According to eMarketer, online leisure travel is expected to grow by 12% this year to a total of $105 billion, and will continue to grow at an average rate of 11% through 2012.   Interestingly enough, eMarketer asserts that fewer travelers are booking online, claiming that frustration with online travel agent websites and the overall booking process is encouraging travelers to rely more on travel agents.  While that seems a bit extreme an assertion, it does illustrate why it’s imperative that any tourism site - whether it books travel directly or not - needs to be user friendly and easily navigable.

At the beginning of the summer a video was posted on You Tube about a lion raised in captivity and released that was later reunited with its ‘friends’ in an emotional meeting.  Called Christian the Lion, it, like many popular You Tube videos, received coverage on such TV shows as “The View”.  It’s also seen 11 million views since late June.

Humboldt County responded to this video with one of its own, launched late last week, an on-the-mark spoof that uses the region’s unique features to provide a twist.

Humboldt’s video works because it’s timely, and it’s a video response to a very popular current video.  It uses the video spoof to promote itself in a very tongue-in-cheek and authentic manner.  It even continues the story on its website, which viewers are invited to visit.

As of today, Humboldt County’s video has seen 63 thousand views in 3 days.  That’s pretty impressive.

Carl Ribaudo was quoted in the local paper today as it referenced his 2005 white paper on the changing South Lake Tahoe economy. The predictions are still very relevant today, perhaps more so with the bankruptcy declaration of the parent company of two South Shore casinos.

If you’ve not sent your registration in for the SMG Tourism Conference at Lake Tahoe, better do so today, as tomorrow is the registration deadline.

With topics including “The Conversation Economy”, mountain travel research and a follow up to last year’s presentation on destination authenticity, this is one conference you do not want to miss.

Have you registered yet? We’ve got a great agenda planned, and in addition to innovative presentations, an all day trade show and great food, we’ll be featuring Suisun wines at a complimentary wine tasting afterwards.

A great article from a search engine marketer on the difference between strategy and tactics, and why the latter is easier to focus on. Love the analogy of strategy being the blueprints, and tactics being the actions you take to build the house.

Despite it coming from the perspective of a search engine marketer, his point is very applicable to the more general elements of marketing. Whether it’s an ad, a press release or a pay-per-click campaign, if it’s not part of an overall strategy, its value is questionable.

I’ll be participating in a panel discussion on online marketing at a Lake Tahoe South Shore chamber luncheon at Harrah’s on Thursday, April 17th.  For those of you in South Lake Tahoe, it’s a great opportunity to learn about how to better attract, convert and keep customers online.

Because it’s Friday - an amusing lesson in how to better manage and convert your online marketing campaign.

Great to see the Monterey County Convention & Visitor Bureau up for a Webby Award nomination in the tourism category.  Good job Twelve Horses!

While we think of marketing and tactics related to promotion primarily in industries such as retail, travel and technology, I was pleasantly surprised to see an example of it at, of all things, a doctor’s office. I’ve recently switched doctors, and as a new patient I was expecting to receive the usual assortment of forms to fill out prior to the appointment. What I wasn’t expecting was an additional glossy flyer that detailed the doctor’s experience, goals for the practice and services.

While not something I’d normally think I’d want, I found this information valuable primarily because I knew little about the doctor. It was informative, useful and reassuring, and indicated to me that the doctor wanted to put new patients at ease by providing information up front.

Taking this back to tourism, wouldn’t it be nice if in the confirmation email you received when you booked your hotel room there was some unique and useful information specific to where you were going, like what time the sun sets (if you’re in a tropical locale), or where to find the best place to enjoy a pre-dinner drink?