Archivo de la etiqueta: travel

Disney/&Pixar link up with VisitScotland a tourism ‘first’

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Disney and VisitScotland form marketing partnership to attract more tourists to the highlands.

A global marketing campaign promoting Scottish tourism is to be based around the launch of Disney/Pixar’s forthcoming animated film, Brave.

VisitScotland’s £7m campaign will be its biggest yet and the first time that Disney has linked up with a country’s tourism organisation on such a scale.

The campaign is currently in development, but promises to showcase Scotland’s scenery, humour and culture. It will feature TV and cinema advertising in the UK, Europe and the US, supported through PR, digital and events marketing, including premiers and screenings that will continue until the film’s DVD release.

Mike Cantlay, chairman, VisitScotland, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to extend the reach of VisitScotland’s marketing activity across the world. This film will be shown in more than 70 countries across the world and will give us the opportunity to convert cinema-goers into visitors in the biggest campaign VisitScotland has ever launched.”

STV news interview http://goo.gl/pWC9U

Mr Cantlay said he expected the new Disney/Pixar to give Scotland even bigger exposure than Mel Gibson’s Braveheart amid challenging times for the tourism industry.

He said: “It’s been a tough trading environment for anyone in tourism, for anyone in any business frankly.

“But Scotland, and the Highlands and Islands in particular, have been remarkably resilient when you consider how really, really tough tourism is around the world.”

Tricia Wilber, of the Walt Disney Company, said: “Brave takes its inspiration from the majesty and mystery of Scotland, and features the voices of many much-loved Scottish stars.

 A song by Dingwall-based Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis features in the film.

“So it’s fitting to create a global campaign with VisitScotland to further bring to life the iconic Scottish landscapes and folklore that inspired the film.”

Scots actress Macdonald provides the voice for Merida, while Robbie Coltrane voices a lord called Dingwall – the name of a town in Ross-shire in the Highlands.

VisitScotland hopes to bring a return on investment of around £140m. The body claims that on average, for every £1 invested in marketing, Scotland sees a return of £20.

 

Costa Rica sounds experience

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What sounds remind you of Costa Rica?

Is there anything more satisfactory than the sounds of a place and the possibility of being you the one who creates them?

This App transports you to Costa Rica. “The goal of the EnviroMixer app is to enable playful, shareable experiences that bring to life Costa Rica’s unique environment and wildlife inhabitants,” said Maria Amalia Revelo, Deputy Manager and Director of Marketing, The Costa Rica Tourism Board. “The EnviroMixer, part of our Gift of Happiness campaign, makes sharing the sounds of Costa Rican happiness that much easier.”

The app is offered for free download as a smaller “gift of happiness” from The Costa Rica Tourism Board. Users, whether travelling to the country through the campaign or not, can experience Costa Rica’s beauty and biodiversity. The app features nine animal sounds and several other nature sounds, including rushing water and an erupting volcano. Users drag each sound into the mixer, and the placement of each animal creates a unique beat with customizable tempo and volume. After creating a mix, users can share it with friends using Facebook, Twitter, and email.

This App allows users to create music using the sounds from Costa Rican wildlife and natural wonders and brings happiness to consumers through the unique sounds of Costa Rica’s flora and fauna.

The app is a free way to experience the wildlife that inspired us to create Costa Rica’s Million Dollar Gift of Happiness campaign, and t brings happiness to consumers through the unique sounds of Costa Rica’s flora and fauna.

 

Lets remember this campaign “Million Dollar Gift of Happiness”…

From October 6, 2011, to February 5, 2012, Costa Rica gave away $1 million worth of gifts of happiness in the form of weeklong Costa Rica vacations to people in the United States and Canada. The campaig promoted Costa Rica as the happiest country in the world and inspired travelers to enjoy the country’s natural beauty and adventure, and share their experiences with their friends via social media platforms.

Three commercials feature Mr Sloth, a laidback spokesanimal hanging in front of iconic Costa Rican scenes, rainforests, mountains, and stunning local architecture, and delivering happy-go-lucky words of praise for his native land in a relaxed, surfer dude-style voice.

