Apps, David Beckham and the power of social media for travel are some of devices analyzed in this latest bulletin.
2012-08-30 — /travelprnews.com/ — The global tourism marketplace hums with activity 24/7. CTC News has done the rounds of its purveyors to assemble another round-up of the latest happenings from across the globe.
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s teammates, partners, general sales agents and other industry insiders in its key international markets have been diligent as ever in sharing these tidbits.Muchas gracias!
- Appy talk: Tourism Authority of Thailand has taken the wrappers off its Lifestyle Thailand app for iPhones and Android devices. Users pick one of eight different lifestyles, which leads to ideas of where to stay and eat plus other activities.
- A spike in Aussie visitor numbers to South America has spurred Argentina, Chile and Colombia to join forces in a joint marketing effort. Thirty South American operators headed for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for five events in August. Improved air access has been another significant factor, such as a new direct Sydney to Buenos Aires flight by Aerolineas Argentinas aimed at taking total Australian traveller numbers to Argentina beyond 2011’s 40,000.
- Michelin and Peter Greenberg, CBS News travel editor, have teamed up to launch Like a Local, a series of travel guides that includes Cuba, Miami and the Caribbean. It all sounds eerily familiar toExplore Canada Like a Local—except these are merely guide books.
- If you’ve had enough of the UK after all the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and 2012 Summer Games, then VisitBritain has an app for you: the Best of Britain now includes David Beckham’s top 10 things to see and do.
- The UK is already basking in an uptick in figures for 2012. According to stats from the International Passenger Survey, visitor numbers for the past year up to May reached a record 12.3 million, with spending for the previous 12 months up 6% to £18.2 billion.
- Visit Florida is flexing its financial muscles by quadrupling its marketing budget for the European market, splitting the US$2 million between efforts in France, Germany and the UK.
- Social ambush: the Maldives tourist authority’s Twitter campaign took an unexpected twist in July. Its #SunnySideofLife hash tag was hijacked by tweets complaining of police brutality and illegitimate governance.
- New research led by Tourism Australia shows that 20% of Aussies booked their domestic vacations after being inspired by tales and photos of their mates on Facebook. Almost three-quarters of the 1,000 Facebook users surveyed fessed up to proactively checking their friends’ social networks while they were on vacation.
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