Tourism 2.0

‘The Times They are a Changing’

Dr. Jim HamillAlan Stevensonjim.hamill@ukonline.co.ukast3v3nson@googlemail.com

8th May, 2008

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions (Fiona Milligan)

• Tourism 2.0: – An Overview (Jim Hamill)– Examples (Jim Hamill and Alan Stevenson)

• Lunch

• ‘Getting There’: Web 2.0 Strategy Development and Implementation (Alan Stevenson)

• Questions and Discussion (throughout the session)

Tourism 2.0

An Overview

What Is It?

• A new buzz word coined by management consultants to encourage us to part with our hard earned cash

or

• A fundamental change in the way people use the Internet, their online expectations and experiences

What Is It?• It’s a fundamental, revolutionary change……

• Major impact on consumer/B2B decision-making and behaviour across a broad spectrum of industries, especially in information intense sectors such as tourism

• Major opportunities for Scottish tourism to ‘engage’ with our customers - but also threats…….

• Implications for e-tourism support

What Is It?

• All revolutions have ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. ‘Winners’ will be tourism businesses and DMOs who fully utilise the interactive power of Web 2.0 technology for building strong ‘1-to-1’ customer and network relationships - especially with their ‘Most Valuable’ and ‘Most Growable’

• Those who fully leverage Web 2.0 for ‘Identifying, Acquiring, Retaining and Growing ‘Quality’ Customers

• Requires a new ‘mindset’ and new approaches to tourism strategy and online marketing

• Marketing as a ‘conversation’……

Tourism 2.0

• A fundamental change in the way people use the Internet …….

• Rather than being passive recipients of ‘brand messages’, Web 2.0 is characterised by

– Information ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’– User generated content– Openness, sharing, collaboration, interaction, communities, and social

networking

• ‘Power to the people’ – Web 2.0 empowers people

• The revolutionary nature of these changes is having a profound impact on consumer/B2B decision-making and behaviour across a broad spectrum of industries

‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the

end of the beginning’

Winston Churchill

Web 2.0The end of the beginning of……..

• The read only Internet

• The ‘tell them how good’ we are Internet

• Traditional ‘push’ marketing strategies (declining effectiveness – nobody listens any more)

• The ‘Brand’ as we know it – People are becoming ‘cynical’ to brands and resistant to brand messages ------ the ‘brand’ becomes the customer experience

• The end of the ‘Visit Us’ web site…..and the beginning of the ‘Visited Us’ web site

Tourism 2.0An Overview

» Applications» Features and Characteristics» Implications

Applications

Social Network Sites

Social Content

Social Bookmarks

Blogs

Wikis

Virtual Realities

RSS Feeds

Podcasts

Social Applications

Mash Ups

Mobile Web; Internet Telephony

Characteristics

Communities and Networks

Interactivity

Social Element

Openness

Peering

Hosted Services

Global

Sharing

Empowerment

Mass Collaboration

The Internet as the platform

Impact

Business Intelligence

Customer Interaction

Sales & Marketing

Customer Experience

Customer Insight

Processes and HRM

Mindset

Product Development

Reputation Management

Rich Internet Applications

IT Infrastructure

Tourism 2.0Web 2.0 Applications

Open sourceOnline Applications/ Web ServicesSocial Network SitesSocial Content – Social BookmarkingBlogs or WeblogsWikisPodcasts/ VodcastsVirtual RealitiesMash UpsRSS FeedsMobile Web; Internet TelephonyCharacteristics

Communities and NetworksOpennessSharingPeeringHosted Services – online applications; the Internet as the platformInteractivitySocial ElementMass CollaborationEmpowermentGlobal

Impact – Wikitourism

MindsetBusiness IntelligenceCustomer Insight and UnderstandingCustomer InteractionEnhanced Customer Experience –

Rich Internet ApplicationsReputation ManagementSales and Marketing Product Development and R&D e.g.

engage and co-createIT/Software/ApplicationsOperations, Internal Processes and

HRM

Business Impact

The need for new tourism models

– Traditional approach:• Innovate – Differentiate – Market and Promote - Sell

– New model based on: • Communities, networks, openness, peering, sharing,

collaboration, customer empowerment, ‘think and act’ globally

Some Examples Non Tourism

Tourism

Tourism Examples

Review and Recommendation Sites

Others• Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Travel Forum• Igougo• Holidaywatchdog• Review Centre• Holiday Check• Mytripbook• Gusto• Travelpost• Realtravel• Traveltogether• Yahoo trip planner

Some with interactive planning tools

User Generated Sites

Flickr

YouTube

Visit Scotland on YouTube(Mountain Biking)

Don’t mess with the buffalos…..

Social Network Sites

Some DMOs

www.visitoslo.com• Customer ratings/reviews in the online hotel booking application

• Distribution of information in xml-feeds to other websites such as www.visitnorway.com and several other sites

• Mash-ups in Google Maps/Google Earth

• Distribution of information in xml-feeds to Text-TV, monitors on the Airport Express Train, monitors at Oslo Airport Gardermoen etc

• Distribution of our booking facilities through white label solutions  http://holmenkollen.wp.karbon.no  

• Presence in communities, ex: Facebook with videos, events

• Advergaming widget “Holmenkollen ski jump” as generator of traffic to website; ex here at official site of  World Championship in Oslo 2011  http://www.oslo2011.no/ (generated lots of new traffic to site as link spreads quickly!)

www.visitoslo.comUnder development:

• Several widgets/applications for Facebook, Myspace etc

• RSS feeds

• Possibility to rate and review all product information our site, and download photos, videos on them

• Competitions and other added values for consumer in order to get consumers to share information

• Advanced search tools on both editorial information and user generated content

New Zealand

Pure Michigan

Some Tourism Businesses

A small hotel in the Cairngorms owned by two gay gentlemen

Who are our customers and where do we find them hanging out on the Internet?

