The battle of the DMO's at Canada-e-Connect 2009 (well not quite)

One of the sessions we'll have at Canada-e-Connect is "CTC/PMOs/DMO’s view of e-Tourism Strategy." Come hear what the leaders of some of Canada's biggest destinations have to say about eTourism strategies. Our panel will include Walid Salem, Executive Director, E-Marketing/ Directeur exécutif, Marketing électronique for the Canadian Tourism Commission, Joel Peters, Senior Vice President Chief Marketing Officer Tourism Toronto (SeeTorontoNow) and Emmanuelle Legault, Directrice, Communications et Publicité Director, Communications and Advertising for Tourism Montreal. I will have the pleasure of moderating this panel and I'm already preparing some good questions (if you have a question for the panel, leave a comment here and we'll keep it in mind). Among the topics we'll cover is an update on these DMO's eStrategies. We'll also discuss whether they see eStrategy and eMarketing as separate from Strategy and Marketing. What threats and opportunities they see vis à vis other destinations' digital initiatives. What challenges do they face when trying to implement a digital project?

-

Canada-e-Connect 2009. Registration is open.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Chair Advisory Board, Canada-e-C0nnect 2009

Canadian Cuisine--Created by Americans??

Canadian Brand Under Attack!!

The story in today's New York Times highlight a food fight between the CTC, and a restaurant group in Bryant's Park http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/nyregion/27bryant.html?ref=nyregion--however the real story for sensitive and and nationalistic Canadians like me ( if true) is the reference to CTC hiring a New York firm to design their new facility and menu--Where is the Canadian content?
The menu they have created is as follows according to the article......which features three-bean chili with bison meat, macaroni and cheese with Canadian cheddar and “maple leaf” cosmos.

How about Canadian Chefs.......were they involved??

Musings on the PhoCusWright Conference Hollywood 2008

Final thoughts on PhoCusWright 2008 in relation to Canadian Tourism

The PhoCusWright Conference in the US (either in Los Angeles or Orlando – it alternates venue) is perhaps the largest conference of its kind in the world. The focus of PhoCusWright is mostly on the technologies and technologically based services that drive travel around the world. What this means in today’s travel business environment is digital technologies, the Web, Mobile devices, intranets, B2B and B2C, etc. The emphasis for the most part is in the distribution of tourism product around the world. While there were many workshops, panels and presentations only one workshop focused on marketing per se and in my opinion it was more about online advertising than marketing. (lots of data on clicthrus, effectivenes of search vs. display ads, search and display combined, etc.)
-
While the US conference is mostly US centric (there are international PhoCusWright conferences in partnership with other organizations like Travolution in the UK) most of the companies at this year’s event have an international or global perspective. PhoCusWright is overwhelmingly a gathering of private sector organizations in the travel space whose goals are to generate travel sales, be it airline tickets, hotel bookings, activities’ purchases or vacation rentals. In addition many of these companies also play the role of media, i.e. offering content to online visitors and advertising services to tourism organizations. One thing most of these companies have in common is that their services don’t favour one destination over another. Their mandate is to sell travel or advertise tourism businesses regardless of their location. From a Canadian Tourism perspective, the question arises as to how Canadian destinations can take advantage of the myriad of digital channels available to them in order to be top of mind when consumers are making travelling decisions. Another important area for Canadian Tourism businesses is distribution. In addition to the traditional OTA’s like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, companies like Adventure Link and Isango.com may be of interest to many Canadian small activity and/or adventure operators who want to extend their reach internationally.
-
Attending The PhoCusWright conference would be valuable to marketing officers and eBusiness managers at Canadian DMO’s PMO’s, CVB’s, etc., in terms of learning about the latest trends in eTourism technology and eTourism companies as well as in terms of establishing relationships with technology companies and eTourism businesses that can be valuable service providers to a destination, whether in the area of eMarketing or eDistribution. While the content of the conference may be very interesting and valuable, that’s not always the case depending on what your organization does. But, what was evident from spending time and observing the proceedings at PhoCusWright and I believe a key reason why so many people attend is the networking and business opportunities available. The list of attendees is very impressive, a veritable who’s who of eTravel and travel technology companies.
-

The PhoCusWright Conference this year launched a new component, the Travel Innovation Summit. A group of 32 eTravel or travel technology companies were vetted by PhoCusWright to make presentations to attendees who then voted to select the top six who then went on to present at the conference's main event. A select group of judges then selected a winner as the PhoCusWright Innovator of the Year, Best of Show. The coveted prize went to IM@ (www.imatnow.com), an innovative mobile advertising service ("IM@ provides interactive, "geo-intelligent", mobile visitors guides for major travel destinations"). Other intersting innovators who participated: RezGo.com, TripTelevision, Yapta, TripIt, eKit, Cadabra, PlanetEye, Triporati, TravelBeen, TravelMuse, Uptake, Worldmate, Wandrian, Nile Guide and others. In addition to these innovators I met other companies that are doing interesting things in the travel space, such as TravelScream, the TravelChannel, wCities, TvTrip and BazaarVoice.

-

Another component of the PCW conference is a series of Sponsored Workshops on various topics of interest to eDistribution, eMarketing, and technology officers in travel. "Industry leaders will present educational and dynamic content, covering a variety of the hottest topics for the travel marketplace" This year there were workshops on Green Travel, Vacation Rentals, Search Data, The NEXTGen traveller, Mobile, and of course the Bloggers Summit presented by the T-List (of which I'm happy to be a member).

