Today’s visitors are using their mobile devices when they travel and want experiences that are optimized for these devices. And tourism marketers are faced with the challenge of being mobile-compliant in order to successfully reach these travellers.
Alan Young, the senior vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships at TrustYou, an online reputations service for the global hospitality industry, will be joining an elite panel of speakers to discuss this and how destinations can use technology for the benefit of the visitor and the tourism sector during the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) ’s State of the Industry Conference (#SOTIC2013) next month. Specifically, he will share insights on how tourism players can adjust their marketing strategies in light of rapid shift to mobile.
“I shall be talking about the way we, as an industry, need to market destinations more effectively using all of the user-generated content available on the Internet. Working together as a destination or a region and leveraging all the content available – reviews, images, etc. – and how using it together will ensure that all aspects of the tourism environment are enhanced,” Mr. Young explained.
The TrustYou SVP will address the general session on Friday 18 October entitled “There’s an App for that! Using Technology to Improve Your Bottom Line”. He will be joined by lead presenter and moderator, Jim Brody, general manager, destinations at Travelzoo and Derek Whyte from the leading interactive and digital marketing agency, FCV, Canada. The panel will also examine the impact of SMS, social media and apps on travel and how industry players can design seamless and personalized offerings, while generating more business and increasing profitability.
The theme for the State of the Industry Conference is “Perfecting the Experience. Delivering Authenticity.” The annual conference which brings together tourism professionals, academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists is organized by the CTO in conjunction with the Martinique Tourism Bureau. It will be held from 15-18 October and will be preceded by the CTO business meetings – including meetings of the CTO Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism.
For more information on how you can register and learn more about the conference, visit www.onecaribbean.org
