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The iPad Effect on the Travel Industry

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What does the new iPad mean for the Travel Industry?

How will the iPad affect the travel industry?

Before we even get started, this is not a post about how fantastic or disappointing yesterday's iPad announcement was.  Nor is it a feature by feature review of the new device.  This Travel 2.0 post is about asking questions...specifically, what does yesterday's announcement mean to you and I, what should we do about it and what does the future hold for travelers interacting with our brand and content.

So, let's take a look.

Yesterday's iPad announcement...

...is another signal that the way consumers take in content is forever changing.

Consumers will continue to expect, as well as begin to demand, that all of your content and information be available in the format and on the device of their choosing.  Whether the answer or preference is a 'traditional' printed guide or brochure, a website, a mobile site, an app, a Facebook page, etc., etc., regardless of access point...phone, TV, iPad...consumers are expecting to see the same content within each experience.

We know, it was so simple 10 years ago.  We had a brochure and a website, nothing more.  Then, technology happened.  iPhones, netbooks, e-readers, all of it compounding upon itself to create a myriad of content delivery vehicles each with their own specs, needs and costs.  Enough to drive a person techno-crazy.  Unfortunately, as the iPad announcement has shown, this trend will continue into the foreseeable future.

Our recommendation, place content at the center of the wheel and let the websites, blogs and apps be the spokes.  Ensure that your content strategy is prepared and able to feed content along each of these paths.  As our next question points out, you might not need to build an iPad app just yet, but at least the content will be ready if you do.

...does not mean you need to build another app.

Ugh, you don't.  Let the dust settle on this announcement before drawing up plans for your iPad app.  Let's see how the consumer uses the device and then develop based upon their needs and opportunities.

...continues the trend of content becoming unrestricted due to screen or system.

As mentioned in our first point, the screens in your home...TV, computer, mobile phone...are becoming increasingly interchangeable.  Do not assume that the consumer is watching your TV spot on the TV, or that they are reviewing their ski vacation plans on a laptop.  Devices are becoming interchangeable.  I can start the day by reading the New York Times on my iPad and then switch to the full screen view on my laptop.  Or even pull up NYT videos on my phone.  Case in point, I read the Times last Saturday on my Blackberry...never even picked up the paper or turned on the computer.

...should make you think about how e-readers or e-book readers will affect travel guide publishing in the future.

Does it strike anyone else that this type of iPad device will be the primary way we consume print in the future?  Books, magazines, brochures all downloaded to your iPad.  If I am Travel + Leisure, why not send you the latest issue via an iPad app.  Less cost for me (in theory).  Plus, better ad tracking and statistics.

That being said, I love books.  I love the feel.  I love knowing that I have a library of thought, history and art in my house now.  I certainly do not want to push the art of printing into the abyss, however I think some forms of publishing would benefit from an iPad-like device in every home.

For any of us in the travel space...DMO/CVB, resort, publisher, airline...how will e-readers change the way we send our now print-only information?  And what opportunities will we have to re-think the 'published' experience and turn that static printed image into an interactive video?  Do consumers what our OVGs via an e-reader?

Time will tell.

There you go, our first thoughts on the new iPad.  Not fully developed, but just the start of this conversation.

But what do you think?  Where and how do you see the iPad, or a future iPad-like device, influencing and changing the travel industry?  Or does it at all?  Let us know in the comments section, we would love to re-post the thoughts of our readers for a future article.

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Troy Thompson

Troy Thompson is a respected consultant, speaker and thought-leader in the tourism industry. Principal at the Travel 2.0 Consulting Group and Founder of mark, Troy provides destinations, DMOs and CVBs with answers to difficult digital marketing questions.

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  • http://twavl.com Brian Hayashi

    The iPad takes Apple back to the phenomenon that kick-started the Mac - desktop publishing.

    Every document that has been created using Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign, Word, etc - has, up until now, been destined for one primary purpose: to be printed and then distributed. The iPad gives Quark and InDesign another choice: print another copy to iPad's DRM-managed format, and we'll help you make money from it.

    Traditionally, DMOs would provide information via pamphlets and brochures. Not only did this cost everyone a lot of money to print, warehouse and steward, but a lot of information was already out of date by the time the document was printed. It's the nature of the beast. And the iPad changes all of that.

    The 20th century was able scaling stuff - how we manufacture stuff, how we distribute stuff, etc. The 21st century is increasingly about scaling ideas and ambition: how do you scale the idea that Denver is a fun place to visit during the #SIA10, for example? Can you see a world where if you buy a Vail season pass at regular price, you get a free downloadable copy of Warren Miller's book "Ski Fever"?