-

The main event at PhoCusWright is Center Stage, which took place over a day and a half. Center Stage presents global leaders in the travel technology industry talking and discussing the issues that affect the industry at a macro global level, such as the session about "Retailing, Distribution and Technology in a New Global Marketplace" led by Sam Gilliland, Chairman and CEO, Sabre Holdings Corporation.

-

Overall, one must conclude that PhoCusWright lives up to its implied promise as the premier conference in travel and technology. While not all of the content may be of interest to every registrant, when it comes to travel and technology, the networking, partnership and business opportunities may be unparalleled. The conference also provides a forum for participating companies to launch new services, make announcements or organize meetings with press and bloggers . Furthermore, PhoCusWright supports its conferences, which it purports to constantly improve and differentiate, with a very robust website that allows attendees to schedule appointments and plan ahead. The production and logistics of the conference were almost perfect. PhoCusWright does not spare expenses when it comes to the technology used to enhance the event, whether it's flat television panels, audio transmitters/receivers (had some glitches), sound systems, large screens and wireless access everywhere. (Frommer's sponsored the program schedule via mobile as well as Frommer's mobile guide to LA) Breakfasts and luncheons encouraged networking (although tiny plates at breakfast were a bit difficult to use while carrying your laptop and there was little space to sit down).

-

-

PhoCusWright is not cheap, but it does offer three ticket levels over the four days of the conference (first two days, last two and a half days or the whole three and a half days). Given the uncertain and difficult economic times we are living these days, technology for tourism marketing and distribution is becoming more critical to organizations who are looking to cut costs, save money, compete more effectively in the marketplace and be more accountable to their stakeholders. That must be why there were over 1,000 total registrants at PhoCusWright 2008 (and why, by the way, I believe Canada-e-Connect Toronto 2009 will be sold out.)

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Blogger
Member of the T-List

Chair Canada-e-Connect

Are you ready, sitting down? Inbound numbers for September 2008 are out. Mexico and Spain inbound to Canada continue to Grow!

Statistics Canada just published the International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin for September 2008. Not surprisingly there was a notable slowdown in travel to Canada. The current global economic environment is hitting travel hard all over the world. US visits were dramatically down in September, down 18.5% compared to September '07. The troubling financial situation in the UK was reflected with a decline of 9.8% in UK visitors compared to last year. Pleaseantly surprising France and Germany were up with 14.7% and 6.2% respectively. Quebec's 400th Anniversary celebrations are credited for the stellar performance of the French market this year.

-

When it comes to Hispanic inbound markets the two big stars saw continued growth. Mexico was up 8.8% in september and still showing double digit growth for the year to date (11%). Incredibly, Spain, where there is no official Canadian Tourism marketing whatsoever, and at a time when Spain is also experiencing economic difficulties, sent us 13.9% more tourists this past September than in the same month last year. For the period Jan to Sept 2008, Spanish inbound is up a remarkable 15.2%. Olé!

-
Saludos,

Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadamigos.com

Canada's "First Light" 1626-A Christmas Past Midland Ontario

Historic Huronia.................November 21, 2008. Now in its ninth year the famous “First Light” event at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons will be presented with a wonderful array of fun and festive activities amidst the magical glow of over 2,000 candles. The weekend celebration takes place December 4, 5, 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Admission is $5. per person with a non-perishable food item that will be donated to the Salvation Army’s food bank. Children aged 5 and under are free. Visitors wanting to stay overnight can book The Enchanting Getaway Package which includes an overnight stay at Midland's Best Western Highland Inn and Conference Centre, admission to 'First Light', dinner, breakfast, and a special Christmas drink. Package rates start at $92, per person, plus applicable taxes. Additional accommodation is available at Comfort Inn Midland and The Inn at Christie's Mill Port Severn.

“First Light” includes lots of programming enjoyed by families. Children can make their own Christmas cards with quill pens and try their hand at candle making. Local French group La Clé d’la Baie, The Métis Nation of Ontario, and Discovery Harbour will all offer special “hands-on” crafts. The sights and smells of baked goods will once again fill the cookhouse as chef Jesse Ford presents an impressive display of tasty Christmas treats inspired by 17th century ingredients and recipes. A fascinating historic encampment will be set up at Sainte-Marie’s front entrance by the popular “Survival In The Bush” group, and La Compagnie Franche de la Marine will be on-site displaying their colourful uniforms, demonstrating historic musket drill, and serving hot chocolate.

This year’s musical line-up will sure to delight visitors, with talented performers filling the historic site with seasonal and heritage music. New to First Light this year and known across Ontario is the popular Blue Wolf and the Aboriginal Officers who will perform traditional drumming. A crowd favourite, Aboriginal singing and drumming will also be done by The Jock Family and The Christian Island Native Drum Group performing in Sainte-Marie’s atmospheric longhouses. All three drum groups will perform each evening. Franco-Ontarian folksongs will fill the Chapel once again with Michel Payment, including his stirring rendition of The Huron Carol. Nathaniel Rice will perform folk music and children’s songs and Katy Austin will offer traditional melodies in English and French. The French Café at Restaurant Sainte-Marie features lively performances by La Famille Lefaive all three evenings. Enjoy the OPP Chorus on Saturday evening, December 6. Numerous community and school choirs will also be performing over the three evenings.

The Huron Carol is believed to have been written by Father Jean de Brébeuf who lived at Sainte-Marie in 1643. A special exhibit in the Sainte-Marie museum focuses on this famous carol.

