1

A weekend stay at Casa La Gran Señora in Tequila, Mexico… free!

The team at Make Travel Fair has secured yet another not to be missed opportunity for the traveller itching for a one of a kind experience.

6

Local Travel: progress, or self endorsement?

If we, the “Local Travel” lobby want to make a real difference in the way people travel then it will not be achieved by trying to convert ourselves in perpetuity in these travel blogs.

0

ICRT to hold RT marketing day

The International Centre for Responsible Tourism is holding a Marketing Day.  This event is free to all those who register at icrt@leedsmet.ac.uk.

1

10 Foolproof ways to receive stellar Couchsurfing references

The past two weeks our house has been full of couchsurfers. There hasn’t been a single day with less than two people staying, One day, we had ten people and a hat-destroying dog in the house.

1

Photos around the world appreciating Mother Earth

Now that Earth Month has come and gone the effort and remembrance of what the initiatives are all about must continue on.

1

Is Google losing it’s grip on the internet?

For so many businesses, particularly those involved in e-commerce, a good Google ranking for their website is fundamental for maintaining a steady flow of visitors, and ultimately the success of their enterprise.

3

Social travel – the next travel revolution

The fundamentals necessary for a more ethical interaction with the world have become a lot more widely understood and accepted within the travel arena over recent years.  

0

10 #whltravel Tweeps Twittering

Inspired by a post ‘10 #Travel Tweeps Twittering‘ published on the travelers notebook earlier in the month, we bring you another 10 photos of twitter users and their computers.

@Grayline_Cabo [shared]

@Grayline_Cabo [shared]

@GoLocalTravel

@whltravelblog

@TravelTbilisi

@BrisbaneDayTour

@lcordiner

@JenAston

@peterfabricius

@staycapetown

All #whltravel tweeters can be found in the whl.travel list.

0

Social Media as the new loyalty program

Loyalty cards good and bad / Flickr photo by atomicShed

Currently in Beta, new travel planning site Tripsourcing joins the swollen ranks of web projects aiming to provide travellers with access to local information.  There’s a slightly different twist this time in that Tripsourcing is free to use and rewards you with points or ‘Dollotrips’ for contributing and being an active member on the site.

This game style approach that incentivises users to participate by handing out points is similar to a model pioneered by the mobile location-based check-in service Foursquare, that rewards its users based on the frequency of their visits to a particular place in the real world.

Digital loyalty schemes

The applications for such sites as a third party loyalty scheme for businesses to reward frequent visitors have already started to be explored by the early adopter crowd (Twitter and Foursquare Become the New Loyalty Program at Tasti D-Lite – mashable).  This embryonic idea perhaps signifies best of all the game changing nature of mobile internet and the growing importance of social media as a marketing medium for even the smallest enterprise.

Information sharing on location

When checking-in at a new location on Foursquare you automatically see any information/recommedations left in that same place by previous consumers.  Much of this is explained nicely in a short video ‘Some thoughts on social location sharing‘ created by Foursquare and Gowalla Angel Investor Kevin Rose.

I looks as though the plan for Tripsourcing is to allow users to redeem their points in a shop that sells e-coupons, trips and tours.  It’s all a bit confusing at the moment and lacks any real user base, and the shop isn’t available.  Perhaps a private beta phase would have been better to get the site up and running properly.  Bizarrely the site was launched first in French as TonTrip.com.

Further reading:

• Mining our internet social circles

What travel networks are doing wrong

Thanks for everyone who commented on the Guardian Travel Blog looking at ‘where we are now’ with travel networking. So far we’re up to 40-plus comments  and it seems everyone had something interesting to say.

So where are travel networks going wrong? Here are some early conclusions:

Continue reading this article @ Going Local Travel