- Conversational Capital - Rituals, initiation, icons, relevant sensory oddity, exclusive product (service, experience) offering, over delivery, tribalism, endorsement, continuity. "the medium is the message" McLuhan "the consumer is the message" Cesvet
- From Claude Benard of Hotelitour to Hoteliers. (paraphrasing) "Use the OTA's for search. Maximize all your channels of distribution, but most importantly maximize your own direct channel (your chain's or hotel's booking engine and website)
- From Philip Wolf, President CEO PhoCusWright: "Strategically correct yes, politically correct, no"
- From Philip Wolf, President CEO PhoCusWright: "Brand matters"
- From Philip Wolf, President CEO PhoCusWright: "Premature ROI analysis stifles opportunity before it has a chance to develop"
- From Kim Mance, founder GoGalavanting and the Travel Bloggers Exchange community: "You need to be louder" (after my question about why aren't Americans coming to Canada, what are we doing wrong or not doing?)
- From Cajun Mama, Shannon Hurst Lane, founder TravelingMamas.com, ShannonLane.com: (paraphrasing) many people market to the coasts (of the US) "they think that's where everybody is and they forget that there is this huge country between those two coasts. (after my question about why aren't Americans coming to Canada, what are we doing wrong or not doing?)
- From Patrick Payne of Quickmobile: Mobile's 7 P's Presentation, Presence, Proximity, Personalization, Privacy, Payments, Push (also contender for the most tweeted tweet)
- From Philippe Fabri of Atout France: 100 mini-sites. being specific in promoting destinations
- From Maria Ziv of VisitSweden: Digital Embassies as opposed to one huge website. Focus on images (everyone has ADD these days)
- From Jens Thraenhart, DragonTrail.com: (paraphrasing) "China is a huge opportunity...there are more bloggers in China than in the United States"
- From Philippe Fabri of Atout France: eTourism as cloud
- From Vicky Brock of Highland Business Research, Scotland: "Strategy without metrics is merely wishes. Metrics without a strategy are meaningless." (perhaps the phrase most tweeted at the conference)
- From Carroll Rheem of PhoCusWright: The Long Tail of OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) is getting fatter.
- From Walid Salem, Exec Dir eBusiness, Canadian Tourism Commission: "Take advantage of the millions of dollars in free advertising and PR that the Olympics will provide"
- From Ken Lambert, VP Sales & Marketing, Delta Hotels and Resorts: "For us, Twitter is more important than Facebook."
- From Jaime Horwitz, Cactus Rock, Digital Marketer and Strategist, Co-Chair CeC: "It's Tasty" after tasting Poutine with Fois Gras for the first time (at the Restaurant au Pied de Cochon in Montreal)
- From Jaime Horwitz, Cactus Rock, Digital Marketer and Strategist, Co-Chair CeC: "To increase destination fans be specific: fans of poutine, fans of Grand Prix du Canada, fans of Tamy Emma Pepin (not just fans of Quebec)"
- From Joe Buhler, BuhlerWorks, PhoCusWright, Marketing in the Smart Web: "data roaming charge is the elephant in the room" (at the Mobile issues and opportunities session)
- From Wendy Perrin, The Perrin Post, Traveler Magazine: "I love talking to travelers, I love helping them with their travel..."
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Canada-e-Connect 2010 went viral and international. Musings #CEC2010 Post #3 Twenty interesting things
Canada-e-Connect 2010 went viral and international. Musings #CEC2010 Post #2 Twitter
Canada-e-Connect 2010 went viral and international. Musings #CEC2010 Post #1 The Stars
- Maria Ziv VisitSweden.com
- Kim Mance - GoGalavanting.com
- Wendy Perrin The Perrin Post Conde Nast Traveller Magazine
- Shannon Hurst (Cajun Mama) TravelingMamas.com Shannonlane.com
- Philp Wolfe President CEO PhoCusWright
- Bertrand Cesvet SidLee.com
- Vicky Brock Highland Business Research, Scotland
- Philip Fabry Atout France
- Emmanuelle Legault Tourisme Montreal
Chair Canada-e-Connect 2009
Canada-e-Connect 2010 went viral and international. A series of musings on #CEC2010
Chair Canada-e-Connect 2009
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Spotlight of eTourism strategic issues - Canada-e-Connect 2010
- Meredith A. Hanrahan, Chief Marketing Officer, Cheapflights Ltd.