For those interested in a little shopping, 20 exceptional artisans will be in the Sainte-Marie museum, and the themed Sainte-Marie gift shop is open each night. Downtown Midland celebrates the Christmas season with a variety of shopping opportunities, contests, and festival activities.

Considered to be one of Canada's most significant historical destinations, the Southern Georgian Bay area welcomed Samuel de Champlain in 1615. Located just 90 minutes north of Toronto via Highway 400 north to Highway 93 or Highway 12.
See Google Map for precise location.

Special Notes: Please be advised that with the exception of assist dogs, dogs are not allowed on the historic site for this event. Overflow parking will be available at Doral Industries, 100 Wye Valley Road. Free shuttle buses will run to Sainte-Marie throughout each evening.

-30-

For Information on Midland and Southern Georgian Bay Contact
info@sgbchamber.ca
Tel: (705) 526-7884

For Information on Sainte-Marie among the Hurons contact Huronia Historical Parks:
Bill Brodeur (705) 528-7692

To Unsubscribe, please click here.

Aftermath or Afterglow PhoCusWright eTravel conference 2008

While the markets saw a horrible week travel and technology professionals got together in Hollywood to learn about the latest trends in eTravel techonology and distribution, make new connection, network with leaders in the industry, launch new initiatives and form new partnerships. The economic horizon in the short term looks bleak to be frank, but in the medium and long term travel will continue to be the largest industry in the worl. Travel is innate in the human being, something inside most of us compels us to travel and explore new places and new cultures. One of the facts that comes out of the current economic environment is that globalization is real, our world is more interconnected than ever. Travel will come back in a very strong way. Unfortunately, as with every economic crises, some tourism businesses will fold. The smarter, stronger, and most customer oriented ones will survive to see the next boom. I'm working on my assessment of the PhoCusWright conference vis a vis Canadian Tourism. I should have a review here very soon, come back often to this blog.

Rob Torres, Google's manager for travel takes questions on the last day of the conference (photo PhoCusWright media team)

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Say Goodbye to Hollywood. Going back to T.O.

Unfortunately, I have to be back in Toronto tomorrow afternoon so I will have to miss PhoCusWright's last day. I will read the posts and twitters from the T-List and write my final assessment and impressions over the weekend. It's been a very interesting and productive three days and I look forward to future PhoCusWright events. But next week I will be turning my attention to the Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2009 The Shift to DigiMarketing, which I'm Chairing for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. I hope to see many of the friends I met at PhoCusWright in Toronto from Jan 21 to the 23d.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

www.canadamigos.com

TripTelevision

TripTelevision is one of the companies from the group of innovators at the PhoCusWright Innovation Summit this past week. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to interview President and COO Kulin (Colleen) L. Strimbu (photo) about TripTelevision's technology during PhoCusWright. TripTelevision has developed a unique video player that is meant to be used as a sales tool and not just a player. Their video player can be customized to better address clients' needs. It can be used for online advertising by repurposing the video and, through its partnerships, TripTelevision offers an online distribution service. TripTelevision's video player began its life in the music industry and the technology won an technical Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. One of the neat features is TripTelevision services is post-production. Whether they shoot your video or you provide the footage they can cut it to appropriate lengths and incorporate the clips into the player itself. The viewer then can see one clip or any of the clips. The video supports advertising (you can quickly deploy high-quality, high-CPM video advertising campaigns in your content). I found the player very easy to use and see great potential for those canadian tourism organizations that may be considering deploying an online video or online TV strategy. From my conversation with Ms. Strimbu I gathered that the cost of investing in this technology is quite accessible to most tourism businesses and o rganizations. TripTelevision

-

Jaime

PhoCusWright Images

Bloggers and media area at PhoCusWright's Center Stage event

Networking patio

Endless Vacation rentals sponsored water bottles at PhoCusWright. Great idea: Fill the bottle not the landfill.

With friends and fellow T-List Bloggers Claude Benard and Jens Thraenhart

Lunch on the second day of PhoCusWright 2008, announcing Travel Innovation Summit finalists

With Kulin L. Strimbu, President of TripTelevision a cool digital video application and service (interview blogpost coming soon)

Part of the Canadian contingent at PhoCusWright 2008. L2R Me of Cactus Rock, Yen Lee, founder of UpTake (formerly of Yahoo), a new innovative trip planning website, Jens Thraenhart of Chameleon Strategies and Stephen Joyce of RezGo.com

Lunch on the second day at PhoCusWright, perfect for a Mexican Canadian blogger.

Talking business in the hallways at the Renaissance Hotel Hollywood

Cheers,

Jaime

Tips from the T-List at PhoCusWright

The most impressive group of travel industry bloggers (B2B) must be the T-List. "The T-List (T standing for Travel) is basically a collection of travel blogs on the Internet that was first compiled by Mathieu Ouellet in March 2006 (www. radaron.com) with just a handful of blogs." Today, the list has grown to a large group of international bloggers with different points of view and focusing on various areas of the travel industry (many wiht a focus on technology). Further to Mathieu's idea, Stephen Joyce of RezGo.com (Sentias Software) and Jens Thraenhart of Chameleon Strategis (former Director of eMarketing at the Canadian Tourism Commission) took it upon themselves to give the T-List a stronger profile and a virtual home. They also came up with the idea of producing a book compiling relevant blogposts called Tips from the T-List that would (and was) distributed at the first Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategies and other prominent eTravel conferences around the world. They also worked on launching a website that would aggregate the bloggers posts in one virtual home (with lots of work from RezGo's Phil Caines). Thus the Tips from the T-List website was born. TFTTL is now a respected group of eTourism professionals who blog for the benefit of the travel industry world wide. All of us have our regular day jobs but we are passionate about eTourism and its power. To read a breadth of information about the goings on at PhoCusWright go to Tips from the T-List at PhoCusWright.

