The California Travel & Tourism Commission (CTTC) has put out a Sustainable Tourism Marketing Handbook that was put together in partnership with Cal Poly’s Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration (RPTA) Department.

The handbook provides examples of best practices for sustainable tourism marketing from 30 California based organizations, from LEED certified hotels to the California Academy of Sciences and many CVB’s.

Sustainable Tourism marketing handbook

Each of the 30 organizations was asked to name the marketing tools it used to turn its sustainability into dollars. The tools that were named the most were social media, business partnerships/networking, specific web pages and online PR efforts.

Social Media – 16
PR Articles – 11
Press Release – 11
Word of Mouth – 10
Branding sustainable efforts – 8
Newsletter – 1
Partnerships/ Networking – 17
Facility Design – 7
Signage – 6
Specific Web Pages – 11
Certifications – 7
Directories/ Maps – 8
Events – 9
Discounts/ Sweepstakes – 5

One of the best examples provided in the handbook is the case of BART, which was sitting on a pile of green tourism gold and didn’t know it. 

The Bay Area Rapid Transit was always a model of sustainable transportation service, since it started out as a green company with all-electric vehicles that produce electricity when they move. But it was for local transport, and had very little to do with tourism. BART began targeting tourism in 2005, and since then ridership from SFO to downtown San Francisco has increased by 400%.

They got into distribution through online travel sellers to expand their business nationally and internationally. They implemented a voucher system and partnered with the CTTC and the San Francisco Travel Association (formerly SFCVB).

BART has also taken advantage of social media marketing through Facebook and Twitter, and markets through the Internet by holding viral sweepstakes on their web site.

The CalPoly handbook has adapted the 37 standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) and it will be used to introduce sustainable tourism within the California tourism industry, with TourBench (www.tourbench.info) as a benchmarking resource.

If you need more help with integrating sustainability into the business, the UNEP has a step-by-step business management guide for integration of responsible environmental, social and socio-economic practices and principles into the day-to-day operations of a tourism company.

CalPoly-CTTC Sustainable Tourism Marketing Handbook – Download (pdf)

IHG mobile

Feature 1: Traffic to IHG’s mobile site is increasing by 20% month on month, and revenue from mobile search activity increased by 91% year on year, says IHG’s interactive marketing manager for EMEA, Marco De Rosa.
Case study InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) – MarketingWeek, UK

In a meeting with analysts in London, Andrew Cosslett, IHG’s CEO says: “Hotel companies need to anticipate trends at least 10-20 years ahead and we know the world is going to be on the move like never before.”
IHG predicts market trends for the next 20 years – HotelWorldNetwork

Clear card

Feature 2: How TSA could have already been protecting passenger security without violating personal privacy… Step-by-step guide to what the TSA could be doing right now to accomplish their mission.

Airport thinkology, not technology, failing – ScrippsNews
Alternative to TSA pat-downs: More background checks – Politico
License to fly would be good idea – MontgomeryAdvertiser

Here’s the rest of the week’s news highlights:-

Airline alliance wants to scrap ‘home country’ rule on export credit financing for planes – AP
China takes aim at Boeing and Airbus – BusinessWeek

Spirit Airlines website crash leads to long lines at airports – ClickonDetroit
Southwest, Hotels.com nice; Spirit Airlines naughty – ConsumerReports

Jobless Mexican stewardesses launch sexy calendar - NPR
Employees of bankrupt Mexican airline accept restructuring plan - LAHT.com

How can you tell which TripAdvisor reviews to trust? USAToday
Why I love TripAdvisor – USAToday

Gadget buying up, Travel down - MediaPost
ComScore: Holiday spending to be highest on record - CNet News

Maybe the TSA can handle opt-out day protests and the Thanksgiving rush, but can they survive the deadly impact of TSA slogans, bumper stickers, late night comedy, rap videos and even an SNL skit?

TSA Slogans

If this goes on much longer, TSA Administrator John Pistole is going to need a long vacation to recover. Because here’s what he has to face each day when he wakes up and reads the news.

- Virgin America? Not anymore

- You’re in good hands

- Grope discounts available

- It’s not a grope. It’s a freedom pat

- We feel your pain, and other things

- Truth or dare?

- Can’t see  London, can’t see France, unless we see your underpants

- If we did our job any better, we’d have to buy you dinner first

- Don’t worry, my hands are still warm from the last guy

TSA also got the SNL treatment (“It’s our business to touch yours.” – see video) and earned a few choice below the belt quips from the late night shows.

Will Gogobot make travel planning easier?

Travel just got a whole lot friendlier. That’s at least what new travel company Gogobot claims with the announcement of its private beta launch. Friendlier or not, I’m hoping that Gogobot at least makes travel planning easier.  Ask any number of travelers about the most stressful part of traveling, and they’re likely to respond that it’s not travel itself, but travel planning.

Gogobot is currently in private beta, although people interested in trying out the new travel tool can go to the homepage and enter their email address to be put on a waiting list. As social media continues to grow, the founders of Gogobot have decided to tap into its power, and more than just setting up a Facebook page. The tool combines travel research and booking with a social networking element that taps into three of the world’s largest social networks, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.

Gogobot was founded by Travis Katz and Ori Zaltzman. Katz was formerly a MySpace executive, while Zaltzman was one of the lead technologists for Yahoo! Answers. They began raising money last summer and in a few short months have launched this new travel tool. It’s expected that it’ll be in private beta for a few weeks before opening to the public. I want to keep an eye on Gogobot, especially since one of their investors is CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt. Even if you don’t get an immediate invitation after signing up, at least watch the entertaining video below that introduces Gogobot.

The power of Gogobot is its use of social media, which is certainly different than how most travel companies have used social networking. Instead of using search engines to spend hours researching travel, the founders intend for users to use its Facebook integration to ask travel questions. In turn, users will get answers back from Facebook users with tips and links for destinations. Gogobot will also be crawling the creative commons section of Flickr to pull photos from the over one million destinations in its database.

Of course for Gogobot to work, there has to be social interaction from visitors to use the site to help build it up. To be more than just your basic travel forum, users will have to do more than just ask questions, but also answer them and interact with other travelers.

Photo from Giacomo.