Living in Boulder, being somewhat part of the tech community, I sometimes assume the rest of the world has things like facebook’s privacy policies (or lack their of) on their radar and has a strong opinion of Zuckerberg and his escapades.

The reality is I bet my mom doesn’t.  Nor do most Boomers who Love Facebook….and Apple

Somewhere in the past year two companies have caught the attention, love, and devotion of the boomer market. Facebook and Apple, and they couldn’t be further apart.

Walk into any apple store on a wednesday morning at 8am (pre-opening), or rather ANY morning and you’ll find the store packed with folks you might not expect. There are no 20 something gen Y other than a few employees. Most of the folks are over 50, or really, over 60. They have their macbook pro and are intently listening and taking notes from a genius instructor helping them create a video of their recent safari to Tanzania or understand how to share their photo album from their recent family reunion with their relatives and friends. They are setting up a blog, creating a book club newsletter or a personal website via iweb.

No one talks about this, certainly not Apple. Why? Well, boomers are the most lucrative audience out there. They are buy EVERYTHING at full price that their “coaches” tell them. They are purchasing ipads, upgrading iphones, paying for these one to one classes, buying the best cases and larger screens. They LOVE Apple. But boomers aren’t really that cool. Apple (run by a boomer) is likely not so interested in showing graying boomers and “seniors” (I dislike that term) as their target market.  Personally I think they should.

And then we have FACEBOOK. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that the age 50+ audience, and women in particular, are the fastest growing market on Facebook.. They are still figuring it out but they are engaging like never before in finding friends, “liking”, building farms, and sometimes even posting photos and commenting. Think of Facebook as the AOL of the 90′s. Once these folks are on they are not leaving. They are just beginning to feel comfortable and understand facebook.

So, that’s the problem. Boomers see Facebook and Apple as their new friends. However Apple and Facebook are no friends. They approach their consumer completely differently. Apple is all about curation and protecting the user experience and thus the user. That’s why boomers and particularly women, love Apple vs PC. It doesn’t break, it doesn’t get viruses, the user experience is just, well, nice. Facebook on the other hand is not nice. It is complicated and it is tricky. It changes important privacy policies, features and functions, constantly. If is confusing for any user, particularly those not so tech savvy.

Assuming that “privacy” is inherit across products and services boomers “like” and trust is dangerous.
Facebook is NOT Apple

Facebook’s new “like” buttons are appearing all over the web. It’s beyond Social, this is game changing.

Possibly between the Iceland’s Volcano and the Kentucky Derby you missed the significance. Here’s a quick summary on why this is a really, really big deal.

According to Facebook,  “Share ” buttons are being replaced with “Like” buttons (we’ve already added them to all of TravelDragon‘s 6000+ trips). “Facebook Connect” is going away (being replaced by the Facebook Platform). Activity feeds for other users and recommendation engines are part of the new toolkit. 50,000 websites have added the Like button and/or other social plugins since they first launched last week.

For the Travel Industry and all businesses this makes it much easier for potential consumers to share what they like on your site with friends, in real time.  The consumers no longer needs to move between content and facebook and are likely unaware of how this information is being tracked. WOW. Think about people cruising around on your site, seeing cool tours, reading reviews  from past guests, checking out your latest travel video. “like” “like” “like”! What the consumer might not know is that you’ll now have access to publish directly on their newsfeeds in the future.  Take for example a reader who “likes” your new  tour Gastronomic Catalonia and you can’t wait to start sharing all your Adventure/Culinary and Wine travel opportunities with them.

If “Like”= Approval Rating think about it, TripAdvisor might have some competition.  It’s about time.

How cool, you can now  find out what your friends like without needing to visit facebook.
But wait.  Are your “friends” really your friends?

“Facebook is building the Social Graph, a vast network of connections between people and the things they like”. What does it all mean to the end user? There are a lot of people very concerned  privacy issues are only part of that concern. “Instant Personalization” service are undeniably good for business owners and advertisers but for us as consumers? You’ll be telling the world the things you like, even when you’re not on Facebook.

I’d love your feedback from a consumer as well as a travel industry professional.