-

Cheers,

Jaime

Musings on Los Angeles (a break from blogging about PhoCusWright)

While I haven't done any sightseeing during the PhoCusWright Conference, I came to LA on the weekend in order to have some time to see a bit of Hollywood. Not because I have never been here but because I wanted to see what was new since I lived here in the eighties (I'm dating myself, but hey you are only old if you feel old) and I haven't visited the US in a long itme (Canada is a huge country and, after 19 years living there, I still haven't seen it all). Coincidentally, my sister was coming back from China (on her way back home to Vancouver), so I spent time with her and her husband and we went sightseeing around Hollywood last Sunday. Touring around Hollywood brought back fond memories of my time here when I was young and unafraid and wanting to be an actor. At that time there were two popular songs that summed up my feelings about Los Angeles: Randy Newman's I Love LA and Frank Sinatra's La is My Lady (surprisingly there's no YouTube video of ol' blue eyes singing the song). In fact the only time I saw Ol' Blue Eyes live was at the Universal Amphitheatre (known today as the Gibson Amphitheatre) and he did sing the song. So it's been an added bonus for me to come to the PhoCusWright Conference and reminisce, albeit briefly, about my days in this great American city originally known as el Pueblo la Nuestra Senora de Reina de los Angeles de la Porciuncula. I'll have to come back on Holidays with my lovely bride and my daughter with enough time to revisit Marina del Rey, Santa Monica and Venice Beach as well as the new downtown (new to me anyway, there was no Walt Disney Concert Hall at the time). After all, planning the trip should be a breeze given all the new travel planning digital services I have discovered at PhoCusWright.

..

-

Cheers,

Jaime

The Travel Innovation Summit Finalists PhoCusWright 2008

Attendees to the PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit 2008 voted and the six top etravel innovators were announced at a very well attended luncheon this afternoon. "The Travel Innovation Summit demonstrators afforded attendees a sneak preview of the next big wave of ideas that will shape the travel marketplace over the next 12 to 18 months," noted Philip Wolf, PhoCusWright president and CEO. The finalists will have an opportunity to pitch their companies to a panel of judges at PhoCusWright premier event Center Stage. One will be chosen as the 2008 winner.
-
Home&Abroad: Fogglight—a free platform that enables travel businesses to integrate trip planning and booking tools into their online service offerings. It allows users to create a travel Web site from scratch. www.fogglight.com
-
Interactive Mobile @dvertising LLC: iM@ (I'm at) —a geographically-aware content management platform providing travelers on-demand access to destination-specific information on accommodations, transportation and entertainment on a variety of mobile devices. www.imatnow.com

-
TripIt: An online platform that builds a travel itinerary from various booking confirmation emails and integrates travel information, weather, maps, and city guides to an itinerary that can be shared via social networking. www.tripit.com

-

Triporati: Offers an online platform which assists customers in selecting a travel destination by matching the needs and affinities of the traveler with the unique character of over 1,000 global destinations. www.triporati.com

-
Wandrian Inc.: Wandrian API—integrates global rail booking systems and allow travelers to search, shop and book global rail travel from a single platform. www.wandrian.com

-
Yapta.com: Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant—a travel shopping Web site delivering a unique combination of price assurance and transparency to consumers who have purchased air travel online. It also alerts customers of price changes and changes to rewards redemption values. www.yapta.com

-

While I didn't expect all these companies to make it, I did think that FoggLight, Triporati and I'm@ would. I also wanted RezGo (www.rezgo.com) to make the finals, not only because they're my friends and Canadian, but also because I think they are very innovative in terms of bringing powerful eCommerce tools to the long tail of travel, the small businesses that make up the majority of tourism businesses around the world. In addition to RezGo I also had Nile Guide, Clairvoyix and TravelMuse as favourites. I like NileGuide because you can plan a trip build an itinerary and at the end of the process print your own neat personalized travel guide to carry with you. Clairvoyix is direct marketing on steroids, a good example of what companies can do with data. Many Marketing professors and business pundits have said it again and again, many companies collect reams of data but don't really take advantage of this information. Clairvoyix offers solutions to take advantage of the data. And TravelMuse I liked because of an innovative way of looking at trip planning in a well good looking site.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

DigiMarketer

TVTrip a video hotel search and booking website from Europe

TVTrip is a unique search engine for hotels. It is not the only website that is using video to showcase a hotel but it is the only one I've ever seen where video is at the centre of the business model. A few years ago this idea would not have worked (or worked very well) because of low speed Internet connections. But in today's YouTube era, video is the fastest digital tool/service (web and mobile). People want Video (from the Latin "I see" from the verb videre "to see."). We are a visual species and when it comes to travel planning the more we can see (provided we believe that what we see is authentic) the better. This is the TVtrip's unique selling proposition . With the cooperation of the hotels, they show you everything they can from the properties on their website (mostly European Hotels plus New York - while they do list hotels in Canada they have no video for these hotels yet).
-

TVtrip was created in 2007 by travel and Internet experts with backgrounds in companies such as Expedia, Air France, Lufthansa, Microsoft and Lycos and is based in Paris, Munich and Brussels. I interviewed Marc Ruff, CEO and Co-Founder and Steve Stollerman VP North America. They indicated to me that the company is very interested in expanding their filmed hotels by adding Canadian cities' properties to the site. This should be of interest to Canadian hotels interested in European travelers because TVtrip has a broad user base in Canada's traditional inbound markets like the UK, France and Germany. In addition to the well produced and detailed videos, another aspect I liked about TVtrip is its multilingual capabilities. I hope they can go to Toronto in January to attend Canada-e-Connect. One possible problem with the model though is the videos' shelf life, e.g. what happens if a hotel remodels and redecorates its rooms or common areas. How long can the videos last before they become dated. A question I did not think to ask Marc and Steve, but I will via email and report back on this blog. See TVtrip here.

