On Sept 23, during the UN General Assembly, major players in the travel and tourism sector came together with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and World Bank President Robert Zoellick, to announce MASSIVEGOOD - an innovative travel-related fundraising initiative that will help finance health care for the world’s poor.

The program – managed by The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health – will allow travelers to give a small $2 voluntary ‘micro-contribution’ every time they purchase travel services.

The contributions will go towards fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries, chanelled through a WHO-hosted organization, UNITAID.

The technology solution for MASSIVEGOOD was developed by Amadeus and can be integrated into all GDS systems and embedded in the regular booking system for airline tickets and other travel reservations. As a result, MASSIVEGOOD will make it easy for everyone who travels to make their micro-contributions through a simple click each time they book their reservation, whether online or through an agent.

Signatories include the World Travel & Tourism Council; Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport; Opodo, Orbitz and Travelocity; American Express Business Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel; Voyageurs du Monde; Mondial Assistance, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

MASSIVEGOOD is on track for launch in early 2010 in USA, UK, Spain, Germany and Austria, and has the potential to raise up to $1 billion in additional funding for global health during its first four years of operation.

For more information, visit www.massivegood.org/ and www.millennium-foundation.org/

Oklahoma has launched seven pilot programs as part of ECO (Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma) - a sustainable travel initiative. 

Science Museum, Oklahoma

The seven pilot programs include the Colcord Hotel, Oklahoma City; Keystone State Park, Sand Springs; Maple Place Bed and Breakfast, Enid; Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Oklahoma City; Oklahoma Tourism Information Center, Blackwell; Polo Grill, Tulsa; and Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City.

Interesting part is that ECO will also identify sustainable travel options such as lodging, restaurants and attractions so that tourists seeking green travel will have easy access to this information.

This taps right into filling one of the biggest holes in the sustainable travel sector. A recent US Travel Assoc. survey found that less than one-third (29%) say it is easy to find out about environmental policies and initiatives of travel service suppliers.

In the same survey, 51% of consumers said they will continue to patronize “green” travel service suppliers regardless of an economic downturn. In fact, nearly half (48%) of travelers say that continuing to support environmentally-responsible travel service suppliers is a necessity, even in an economic downturn.

What this means is that while travelers understand the importance of sustainable travel, many travel companies haven’t yet got the message.

If other states were to follow the examples set by states like Virginia (Virginia Green) and Oklahoma (ECO), and provide eco travel tips and a comprehensive listing of statewide certified green travel companies, environmentally conscious consumers would have more options to choose from.

ECO is a partnership between the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and offers education, certification and marketing support for businesses who want to go green. 

They have also teamed up with Clean the World and The International Ecotourism Society. Shawn Seipler, executive director of Clean the World, said that ECO and members of the Oklahoma tourism industry will be working with Clean the World to collect ‘gently-used’ hotel soaps and shampoos which will be recycled and shipped to Third World countries to prevent illnesses and help save lives.

And two out of the seven pilot program properties are operated directly by Oklahoma Tourism, so it’s not just talk – they’re taking the trouble to show other travel companies in Oklahoma how to do it.

More details about ECO, visit the Oklahoma Tourism site’s ECO page – www.travelok.com/eco/

Photo by Wesley Fryer

Philip Bowman, chief executive of Smiths Group in London, has begun publicly complaining about the long security lines at European airports he frequents. In a speech in Brussels last week, he told his audience, “Sometimes I wonder whether the same energy and elan is always applied to relieving restrictions as is usually shown – for very good and understandable reasons – in imposing them.”

no liquids or gels

OK, so one of the divisions in his company designs and manufactures equipment to detect and identify explosives, weapons and contraband. And it just so happens the Department of Homeland Security is one of its major U.S. stakeholders. And he made headlines in the U.K. last year when he negotiated “first class where available” perks into his contract, a $10,000 pound car allowance and $336,000 pound pension every year in addition to his salary and bonuses.

Still, as self-serving as it may seem to advocate more countries adopt scanning technology at the airports, folks passing through Helena Regional Airport in Montana likely agree.

Late last week, it rolled out a CT-80 baggage screening machine by Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc. — equipment that can screen 225 bags per hour in an airport that typically serves just 350 passengers a day. The CT-80 works like an MRI machine does for medical purposes, scanning bags for explosives and other no-nos.

“Now, we’re light years ahead of most Montana airports,” said Philip Stuczynski, the Transportation Security Administration’s screening manager at Helena. No, Mr. Stuczynski, apparently you are ahead of the many world airports Philip Bowman frequents.

