There is no right or wrong about how we position the Local Travel Movement, but its relevance is obvious. As I look at the evolution of travel, we are at the leading edge of what I would call Travel 3.0.
Travel 1.0
Travel 1.0 was about the travel professionals and travel experts telling us about the great things to see and do. This was the travel agents (off- and later online), travel media, guidebooks etc. It was a time of trusted brands (National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Four Seasons, Thomas Cook, Virgin Holidays etc.). With the exception of some friends and family advice, travellers took counsel from experts and planned their travel accordingly.
Hence the world of travel information up to around 2005 looked very much like the image seen above right.
Travel 2.0
Travel 2.0, which coincided with Web 2.0, was (and still is) about travellers telling everyone about their travel experiences. This has caused major trauma for the travel industry, as brands are (largely) replaced by or created around traveller feedback, and push-marketing is replaced by social networks. The new big names in travel information are the likes of Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree.
From 2005 until very recently, the world of travel information became like this the image seen above left.
Travel 3.0
Travel 3.0 is about locals (and location). Locals are the ones on the ground every day – people with the intimate who-, what-, where-, when- and why-type information. Google’s relentless push to connect suppliers directly with buyers, geolocation, mobile Internet and the ‘when’ component added regularly by locals, along with a growing desire for experiential travel, are driving the next big shift in travel information… one driven by locals.
So from 2010, the world of travel information is looking more and more like this the image seen above right.
In keeping with this, the Local Travel Movement is all about locals – sharing stories told by locals, seeking out and writing about innovations in local travel and probing what all this means for travellers and local communities.
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hey hey nice post.
Great post!
Fully agree with your point of view!
Great summary of progression in the travel industry.
I have tried to explain this development in the travel industry the last few years. But your analysis is much clearer and shorter – I’ll quote you in the future if that’s ok Len. Thank you!
Hi Bart ….no problem.
Fantastic summary, Len. I think you hit the nail on the head with just a few lines!
Good stuff Len!
Hi Len,
Nice summary about the online travel industry. There is no doubt that the web and the online travel industry is evolving at a rapid pace… I think that connections and communication via the web will be the way forward. I can also see no reason why the channels for this will be between the end-users and the experts – in this case local people who know the places inside out.
This can only be a good thing for both the end user(traveller) and the experts (Locals). End users will be able to obtain real valuable up-to-date info and the experts will be able to develop and sustain their businesses.
It should prove to be very interesting times ahead.
Paul @
TravMonkey.com
Travel 2.0 Era was about a significant change in holiday package creation; now a consumer is the product manager of holiday deals, not a tour operator. More on that on http://blog.pyton-travel.com/index.php/2010/03/15/consumer-becoming-a-product-manager-in-travel-industry/
This is great post.
To add to your comments about locals and to extend TravMonkey’s comment, I think the locals, as well as travellers who undertake the “experience” and blog and comment online about their experiences add authenticity to the online information mix. Both are important contributors to the next travellers information source.
Web 3.0 / Travel 3.0 is about mashups and the semantic web. The end user, whether a destination or journey seeker, who undertakes pre-travel research or research on arrival at a destination need easily accessed and digestable information.
The elements of information are becoming available online but I don’t see too many examples yet of easy to use mashups that can be easily accessed and consumed by non-techies.
This is an exciting time to be a tech savy traveller and I look forward to watching new Travel 3.0 apps emerge over the next few years.
Allan McDonald @
EQUIPnTRIP
Hi Len, very interesting post. I agree 100% in your analysis and I am looking forward about implementing some new online (or offline) tool that could help travelers to live their best experience. At ourexplorer we try to get in contact local guides with tourists, our pitch is “local guide, local wisdom”.