-

Jaime

BazaarVoice, another interesting company I met at PhoCusWright

BazaarVoice is a software as service company that offers ready to use tools to add Web 2.0 to companies in just about any sector. BazaarVoice offers three core product/services: Ratings and Reviews, Ask & Answer and Stories. For the travel industry I believe the most useful service is Ratings and Reviews followed by Stories. These two services can be managed by BazaarVoice thereby freeing up human resources (and therefore cash). Ask & Answer is not as easy to outsource because responders must be experts in the destination. I have not used the service and this is NOT a paid plug for BazaarVoice, but from my interview with Greg Brown and Jonathan Wolf at PhoCusWright 2008 (photo) I got a good impression for the company and I think it deserves a look. In addition, BazaarVoice already has prominent Canadian corporate clients in the retail space. I invited them to consider going to Toronto next January to attend Canada-e-Connect where they can network with Canadian tourism industry players. It seems to me that if they offer these services at a cost effective price there should be Canadian travel organizations, be it DMO's or tourism businesses interested in this kind of outsourced Web 2.0 capabilities. Check them out at BazaarVoice.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

VacationRoost vacation rentals, one of several vacation rentals firms at PhoCusWright -

Vacation rentals are an area of tourism worldwide that's ripe for well managed trusted online services where travelers can research and book holiday properties. A very small percentage of the market books vacation rentals online. VacationRoost and other companies are trying to change this and take advantage of this profitable segment of the tourism industry. I posed the question about trust and branding to Julian Castelli, CEO, and Michelle Hagen, VP Customer Experience (photo). One reason why potential customers don't book online may be because they don't trust the website and are afraid of a SNAD (significantly not as described) incident. VacationRoost is very much aware of this and offers a 24/7 customer service phone line (operated in the United States). Another way VacationRoost addresses the issue of trust is by working only with professional property managers. I suggested to Julian and Michelle to add a tab to their home page to explain why first time users should trust VacationRoost thereby answering that question right of the bat so people can then search and book with confidence. VacationRoost is mostly focused on rentals in North America. In Canada, VacationRoost offers many vacation rental options in Whistler. Overall, I found the site easy to use and now that I know I can trust it, I would consider booking a vacation rental with VacationRoost.

-

Jaime

Worldmate an example of Mobile travel services

WorldMate is a mobile services company that offers WorldMate Live "a travel service that makes it easy for business travelers to plan and manage their trips." The application is available for BlackBerry and Windows mobile enabled phones. Users send in their travel plans, Worldmate Live creates an itinerary, automatically syncs it between a personal web site and mobile device. The service sends flight changes alerts, allows users to book hotels on the go and share their itinerary with friends, co-workers and family. Basic services are free for users but they offer a more robust service for a fee. Jon Michaeli, VP Marketing (photo) told me that Worldmate Live has over 330,000 users mostly in the US but also in Canada (60/65% US, 10% Canada). The service is more suited to the business traveler but leisure travelers may find it useful as well. For the leisure traveler I prefer I'm@ from the Interactive Mobile @dvertising (in a future post), one of PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit's winners.
-

Jaime

PhoCusWright Day 2

Day 2 of the PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood is Workshop and networking day. I will be at the Mobile and Its Role in the Travel Experience Workshop, the Managing Online Customer Esperience MUST be a Top Corporate Priority Workshop and the Understanding Today's Digital Marketing Landscape: Making the Most of Your Online Marketing Budget. In addition I will be networking and interviewing innovators in the eTourism space. I am also taking the opportunity to tell many of these eTourism practitioners about Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2009, since I believe that it will be a great opportunity for some of these experts and companies to network with Canada's Tourism Industry leaders.

-

stay tuned for my posts about the one2one interviews with some eTravel innovators.

-

Jaime

www.twitter..com/jaimehorwitz

Lots of networking opportunities at PhoCusWright

One of the benefits of attending PhoCusWright is the opportunity to meet and talk to many interesting experts in digital marketing and distribution services whether it is a trip planning website, booking software for adventure travel, software as service providers, mobile advertising and trip planning services and many others.

In the picture I am with Reuven Levitt, CEO of TripBase, an interesting travel website with an interesting model. Instead of helping you plan a trip to a specific destination, TripBase asks you what you would like to do at a destination and based on your input it will recommend various destinations for you to choose from. At the moment TripBase is in Beta. I tried a search for fun but I only got back 5 recommendations: San Francisco, Portland, Sydney, London and Paris. I was surprised not to see New York, since New York is the actual place I will be going on the dates I used for the search. I do like the model and think it has great potential. From a Canadian Tourism perspective, if TripBase becomes huge the challenge for Canadian destinations is to make sure that they come up on the recommendations. TripBase.

Jaime

PhoCusWright Day 1

RezGo.com

The Stage @ Travel Innovation

The Bloggers

Jaime

PhoCusWright Conference Day 1 - mid afternoon

Have been watching several presentations at the Travel Innovation Company. Very interesting companies have presented. See my tweets on the left hand side of this blog or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jaimehorwitz I will have end of day reports here late at night or early the next day.