Kathy Dragon – Traveler, Chief Curator
TravelDragon & The Dragon’s Path

Featured Experience on TravelDragon Aconcagua Ameghino Valley Upper Guanacos Traverse with porters (Argentina)

Social Media, Technology and Transparency

My friend Everett Potter asked for a few predictions for 2010. Have a look at his post and what other industry folks think is ahead.

Kathy’s Travel Industry Predictions for 2010

Customer-centric: the customer will become the sales force, product developers, service centers and resolution managers for companies. Those companies who offer creative tools to enable this will see success. This will occur both online and offline.

Social Media: will be a game changer. Tour providers will invest in developing and implementing social media strategies. Those who embrace, interact, listen and share will see significant changes in customer retention, referral bookings, and resolution/customer satisfaction. Facebook will lead the consumer interaction, twitter will lead the pr, mobile devices will lead content sharing. Get Satisfaction and Trip Advsior will continue to navigate reviews and resolution.

Curators will Rule: too much noise, too much information, and too many people talking become increasingly overwhelming. In order to make decisions people will rely on people/sites they trust in the travel space (and in all decision making). Blogs, travel bloggers, twitter leaders and niche vertical sites will gain exposure and influence as they turn down the volume.

Technology will Enable: Live content, original, interesting, authentic content, interactive maps, new mobile apps, and rich media will be king.

The Sandbox will be broken: new technology and innovation will break the old sandbox where companies that do business in a certain way are thought of as leaders. Authentic, agile, innovative individuals will trump large companies and years in business.

Specialization vs Expansion: Niche Tour Operators will gain exposure and success. Consumers will be looking and able to find smaller companies who offer exactly what they are looking for.

Distribution: Niche Tour providers will increasingly distributed their products and content across new platforms and to new sites. The egocentric silos of personal websites and brochures will become only part of the real-estate content and data live on. There will be a consistent data structure and understanding of API and data feeds.

Collaboration vs Exclusivity: success will come through working together between multiple entities travelers, tour operators, destination management companies, tourism boards.

Transparency vs Selective Sharing: Information, links and reviews of hotels, routes, guides, restaurants will all be open. Consumers will know who is actually operating tours and what levels/values are involved. The line between incoming tour operators and outgoing will continue to blur.

Experiences will Drive Itineraries: Travelers will continue to search out authentic experience, unique/boutique accommodations, passionate personalities and cutting-edge destinations for new stories they can re-tell  for a lifetime.  Destinations will blur, people and community will become more memorable as we search out quality off-line engagement.

There were two milestones that shifted my understanding of time.  The first occurred when I was in 3rd grade and I realized that summers were actually not half of the year and that school actually was longer than summer.  I still remember not fully comprehending this revelation.  This adjustment of perceived time vs actual time might have been valuable.  I doubt it.

taking a full weekend

The second milestone occurred my first summer leading bicycle tours in Vermont.  I realized that weekends were, in fact, one day events.  As I sit in a friends cabin 3 hours from my home in Boulder, on a Sunday morning, I’m reminded that I may have it within my own power to bring back Sunday.

How I learned this lesson

Guiding bicycle tours through the quaint villages of New England still rates as one of my favs in my long list of careers. The company offered both week and weekend tours. The weekend tours particularly taught me a lot about the expectations “normal” people (non service industry folks like myself) put on these not so rare recurring parts of the week.

To set the scene for you, myself along with a partner guide would arrive at remote B&B in a hideous yellow van with a large cow face (with sunglasses-trademark) decal on the side…  24 bikes precariously balanced on the homemade roof racks.  The drive from our barn/office or our last tour were long and on back roads as in Vermont “you can’t get there from here” hold true.

Upon arrival we would literally jump out of the van and get to work unpacking the bikes, safety checking each one, going over the names, dietary restrictions, room and bike assignments in hopes that we could complete our tasks prior to the first guests arriving.  We never were successful.

Our guests….would pull up in black Mercedes or clean 4wd with NY or NJs license plates.  Sometimes in  weekend rental cars out of the city or at the closest airport with infrequent flights on prop planes.  They were generally stressed, had high expectations of what they wanted to accomplish for the weekend (we never knew what these were prior to arrival but they tended to range from meeting a future spouse to starting their training for the tour-DE-France.  On the weekends there were more singles than couples, mostly type A. If they brought their own bike it was expensive and saw little use, if they rented it would take 3-4 “fittings” before they trusted that we actually had their best interest in mind and hadn’t hijacked the front brakes.