Through a contest on the Visit Costa Rica Facebook page, the Costa Rica Tourism Board gave away one trip per weekday. Each winner and one guest will spend 8 days, 7 nights on a customizable trip to Costa Rica. The five trip types are Adventure Happiness, Adrenaline Happiness, Authentic Happiness, Romantic Happiness and Wildlife Happiness. Videos describing each type will be posted on the Facebook page and the Costa Rica YouTube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hEjZ7kGKbI

In addition to the Facebook contest, Costa Rica will hand-select 95 other travelers who could benefit from a gift of happiness, who share Costa Rica’s values and who demonstrate the country’s belief in Pura Vida – everything good in life. In total, 255 travelers received free trips to the happiest country on the planet. To promote the country and campaign, They created four videos of Mr. Sloth, the slow-moving spokes-animal who showcases his beautiful, green environment and the relaxed culture of Costa Rica.

Other elements of the campaign include the “EnviroMixer” iPad app,  as well as various print ads, digital and rich media.

Facebook ‘Friends” went from 8 thousand to 51 thousand in a month and a half after launching “Costa Rica’s Million Dollar Gift of Happiness.”

 

 

Kuoni and Augmented Reality: A new engaging way for customer

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We already showed you a campaign of The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, where they had incorporated the  Augmented-Reality Technology as a new way to help engage and tantalize potential travelers to Hawaii like never before.

Now It´s time for Kuoni…

Kuoni claims to be one of the first UK operators to employ ‘augmented reality’ in press and magazine advertising. This allows readers to be prompted to view extra content and video through smartphones and iPads using image recognition technology to give the reader additional content and an enhanced experience of the ad.

Readers will be encouraged to download the app to their smartphones in order to view the ad through their camera, which will trigger a video, providing details of Kuoni holidays.

 

Dynamic creative messaging is being used in online display advertising. More than 240 creative message variations have been created, all based on a consumer’s journey and level of interaction with the Kuoni website. In this way future messaging can be tailored to the individual experience and stage in the booking process.

The use of these advertising methods are part of the operator’s new year integrated marketing campaign under the new ‘Requested by you… Crafted by Kuoni’ brand slogan.

A social media competition on Facebook is also being run, asking followers to create their own campaign poster. Entrants can choose an image from a selection of Kuoni brand images and write their personal holiday requests for a chance to win a £2,000 gift card for their next holiday. The competition runs until February 29.

 

Kuoni head of marketing Naomi Wilkinson said: “With a significant proportion of our online traffic coming from smartphones and tablets, augmented reality felt the next logical step in creating a seamless multi-channel experience for the Kuoni customer.

“Customers have shown us that they interact with Kuoni in multiple ways across all channels, and augmented reality helps to facilitate this journey in a fun and engaging way.”

One of the most interesting features in the app is the first ever integration of a “click to call”. This makes it engaging and fast tracks the consumer journey from print brochure to booking line.

Over the last 3 years Kuoni and MEC have worked together to better integrated online and offline communication channels, with a significant increase in the use of PPC to drive sales and the development of a sophisticated online display campaign. This has involved merging the benefits of partnerships with key sites, brand placements at key times of year and an ever present base of network, DSP and retargeting activity harvesting online interest. Kuoni have seen CPB’s decrease and booking volumes increase through digital channels year on year as a result.

First cruise ship to feature iPads in all staterooms

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Royal Caribbean International will mark another industry first with the introduction of iPad mobile digital devices in every stateroom onboard the newly revitalized Splendour of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean this week announced it would have an iPad in every cabin of the 1,804-passenger Splendour of the Seas by mid-February in what it’s billing as an industry first, and it’ll add the Apple devices to the cabins of five more of its 22 ships within two years.

“Based on consumer research, we added the iPads to greatly enhance guest communication, interactivity and to continue to offer industry leading technology that helps enhance the guest experience,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president, Hotel Operations, Royal Caribbean International. “This is just one of the many exciting ways that Royal Caribbean continues to provide our guests with the ultimate cruise experience.”

Royal Caribbean says the iPads will be programmed to let passengers access the ship’s daily listing of events and activities and to see a personal daily itinerary including shore excursions. Passengers will be able to use the devices to monitor their onboard account, order room service, view restaurant menus, access the Internet and watch movies. In short, the iPads will act much like the interactive television systems found on many ships.