Cheers,
Jaime

Meeting The Bloggers at PhoCusWright 2008 Hollywood

The PhoCusWright Conference is one of the premier events in the travel and technology space. Judging by the number (900+) and calibre of registrants, which in the current economic environment is more than remarkable, the conference promises to deliver valuable insights into the state of Web and travel, mobile and travel and more. As part of the conference events, PhoCusWright presents the Bloggers Summit bringing together a strong group of the most influential travel bloggers in the world. Bloggers like Kevin May of Travolution in the UK, Tim Hughes of the Boot in Australia and Claude Benard of Hotelitour in France will be blogging about the various sessions at the conference including Monday's Travel Innovation Summit where more than 30 companies will be presenting their digital travel innovations to an audience of experts and travel execs from around the world; companies like The Society of Leisure Enthusiasts, RezGo.com, YourTour, DealBase, LiveRez.com, PlanetEye.com, TripJane, Triporati and many more.

-

Photo back: Tim Hughes, Kevin May, Phil Caines and Stephen Joyce. Front: Jaime Horwitz, Claude Benard, Sean Keener

-

Cheers,

Jaime

From the looks of it Hollywood tourism is doing well or is it?

Musings. Having a day off in Hollywood while I wait for the PhoCusWright Conference to begin, I spent the day with my sister and my best friend (they're married) who coincidentally arrived in LA from Beijing last night on their way to Vancouver. We took a one hour tour of Hollywood, had lunch at a Mexican chicken fast food joint (el Pollo Loco) and visited LA Ink, the tatoo parlour famous for its sexy and intelligent star, Kat Von D. Last night we walked along Hollywood Boulevard which was hopping with young people and not so young people going to the various clubs and restaurants in the area. From the looks of it, you could not tell that this country and this state in particular are in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. What you can feel at the moment walking around Los Angeles is the particulate matter in the air caused by the devastating wild fires in various counties around LA. I had not been in LA since I lived here for a little while many many years ago. What struck me in a strange way is how different from Canadian cities it feels (I had not been in the US since 1998, I do most of my traveling in Canada, Mexico and a bit of Europe). It's not the architecture, or the weather or the traffic. There's just a different energy, hard to describe. Won't say better or worse, just very different.

-

I will be blogging and twittering about the Travel Innovation Event, The PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit, the Center Stage, PhoCusWright's signature event starting tonight. Check the blog often and follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

-

Cheers,

Jaime

Reasons Why Canda Ranks in Top 10

A little Humour with Canada’s New Top Rankings.

It is with interest over the last few months Canada has made the world headlines with “Top 10” positioning. The first and probably the most important for Canadian Tourism is the ranking by Lonely Planet, and most recently the number 2 country brand recognition in the world. This ranking comes from the Country Brand Index by FutureBrand of New York, NY.

The introductory paragraph on the Lonely Planet website, may provide the best laugh and possibly the heart of the Canadian culture, the depth, the passion, the raison d’etre for Canadians. Canada’s image has been captured with the phrase “the handle on a Canadian beer case – big enough to fit your hands, even with mittens on. If you think that’s impressive, consider Canada’s other mondo attributes……” Photo: Ron Taylor, Canada Travel News, Ontario Travel North of Toronto.

Terry O'Reilly, one of Canada's top Marketing thought leaders, to close Canada-e-Connect Conference 2009

"There is a huge seismic shift in ad dollars going to online and digital marketing." Terry O'Reilly.

-

Canada-e-Connect and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada are extremely pleased to announce that Terry O'Reilly will be the closing speaker at Canada-e-Connect 2009.

-

AdMan Terry O'Reilly is one of the most interesting, engaging, fun people you can meet in the advertising, communications field anywhere in the world. A recognized authority in advertising (see Marketing Magazine's 100th Anniversary double Issue November '08 - 100 thought leaders look to the future, pg 39), Terry O'Reilly will be inducted into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends at a Gala event a few days after Canada-e-Connect. As you can surmise, Terry O'Reilly is a sought after speaker and we are thrilled that he will be the closing keynote speaker.

-

Terry is a partner in Pirate Radio (Toronto, New York) which keeps him busy enough. But his restless, enthusiasm makes him go beyond his day job to the air and digital waves through his CBC Radio One's program The Age of Persuasion in which he talks about all things related to advertising, communications, persuasion. Age of Persuasion is also available as a podcast through the CBC website (link above).

-

Terry's extensive experience in the advertising world, his talent for ideas, and his endless curiosity and enthusiasm (not too mention the myriad of advertising awards he has won) makes him an ideal closer for next January's Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference in Toronto. Terry will bring his fun, informative, engaging and persuasive presentaton style to the closing session. Don't miss it!

-

Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference

InterContinental Hotel Toronto Centre

January 21-23, 2009

Register now at www.canadaeconnect.travel

-

regards,

Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

www.canadaeconnect.com

www.tiac.travel

Canadian Tourism Blog at PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood next week.

