Friday, January 27, 2006

Use the Web to tap the US Market

ClickZ reports that almost 50% of home Internet users in the world are from the U.S. This may not be surprising, but consider the following:

If you knew that 50% of your Web visitors were from Italy, how would your Web site be different? If 50% are U.S. and you want to appeal to Americans as your guest, how might you make your Web site more inviting without detracting from other domestic or international travellers?

Thanks to Scott Card of PaddlingOntario.com for sending along the latest CTC research regarding luring the US traveler.
CTC that examined the American traveler's mindset/decision process and attitude toward a Canadian vacation.

Highlights:

Top 5 barriers for coming to Canada
1. Bad weather
2. Other more interesting and exotic places to go
3. An unfavourable exchange rate
4. The price of gas
5. A lack of interest ("been there done that")

Canada's Major Competitors (for US outbound travelers)

Europe - Cosmopolitan, historical and cultural experiences
Caribbean - Sun & sand

Top 5 attributes sought by travelers
1. A peaceful and relaxing place to visit
2. A feeling of safety
3. A unique sense of place
4. A feeling of exploration
5. An authentic experience

Knowing this, how can you show your tourism offerings to be more appealing to a U.S. Web surfing potential guest?

posted by Toddles @ 6:24 PM   0 comments

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Blogging for Media Coverage

Algonquin Outfitters Blog gives a clear indication of the value of blogging as it led to media coverage on Quinzee building. Read how Gord tells it in the link above.

posted by Toddles @ 11:13 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

White Squall Photo Library Tip - Thanks Graham

Image Libraries are great way to expand the keyword relevance of your Web site while providing images for your guests to enjoy and share with family and friends creating great word of mouth for your tourism experiences.

On a recent Tourism Keys workshop in Parry Sound, I asked Graham Ketcheson how White Squall was able to create such a wonderful photo library on their site. A few days later, I am here opening my email to discover that the software that makes it all happen is open source - read between the lines - it's free!

Graham suggested we add it to our free and almost free tools for tourism businesses... so here is the link to a great photo gallery module for your Web site. Ask your Web guru to set it up for you to integrate the colours and such to match your site. If you want to get down and dirty, I got a basic library built in about an hour. It required some tinkering, but not too much. See the results at FamilyCanoeTrips.com

posted by Toddles @ 5:34 PM   0 comments

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Blogging in Timmins

Well, here we are in Timmins blogging along!
This Tourism Keys workshop has been a very educational experience and I would recommend this web training to anyone in the tourism business.
James Franks, Temiskaming Shores

posted by Jill @ 1:57 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Three easy ways to grow your E-mail list

So you've got some great ideas for e-newsletter content and you would like to send it out.... how do you grow your E-mail list?

A 2004 survey offers some surprising insights. Here are three highlights that are important to note for your tourism Web site:
81% of people have given their email address to confirm a purchase.
Do you ask each of your guests to provide their email address upon registration?

While 70% of respondents provided e-mail address voluntarily to receive information from a company via e-mail, only 28% reported providing such information as a result of entering a sweepstakes or contest. Consider your tourism experience to be such a compelling offer that you don't need a contest to build you email list. Instead offer news and information and grow a more relevent list faster with a simple opt-in.

17% of survey respondents gave their email as part of a telephone conversation.
Do you make it part of your CRM plan to ask everyone you speak with on the phone if they would like to be on your e-mail list?

So once you've got the ability to deliver great newsletters, take these three steps to build a list that is relevent and makes your phone ring!

posted by Toddles @ 5:20 PM   0 comments