In 2009 we (GoSeeTell Network / Sparkloft Media) conducted a survey asking over 200 DMOs about their use of and perspectives on social media in the tourism industry. Two years have passed and we want to find out what has changed. We have left the survey mostly unchanged which will allow us to compare this year's data to the data from 2009. (The main change we made was taking out questions relating to MySpace. MySpace - was that not a computer game in the 80s?) For this survey social media is defined as internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.

1. State of the Travel and Tourism Industry:
Social Media 2011
Survey Results
Social Media Services
2011
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

2. Survey Highlights
• The most active and effective social media sites
used are Facebook and Twitter.
• 83% of DMOs surveyed measure their social
media efforts.
• Most DMOs find it difficult to measure the direct
impact of social media on sales.
• Most DMOs spend between 1-5 hours/week on
social media
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

3. Blogging
Does your destination have or plan to If your destination is currently
have an official blog? blogging, who creates content?
Yes,
it
launched
over
a
year
Interns
14.8% ago
3%
Yes,
it
launched
within
the
4%
42.9% last
6
months
4% Paid community
16.5% partners
Not
yet,
plan
to
start
within
the
next
6
months
8% 3rd party agency
Not
yet,
hope
to
launch
13.7%
within
the
next
year
9% Dedicated staff
12.1% No
plans
to
blog
(paid only to blog)
56%
Unpaid community
16% partners
Other
Staff blogging as
part of their job
Most destinations have a blog that launched over a year ago.
Content is created mostly by staff blogging as part of their job.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

4. Social Networking Sites
When did your organization start using the following sites?
160
More than 12 months
140
ago
More than 6 months
120
ago
Just started
100
Start within next 6
80
months
60
Start within 6-12 months
40
No plans/not relevant
for travel
20
0
Facebook
page
Facebook
group
Facebook
tab
Facebook
app
TwiFer
Linkedin
Other
(custom
/
landing
page)
Most DMOs have used Twitter and Facebook for over a year. Facebook
groups, apps, and Linkedin profiles are the least used platforms.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

5. Photo and Video Sharing
When did your organization start using the following sites?
120
More than 12 months
100
ago
More than 6 months ago
80
Just started
60
Start within 6 months
40
20
Start within 6-12 months
0
No plans / Not relevant
Flickr
Flickr
group
Panoramio
YouTube
YouTube
Tubemogul
Vimeo
for travel
account
account
channel
Most destinations started using Flickr, Youtube (account and channel)
for over a year. Panoramio, Tubermogul and Vimeo are among the
least-used platforms.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

6. Other Social Media Tools
What tools are you using to promote your social
media activites?
Facebook ads
14%
20% Facebook contests
Twitter promoted products
15%
Twitter contests
22% 5% Feed on website
Links from website
12%
12% Social content in email newsletter
Other answers included QR codes, “Like”
buttons integrated into other sites, and
printed materials.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

7. Measuring Social Media
Currently, what is the objective of your
social media efforts?
Increase awareness for the destination 140
Do you measure results
Build engagement with consumers 132
of your social media
Provide consumers with a platform to activities?
103
share their experiences
Target specific niches or markets 77
17% No
Generate revenue (room nights) 67
Experiment to better understand value of
56
social media Yes
Other (please specify) 12
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
83%
The two most common objectives for social media efforts are to increase
awareness for the destination and build engagement with consumers.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

8. Do you have evidence that social media activities
have led to more bookings for your organization?
“We have anecdotal evidence,
“We track the number
of referrals from our
but no hard numbers”.
Facebook page to
our website, but are “We track lead generation from
unable to measure Facebook comments and Twitter posts. These
actual conversions”. inquiries sometimes result in sales”.
“We run Facebook and Twitter promotions, which are easy
to track conversions to sales”.
“Walk-ins to our visitor center say they found us on Facebook”.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

9. The Value of Social Media
What’s made it so valuable?
Which social media tool has
provided the most success for • It’s a large active
your organization? audience
1% 1% 3% 4% • Tweets led to PR/stories
Flickr • Very measurable
YouTube • Exposure to media
None of the above
26% • The power to engage
64% TripAdvisor
• The ability to get feedback
Twitter
quickly
Facebook
• Its ease of use
• Drives viewers to our
website
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

10. Value of Social Media
To what extent do you believe social media
engagement can benefit DMOs in acheiving their
objectives with the following markets?
140
120
100
80
Significant benefit
60
Somewhat beneficial
No benefit
40
20
0
Leisure
visitors
Business
ConvenPon
MeePng
Members
/
travelers
aFendees
planners
Industry
According to the survey results, social media is the most beneficial
when engaging with leisure visitors and members/industry.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

11. In your opinion..
Industry leaders in social media:
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

12. In your opinion..
The
most
influen-al
tools
for
travel/tourism
in
2011:
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. TripAdvisor
4. YouTube
5. Foursquare
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

13. Best Examples of Social Media
“Portland Online Visitors Center”.
“Jet Blue and KLM have some
amazing campaigns”. “Baton Rouge and the
#GOBR campaign”.
“Look no further “The Pepsi Challenge”.
than Disney”.
“National Geographic’s
“Visit Britain and their use of Intelligent Travel Blog”.
Facebook Places”.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

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Confidential
Confidential

15. Social Media Maintenance
Who is responsible for your
How many hours/week are social media activities?
devoted to your destination's
social media efforts?
Marketing
9% 24 department
0
5
7% 34% 1-5 PR /
communications
6-10 76 department
18%
Sales department
11-20 46
21-39 Other (please
32% specify)
40+
66% of destinations put in between 1-10 hours/week on social
media. Most of this is done by the marketing department.
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential

16. Thank you!
* Martin Stoll
CEO, Sparkloft Media
sparkloftmedia.com
martin@sparkloftmedia.com
(516)476-9238
Confidential
©2011 GoSeeTell Network Confidential