The plan was to arrive before dinner and after dinner have a welcome meeting and presentation of the weekend. Invariably they arrived late, missed the dinner or meeting or both.

On Saturday morning we were up well before dawn filling water bottles, preparing snacks, checking the route notes and   dealing with all of the guests who had arrived to late to be fit or listen.  We were incredibly patient…maybe I used up all my patience those years.

For those who have never been on a bike tour there were generally 3 options for  rides on both days…allowing everyone to be able to have a sense of completion and success.  One of us would ride along with guests (forward and back..starting with the stronger riders and falling back with the slower group. The other would be in the van, fixing any flats, filling water and offering snacks and support, giving rides if needed.

The interesting thing about weekend tours and city goers was that they weren’t interested in our options or suggestions. In general they were weekend worriers wanting to take full advantage of the money they had paid and the valuable time. They wanted to ride the 70 mile option…oh, and if I get tired pick me up at 50 or 57 or 63…be there exactly when I am tired, and shuttle me back to the inn (like a private jet request).

Sat nights were a different vibe. Everyone was tired and their walls were down. They had sweat, laughed, complained and explored together.  Invariably wine and talk flowed freely on Sat and we saw a glimpse of who these people were, and we liked it.

Sunday could have been another Saturday…three ride options and a full day of the weekend. But it wasn’t.  Sunday morning people were  sore from the day before, maybe a bit hung over, maybe they just didn’t want to get too comfortable for fear they would stay in Vermont and become a bike tour guide.  They decided to do the short ride to get an early start back to the city to avoid the traffic…often they even forgave the ride and left directly.  Their “weekend”…by explanation three full nights and two days, clasped into one day of escape, and the remainder of the time entering or exiting this elusive states.

My friend Greg Berry at nuance intelligence asked that I comment on his recent post:  Ethical Travel I’m not sure I offered anything towards the solution of our massive travel footprint but it allowed me a venue to post some thoughts. Thanks Greg.

Meeting new friends in Jordan

Across the globe there are countless initiatives being discussed to address travel, air travel specifically, and climate change. Recent numbers I have read are that tourism trade accounts for 5% of the World’s CO2 Emissions.  If you allow for a second lens, tourism employees 10% of the worlds economy. Tourism infuses money into poor economies. Travel encourages protection of natural environments and finally, travel leads to understanding.

The reality is most travelers fall into two distinct categories. Those traveling for “vacation”-pleasure, education, adventure, experiences etc (we will include travelers taking part in National Geographic Tours private Jet Tours (!?) and those traveling for work.  Both groups are less likely to be focused on this discussion that we “conscious” readers are.

Challenges:
Consumers traveling for vacation purposes are not interested in feeling guilty about their travels. They’re on holiday! They want to enjoy their experience which includes using plush towels and wonderful bath products. It is a luxury they often don’t have at home.  Many argue correctly that the “towel” issues is much more about how the the hotels wash their linens than about how guests use them.  That’s followed by airline and hotel recycling programs etc etc. Good overview of what is all really means here.

Business Travelers are far more interested in convenience. For all of us who travel for a living I think it is safe to say that airline travel has lost any mystery and excitement it may once have had. The very thought of an airport is now worse than the fear of visiting the dentist.  Anything that makes this journey to our destination easier and less unpleasant will be used. Business travelers are focused on getting in and out with as little personal headaches as possible. Public transportation to/from airports is neither convenient nor well communicated.  Trying to negotiate rail and bus options is complicated enough for the budget traveler and even cities such as NY and Chicago have done a poor job.

Positive Steps:
Vacations: Tour Providers/Companies who have taken the initiatives (offsetting the carbon footprint of the ground portion of the tour) take the first step in educating and encouraging travelers to offset their flights.  Many “tour providers” carefully choose locally owned properties and restaurants and hire regional guides, all of which encourage an overall understanding and connection with the destination. I believe that future political and ethical decisions a traveler makes when NOT traveling will be based on these experiences.  Post travel we tend to read, shop, listen to and engage in topics that touch on a destination we have been to very differently than when we merely read about an issue in a far off destination. The Middle East and Africa are good examples.