  • http://itsallaboutthebike.com Moto

    We tell our clients this all the time: it's not so much about the device as the platform for distribution of the content. Sure, Apple infuses just about everything they do with an intangible element called design. But they pioneered the platform of the iTunes music and movie distribution model, the App store, and now moving into the eBook space, they will have a comparable platform to Amazon for distribution. Print magazines lamenting the fact that your issues are getting thinner because advertising is going down and you can't afford to pay top quality content creators TAKE NOTE. Huge opportunities for travel and tourism destinations. We're already thinking about how our Snowbird iPhone app can be updated and augmented to leverage the new iPad format. Let the games begin.

  • http://travel2dot0.wordpress.com Troy

    Brian, Moto, thanks for the comments.

    Like we said in the post, I don't think anyone, perhaps even Apple, knows what to expect with the iPad.

    Of course, if you said the word 'App' 4 years ago, not many people would know what you are talking about.

    Good stuff, as always.

    - Troy

  • http://www.travelblather.com jeremy head

    Hi there
    I really don't see the iPad having an impact on guidebook sales. It's too big. Not something you can stick in your pocket. In fact I struggle to see where the iPad fits in for anyone who isn't into video on line and wants a bigger viewing experience. Like you say, time will tell, but the real challenge to the printed guidebook is the PDA/iphone/ipod touch which is so much more portable. As a guidebook writer I think that the good old fashioned book that you can scribble notes on, fold up and stick in your pocket etc still has a good way to go yet
    Cheers
    Jeremy

  • Harper Babin

    I don't believe the phenomenon is in the invention of the iPad, the phenomenon is in the idea behind it. Apple may have been the first to come up with this type of marketing and networking, but this ideal can be and will soon be infused into many other forms of technology. Yes, Apple deserves recognition for being the first to develope this type of travel technology, but it is Apple that will forever be known, not the iPad. Because the iPad will soon be replaced with something more portable and smaller. This form of technology is all about convenience, which our society depends solely on in this day and age. The knowledge will always be there, it is how it will be transported that will forever be changing. The iPad is the trend right now, but soon there will be something new we're all talking about. Yes, a "trend" because this form of technology will not touch everyone. Only those very savvy into online and video technologics will dive into this. The ordinary person looking to travel won't go to these extremes. I for one am intrigued by this device, but would not dig into my own pocket to buy it to keep.

  • http://itsallaboutthebike.com Moto

    Jeremy, get used to seeing people everywhere walking around with iPads under their arms just as you see people sitting in airports, heads buried in their mobile devices. Again, it's not about the device as the devices will continue to evolve. It's about the content distribution platform. I'd start thinking real fast about finding ways to distribute your content digitally, and I'm not talking convert printed pieces to PDFs and posting on a website! Good luck.

  • Fanny

    Great Post, thanks! I’m a master student in e-business, innovation and technologies with a particular interest in travel and tourism and I think the iPad and all the new portable devices and e-readers could seriously impact on tourism within the next few years.

    As you said, we all still enjoy “real” tangible books, but when you think of combining them with technologies and the possible integration of trip planning tools such as Google city tours and many others, this could be huge for travellers! I’m in my twenties and I love planning my own trips online, so I would enjoy receiving assistance and advice while I’m on holiday, suggesting me what to do and where to go on an interactive and personalised format at any time, which is not possible with paper books!

    And this could also be extremely valuable for tourism organisations to interact directly with customers and understand what they want and how to satisfy their needs. So from a new generation’s perspective, I believe mobile devices are just in their infancy and using them strategically could soon offer many advantages to both travellers and organisations.

  • http://www.weaver-group.com Kevin Day

    Great post and discussion, as always. I think the phrase that deserves underlining in your post is "content strategy." Your analogy of a wheel and the platforms as spokes is dead on from a marketing perspective.

    It seems to me that why people are so giddy about the iBook store and subsequently the iPad is the intimacy of consuming information and content in a new way. People can see themselves reclined on a sofa with a cup of coffee reading on that thing (notice in the demo video that this is how Apple has the user enjoying it). While the discussion on whether this is the next big trend or not is intriguing, I think for tourism marketers we simultaneously have to answer the question, does our content strategy also have a human quality to it? The inside scope, the voice of a destination, authenticity. If your content strategy is just your listings, you may be missing out.

    Say what you will about guide books vs. mobile apps vs. OVGs vs. iPads, etc. I believe that the successful destination marketers will tap that authentic voice, pair it with reliable information and, as long as it is centralized and accessible, distribute it to whichever platform the consumer dictates.

  • http://travel2dot0.wordpress.com Troy

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for the comments and the kudos.

    Love the question about the human quality, spot on. Human quality + authentic = engaged travelers.

    And agree with the example of relaxing on the sofa with a device of this type. A new and perhaps more relaxing (?) way to take in content.

    Thanks again!

    - Troy

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