June 15, 2010 19 Comments

Improve Your Tourism Opportunities

Becky McCrayMy friends, Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough run a site called Tourism Currents (affiliate link), with the goal of helping people who benefit from tourism with using social media to help get more done. This isn’t the dirt level basics of “join the conversation.” This is practical step-by-step advice. If I had the time to create something like this for the tourism industry, I certainly would have, but it wouldn’t be nearly as thorough and as researched as what Becky and Sheila created.

I like how they describe it as being “beyond chatting:”

Instead of teaching “how to use Twitter,” Becky and Sheila take it one step further and show how to reach a network of people who can promote your destination. Twitter is just one part of networking through social media. The focus is not on the tools, but on the application of those tools.

One of the biggest roadblocks they hear consistently is “lack of time” to implement such a program for destination marketing. Both women understand this all too well themselves; Becky is an incredibly busy small business owner (with four businesses) and Sheila is a professional writer and speaker, a parent of two and writes for three different blogs.

Developed with busy professionals in mind, the Tourism Currents workshops were born. From understanding the basics of social media to utilizing a small army of supporters, these online workshops will get the word out and bring visitors to your destination.

It’s a pretty nifty set of courses and they sold out spaces really quickly last year. If you’re interested in improving your results with travel and tourism, here’s the course for you:

Tourism Currents logo

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  • cubbhiee

    Like this one!

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  • http://twitter.com/make_money Deepak Dutta

    Still confused about what the site is all about? Is it about courses for people who want to promote tourism?

  • http://twitter.com/deannie Deanna McNeil

    I have run across their site before and they are rockstars. Thanks for pointing them out :)

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    If you have a business that's impacted by tourism, like a hotel or a small restaurant, etc, then you'd want to take the course to learn how to improve your sales and marketing experiences. It's for businesses that are impacted by tourism and tourist areas.

  • http://www.nancydbrown.com NancydBrown

    I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Becky or Sheila in person, however, I feel “connected” to them. As a travel writer and blogger, I appeciate what these two talented ladies bring to the travel and tourism industry.
    @Nancydbrown on Twitter

  • http://www.parkcitymountain.com/ kristaparry

    I have been following Tourism Currents for a while and love what Sheila and Becky have created. They not only teach it, they live it! Thanks for reminding me just how Awesome they are!

  • http://impulsemagazine.net Impulse Magazine

    I can't wait to start traveling more once I build a solid foundation for my business

  • Jonalist

    Share that $1.79 Slice of Banana Loaf cause you cannot buy a loaf in a Starbucks, neither can you go inside a Target Store to use a Credit Card only one time to get vouchers to use at other registers like at Starbucks or the cafe, you want to do something like that you have to buy a debit card then you got two options even when Target & Starbucks share the same register system. That is not funny since there would be more than ten slices to a loaf and that amounts to over $17.79+tax for a loaf. So your stuck, you cannot take your party to Wi-Fi elsewhere and enjoy slices of banana loaf if there is no Wi-Fi so Starbucks is not legitimately serving their customers. I have been to the Target location many times, there are never any customers, it is a dead work site with only one employed so this seems like a big come on show up and buy banana loaf, there are other slices try that lemon one. The metal cans of cinnamon gum are not impressive when you start chewing on it sort of vanishes in your mouth to a small blob which means ''start with a mouth full and run out quickly''. Can't enjoy coffee when the crowd from registers keeps passing you by, the spot should be where customer service is so you don't have to cross store traffic to frequent the restroom. I myself find that Publix offers a banana nut loaf but it sort of tastes dull and don't buy two the second one will mold away before you get to eat it unless you got some hungry friends. Share the burden TARGET, give customers a chance to see their item at any register they are checking out at, don't walk past Starbucks ignoring customers trying to enjoy coffee – it is rude manners.

