If you’re like most travel and tourism marketers we talk to, you're looking at ROI and questioning the true value of social media marketing. In this issue of the Wanderlust Report, we’ll examine the state of social media in the year 2011: Its promises, how it can and cannot be used to sell, and its future in the travel and tourism marketing mix. [more]

Today, travel and tourism marketers can’t afford to let websites get stale. Fortunately, there are a number of reasonably simple ways to generate fresh content. In this issue of the Wanderlust Report, we’ll look at seven sources of fresh web content and ways you can add them to your web content management strategy without overwhelming your capacity. [more]

How can you tell if your marketing efforts are covering all the bases? Are you attracting a steady stream of visitors to your destination? Can you command a premium price or are you discounting to drive traffic? Could you be doing more with your limited resources? A simple self-assessment may provide the answers you’re looking for. [more]

With so many kinds of media and so many unique, segmented messages going out to consumers and customers, how can destination, resort and attraction marketers stay true to their brand’s promise of value? This issue of the Wanderlust Report explores some tools and tips for keeping your message clear and staying on-brand in the 21st century. [more]

Travel and tourism marketers find it’s no longer practical to give mass media the highest priority in integrated marketing communications programs. It’s time to rethink outdated media strategies and leverage ‘owned’ media first, for more effective communications, greater consumer engagement and a higher return on investment. This Wanderlust Report examines the trends that have reshaped the media environment and the opportunities that new media channels present. [more]

Turning around a destination to once again attract profitable customers often requires a reevaluation of its competitive positioning. This issue of the Wanderlust Report presents a method for addressing positioning problems of underperforming and distressed destinations. [more]

Ideas that will help your destination, resort or attraction deal with a down economy, and make leaps when everyone else is crawling. [more]

Chris Chambers, Director of Digital Marketing for Queensland, Australia, shares with us a fairly detailed case study on his campaign to market the Great Barrier Reef internationally: The Best Job in the World. [more]

Like the Porsche, a destination website should be a fine-tuned machine that helps move visitors from the initial click and visit through the travel planning process, onto commitment, and with any luck, all the way to brand advocacy. [more]

One of the first questions we ask the owners and marketers of the destinations, resorts and tourism attractions we work with goes something like this: “What is the one thing that you don’t have today, or don’t have enough of, that could provide you with an undeniable competitive advantage?” [more]

Every year about this time, marketers of destinations and resorts that operate on a calendar year begin working on their annual marketing plans and budgets. At least they should be. [more]

How to create effective, search-friendly content for travel and destination websites. [more]

Considerations when designing a logo to help differentiate your brand from a sea of look alike competitors. [more]

The importance of defining a unique competitive position for your travel or destination brand and how to get there. [more]

How to keep your site fresh, how to open up a two-way dialog using social media and blogging, and conversion tools to help move prospects closer to making a purchase decision. [more]

Today’s best practices for building a destination website that both travelers and Google will love. [more]

The Wanderlust Report tackles the broad topic of what consumers want from their travel and destination brands. [more]