In this, our first edition of 2008, we present a round up of the latest e-business news and focus in particular on the impact of mobile technology on the travel and tourism industry. You'll also find summaries of the latest research and reports, along with details of key forthcoming events for the travel and tourism professional.

I am always very keen to hear your views on Destination World and to receive your contributions or ideas. Please get in touch.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Destination World.

Best wishes for success in 2008,

Roger Carter
Managing Editor

The long-term financial viability of even the largest social network sites depends heavily on the ability to develop targeted advertising techniques that as yet are largely unproven, or may ultimately be thwarted by privacy regulations, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics. The People's Revolution: Implications of Web 2.0 and Social Media Applications examines the current state of play in social media and assesses its future impact. It is available for free download; registration required.

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Findings from a new study suggest that online consumer-generated reviews have a significant impact on offline purchase behaviour. The research, carried out by comScore and The Kelsey Group, reveals that consumers are willing to pay at least 20 percent more for services receiving excellent or 5-star ratings than for the same service receiving a good or 4-star rating.

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A new white paper, Meet the Grandparents: Introducing Today's First Time and Seasoned Grandparents, highlights the spending, media, and behavioural habits of US grandparents. Compiled by Grandparents.com and consumer researchers, Focalyst, the report is available from Karen Chew.

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Internet usage by baby boomers – and the over 60s – is projected to continue rising well into the future, creating an unprecedented opportunity for marketers. A new report, Baby Boomers and Silver Surfers, by eMarketer examines the trends driving increased usage by these two affluent demographic segments and suggests that the number of US baby boomers who use the internet will grow by more than 5 million, rising from 58.2 million in 2006 to 63.7 million in 2011. The report can be bought online at a cost of USD 695.

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A survey of more than 2,000 UK travel consumers, focusing on usage and attitude to key holiday destinations, has been completed by TripVision. The three publications - Destination Branding Reports for City Break, Beach Holiday Resorts and Long Haul – can be bought online for GBP 550, alternatively a summary report can be downloaded at a cost of GBP 100.

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The Mobile Message Marketing report from eMarketer aggregates and analyses the latest data from international marketing and communications researchers. 'Mobile messaging was profitable long before it became sexy for marketing purposes,' commented John du Pre Gauntt, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report which is available for download at a cost of USD 695.

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A new scoping study, which examines the relationship between tourism and climate change, has been released by the Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTRC). The free report, Climate Change and Australia Tourism, looks at the causes of climate change and its major impacts, providing a useful tool for developing both short- and long-term strategies.

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The results of a new US travel survey, identifying the five most influential trends on industry expectations, strategies and brands in 2008, have been released by Deloitte. The survey highlights globalisation, changes in consumer demands, safety and security issues, technology, and environmental and social responsibility as the issues most likely to have a continued dramatic effect on travel behaviour over the coming year.

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What is Driving Tourism Trends? A podcast by Dr. Ian Yeoman, VisitScotland's futurologist and a leading industry scenario planner, discusses the current and future states of the travel industry. Ian describes three key drivers to the state of tourism and travel – the weak US dollar, rising oil prices and the global cost of property.

Mobile Technology:
An update

The UK's first large scale pilot of NFC (Near Field Communications) technology on mobile phones has been launched to test consumer demand and behaviour.

The trial of the O2 Wallet paves the way for the mass market use of mobile phones to pay for purchases, access events or be used as Oyster cards for travel around London, simply by touching the phone to a reader. The trial will run for six months until the end of May 2008 and includes a broad range of partners, including Transport for London, TranSys, Barclaycard, Visa Europe, Nokia and AEG.

'Research shows that people are more likely to return home if they leave their phone behind than their wallet or keys,' said Cath Keers, Customer Director, O2 UK. 'So why not have your wallet on your phone? We believe that NFC technology is going to fundamentally change the way people use their mobile phones.'

NFC is a contactless functionality, enabling a wide range of secure uses including cashless payments, public transport, event ticketing, and smart posters. Those taking part in the trial will also be able to touch the NFC-enabled handset on selected smart posters containing embedded tags which serve as shortcuts for services enabled through the handset. Once the user taps the poster with the handset, they will automatically dial a number, send a text message or be sent a shortcut to a mobile internet site with more information about the subject on the poster e.g. an event taking place or downloading content.

How quickly the technology can be adopted by the travel and tourism industry is a key question. A new study by IMS Research, a market research company within the global electronics industry, suggests that it is a question of when, rather than if, the technology is fully utilised and embraced.

In NFC: the Road to Mass Market, IMS Research Director John Devlin said: 'NFC has tremendous potential for contactless ticketing, payments and passive door entry. The key benefits for consumers are reported to be faster transactions, no more carrying loose change, even a wallet can be discarded and everything in the future can be performed on one's mobile phone.'

