Be one of 1,500 fans on our Facebook Fan Page and you will automatically be entered to win an Urban Adventures tour for two of YOUR choice!

Now it’s not that hard, simply click the “Like” button on the top of our Facebook Fan Page and you’re entered! Choose any of the nearly 100 cities Urban Adventures is located for an experiential day tour to delve deep into a city, an experience only found with locals who know it!

A courtyard view of Casa La Gran Señora's Mexican décor

How to win

Today we’re going to tweet the following:

“WIN 4nights in Tequila Mexico & tour of Cofradia distillery RT to enter (ends Sun 5pm GMT) http://ow.ly/2auQJ #mtfuk.”

Retweet this tweet and you’re entered to win!

All you have to do is follow us on Twitter and retweet one of our tweets! If you’re already a follower, thanks!  One lucky winner will be randomly drawn to win a 4 night 3 day stay at Casa La Gran Señora in the charming town of Tequila in the Jalisco state of Mexico.

The fermentation phase of La Cofradia's tequila, part of what the winner will see on his or her tour

Tour of La Cofradia

But that’s not all we’ve got. The fortunate winner will also receive a tour of La Cofradia Tequila Distillery worth $100 USD! Feel welcomed the moment you step on grounds with a welcome cocktail presented to you by the La Cofradia team.

Continue to a tour of the distillery where the famous tequila is made, the on-site ceramic factory, the museum dedicated to Mr. Cofradia himself and a “cave” where the tequila spends its time aging into añejo, or gold tequila. Finish off with your very own tequila tasting.

Have a taste for the win?

Enter in our travel writer competition, The Backdoor, for a chance to win a 7-night stay at a lodge in South Africa! Visit The Backdoor page for more information on entering, rules and regulations and the two lodges you would have a choice from!

Confined space / Flickr photo by Kurt Eckhardt

Be heard, be active, take the argument where it makes a difference

Let’s face it, who else reads these but the same people that are already traveling local?… We are preaching to the converted, ourselves.

We are not initiating real change, we are reassuring each other that we are doing the right thing. Good for us! But 95% of the world still “Holidays” oblivious of all our efforts. Our approach is as effective as advertising in a vacuum…

If you really want to influence the way the world travels then go where you can make the greatest noise (take a page from the Greenpeace book). Be heard, be active, take the argument (preferably in a non confrontational manner) where it makes a difference… in the middle of the “Holidayers camp” so to speak.

Most people discussing “Holidays” are found on Tripadvisor

Forget Lonely Planet (LP), the “Holiday” person sees LP as strictly backpacker. Register with Tripadvisor and start answering questions in the Forum, offer alternative solutions to people coming to your destination (or others you know well) other than the ones offered by other “Holidayers” in the Forum. Provide practical solutions (advice to questions that are in tune with our “Local Travel” values.

Talk to people still hooked on “things” rather than “experiences”

I have been doing this (under a non de plume) and it is very successful for my destination Vanuatu. Just imagine the change in global tourism if we all started to really talk to people that are still hooked on “things” rather than “experiences”? Now that would be progress, not self endorsement!

The event is to take place on 21 June in Leeds.

Responsible tourism marketing day programme

9:30 coffee on arrival

• 10:00 The role of sustainability in tourism consumer behaviour (Dr Graham Miller, Director of International Studies, University of Surrey)
• 10:40 Whitbread’s Good Together Brand review- a customer experience approach (Andrew Gammage – Head of Quality & Guest Insight Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants)
• 11:20 Responsible product development and commercialisation at TUI (Kylie McCabe, Group Sustainability Planning and Communications Manager, TUI Travel PLC)

12:00 lunch

• 13:00 Public relations of Corporate Social Responsibility (Paul Thomas, Senior Consultant CSR, Sustainability & Not-for-profit Grayling)
• 13:40 Communicating Environmental Stewardship within the Cruise Industry (Jamie Sweeting, Vice President, Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.)

14:20 coffee break

• 14:40 Responsible tourism marketing for small companies (Dr Xavier Font, Director of Studies, International Centre for Responsible Tourism)
• 15:20 Crafting a Responsible Tourism Positioning: from Environmental Campaigning to the “Good Life” (Chris Warren, Owner, Crystal Creek Meadows, Australia Qantas Award for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism)
• 16:00 Creativity, confidence and bags of fun- my recipe for marketing sustainability (Sue Prince, Beechenhill Farm B&B and cottages, Peak District. Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards Highly commended Best small accommodation. Winner Gold award for the excellence in England- best tourism website)
• 16:40 Discussion – how to motivate companies to market sustainability appropriately?