Corporations who initiate green travel policies and wield enough status to encourage “green” rental fleets and “green” hotels partners are a start.  It will be interesting to see if this can translate into preferred carriers such as Virgin America‘s who’s young fleet of planes are arguably very efficient in both fuel consumption and emissions. Cities focused on ease of public transportation are improving their methods of communication via tools and applications which live on handheld devices.  Yes, booking connecting bus or rail connections when our planes land, knowing when the next local bus is due to arrive and various “share a ride” applications will become increasingly popular and used…once they touch interfaces, specifically mobile phones, and work.

Bottom Line: Meeting and collaborating using technology is effective up to a point in many but not all circumstances.  Face, real face, to face meetings, discussions and SHARED EXPERIENCES are invaluable to many of us.

Beyond reducing your carbon footprint: How about increasing the value of your footprint?

What if we started to think how the travels that we must or choose to make could have a more positive impact? I believe that conference, meeting, corporate travel planners AND individual travelers have a responsibility to make travel worthwhile.  “Offsetting” travel, even an entire conference, is not enough.  I’ve attended far too many conferences held at the Ohare and Orlando airports. I contribute little to nothing to the local economy and leave with little to no understanding of the destination I have just “stepped on”.  Green Conferences are becoming big business for destinations. Moving conferences to smaller venues which represent a destination (like the Chicago Cultural Center at which the GoodandGreen.biz conference is held) Being informed and encouraged to sleep, eat and shop local as well as incorporating these features into the conference venue, and making these choices easier, affordable, and demanded will increase adoption.  Eating room service in front of our computer or the TV is far too common for most business travelers, especially women who may be less inclined to venture out on their own for a meal or a morning run without the information and support of the concierge or hotel staff. Recommending and featuring hotels that embrace local/natural/organic within their walls and even encouraging taking an extra day to experience the destination may not reduce our carbon footprint but may offer some level of a positive exchange. Understanding a destination and the people who make up these communities has the potential for global value.

Would love to hear your thoughts on how to increase the value of our global footprint.

Still traveling, Kathy

Tuscany Hiking and Culinary Adventure

Today the word “Adventure” is synonymous with the term “Experiential” and the Adventure Travel Industry has expanded to include everything from golf, fly fishing, safari, yoga and other “soft”/”active” trips to culinary, wine, small ship expeditions, cultural heritage, language immersion, villa rentals, photography and volunteer tours. Even brands like Disney (“Adventures by Disney”) and Royal Caribbean are choosing the word “Adventure” while clearly targeting a boomer market group. But this isn’t new. It’s always been boomers who connected to the world through experience and it is only fitting that today the 50-70 year old “Prime Time Traveler” is driving unheard of growth in all categories of experiential travel.

Let’s face it, if you are a boomer under the age of 50 it’s likely you’re still working, raising a family, dealing with or planning for college, and in debt. I don’t know anyone in my age bracket (late stage boomers) who isn’t incredibly busy.  We’re more likely to be spending our precious “vacation” time visiting family spread across the country; escaping on a quick girl-friends get-away with our friends, mother or sister; splurging on a pampered spa weekend alone or with a partner; or, rarely, taking an all inclusive no-brainer Caribbean or Mexico vacation. It isn’t that we don’t love or dream of travel but our time and finances is extremely limited.

Looking at the other end of the market, around the age of 70 (sometimes sooner) our health starts to deteriorate and we often become more fearful of what might happen in an unfamiliar environment.  Cruises and resorts still fit the bill, however, in general this population likely is vacationing closer to home and spending more time with family.

Why the explosion?
Time to Start Living: Kids are out of the house, early retirement, part-time work options, second careers, are being considered.  Life is their oyster and Prime Timers are ready to start living for themselves and enjoying the fruits of their labor. There is a sense of urgency to live and travel NOW as they see friends and parents dealing with chronic illness.

