Originally posted at abouTourism

VisitBritain lays claim to being most influential national tourism board on Twitter

Leavenworth’s latest ad campaign goes viral on the web

The “Gitcha Goomsba Up” music video launched by Howell at the Moon Productions has become an internet sensation, but not everyone likes what they see…

Tourism Ireland launches new Twitter campaign

Tourism Ireland has launched a new social media campaign to help encourage consumers connect with their ‘Irishness’. The ‘My Irish 140’ campaign aims to capture the imagination of potential holiday makers, by asking them to follow myIrish 140 on Twitter and tweet, in 140 characters or less, what makes them Irish. Each tweet must contain the hashtag #makesmeirish. Besides offering tweeters the chance to win a spot prize every 140 minutes, the social media campaign will award the writer of the best #makesmeirish tweet with an amazing 140-hour adventure tour of Ireland with winners taking part in sheepdog trials or waking up to hot air balloon rides. “The My Irish 140 campaign is the latest initiative in our strategy to engage, inform and excite our current and prospect visitors,” explained Sarah Rogers, Tourism Ireland’s CEM manager. “Social media, and in particular Twitter, can be extraordinarily powerful and by tapping into people’s Irish connections, we’re confident that we’ll create a lot of buzz about Ireland”.

Social Media Statistics for Hostel Travelers and Backpackers

Traveling with a tiny budget doesn’t mean you have to resort to a tiny vacation. More than ever, budget travelers are tapping into the wealth of online travel information to find the best promotions and the most current information. And by foregoing brand name hotel chains, they have even more cash for activities, food and those irresistible last minute deals. Click here for the full article.

Thailand Tourism targets family market

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is developing a new marketing strategy with social media at the heart to target the family market.  TAT has been trying to move the country away from the image of a student backpacker destination for some years and will increase investment in targeting upmarket tourists with a focus on weddings and honeymoons, spa and wellness and golf. Additionally, the body will address a new family audience with messages emphasising responsible travel and green tourism. The tourism body has appointed specialist travel and retail agency Fox Kalomaski to develop the digital strategy and also to work on traditional PR and press advertising. The current TAT Facebook site will be made the “centre of a community and not just a corporate site”, according to Fox Kalomaski CEO Gary Jacobs. Travellers will be encouraged to share their “fantastic stories and experiences” while being directed towards attractions such as the natural Naga Fireballs and the Songkran Thai water festival. Source: MarketingWeek

Jamaica claims 3D destination promotion first

The Jamaican tourism board says it has created the world’s first destination video filmed entirely in 3D, a project which has been in development for most of 2010. Due for release in January 2011, VisitJamaicaenlisted UK-based travel video content production company Exposure4 to create a three and a half minute clip to showcase the island from the viewpoint of the country’s iconic national bird, Doctor Bird. Click here for the full article.

VisitNorway achieve viral hit with web game

VisitNorway probably thought it was just creating a bit of fun for visitors to its site, like so many other companies that produce simple web games. But something incredible happened to the tourist board’s Holmenkollen ski jump game.

The game was promoted on VisitNorway, with links published on the DMO’s Facebook page and other social networks – nothing particularly unusual about that. But, as manager Hans Petter Aalmo now says, the simplicity of the game, coupled with how ridiculously addictive it is, triggered something in the ether to push it beyond expectations.

Not only did “hundreds of thousands” of people play the game, but they shared results with friends on social networks and challenged each other to play again and again.

But then something very interesting happened. Some players started to capture their winning entries on video and then upload the clips to YouTube. This might seem strange to many, but it inevitably managed to push the game to an even wider audience. Here is an example: this particular clip currently has close to 50,000 views on YouTube – double the number of views to the VisitNorway YouTube channel. This enthusiasm for watching an animated clip wasn’t a one-off – there are plenty of other clips from other users boasting about their record breaking jumps, many with over 25,000 views.

Speaking at the OpenTravel Alliance event in London in November 2010, Aalmo says such was the popularity of the game that the organisation discovered some enterprising hackers had managed to get into the system and manipulate their scores. But when asked if such naughty behaviour was frowned upon, given that the game probably also benefited from buzz amongst hackers, Aalmo doges the question initially before saying with wry smile:”If people want to hack into our game then that’s fine.” (Source: tnooz – talking travel tech via NewMedia TrendWatch)