The five additional Royal Caribbean ships scheduled to get iPads in every cabin are all part of the line’s Vision Class series and include Legend of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. All of the vessels are scheduled to undergo major revitalizations in dry dock over the next two years.

Ente Tucumán Turismo, líder en la comunidad 2.0

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Los datos de 2011 lo avalan:

El Ente Tucumán Turismo incrementó en un 56% las visitas a su página web: de 331.400 en 2010 a 516.000 este año. En materia de redes sociales se logró contar con más de 20.000 personas fidelizadas y en contacto con el Ente. En el plano nacional ocupa el segundo lugar en el ranking de organismos de Turismo en Facebook, y el tercero en Twitter.

Esto demuestra el éxito de una estrategia basada en la interacción entre el sitio web oficial y los perfiles del Ente gubernamental. Con esta idea, Bernardo Racedo Aragón impulsó la transformación total de la página web del ETT y su inclusión en las redes sociales, fortaleciendo el diálogo y la interacción con los internautas mediante los diferentes canales 2.0, especialmente a través de Twitter (@tucumanturismo) y Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/tucumanturismo).

Con el paso del tiempo, la estrategia se reveló como adecuada, dado que cada vez más los turistas basan su elección de destinos en lo que ven a través de la web. Pero para lograr una total eficiencia en el uso de este tipo de herramientas, era necesario imponer los perfiles del organismo tucumano dentro de un universo creciente de ofertas similares.

Para ello, se puso el acento en la vinculación permanente entre página web y redes sociales, a las que además se les imprimió un importante nivel de interacción, viralizando los contenidos generados a partir de las acciones de promoción y desarrollo ejecutadas por el Ente.

Su presencia en Facebook es unamagnífica extensión de su catálogo turístico, en constante interacción con su página oficial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La inmediatez, las respuestas en tiempo real y la cobertura minuto a minuto de los hechos turísticos más importantes, permitieron a Tucumán destacarse también en la web social.

El conjunto de acciones permitió alcanzar un muy buen nivel de aceptación entre los usuarios de las redes, en especial Facebook, los que se interesaron a tal punto en la temática difundida mediante ese canal que llevaron al ETT a ubicarse en un lugar de privilegio dentro del ranking que mide la actividad generada en las redes sociales de organismos turísticos de todo el país.

Según los datos difundidos por Facebook en las páginas de las reparticiones vinculadas con esa actividad a nivel provincial, la del Ente Tucumán Turismo figura segunda, solo detrás de la de provincia de Buenos Aires. Con 14.552 fans, el espacio tucumano en la mayor red social del mundo se ubica entre las tres de su tipo que superan la barrera de las 10.000, a menos de 600 “Me Gusta” de la que corresponde al más grande distrito de la Argentina.

 

Taking On the World with Singapore Takeout

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There are many ways a country can promote itself to the rest of the world, including job contests and networks of virtual ambassadors. It wasn’t until just recently, however, that we came upon the likes of Singapore Takeout, a pop-up kitchen in a shipping container that’s traveling the world to promote Singaporean cuisine.

Singapore have mixed nine cities and celebrity chefs in one mobile kitchen. A gastronomical journey of mouth-watering dishes!
Housed in a custom-fabricated shipping container that unfolds into a working kitchen, Singapore Takeout unites Singapore’s top chefs with culinary stars from around the world. Craving for traditional dishes? Or keen on sampling modern cuisine? This little pop-up is serving up all kinds of culinary goodness that will leave you craving for more.

Part of the Singapore Tourism Board’s SPICE initiative – that’s short for Singapore International Culinary Exchange – Singapore Takeout is essentially the story of “one mobile kitchen, nine cities, 10 chefs and 15 food brands on a 365-day gastronomic journey,” as the project’s Facebook page puts it. Housed in a custom-fabricated shipping container that unfolds into a working kitchen, Singapore Takeout is now in the midst of its yearlong tour to key cities around the world, each of which will host a three-day event highlighting the flavors of the region. London already had its turn hosting the effort earlier this month, and Paris will be next with an event at the beginning of July. Also on Singapore Takeout’s itinerary are Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi, Dubai and Sydney.

