Since the beginning of time, people have traveled from one place to another. Over mountains, through valleys, across oceans, exiting the atmosphere… there’s something in the genetic code of humans to explore.
Nowadays, most of us don’t just forge out into uncharted lands. First we do some planning. And most of that planning, research and exploration is done online. From booking sites like Expedia, Orbitz and Kayak, to branded travel experiences like our friends at Travel Oregon and Park City Mountain Resort, to social networks like TripAdvisor, Facebook and YouTube, people have a wealth of information at their disposal. And with new communication tools like Twitter, mobile platforms and augmented reality, there’s a whole new world of interactivity coming. Heck, it’s already here.
But the challenge of the travel and tourism industry is as old as time: how can you accurately communicate a real, physical experience to someone who isn’t actually in that real, physical experience? To update the challenge, how do you turn those people browsing information via whatever method into travelers to come to your experience? And finally, how is the experience supported when the person arrives by using interactive channels? And that’s exactly the challenge to be addressed in this South by Southwest (SXSW) Panel:
The Traveler’s Journey: From Clicks to Packed Bags
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many intelligent, passionate people through the work I do. So it gives me great honor to say that the three people who have agreed to be on this panel with me are three of these intelligent, passionate people (there’s no way I could include every intelligent, passionate person I work with in one panel; there isn’t a room large enough to contain the awesomeness). So who are these three people on this panel?
Mo Sherifdeen, Interactive Marketing Manager at Travel Oregon and co-author of the Travel 2.0 Blog
Krista Parry, Director of Marketing and Communications for Park City Mountain Resort and SnowMamas
Peter Yesawich, Jr., previously an independent travel/tourism consultant and digital evangelist, Peter recently started as a Digital Brand Strategist at Venables Bell & Partners (congrats on the new gig!), and blogs at the Digital Buzz Blog.
I can tell you’re already impressed by their credentials. But what will we be covering? Here’s the write-up on the panel…
Panel Description: Between travel websites, travel review sites, social networks, and a wealth of online information, how do travelers make decisions on where to go and what to do? More importantly, what can you do to influence their travel/tourism decisions?
Questions Answered During this Panel:
How can an online/digital experience truly convey what an in-person experience is going to be?
What will the future look like for online travel agencies/destinations, and what kind of relationships can/will/should they have with branded online destination experiences?
How will the speed at which guests share their travel and brand experiences affect the way in which brands must engage in reputation management?
How can destination marketers use technology to harness and leverage a brand/destination’s advocates and turn them into evangelists?
What are the trends in design and user expereince that will help evolve a new line of sites both on the web and mobile devices?
If ROI metrics are difficult to measure because of non-direct bookings, reservations, etc. through a site, what kinds of metrics can be used to determine success/failure, and what does the new “cost per acquisition” model look like?
How can we create more emotive, immersive brand experiences that highlight a particualr resort, hotel or destination (creating “microsites” for unique properties) without diluting the overall brand?
What does it mean for a destination to have a “conversation” with someone?
With the evolution of direct vs. indirect distribution channels, why is brand integrity important in the continutity of service offerings and reputation managment?
How do destination marketing agencies evolve (or compete) with the plethora of destination content now available on the “social web?”
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Sounds interesting, right? So now you’re probably asking, “how can I check out this great panel?”
You can go to the SXSW Panel Picker and create an account. After that you can navigate to our panel here – http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/3740 – and click on the Thumbs Up icon. That gives us one more vote for being considered to present at SXSW. You have until September 4th to get your vote in. Finally, we’d love your comments and questions at the bottom of the panel description, so go ahead and put one in there. We’ll reply in-line.
Thanks in advance for your support, your thumbs up, and your comments. And if you feel so inclined, you can and should tweet about our panel to everyone you know.
See y’all in Austin in March 2010!
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