DestiCorp 2.0

A Gift to Take You Through 2011

Dear Friends

I didn't manage to write  a Christmas letter each year but didn't  want to let 2010 pass though without saying “hello” and wishing you health and happiness in 2011.

In 2010, Facebook emerged as the platform of choice for business and individuals. For professionals like me, the ability to separate personal and professional material is a boon and in 2011, I'll stop boring family with my observations on social media and having to  share personal experiences with relative strangers!

The inspiring aspect of Facebook is its complete disregard for borders - a whole new geography is emerging with individuals, as points of light, almost, being joined up in new ways. Just look at this inspiring graph of Facebook traffic that, in one image obtained from here illustrates the global brain emerging. Theilhard de Chardin's "noosphere" on steroids, no less. 

The most important thing is that we don’t listen to the propaganda of the tens of thousands of social media gurus that are popping up everywhere obsessed with “traffic” and making money selling on the internet. Our self worth and “importance” are never related to the number of followers we have on Twitter; the number of fan pages on Facebook; our Google Page Ranking; or the number of Direct Mentions or blog visits but simply the number of random acts of kindness we create and receive. In 2010 I was the recipient of many random and not so random acts of kindness that I feel really, really blessed. Thank you my dear friends.

In 2010 the universe was asking me to re-define what wealth and prosperity mean and has shown me how very rich I am. I made some wonderful new friends in parts of the world I had never visited before; re-kindled old friendships that never die; and experienced many manifestations of amazing generosity of spirit that got me through hard times.

In return, I urge you to subscribe to one web site that will ensure each day is filled with wonder and gratitude: Daily Good. Started by an anonymous college student in 1998, it could have as transformative effect as Facebook if it attracted just 5% of the latter’s user base.

In 2011, I anticipate being lighter, more creative, more adventurous and more true to my curious, gypsy spirit. Right now, I am living in a state of “expectant possibility” and allowing ideas to crystallize. I remain focused on figuring out how we can develop a sustainable alternative to the industrial, volume-dependent industrial model of tourism that still dominates the landscape and am excited by the research that shows the rise of The Conscious Traveler. My sympathies have always been with the small independent suppliers of "things to see and do" as they provide the flavour of a destination; are often pioneers;  and lack support ie the people that Stephen Joyce ( ReZGo and The Savvy Operator), Alex Bainbridge (Tour CMS), Joanne Steele (Rural Tourism Marketing Blog), Dan Taylor (Creative Rural Economy)  and Todd Lucier (Tourism Keys Blog), among others try to help. As mentioned in a previous post, the exciting fronteir in tourism is rural, small town, grassroots tourism.  I sense a huge hunger to learn and a need to integrate a conceptual understanding with practical applications. This is the community that needs to be embracing all the mobile and location-based technologies and services that will dominate conversations in 2011. 

I will be leaving UK in February and heading south to warmer, sunnier climes and the chance to be really productive (hopefully, helpful too) in a part of the world where the beauty of its people almost outshines the stunning scenery; and where the potential of small operators, with commitment & curiosity, to leapfrog over their established counterparts is huge.

As a digital addict, I won’t be far from a wifi connection (well I hope not!) so I’ll be blogging, facebooking and, every so often, tweeting. I hope you will continue to visit me in a virtual sense and that you too will have a bountiful, healthy, happy year in 2011.

With love and blessings

Anna

If 15% of Americans use the cell phone during sex, what might they do on vacation?

Thanks to the Mashable Infographic post on cell phone use, there can be no doubt just how addicted the human population is becoming to its cell phone. As Dan Hollings has pointed out in his really insightful videos (see his YouTube channel), the cell phone is way more than a communications device and virtually every physical item has the potential to receive wifi signals and, thereby, become another communications device. I say potential because many travellers still waste time getting access to the cloud - see earlier post expressing rants by me and other colleagues in the travel industry

It's good to see the tourism industry shifting focus from promotion to visitor support and,  since our guests are always on the move, our sector should be an early and vigorous adopter of mobile technologies.

Which destinations are leading on mobile?  Comments welcomed.......

 

Wanderfly Takes Off - Wish Them Luck we need a new approach

I've noticed three consistent trends/themes over my time working in tourism:

1. the successful start-ups take the pain out of what is often a frustrating experience (in this case making a quick decison about where to go and what to do when you finally feel you either need and or can take a vacation); 

2. the innovators of those start-ups nearly always come from outside the industry. Thanks to their suffering, we all benefit; and

3. Simple is better than complicated and good design essential. 

The founders of Wanderfly fall into that category. They are young, still in Beta and the sceptical will, no doubt, find fault but I am excited and impressed and so is TNooz  (see Dan Schaal's post). 

Here's Wanderfly's description of the prooblem as set out in their first blog post ages ago in June 1010. 

With millions of travel websites, blogs, Twitter lists, reviews, and the occasional ”Nancy-from-down-the-street’s travel idea,” the Internet is no place for travelers prone to motion sickness. Taking a trip requires hours of searching, planning, and booking. The headache of travel planning is literally built into the system.

But does it have to be?

Consider: 70% of travelers don’t know where they want to go just a few months before they depart. They search the web for 6.7 weeks, perform 8.1 searches, and visit 25 sites before booking (via Phocuswright / Google). They want direction. They want inspiration. Unfortunately, they’re bogged down by endless information, leading to a lot of aimless searches.

Many sites claim to help travelers discover new places. But how can they do this well when they’re cluttered with buttons, dials and other options?  How can they inspire when they treat people like machines, capable of digesting large amounts of data? How can they have a human touch when they’re so focused on the transaction?

At Wanderfly, our goal is to bring you new experiences through travel. We do this in a way that is simple and beautiful. We make the process fun, so you can get excited long before you board the plane. We even encourage you to be more spontaneous, take some chances, live a little. After all, isn’t that what travel is all about?

So stop stressing out about your next trip, and be the first to get inspired.

None of the founders and core team are what you might call seasoned members of the travel industry but they are seasoned and, no doubt, battle weary members of the traveling public who also happened to be good marketers, designers and technologists. They've attracted the attention of the design community for their ability to avoid cramming too much information into a page, overloading the senses and paralysing decision-making. See this review "reinventing travel through design" As the author of that blog notes, they have obeyed three key principles of good design as postulated by the well known industrial designer, Dieter Rams: “Good design makes a product useful. Good design helps a product be understood. Good design is as little design as possible.”

Now take a look at where they are at just six months later. Welcome to the crazy world of online travel marketing where we desperately need a new approach so let's all go Wander, Go Fly, Go Wanderfly!

 Thanks to @Fuelcreativity for the graphic - do check out their site - some real gems there.