A survey by Visa last year reported that 61% of Americans aged 25 – 34 would want to use their cell phones to make payments. Nokia's recent report, A Glimpse of the Next Episode, conducted by The Future Laboratory, revealed that technology savvy consumers already regularly buy music (35%), watch TV (23%) and upload to the internet (17%) from a mobile device, but analysts at IMS Research suggest that not every age group will be so quick to adopt the new technology.

Devlin warned: 'We envisage a multitude of applications all designed to benefit the user, improve their experience of transit, banking and payments solutions. However, it is definitely not a case of one size fits all and consumer adoption will vary widely, affected largely by cultural differences in consumer behaviour but also by the demands and competitive influences of local businesses.'

Slovenia has launched a new country tourism brand... I Feel Slovenia. Director general of the Directorate for Tourism, Marjan Hribar, commented at the launch: 'Slovenia is a very diverse country and boasts numerous activities; however, it needs a clear, concise message. This trademark is different from the previous ones in that it is not just a tourist trademark but the trademark of our country, and should be reflected in other areas, such as sport, culture, science, the economy, and education.'

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In Nation Branding: Concepts, Issues, Practice author Keith Dinnie demystifies the complexities of nation branding, demonstrating why nations are embracing the principles of brand management and explaining how the concepts and techniques of branding can be adapted to the context of nations - as opposed to the more usual context of products, services, or companies. The book can be ordered online from Amazon.

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Australia has once again earned the coveted prize of world's top country brand, according to the 2007 Country Brand Index (CBI), with the USA and UK in second and third places. Other countries making the top 10 included Japan, Canada, France and Greece.

The CBI also identified Croatia, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the top three rising stars – those likely to become a major tourist destination in the next five years. Also making the list this year are Cuba, Iceland, and the Russian Federation.

CBI, now in its third year, is a study of more than 2,600 international travellers conducted by FutureBrand.

Some key events for tourism destination professionals taking place over the next few weeks:

FITUR is one of the world's major travel trade shows and a key meeting point for the international tourism industry, particularly in the Iberian peninsula and Latin America. This year's event will be held from the 30th January – 3rd February in Madrid.

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The Travel Technology Show provides technology solutions for the travel industry – from travel distribution, sales and marketing to pricing and business operations. It will take place in London on the 5th and 6th February.

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AIME 2007 is a two day event showcasing destinations, products and services for the meetings and incentives industry in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. This year it will be held in Melbourne, Australia on the 19th and 20th February.

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The European Cities Marketing Spring Meeting takes place in Ghent, Belgium, from the 27th February to the 1st March.

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Coming soon... two new events from EyeforTravel:

• The first Ancillary Revenue in Travel 2008 conference takes place on 20th and 21st February in Dublin and will demonstrate ways of increasing revenues for anyone involved in the business of selling travel online.
• A new Social Media Strategies for Travel conference brings together a selection of innovative travel companies which have already integrated social media into their online marketing strategy. The event takes place in San Francisco, USA, on the 5th and 6th March.

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Don't miss the International Tourism Exchange ITB Berlin which this year will be held between the 5th and 9th March. The event is the world's largest tourism trade fair and last year attracted nearly 11,000 exhibitors representing every sector of the tourism industry. The exhibition lasts 5 days of which 2.5 days are for trade visitors only.

An add-on event to ITB Berlin will be a one day conference (6th March) organised by PhoCusWright. The event will take the theme of Success in Travel e-Business and focus on the potential and impact of technology on global travel distribution.

PhoCusWright will also be holding a two day Bloggers Summit on the 5th and 6th March as part of ITB Berlin. Workshops will show how an active, content-producing network of bloggers can have a growing influence on customers' online spending habits and presentations will focus on new innovations and trends in user-generated content.

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This year's EyeForTravel Travel Distribution Summit Asia comprises three executive level conferences, featuring a supplier-led speaker list, and networking opportunities. The summit takes place in Singapore from the 18th to 19th March.

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MITT Moscow is one of the leading annual forums for the Russian travel industry, attracting over 120,000 buyers from across the country. Rated 3rd amongst the world travel shows, MITT continues to be the largest international tourism exhibition in Russia, attracting participants from over 100 countries. The event takes place from the 19th to 22nd March.

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The Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism will take place from the 21st to 24th March in Kerala, India. The conference aims to create more awareness about responsible tourism practices across the world and chart the way ahead for tourism destinations.

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Competition in Tourism: Business and Destination Perspectives is the theme of this year's Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) conference. The event takes place in Helsinki, from April 23rd to 25th.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
DESTINATION BRANDWATCH
E-BUSINESS NEWS
RESEARCH AND REPORTS
Mobile technology update
London links with TripAdvisor
More book online than offline
Sweden's new travel service
Travel review aggregator news
Asia's new networking portal
Internet usage soars in India
More .travel names released
Best travel websites 2007

Visit London:
Teams up with TripAdvisor

Visit London will, from this month, provide user-generated reviews on its website, thanks to a new partnership with TripAdvisor.