At each location, a prominent Singaporean chef will collaborate with a local guest chef to design and create a menu that incorporates the best of the two cuisines; live culinary demonstrations are part of the package as well.
 

One of the Top Travel Specialists in “Green travel”

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GreenSpot.travel’s mission is to promote green travel throughout the world, with a focus on Costa Rica and the rest of Central America. Condé Nast Traveler magazine has cited GreenSpot.travel as one of the Top Travel Specialists in the world over the last several years for their expertise in sustainable travel and quality upscale trips to Central America.

Since the recent re-launch of the GreenSpot.travel site, the site has experienced a rapid rise in visits. They now have a focus on providing information to travelers on green innovations and news and are pleased to see encouraging growth in numbers of visitors to the site, thanks to the relevancy of green travel in today’s marketplace.

Content from the site and company spokespeople on green travel-related issues has been featured on CNN.com, Conde Nast Traveler, TravelMole, Organic Spa magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and a number of large newspapers around the US, and the staff members are regularly consulted by travel writers for information on the green travel wave. The GreenSpot.travel team expects to be “a top traffic site in the green travel space within a year” by continuing to reach out to the increasing number of travelers, travel writers and armchair travelers looking to make a positive impact on local environments and communities with their vacations and buying decisions.

The online marketing advantages generated by having .travel in their name will help the organization accomplish their goal. Greenspot.travel designs green adventure and luxury trips to Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua and selects lodging and suppliers for their ecological sustainability and contribution to conservation and local communities.

 

The FriendTrips sweepstakes required users to “like” Expedia on Facebook, become a virtual pilot of plane headed toward one of 13 prize destinations and invite five friends to join them on the trip. A plane was entered to win a prize once it was full with five passengers, but users could enter to win multiple destinations by starting new planes and adding more passengers.

Mi Nube, elegida mejor aplicación de iphone española

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Apple ha publicado las listas de iTunes Rewind y Apps Store 2011 donde se muestran los detalles de las aplicaciones que han tenido más éxito en lo que va de año.

Apple, entre todas las aplicaciones para iPhone ha elegido Instagram como la mejor en Estados Unidos y en España la elegida ha sido minube, guía de viajes colaborativa.

La aplicación de Minube es una red social de viajes que cuenta con más de 20 millones de visitantes al año. El objetivo del servicio y de su aplicación es permitir a los viajeros inspirarse para elegir su próximo destino de vacaciones o encontrar actividades de ocio para su tiempo libre en cualquier momento y lugar.

Raúl Jiménez, consejero delegado de Mi Nube, celebra que desde su nacimiento hace cuatro años, en su web más de 250.000 usuarios hayan compartido sus viajes. “Al comenzar con el proyecto pensábamos que el turismo era una industria en transformación. El tiempo nos ha dado la razón. El viajero también es creador de experiencias y comparte sus vivencias”, explica.

En Mi Nube consideraron que las guías de viajes en papel estaban anticuadas al poco de salir al mercado, por eso crearon las suyas propias descargables desde cualquier iPhone o iPad, gratis. Para 2012 se plantean ampliar el catálogo y ofrecerlas en Android y Windows Phone. En la AppStore se pueden consultar las guías de Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cuenca y La Rioja en español, francés, portugués, italiano, inglés, alemán y japonés. Llama la atención que aparezca una ciudad como Cuenca y no esté, por ejemplo, Sevilla. Jiménez explica que se tomó la decisión pensando en el público de Japón: “Es una ciudad de culto para ellos y uno de los símbolos de España allí son las casas colgantes”.

Entre las ventajas está que se pueden consultar los mapas y buscar lugares en la aplicación sin necesidad de usar la conexión de datos. Algo que se agradece si se viaja al extranjero.

El modelo de negocio de Mi Nube se basa en la ampliación de las experiencias. Si se quiere, por ejemplo, conocer algún rincón especial de Granada, hacer una ruta de gintonics por Madrid o conocer la Barcelona judía, entonces se puede pagar por las ‘guías de autor’, hechas por expertos de la ciudad.