I will be attending the PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit and the PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood next week. The event takes place from Monday, Nov 17 to Thursday, Nov 20th. I will be covering the sessions and goings on until Wednesday night. Unfortunately, I have to be back in Toronto on Thursday. PhoCusWright is the largest travel industry strategy and technology conference in the world. Sessions include the Travel Innovation Summit which will feature over 30 eTravel innovation companies pitching to the attendees, Canadian company RezGo.com included. PhoCusWright`s signature event, Center Stage takes place Wed and Thurs. This year`s topic Search, Shop, Buy is sure to educate and excite those in attendance. Over 900 registrants will converge in the heart of Hollywood for this conference. While most attendees are from the USA there will be several of us Canucks as well as some participants from the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and India. I am sure it will be very interesting and a lot of fun. Visit this blog next week to read about the conference and follow the play-by-play on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

-

regards,

Jaime

Google's CPC bid price inflation (or appreciation depending how you see it). It's a free marketplace.

Reading a blog post from Kevin May of Travolution on the Tips from the T-List webiste about an original post by guest Travolution blogger Alex Bainbridge, Musings on travel ecommerce blogger (see how content travels?), I got confirmation on Google's CPC bid price inflation (I see it more as appreciation) in the travel space. "CPC is in substantial growth. They are nearing total coverage of queries - and as a result in Q1 08 there has been 20% CPC bid price inflation. This inflation is not to do with anything that Google is doing but just the nature of competition. Also websites are getting better at converting visitors hence are willing to bid higher prices."

-

I recently did a small Google AdWords to promote tour packages on my www.demexicoacanada.ca website. It's been months since I did a campaign on Google Adwords and I did notice that bid prices had gone up substantially. Some keywords were up over 50% from the last time I used AdWords. This means I get less clickthrus for the same money, and it also means that many more travel organizations are bidding for keywords about Canada in Spanish targeting Mexican online users. Fortunately for me, I don't have to spend too much on AdWords ads because my sites do very well in organic results. For example www.demexicoacanada.ca ranks number one with the query "viajes a canada" (trips to canada) in Google Mexico.

-

CPC appreciation, as Alex pointed out, is a result of competition, i.e. more companies bidding for the keywords. Google should not be chastised for this fact. It's their business model, and unlike unregulated mortgage lenders, it works very well. Besides it (high bid prices) should make my websites' ad rates more attractive to Canadian tourism organizations, so I'm cool with it.

-

Regards,

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Little bit of news. Brand Canada, BC, Whistler, AGO

Lots of good things happening lately for Canadian Tourism

1. - Congrats to the CTC. Some of the credit for this year's ranking on the Country Brand Index surely must go to the CTC's branding work. According to the new Country Brand Index 2008, Canada is # 2 in the world (those Aussies again!). Keep Exploring!

2.- Congrats to Tourism British Columbia for winning one of one of ten prestigious World Travel Market Global Awards at the World Tourism Market. The award goes to organizations or "companies who have made a remarkable contribution to their region’s travel and tourism industry."

3.- Congrats to Whistler on the upcoming opening of the Peak-to-Peak Gondola, surely the most impressive tourism attraction to open in Canada in the last 10 years.

4.- Congrats to Toronto and Ontario on the Grand Opening of the Frank Gehry redesigned Art Gallery of Ontario.

Bon voyage,
Jaime

Canada-e-Connect January 2009, but first PhoCusWright in Hollywood The Perfect Storm: Search, Shop, Buy

I am getting quite excited about the PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood next week. I leave in two days and the fun starts Sunday evening when I will meet many of the top tourism industry bloggers in the world. The T-List will be there in force: Tim Hughes from The Boot, Kevin May from Travolution, Stephen Joyce from Travel & Tourism Technology Trends, Claude Benard from Hotelitour, and many more. I will be blogging here about the many innovative companies that will present at the Travel Innovation Company. I am sure to learn and report on new ideas and strategies for tourism destinations and companies. Using Twitter I will bring some play-by-play action to this blog (see side bar - or sign up to follow me at http://twitter.com/jaimehorwitz).

As of today the event looks like this:

954+ PhoCusWright Conference Attendees from 27 Countries
75 Sponsors and Exhibitors
71 Speakers and Talkbackers
32 Innovation Summit Demonstrators
56 Bloggers and Press
-
Hollywood, I'm ready for my Close-up.
Jaime

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

Lest we Forget

Challenging economic times are nothing compared to being in the midst of War. With all its challenges and imperfections Canada is still one of the best countries in the world to live and one of the most, if not the most tolerant and embracing of diversity. Much of what Canada is today we owe to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for us and the world. Whether you were born here or not, if you live in Canada, you owe a debt of gratitude to our Canadian Armed Forces past and present. At 11 am, please stop what you are doing and Remember.

Jaime

Dr. Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing to speak at Canada-e-Connect 2009 in Toronto.

Canada-e-Connect's Opening Keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Ian Fenwick, one of the most respected business academics in the world. Ian is a former director of the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business. York University in Toronto. He continues to be Professor of Marketing Emeritus and Senior Scholar at that School. He currently lives and works in Thailand, where he is Advisor and Senior Head of Administrative Programs at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration. Ian has led executive seminars and taught at universities and businesses pretty much around the world. He has served as a consultant for a wide range of companies including Siam Cement Group, Merck (Thailand), A.C. Nielsen (Thailand), German Standard, JETRO, General Motors Canada, Dupont Canada, Exxon and many others.

Dr. Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing: The Essential Guide to New Media and Digital Marketing, will address Canada-e-Connect delegates on the dramatic shift from traditional to digital media. DigiMarketing has been labeled “an introduction, encyclopedia, and action plan all at the same time, a hefty but easy-to-read book that helps makes sense of the emerging digital world” in the Globe and Mail. Norman Pearlstine (former Editor-in-Chief of Time, Inc. and Managing Editor, the Wall Street Journal) has hailed it as “the definitive guide to marketing in the digital age”.