Photography: Fabio Mascarenhas (Flickr)

Kevin Luke May is the co-founder, editor and brains behind Tnooz (www.tnooz.com/), which launched in September 2009. A journalist for 16 years, Kevin May was the editor for Travolution prior to founding his own startup in Tnooz.

Kevin May, Editor - Tnooz

Tnooz

Published below is a Q&A with Kevin May, which reveals a fair bit about how and why Tnooz was launched, what makes it tick, and where it is heading to.

Question:  How did Tnooz come about? I mean, was it something which you had been thinking about and you felt it was the right time now, or was it triggered by a meeting with someone, or some event?
Kevin May: The Tnooz team decided that there was a hole in the B2B travel media marketplace for a global brand which is focused on travel technology, online distribution, digital markeing, social media and related disciplines. The web allows us to create that kind of media product in a far more exciting way than was possible in the days of print-based media.

Question: From the looks of it, you’re aggregating contributors from the across the world to offer both local and global perspectives. You think this will help attract a more global audience, instead of being limited to a specific region? Anything else you had in mind when you came up this concept?
Kevin May: I feel strongly that the aggregation of B2B travel media content is starting to dilute the overall value and message of the source content. Tnooz has taken a different approach, creating a roster of writers (we call them nodes) around the world who write new content for us, rather than Tnooz aggregating a raft of blogs and news sources.

Question: The PhocusWright Connection – Is it an official partnership? Other than the presence of Gene Quinn and Philip Wolf, what kind of role – if any – did PhocusWright have in the startup? Any plans for content sharing or other arrangements with PhocusWright?
Kevin May: We are an independent media company, seeking to have strategic partners with organisations around the world. We have to be research-neutral, sector-neutral and maintain our position as an analytical, edgy, accurate and valuable provider of news and commentary. We will write about PhoCusWright in the same objective way as any other research company, despite the connections, and also work with them and others to ensure we have relevant and useful content.

Question: Is Tnooz going to be more of a media publication or a platform for bloggers? I mean, do you have any editorial guidelines, oversight,etc. for what gets published?
Kevin May: Tnooz is a media business which has high quality articles at its core. We have a mixture of professional journalists and a range of industry bloggers and other experts in the sector. And, for me, there is no distinction between them all. They all produce unique content for Tnooz and in turn reach a wider and global audience.

Question: Related question – You studied criminology, became a member of the media at the Police Gazette, moved to the web at Media Week and towards the Travel Industry at Travolution. With Tnooz, you now move further down the road into Travel Tech, but still in media. Is Tnooz a career move, are you moving towards something you love doing, or do you just enjoy being on the move, so to speak?
Kevin May: I am journalist of 16 years and love what I do. Co-founding Tnooz with Gene Quinn and Fred Lalonde is a career move of sorts away from the structure and culture of a traditional media company to a start-up. But I still enjoy getting my hands dirty by reporting, analysing and editing, and coordinating teams of great writers.

Question: I read a quote from you, which says “remember your core readership and keep an eye on the competition.” Can you expand on that, as relates to Tnooz? What kind of reader profile are we looking at here? And who do you consider as your main competition?
Kevin May: It’s simple: sit still and you’ll be yesterday’s news in next to no time. Modern media requires agility in technology and the ability to test ideas which enthuse your own audience as well as attract new readers. We are targeting anyone who works in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry with an interest or responsibility for technology, marketing, media and distribution.

Question: In another recent interview, you mention that Tnooz is ‘developing a number of information services which have never been provided before on a global scale.’ Is the TJobs section one of these services? What other services do you offer, or plan to offer?
Kevin May: You will find out in the coming weeks and months. We don’t give away our trade secrets beforehand!

Question: Your launch was great – built up anticipation and doled out information in dribbles. What kind of marketing strategy does Tnooz have in mind, going forward?
Kevin May: We coined the phrase non-marketing marketing early on. This simply meant that we seeded a few key places with information (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) and let the community take over. The buzz ahead of the site’s soft-launch was fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for a better response. We have a number of initiatives in the pipeline, but the best method of growing a media brand is by constantly producing unique and engaging content.

Question: Again, related question – I understand there is no Venture Capital involved. Will that be true going forward, or are you open to investment, if it helps you achieve your growth targets?
Kevin May: We keep our business strategy to ourselves and will do our corporate work behind the scenes, like most companies.

Question: Anything else you’d like to add about Tnooz?
Kevin May: Keep watching, it’s going to be a fascinating ride.