En total ya se ha descargado 250.000 veces en los últimos cuatro meses, en buena parte gracias al efecto de las redes sociales y el boca a boca. La aplicación de minube.com es totalmente gratuita y ha conseguido que los usuarios si interesen en sus contenidos en cuestión de pocas semanas.

Sobre el servicio, Minube es una comunidad viajera, que ya cuenta con más de 240.000 viajeros registrados y con perfil propio, quienes comparten sus rincones, fotos, videos y recomendaciones para que otros viajeros puedan saber qué ver, dónde comer y dónde dormir en 200 países y 22.000 ciudades.

Singapore Tourism Board Unveils Differentiated Marketing Campaigns

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In the past year, STB have been deepening the understanding of consumers in the various regions. This allowed them to develop strategies that are customised to the needs of individual markets. By understanding consumer needs, They can create and deliver better quality experiences to visitors. This is the natural evolution of the YourSingapore destination brand that emphasises the personalisation of experiences.
Earlier this year, STB embarked on various in-market engagements with consumers and trade which have provided an increased understanding of the consumers from these initial launch markets. This, coupled with STB’s market knowledge gleaned from years of operating overseas, enabled the team to develop customised marketing plans. With these insights, STB will also work with industry partners, both locally and in the markets, to develop and package more meaningful destination experiences.
Marketing Plans, based on understanding of consumer needs wich differ by markets will be rolled out in phases, starting with  the New Discoveries campaign in Beijing, China follow by the  top four visitor-generating market: Australia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The consumer marketing approach has resulted in more targeted and integrated marketing campaigns that will comprise PR, above and below-the-line advertising and digital marketing.

Chinese Consumer Insights & New Discoveries Campaign

From conversations with various consumers and trade, STB found that whilst Chinese still come on packaged tours, many are increasingly making their own online bookings and travelling as free, independent travellers. More significantly, they sought a greater depth of travel experiences that include new, unique experiences.
On top of what consumers already know of Singapore’s well-known tourist attractions, They want to help Chinese deepen their understanding of our city, providing them with compelling reasons to visit Singapore again and again, encourage Chinese visitors to look beyond the surface and uncover for themselves the hidden gems.Thats why STB has also partnered with three major travel agencies in China, namely GZL International Travel Service, CYTS and Ctrip to launch a series of New Discoveries packaged tours. In addition to pre-arranged flight and accommodation options, these free and easy tour packages come with a fully personalisable itinerary. Chinese can choose from a menu of dining, culture and retail recommendations, coupled with essential travel services such as car rental and guided tours. Alternatively, semi free and easy tour packages, with guided tour services for the first part of the tour, can help first-time visitors familiarise themselves with Singapore, before they customise their itinerary for the remaining part of the trip.

Have a look to www.yoursingapore.com and discover and create your own travel experience to Singapore…

Once in a lifetime experience – Titanic Expedition

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As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, one travel company is offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience – to journey down 12500ft (3800m) to the wreck in a submarine.

The site where the fateful Titanic sunk in the Atlantic Ocean looks set to be a busy area next year as travel companies cash in and mark a century since the tragedy.

The controversial voyage is offered by Kensington Tours and embarks from St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, 329 miles from where the ship ran into trouble.

Titanic enthusiasts will take a submarine trip to explore the remains of the ship which famously struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 15 1912.

Participation is limited to just 20 divers per expedition. Each expedition will offer diving participants the extremely rare opportunity to journey to a depth of 12500ft (3800m) in order to explore the liner R.M.S. Titanic during the centennial year of her sinking.

They will spend a pre-departure night in St. John’s in order to attend the introductory expedition dinner prior to boarding the expedition vessel for the 350nm voyage to the Titanic site. Arrival at the site will be marked by a short ceremony to commemorate the loss of this fine ship, and then the dive operations will commence.

During the dive series, participants will enjoy specialist lectures, observe the Mir submersible program in action, and enjoy international class cuisine with fellow expeditioners.

It´ll be led by some of the same expedition team responsible for James Cameron’s Hollywood epic & IMAX’s Titanica dives, exploring this ghostly wreck from Russian MIR submersibles, featuring amazing photography opportunities, memorial ceremony, special lectures & pre-cruise tour of the Titanic gravesites, monuments & museum in Halifax.

Once in a life, a movie experience becomes a real experience…