A Mash Up

Blogs andPodcasts etc

Google Alerts, RSS Feeds, Social Bookmarking

Virtual Reality

And Finally…..

1. Learn more

2. Get involved

3. Develop a strategy

4. Implement and Measure

Getting there…

Learn MoreApplication Tourism Demand Tourism Supply

RSS Feeds Personalised information search; time savings; ‘pull’ not ‘push’

RSS feeds on web site; maintain on-going communications; search engine position

Blogs Key source of impartial advice; impact on consumer behaviour

Exploit e-word of mouth effects; more powerful AIDA impact than advertising; customer insight; on-going dialogue

Social Networks Recommendations and feedback; socialise with similar interest groups; group travel planning; customer experience sharing

New types of cyber-intermediary e.g. travelpost.com, realtravel.com, traveltogether.com; online joint planning

Social Content Visitor generated content; activity-related content; destination content

Use of social content sites such as YouTube to promote and engage, channel to market

Podcasting Experience pre visit; influence behaviour; enhanced visit experience e.g. Visitor Attractions

Use of podcasts/vodcasts to enrich customer experience

MMORPG 3 dimensional virtual worlds e.g. Second life

Create virtual second life

Learn MoreApplication Tourism Demand Tourism Supply

Tagging/ Social Bookmarking Growth of folksonomy i.e. the environment of collaborative tools for identifying, sorting, tagging content

Add social bookmark tags to web site e.g. reddit; del.icio.us; stumbleupon etc etc

Mash-Ups Enhance online experience; increase functionality and use

Enrich web site at low cost e.g. map-based technologies + company, destination data (search, price comparison)

Wikis Consumer generated content; destination guides; service reviews; authority and peer review

Involve users in content generation; get involved / link to knowledge networks

Mobile Web / Internet Telephony

Content accessible in mobile format; affordable and convenient web-based communications

Mobile compatible Web and Web Applications; visitor access to VoIP

Social Applications Access to information and applications away from home

Use open source, hosted applications to improve business operations; accessible to visitors

Get Involved

1. Google Alerts

2. RSS Feeds and Podcasts

3. Blogs and Networks

4. User Generated Content

Google Alerts

• Subscribe to Google Alert service

• Create search terms and monitoring period

• Indicate methods of delivery

• Use intelligence:

• Update knowledge-base

• Share with customers and stakeholders

• Monitor use of Google Alerts

RSS Feeds and Podcasts

• Get a Feed Reader (Google Reader, IE7) and Player (iTunes)

• Identify knowledge sources or podcasts (ask others!)

• Subscribe to feeds / podcasts and manage on ongoing basis

• Use intelligence:

• Update knowledge-base

• Share with employees, customers, stakeholders

• Monitor use of RSS feeds through stats

Blogs and Networks• Research and develop a list of relevant sites

• Build knowledge of these sites through ‘Lurking’

• Agree short list of ‘quality’ sites

• Develop/implement a strategy for achieving presence

• You may wish to start participating

• You may wish to establish a formal presence e.g. Facebook

• You may wish to create your own presence e.g. Ning,

Wordpress

• Monitor the effectiveness of your participation

User Generated Content• Research list of relevant content, channels or groups e.g.

within Flikr, YouTube

• Build knowledge of key content sites, channels and groups

• Agree short list of ‘quality’ sites, channels and groups

• Develop/implement a strategy for UGC

• Position with existing ‘quality’ content

• Create new content / new content channel or group

• Encourage others to create and post content

• Monitor the effectiveness of your participation

Develop a StrategyThe Three Key Questions:

1. Who are our customers?

2. Where do we find them on the Internet?

3. How can we best enter into dialogue with them?

– Think and act like a customer

– Think and act like a network

Develop a Strategy: Think and act like a Customer

Customer Segment Where on the ‘net’ How to enter a dialogue / what message?

Potential Park Visitors – incl. walkers, mountain bikers, skiers, climbers, day breakers…

Travel reference sites, niche interest group blogs and networks,

niche interest group content

“Participation” (not selling) in key blogs and networks, strategic use

of UGC

Existing Park Visitors – as above

As above Hook existing visitors into CNPA network at key touchpoints e.g.

add your mountain bike video on YouTube CNPA.

Local Businesses - Professional networks like LinkedIn, travel reference sites,

destination wikis…consider creation as well as participation

Collaborative messages to end customers, a channel for local

businesses to engage with visitors, a channel for local

businesses to engage with CNPA

Local Communities and Residents

Locally focused social networks and blogs, niche interest blogs…

consider creation as well as participation

Your channel for dialogue with CNPA and others on key issues

related to…

Others

Develop a Strategy: Think and act like a network

• (Owned) Hub Community – a Web 2.0 enabled web presence with the aim of increasing community / participant value

• (Owned) Satellite Communities – Web 2.0 enabled sites carrying related message or focus e.g. YouTube Brand; Cairngorms Blog

• Other Hubs or Satellites – wider network that presents opportunities for conversation / cross-fertilisation

• Conversations and cross-fertilisation – Web 2.0 tools allow communities to connect e.g. comments on blogs, networks, UGC

Network Effect

CNP

Mountain Bikers

Conservationists

Mountain Climbers

Skiers

Walkers

Travel & TourismWeb Presence in Web 2.0

Develop Your Strategy

Customer Segment Where on the ‘net’ How to enter a dialogue

Questions / Discussion

Thank You