- Rob Hyndman, Technology Business Lawyer and Founder,Hyndman | Law;
- Mike Kujawski, Marketing & Social Media Strategist, Center of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing
- Stuart Macdonald, Founder CEO, TripHarbour.ca;
- Joseph Thornley, CEO, Thornley Fallis and 76design and Chair, Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms
Spotlight on Kim Mance - Canada-e-Connect 2010 Travel Bloggers
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Spotlight on Shannon Hurst Lane of TravelingMamas.com - Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference
Spotlight on Wendy Perrin Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference
Friday, 15 January 2010
Spotlight on China Spotlight on Jens Thraenhart - Canada-e-Connect eTourism Conference 2010
Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference Montreal 2010 27 - 29 January
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Spotlight on Claude Benard owner of HoteliTour - panelist Hoteliers 2.0 at Canada-e-Connect 2010
Claude Benard is an eTourism and eTravel expert in France who happens to blog in English. Claude started his career in tourism as a technical sales manager for a tour operator in Marseille (France) and worked with the network of travel agencies in the south of France. He spent 6 years as sales executive at the Envergure / Louvre Hotels group, especially for the 3 stars brand “Bleu Marine." After his work with the Louvre Hotels Group, Claude became the sales and marketing manager for a regional hotel booking engine managed by the Marseille Chamber of Commerce.
Since then he has spent many years as an independant consultant for the hotel and tourism industry with a dedicated focus on french DMO’s, independant hotels, emarketing, Travel 2.0 and travel social media. Claude managed the popular blog Les Explorers for 3 years and started his new blog (in English) www.hotelitour.com in march 2008. Claude is a member of the Tourism T-List, the international community of eTourism bloggers, and very active in the major eTourism and technology conferences like PhoCusWright at ITB (where we met a couple of years ago) and all the eTourism conferences in France. Recently, Claude joined Kevin May's TNOOZ, a digital portal and publication that covers tourism and technology issues and news (based in the UK).
I look forward to Claude's contributions and discussion at the Canada-e-Connect Hoteliers 2.0 panel on Friday, January 29 at 2 pm. This panel will deal with the issues, challenges and opportunities that hoteliers face in the new world of Social Media where digital channels are king and the traveler is in control. His fellow panelists will be Ken Lambert, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Delta Hotels and Dimitri Antonopoulos, Vice-Président, Marketing et Développement Hôtels & Restaurants for Old Montreal Hotels, a small group of high-end boutique hotels. The session will be moderated by Bill Brown, Executive Vice-President, Hotel Association of Greater Montreal.
Canada-e-Connect 2010 is almost full. You have a few days left to register if you want to attend this year's edition of the premier eTourism Strategy Conference in Canada. Go to www.canadaeconnect.com and register.
A bientĂ´t,
Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez MBA
Chair Canada-e-Connect 2009
Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Spotlight on Philippe Fabry, eTourism Manager for Atout France, speaking at Canada-e-Connect Montreal 2010
Spotlight on Joe Buhler, panelist Mobile and Mobile Challenges, Canada-e-Connect 2010
Joe Buhler, Senior Destination and Social Media Marketing Analyst, PhoCusWright, has seen it all (well not all, but almost all) in the travel business. With wide-ranging global experience in destination marketing, the airline industry, retail travel and wholesale tour operations, Joe Buhler advises organizations on how the latest web developments impact customer interaction and travel marketing. Prior to joining PhoCusWright, Joe was Executive Vice-President, Business Development and Strategic Alliances of EuroVacations.com, and also worked for Switzerland Tourism, where he managed the development and realization of the award-winning myswitzerland.com. Joe is also an avid industry blogger and member of the T-List with his blog Marketing on the Smart Web.
Joe will bring his significant experience and vast knowledge of eTourism to the Canada-e-Connect 2010 panel on
Moreover, the explosion of smart phone apps (ie iPhone), including thousands of travel related ones, has big implications for travel marketing and travel product distribution, from hotel rooms to activities to events.
While you don't necessarily have to develop a mobile app yourself, you should make sure that consumers can find information about your destination through your mobile device. The behemoth Google has entered the fray with its Nexus One device anticipating that the mobile device will be the computer of the future. Apple's tablet is generating enormous buzz in technology circles with some pundits saying it'll make the iPhone look like a toy.
Whatever the future holds in mobile technology, one thing is certain: tourism organizations and businesses must at the very least understand how mobile technology works, how consumers and travelers are currently using it and how they may want to use it in the future.
The
See you in Montreal,
Jaime Horwitz MBA
Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010