  • Jonalist

    I had a Sharing idea once. It endorsed a new product method so that you did not have to purchase computers or software to make chances & store you photos. That's it, photography costs so much that the camera itself needs so much attention someone needs to endorse a photography club so you rent the camera when you want to make pictures, you don't need a camera on a cellphone it sends to slow uses minutes quickly sending to friends could cost more than ten dollars per photo. OK, the idea seems logical try a business reply mail in box so you can return the camera to the club without hassle at any US Postal Service location, just drop ship it back and end the rental fee. Get home, you have a tele let the camer send the pics to the tele and instantly send to the club at the same time when it dials the club, no phone charges just keep that set top box working for all time your a subscriber it is cheaper than having the other expenses, join the club. Have a school that loves to go shooting pictures, they could run their own club and have their cameras with school logo on it and not have a fee to pay to do that. Make all the changes and store requests from a tele and TV remote, return the camera to the club and your done at anytime you could return to the club and select pictures to print or store on other media. Sharing is the in thing I felt this ideology would be great for tourism but hey what do I know about being a tourist, I have never toured Washington DC how's that suppose to get a club management opportunity started in Washington DC and I don't know whom would want a job like this. Sound incredible enough to want to poke some camera manufacturers, I thought so but they all replied they are not interested even Kodak turned down this ideology but I keep on ticking on the ideal. Want to boost this idea, give me some shouts on Twitter I am Jonalist and become my friend maybe someday we can all get free of computing overhead costs, I know it would save students billions not having to own computers, software, and cameras so why can't government help with establishing this vivid job and business opportunity they could be a tourist at any state capitol.

  • Jonalist

    Increasing my tourism really wouldn't solve the problems I see which I endorse solutions. It would be about like Obama using Taxpayer money to keep the public out of reach of solving the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf, forever if it takes, see where I am on this issue – government is getting a handle on everyone that could help so to deny wages which BP must comply to & uncompensate unemployed by leaning on BP skipping out of the responsibility to compensate in all issue to free the budget to use elsewhere. That logic did not begin when the disaster begun but more than a month later & experts are non-governmental or university professors current & retired. I do not have tricks up my sleeve to increase my tourism. Being a member of the YMCA does not help me if I can't get more people to join and that becomes another overhead accomplishing very little. Forcing BP into escrow is a shy inch from becoming bankrupt. BP has had two more disasters in their operations after this Gulf Oil Spill began so if government forces escrow that money will not be in BP management anymore and lie in the hands of government whom would take advantage to resolve some other matter resulting in the Gulf Oil Spill to take many many more years, why would BP want to have a business manager that does not care about its survival as a American business opportunity to the world when few oil business is. My tourism would naturally endorse my perogatives not something I can say against consumer's whom are misled by Corporate management leaning on Taxpayer money to stay alive. This has become the Presidents agenda a month following the disaster, it shows ignorance and a passive energy directive totally out in left field.

    My elaborate plan is aimed at serving Consumer's with a solution to our dependence on foreign oil imports. What did you think BP is some International American business, BP imports oil which it must have to serve the customer which means ship management worldwide, nothing a government escrow should take from else it collapses first at the point where BP has a internal need for energy they at the customer level taking more time to occur. My objective was for Consumer's to have their own vehicle converted to a electric non-commercially through a Foundation which is Tax-Exempt that manufactures all the internal necessary conversion parts at its factory creating many jobs plus conversion facility jobs for those whom have limited skills. But you see Obama stole from Consumer's that objective by endorsing the Corporates and accessing Taxpayer money on their behalf so new vehicles which are rather expensive could be produced on a sales market by Corporate Auto Sales. Se my Project Plan here

    Original: The Electric Vehicle Free Conversion Foundation (EVFCF) http://bit.ly/dzzOd3

    or the newest site
    MySite Home: http://evfcf.mysite.com/index.html

    and do follow my postings to blogs:

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/Jonalist
    My Townhall Blog: http://jonalist.blogtownhall.com/
    TeaBook: http://teabook.org/profile/CharlesMichaelJones

    In Planning Stage
    SEMINAR – Insurance Company Alliance (2010-2020)
    http://evfcf.mysite.com/seminar.html

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    Improve Your Tourism Opportunities

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  • http://www.sheilasguide.com Seafarer

    Thanks very much for your support and kind words, Chris, and thanks also to the other folks who said such nice things in the comments here about Tourism Currents. Becky and I really appreciate it.

    For Deepak's question – our courses are for anyone who works on or with a tourist board, CVB (Convention and Visitor's Bureau) or other tourism/hospitality-related organization or business. We teach how to reach potential visitors and tell your town's story, using social media tools.

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  • willamtarker

    Even I have been confused by this post and so just give a simple summary that can get all us to the mind, so if this strategy is working then we all can be in this thing.
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  • http://www.sangamgrouphotels.com/ Kanyakumari Hotels

    superb its really nice

  • http://www.soomaa.com Ruukel

    Thanks for pointing to Tourism Currents, I have become a keen reader of their stuff.

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    Great article, i will publish that in my blog, thank you my friend.

  • akena

    hello
    we are running a tourism company in Uganda, the pearl of Africa and we reqesting those interested in exploring africa to reach us on.
    dakenaroy@gmail.com