17:00 End – Networking drinks at adjacent pub.

Flickr photo by DaveAustria.com

Did I feel overwhelmed, overworked or the need to run screaming from my deeply invaded personal space? Quite the opposite. As I looked around our place, teeming with people, I noticed little considerate and respectful habits of our guests that made all the difference between unpleasant and the crazy fun chaos that has characterized the last weeks.

1. Wash Dishes – Aracely and Jason of Two Backpackers spent over a week with us. They washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen every day. I didn’t ask them to do it. They just did. Believe me, this is something every host notices and appreciates more than you can imagine. (And if I haven’t said it before, thank you both!)
2. Clean Up After Yourself - This is a no brainer. Don’t leave your dirty dishes on the table, toothpaste on the counter or puddles of water on the floor. No one is perfect, and of course, you might forget or leave a mess. But one little thing won’t matter if your general habit is to leave things neat and clean.

Continue reading this article @ The Future is Red

Armenia

Armenia Tree Project / Photo by Tom Allen

Mongolia

Naadam Festival / Photo by Batbold - WHL MPO

Naadam Festival Opening Ceremony

Mexico

Los Cabos Organic Market / Photo by Karem Matamoros - WHL MPO

If you’ve got memorable photos from you and your friends taking part in giving back, please send them to michelle@maketravelfair.com.

google favicon

The advancement of the web coupon could reduce our reliance on Google

The barcodes included on web coupons offered by companies can contain huge amounts of customer specific information like Internet address, Facebook ID and even search terms that have been used to find the coupon in the first place (see Web Coupons Tell Stores More Than You Realize – NYTimes).  This is all information that businesses can collect and analyse to build their database and know just how well their marketing is working, and exactly where it’s working.

“Google allows its search advertisers to see reports on which keywords are working well as a whole but not on how each person is responding to each slogan.”

- Stephanie Clifford, New York Times

Companies like RevTrax are assisting businesses with connecting their digital media activities directly to their in-store sales by translating the information from a URL into a dynamically generated barcode or promo code on a printable or mobile coupon.

The power of linking online profiles to offline spending habits

Whenever you join the Facebook page of a business your Facebook ID is visible, meaning that they can insert that identifier into any coupon that they offer you, and then know exactly when, where and who redeems it.  Over time this tracking could lead to some extremely useful information regarding your spending habits and interests, and the behaviour of your demographic.

The ultimate business tool?

Enabling businesses to make different offers to different consumers, and essentially charge different people different amounts for services based on what they’re each likely to pay is a fascinating prospect.  If these sorts of targeted offers and customised pricing of products become more prevalent through social networks it would be a huge incentive for web users to change their search habits to focus on these social channels, rather than typical search engine sites like Google.

Photo by Darron Raw, Swazi Trails

There’s been a lot of talk and attempts to spread values but the ultimate change will come when the travel experience is transformed through the widespread adoption of new technology on mobile devices.  The next major shift in how we travel will come as a result of the growth in geolocation functionality.  ’Social travel’ could be a real game changer for the industry and a catalyst for the wider uptake of a more ‘local travel experience‘.  We’re already catching glimpses of what’s possible in this space as businesses start to play on Foursquare and Gowalla, travellers share updates on Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz which we can search by their proximity to us.

Web facilitates real world interactions

Over the last 5 years the number of travellers moving around with laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras as surged dramatically.  The next 5 years is sure to see us interacting more with other travellers and local businesses in the real world through the help of social, location specific information sharing.  Some people may argue that increasing activity on social networks is isolating us from these real world interactions, but as technology advances it’s likely that this online information will help us meet others, and allow local businesses to grab our attention more effectively in the real world in a far more relevant way.

Work on social not SEO

There’s a growing trend for businesses to display a link to their Facebook page in adverts rather than their own website.  Businesses are already beginning to believe that growing social interactions around their brand on stable third party platforms is more important than driving traffic to their own more isolated websites.  SEO is not as important as working on the magnetism of your brand in social spaces, word-of-mouth is lightning quick these days and genuinely interested customers are easier to reach through Facebook.

Websites rely on innovative use of APIs

Company websites will likely become simple landing pages detailing ways for customers to interact with the service or product provided, much like the iPhone App sites that exist today.  The effective, innovative use of APIs will be common place and necessary for all businesses working online.

What do you think the next 5 years will hold for the travel industry?

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@Grayline_Cabo [shared]

@GoLocalTravel

@whltravelblog

@TravelTbilisi

@BrisbaneDayTour

@lcordiner

@JenAston

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@staycapetown

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

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