Visitors to London will be able to read and post reviews based on 2,000 hotels and attractions. Visit London Chief Executive, James Bidwell, said: 'Our partnership with TripAdvisor ensures that we continue to provide visitors with the best possible information and content about London. We plan to continue this momentum in the lead up to and beyond the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to ensure that visitors and Londoners are offered a world-class online experience.'

US Travel:
More booked online than offline

By the end of this year, more than half of all travel in the US will be purchased online, with 34 million Americans making the internet the number one way they buy their leisure travel and online travel sales expected to top USD 136 billion, according to industry analysts.

The findings, published in the PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey, reveal a discerning online traveller, choosing specific channels (online / offline, direct / intermediary) and types of sites based on where they're going, their companions, and the type of trip.

Sweden:
National public travel service

RTS, the Swedish Travel and Tourist Industry Federation, has developed a new national travel service. Sweden Door-to-Door, thought to be the world's first national independent service, provides travellers with all the information they need to plan, book and buy transport within the country.

Sweden Door-to-Door is based on information from a national database, containing data from schedules for 80,000 bus stops, more than 200,000 journeys per day for trains, buses, 30 airlines' timetables and boat services. The scheme is expected to contribute to strong growth within the travel and tourism industry, which will also generate regional development and new job opportunities.

Jan Lundin, Managing Director, Swedish Travel and Tourist Industry Federation, the principal and owner of Sweden Door-to-Door, said: 'We have already launched a national travel planner, and we will now link our entire country for Swedish and foreign visitors.'

Online Search: Travel review aggregator progress

Additional funding of USD 4 million has been secured for the ongoing development of Kango, a search and discovery application that aggregates and organises the online travel community and review sites into one place. The new venture, founded by Yen Lee, former general manager of Yahoo! Travel, has now opened the site to its first beta users.

Kango addresses the problem of how travel research can be a labour intensive, hit-or-miss exercise, particularly if the traveller needs help deciding where to go and what to do. As a travel review aggregator, Kango has collected and analysed more than 20 million traveller opinions from more than 1,000 websites. The service uses natural language analysis and travel-specific term mapping, including subjective criteria like 'romantic' or relaxing', to deliver recommendations based on consumers' exact requirements and preferences.

Asia:
Social networking portal

EnCirca, a domain name provider for the travel and tourism industry, has announced plans to develop an online portal for Asia travel. The website will serve as a travel gateway exclusively for Asia-based tourism, providing a social networking platform centred on travel to Asia.

Visit.Asia has been awarded to EnCirca by the DotAsia Registry under its .Asia Pioneer Domains Program. The portal will feature content from Asia-based tourism authorities as well as user-generated content such as travel videos, pictures and blogs.

Participating tourism authorities will be able to act as editorial hosts for their particular destination, a feature that will enable them to distribute promotional content as well as news and marketing messages for their brand.

India:
Internet usage soars

The number of internet users in India touched 46 million in September 2007, up from 32.2 million in September 2006, according to research carried out by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) and market research specialists, IMRB International.

According to The Internet in India Report 2007, the growth of internet users is primarily driven by the fact that the number of people who know how to use a computer unaided has grown to 65 million, up from 15.8 million in 2000. E-commerce, too, is expected to grow by 30 % - 40 % in 2008 with transactions reaching USD 100 billion.

.Travel:
More names released

Travel companies will now have to register any available .travel names on a first-come, first-served basis, following a relaxation of the registration rules last month.

Tom Barrett, president of EnCirca, said: 'Organisations still need to be authenticated as a member of the travel industry to register .travel domain names, but under these changes, they can register any available names starting December 21st 2007, including generic names and destinations.' More than 300,000 reserved place names, including cities, cultural sites and world heritage landmarks, have now been released.

Travel Websites:
Best 50 sites of 2007

A list of the top 50 travel websites in 2007 has been compiled by the UK's Times Online. Listed sites had to show innovation, either launching or improving their offerings to make it on to readers' favourites' list. Categories include networking, multimedia, planning and fun... plus 5 sites to watch in 2008.

Last year's CEO Forum Europe, organised by the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), targeted European DMO CEOs, presidents and destination marketing decision-makers. Focusing on crucial issues affecting the success of global tourism and the meetings industry, this revamped educational event offered presentations from experts and stimulating discussions of best practice. 

Here are links to download the presentations...

Presentation 1
How to become and be one of the top five destinations in Europe: A case study of Vienna by Christian Mutschlechner, Director Vienna CVB. (PDF, 1.1 MB).

Presentation 2
UK Outbound Meetings and Incentives survey results and analysis of statistics. How and what can European destinations benefit from the UK market by Martin Lewis, Managing Director, CAT Publications. (PDF, 240 KB).

Presentation 3
Destinations - strategic partners in associations' success: A case study of ISN, International Society of Nephrology by Tom Reiser, Director of Institutional Healthcare Practice MCI. (PDF, 765 KB).

Presentation 4
Hybridism of destinations - How do mixing and mingling of cultures, and global trends, affect marketing of destinations? A presentation by Angelique Lombarts, Director, AloA Consultancy. (PDF, 6.7 MB).