SkiftOne: travel inspiration for the thinking set, one a day.
We're launching a small side experiment called SkiftOne today. It is that one piece of travel inspiration that gets stuck in your head that inspires you to travel. It could be that random video ad from Nike about cricket as religion in India, or the branding of a new hotel on a creative community site, or an article in New York Times magazine about the incredible Greek island of Ikaria where people forgot to die, or a vintage airline ad that reminds you of that travel is about dreams, even if they’re dreams of retrospect.
Point is, travel inspiration doesn't have to come from travel photos, magazines, videos, sites, or things specifically marketed as such, it is part of our every day life. Almost everything that scratches the travel itch leaves a mark somewhere inside us.
We at Skift are immersed in travel every day, and that itch is what we want to uncover, through SkiftOne. Only one idea, only once a day, to let it sink in, inspired in part by that "Slow Web" movement that wants us to pull back and ponder, and "grounds us in the flow of time." Isn't that what travel should be about anyway?
It may all be hokey, or there's something to it. We'll find out. Subscribe.
Everyone's pivoting in travel, even BrandUSA: from destination marketing org to cooperative marketing platform.
Source: twitter.com
More M&A in the travel B2B media sector, better for all of us: Travel and media entrepreneur Clive Jacobs has agreed in principle to acquire Caterer and Hotelkeeper, the UK’s only weekly magazine for hoteliers and restaurateurs, from Reed Business Information. The acquisition will be Jacobs’ second from Reed Business Information, following the purchase of the Travel Weekly Group in August 2009.
Travora's shift into publishing on its own follows media/advertising trends, but its disappointing results in mobile and downsizing may foreshadow new challenges ahead.
Travora Media trims staff, opts to phase out NileGuide and TravelMuse brands, and readies app launch
Travel is a hard sector for a startup, and it helps to pick and choose a spot where it isn't trying to reinvent/disrupt to much. This may be a case of that.
Source: skift.com
A new social travel startup waiting to happen: Travails. Kinda goes with the state of that sector.
Source: twitter.com
State of Travel Startups chart: Analytics & P2P lodging startups get most money
Center Stage at the 2011 PhoCusWright Conference (by PhoCusWright)
Source: youtube.com
"What you need to know to top off your frequent flier account — whether it involves a last-minute flight or not — before the clock strikes midnight." More in this NYT story: "Save your Elite Flyer Status While You Can"
Source: The New York Times
Delta is spending $100 million at LaGuardia as it takes advantage of 132 flight slot pairs gained in a deal with US Airways Group Inc..it will add more than 100 flights and 29 destinations.
Source: businessweek.com
LGBT Travel: Media Influencer: Within the LGBT media, what is more likely to influence you when researching and making your destination selections?
Source: communitymarketinginc.com
PDF Link. "The number of gay travelers jumped as much as 3 percent over the past year, according to an annual report by Community Marketing, Inc." New York increased its lead as the No. 1 place for members of the gay community to travel. It topped the survey's three main categories; actual visits to the destination in past 12 months, most gay-friendly destination in the world and personal favorite destination. Las Vegas, San Francisco and London also scored well in all three indicators.
"I just don’t see corruption here. Corruption implies that the bloggers will intentionally mislead their readers..But then again… Keith talks explicitly about this as a 'marketing exercise'."