Two years ago I worked  with Eons.com to develop a travel area of this destination site the 50+.   Assessing Eons members “LifeDreams” it’s clear that Travel occupied the top place and the 50+ are ready to start living their dreams.  Experiential Travel offers the opportunity to combine Travel with other LifeDreams (volunteer, spend time with friends and family, learn to cook etc). Creating a site that allows users to easily search by desired experiences, rather than just destination, was a natural implementation to fit this need.

Investing in Experiences: this age bracket is in the simplifying stage. They generally have enough or too much “stuff” (although investing in a 2nd or 3rd property is still enticing).  Today they’re taking regional cooking classes at the culinary institute and learning Italian.  They enjoy visiting the farmers markets as much to meet the farmers and small producers as to purchase fresh vegetables.  Rather than just writing a check, they are volunteering in their local community both for non-profits and offering their time and skills to entrepreneurs. They are taking control of their heath by learning about and purchasing natural and organic foods and have developed an increased interest in the culture of food worldwide.  They are more active; joining walking groups & targeted health clubs, training for fundraising rides and walks. Along the way they’re meeting new, like minded, friends, reconnecting with themselves and their partner.  Prime Timer’s are optimistic, interested, intersting and engaged.

Trips of a lifetime: Traveling to China, Africa, Argentina or even Italy takes on new meaning as we mature. We may return again, but it is more likely this will be our only or last visit. Prime Time Travelers are willing to invest time and money in seeing and experiencing as much as they can while they are there and they crave the best and most authentic experiences. They are likely to sign up for additional extensions or excursions, upgrade to rooms with views and fly business or first class and spend extra nights before or after the tour enjoying the departure city.  Time is short.  The “Cheapest” package is of no more interest than finding the cheapest cardiac surgeon to most and frankly a discount is of less interest than a value add (axe the fruit basket and add a guided city tour or locally made souvenir).  You can also bet that a “Trip-of-a-lifetime” might be researched online, but will be booked over the phone after speaking with a knowledgeable staff member or, better yet, a past guest.

Treading Softly: Global Connection & Concern:
Geotourism is a term recently defined by National Geographic as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well being of its residents”. You might remember Eco Tourism was a buzz in the 90’s. The new term aligns EcoTourism, Green Tourism, Travelers Philanthropy, and Sustainable Travel. Basically,  how we go, where we go, why we go, what we do while we are there, and what we do when we return, all matter.  From offsetting a trips carbon footprint to choosing tour operators who stay at local lodges, hire local guides, recycle and purchase local foods to creating or investing in non-profits in the areas they travel these features all are becoming a priority for well traveled PrimeTimers who were alive and active in the 60’s. They are also willing to pay a bit more to companies who have made these commitments.

What’s Experiences are Hot and Why

VolunTourism:
Volunteer Vacations are no longer made up of teenagers sleeping on the floor of a local school at night and working during the day. Today 50+ year olds swarm to projects around the world including teaching English in Xian China, conserving frescos in Italy, counting sea turtle eggs in the Great Barrier Reef.   What is different? Prime Time Travelers require a higher level of comfort (simple hotels or homestays are often appropriate) & consideration for health and medical needs.  They also often want a shorter program (1-2 weeks) and frequently add language immersion program prior to the volunteer project and cultural/natural tour the area after the project.

Intergenerational Travel
As they clean out the homes of their elderly parents they swear not to put their own children through this.  They tire of buying presents for kids and grandkids who have everything or don’t hesitate to buy it for themselves. With busy lives the solution to get together has now become the family reunions…it just looks quite a bit different than it did 40 years ago.  Today family vacations are intergenerational and often take place not at Grandma’s house but at a Dude Ranch in Colorado, a villa in Tuscany, a ship in Alaska, or under the Serengeti Stars on Safari.

Learning
Prime Timer’s are interested in taking their passions on the road.  Why not learn to cook IN Italy, Photograph Polar Bears IN the Artic, Speak Spanish IN Guatemala, or Paint IN Santa Fe.

Active & Adventure: walking, cycling, golfing, yoga vacations are filled with active 50+ folks. Daily options addressing a variety of fitness levels,  guiltless enjoyment of local food and wine, bragging rights of completing the Inca trail or cycling through Ireland still top cocktail stories.