Dr. Fenwick and/or his co-author Kent Wertime, President of Ogilvy One Asia Pacific have presented DigiMarketing at various events (and counting) throughout Asia (e.g. Business Week Middle East Asia Leadership Forum Dubai) and more recenty at Microsoft's World Partner Conference, Houston.

Born in England and also holding Canadian citizenship, Ian has a BA (Hons) First Class (in Economics and Sociology) from Durham University and a Ph.D. from the University of London.

Canada-e-Connect will take place at the InterContinental Hotel on Front St. in downtown Toronto, January 21 to 23, 2009.

Given the current economic environment that is surely to affect travel worldwide, it is imperative to keep up to date with the latest trends in Digital Marketing because digital marketing is the most cost-effective way to promote and sell your tourism offerings whether you are a small Bed & Breakfast, multi-unit hotel chain, airline or a major tourist attraction.

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to hear from Dr. Fenwick and other interantional e-marketing, e-distribution and social media experts. Register now for Canada-e-Connect 2009!

Visit Canada-e-Connect's website regularly and keep up-to-date with the fantastic speakers as they are confirmed.

See you there.

Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

Focus on Canada-e-Connect the Shift to DigiMarketing

TIAC's and my own focus as Chair of the Advisory Committee now turns to Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference, the Shift to DigiMarketing. This conference designed for decision makers in the industry will cover the vast number of topics surrounding Digital Marketing. We are calling it Digital Marketing a oppose to Online Marketing because it is the digital aspect of communications technology that tourism marketers should understand best. Whether it is the Web, Mobile, Digital Signage (indoor and outdoor), digital TV, or Gaming, all of it is based on digital technology which means content can travel. It means a digital poster can communicate with a mobile device. Dr. Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing has been confirmed as our opening Keynote Speaker. Consumers, i.e. travelers can interact with tourism providers via many devices. What are the implications for marketing and tourism product distribution in this constantly evolving environment? Canada-e-Connect 2009 will answer many of the questions from a strategic point of view. Whether you own a small B&B or manage a chain of hotels, you should not miss Canada-e-Connect January 21 to 23 at the InterContinental Hotel in Downtown Toronto. Registration is now open.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Canada-e-Connect Advisory Committee

Taking most of the day off after the Tourism Leadership Conference

I am exhausted from two intense days at TIAC's Canadian Tourism Leadership Conference and staying up late to see US President Elect Barack Obama's victory speech. So, I am taking most of the day off. The Leadership Conference was a success by all accounts especially under the current economic uncertainty. Attendance, while not record breaking, was substantial. There were many interesting and important sessions. From what I heard the two sessions that seemed to resonate most with attendees were the session with Chris Cahill, President and Ceo of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and the session an Authenticity by author Jim Gilmore. The CTC's annual public meeting and update was also quite impressive and very informative especially in respect of how the Canadian Tourism Commission is working to leverage the 2010 Winter Games before and after the event. We were very pleased to have in attendance at the conference Ms. Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism (photo). Ms. Ablonczy is our champion at the federal level. She understands the importance of tourism and its contribution to the canadian economy and canadian employment. Most tourism businesses in Canada are small businesses and it is important for these businesses that the government understands the challenges they face and that policies be put in place to make sure these businesses can thrive.

-

Jaime

Sentias Software RezGo.com a finalist at the National Awards for Tourism Excellence

I was privileged to be asked by my friend Stephen Joyce to stand in his place to receive Sentias Software, RezGo.com 's, finalist certificate in the Innovator of the Year Award at the National Awards for Tourism Excellence reception during TIAC's Tourism Leadership Summit. Stephen and Phil could not attend because they are busy innovating and preparing for her participation at the PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Conference in Los Angeles later this month.

-

Jaime

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

TIAC's board 2008 (front) Gopal Rao, Patty Balsille, Julie Canning, Stan Cook, Patrice Basille, Jim Baker, Barry Smith, Randy Williams, (back) Stephen Foster, Denis Vandal, Kevan Ridgway, John C. Dunn, Ken Lambert, Bill Allen and Roger Jamieson
-
Jaime @ TIAC's summit

TIAC Tourism Leadership Conference Gatineau Quebec

TIAC's 2008 Tourism Leadership Summit. Sustainability. Marketing. Tourism Greatest Asset or Liability? Labour. DMO Accountability. Facing the Tourism Challenge. This and more in Gatineau. We are facing short term challenges but in the long run we must create a National Tourism Strategy in a sustainable and eco responsible context.

Cheers,

Jaime

Going to the Tourism Leadership Conference on Via Rail's Via 1

I am writing this post on the train to Ottawa using Via Rail's Wi Fi access courtesy of Via. It's been quite an enjoyable train ride in a Via Rail private car courtesy or TIAC and Via Rail. Several delegates are on the train having a great time getting to the conference. I have been talking to John Pinter of Meridian Reservation Systems. We've had a very interesting conversation about their unique rez service. Said hello to Anne Marshall of Elmhirst's Resort and talked a little bit about Hispanic inbound markets. We're about 40 minutes from Ottawa so we'll have plenty of time to check in, relax a bit and then attend the conferences first sessions. Elaine McCulloch, from Via Rail's marketing department has been our Via liaison and hostess and she has been wonderful. Thanks Elaine. Stay tuned to this blog. I will be writing a couple of posts about the conference in the next few days. I will also tweet about it. See www.twitter.com/jaimehorwitz and follow me.

-

Cheers,

Jaime