 and prefer basic efficiency and good service over ancillary services.
Amadeus, a leading provider of technology to the travel and tourism industry, is today [...]
February 5, 2009
What is a positive review worth in $$?
The role of user-generated reviews is exploding. TripAdvisor attracts nearly 30 million monthly visitors and 88% of these visitors are influenced by content they read. Word-of-mouth adds a layer of credibility and is more effective than other more formal forms of promotion.
Why is this important? Because with an increasing number of user-generated reviews and people [...]
