news digital
■ Teletext Holidays has brought in media agency I Spy to grow its social media offering. The move, designed to use social media to give Teletext more customers, follows the switch off of its analogue TV services last year. I Spy will also manage Teletext Holidays’ blog. Other clients it has in the travel sector include Viking Airlines and hotel reservation service HRS
Flybe to sell hotel rooms using HRS, p26
■ Design Hotels has created a booking engine on its Facebook page. The company, which repre- sents 180 independent hotels in 40 countries, now allows its fans to book stays, as well as research all of its properties on the social networking website.
■ vtravelled.com, Virgin Atlantic’s networking website, launched its blog last week. The site, http://blog.vtravelled.com, aims to share travel advice, such as how to travel alone, plus tips including how to photograph the perfect sunset. Its first week also ran a competition to find a “passionate, well-connected blogger” to travel to New York.
■ Google has just uploaded New York to its YourWorldIn3D channel on YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/TTGNY). The Google Earth team’s 90 second 3D “street level” video joins Barcelona, Milan... and even Dursley in Gloucestershire. The videos were all submitted as part of Google’s “Model your town” competition.
Rebel ‘hacks’ into Responsible site
APPS ROUND-UP
FlightTrack has
updated its Live
Flight Status Tracker. The new version, which costs £2.99, can predict delays of flights, set daily repeating flights and also works on the new iPad.
Sloane Square’s Phoenix
House Apartments has
unveiled a new free app. “Phoenix House Guest Rela- tions” allows users to access guest relations, receive promotions, and keep up to date with news and events from Phoenix House. Users can contact the serviced apartments operator directly, plus there are tips on local attractions, amenities, and culture via its interactive “Out & About” guide.
14
16.04.2010
Matthew Parsons.
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL has set out a new manifesto, created just in time for the general election. However, the TTA member last week claimed the manifesto was the work of a hacker. The so-called “Rebellious Tourist” had added their own travel tips, pictured on torn pieces of paper, urging people to “see the world through the eyes of a child” and to “let your curiosity be your map and feel the freedom”. Following the “hack”, the tips were collated into a microsite and Responsible Travel has said the hacker will remain anonymous – see them at http://tinyurl.com/TTGresp. The marketing idea was drummed up by founder Justin Francis, who was inspired by The Holiday Makersby Jost Krippendorf, a book that calls for rebellious tourists and rebellious locals to develop a more responsible form of tourism.
The Tuesday Twitter debate
On Tuesday we asked which of the party leaders you would least like to sit next to on a long-haul flight: Cameron, Brown or Clegg. You said...
■Parachute please! (@JulieD_atTC)
■Seems Clegg is only one who has worked in travel industry – season as a ski instructor (@alexbainbridge)
■Cameron just because he is a bit slimmer than the other two and wouldn’t take up all the arm rest room! (@kyliejenkins)
Don’t forget to tune into Twitter again on Tuesday, at 10am, to join in the debate.
TO FOLLOW TTG, GO TO
TWITTER.COM/TTGLIVE
A spokesperson told TTGthe manifesto was not just a “flash in a pan”. “This is a slow burner. We are letting the
character in gently, it’s not just for one week, and they are here to stay. “We want conversation, and to show travelling
responsibly is not just niche, or worthy – it’s for everyone.” The Rebellious Tourist will also write a column in the company’s e-zine, which is emailed to 135,000 people every fortnight. However, on the manifesto website some commentators were not impressed. One wrote: “How are you and your website
different to the others out there when you offer links to package surfing holidays, for example? That is the complete antithesis of rebelliousness.” The spokeswoman said: “We’re not trying to appeal to hardened travellers, it’s an initiative to reach out to a new audience.”
ttglive.com
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