Culture & Nature: connecting with traditional cultures and the natural environment, especially those most vulnerable to extinction, continue to drive unheard of travel to destinations like Bhutan, Myanmar, Antarctica & Kilimanjaro. Vietnam, Japan and Germany are attractive to this age group for historical reasons.”

Within the travel industry the importance of “Women’s Travel” is often confused.  Women hold a, agruably THE,  leading position in the viability of travel and tourism products.

Slovenia Women's Adventure

Women as Decision Makers

Depending on whose research you review, women influence between 88 and 92% of all travel decisions.  period (should I write that again?)

She is behind the final decision for all family vacations, romantic get-aways, adventure weeks.  She controls the purse-string though she might not be making the final booking.  She makes decisions based on different variables that men.  She wants to know about the experience; how it will make her feel, how it will make her life easier (you’ve done all the planning and picked the perfect hotels, there are options for her kids, you can accommodate her husbands food allergies etc), who she will meet along the trail…she wants the picture rather than the minute by minute details.

She has a high bullshit meter and purchases from companies she has established trust with.  She wants to be asked questions about her needs and she likes to work with people who listen.  She researches travel online but then looks to her friends to tell her who they have traveled with and where they have been.  She’s looking for the perfect solution…and they want to be surprised and delighted that you have thought of something they haven’t.

To providers this may seem like a fairly straightforward introduction…but it is amazing how many brochures, websites,  tour itineraries, confirmation packets, photos, trade-show booths etc are NOT targeting women.  Having been in the industry for over 20 years I would bet that most companies in-house staff is made up predominately of women.   Has every piece you send out to potential clients been honestly reviewed by them?  Who is training your ground staff beyond “guiding” to address how to integrate these needs and desires into the itinerary.

Last but certainly not least, we should address Word Of Mouth Marketing.  In general, women are part of a much larger social community than men are.  We surround ourselves with diverse groups…other couples, women’s book groups, moms play groups, walking/running friends, professional networks. We are part of a huge web are always sharing tidbits of insider knowledge to help others.  Yes, if we like (or don’t like) the trip or company we have just traveled with we will tell EVERYONE.

Women as “Travelers”:
In the late 80’s and early 90’s women’s tours were put in a corner which most adventure travel companies as well as guests were uncomfortable with.  Were “Women Only”  really just another word for Lesbian Trips?  If we had group of women traveling together on our trips, what was their relationship? If two women booked a trip together, were they a couple?

The fact was that during this time, a fair portion of companies targeting “women only” were targeting the lesbian community, while an emerging group of entrepreneurs were simply realizing the growing market of women interested in traveling with other women.

As the industry came of age in the late 90’s and had “softened” a bit (offering more options to suite a wider range of physical abilities, staying at properties with private baths, focusing on local culture interaction and environmental education…renaming trips from “Hiking” to “walking”, focusing on food) we saw astounding growth in the industry.  The demographics had changed from trips being made up predominately of men in their 30’s to couples in their 40’s and 50’s and singles, mostly women, of all ages, eager to take part in an adventure without the concern of security or the need for a traveling companion.

In the beginning of the century “women’s only” tour companies were popping up in every niche (yoga, culinary, skiing, Sailing etc) and major tour operators began testing out “women’s only” departures.  Similar to the “family tour” bandwagon, there was little thought of why, where and when women choose women-only departures.

What we have found through the fallout of canceled departures is what we, as adventure seeking women, have always known, we are constantly changing.  We  gravitate towards “women’s only” trips to learn a new skill, especially one which involves a new sport or physical challenge, as we enjoying being in a supportive women’s only learning environment.  We are likely to take Goal Trips, like trekking the inca trail or climbing Kilimanjaro with other women.  We LOVE to get away with our girlfriends and this section of the market is only beginning to tap into this annual event.  We are also wives, mothers, girlfriends,  individuals who enjoy the company of the other sex.  We like traveling with our husband or partner, with couples, and, if we are single, in groups that have other solo travelers as well as couples.  Most of us are not “women-only” travelers, we are “sometimes women-only travelers”…it is or prerogative

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU&hl=en&fs=1]Social Bookmarking seems to confuse new users…we want to save and share articles, websites, blogs and videos for future use or to share with friends and colleagues.

Here is how social bookmarking works!