Why Travel Agents & Tour Operators Need To Focus On Authentic Local Experiences To Stay Competitive

The major elements comprising the generic destination competitiveness model helps to identify the key success factors of destination marketing. Among the many approximate set of indicators used to determine destination competitiveness, local experiences is one of the key points. Elaborate empirical as well as conceptual research points out the relative strengths and weaknesses of different tourism destinations, which can then be used to study the impact of local experiences on the travelers and vice versa.The discerning travelers of today’s world love exploring unique experiences each destination has to offer and go much beyond staying in the top suite of hotels. Choosing the best dining options and spas has otherwise become passe. No online portal can take you to the hidden nuggets of the destination except the native folks. So, to match up with the millennials’ definition of travel, you need to indulge with the locals which is way beyond any packaged holiday or cookie-cutter options.Blurring the borders of traditional definition of travel
It’s important for Travel Agents to realize that selling travel is actually selling happiness. Imbuing travel goals based on interaction with local people makes travel more meaningful than ever. Authenticity, simplicity, and culture are the new watchwords driving the growth of the travel tourism sector internationally. The evolution of the whole new travel genre is based entirely on indulging in local experiences. It is not about the best luxury experience but the intrinsic local touch will definitely add magic to the holiday memory. Remember that the most valued luxury is experience.Present-day culture travelers have moved beyond the familiar environs and revel in the experience in itself. Clearly enough, tourists that like to break the mold are more interactive with local residents. This paradigm shift has not however, completely caught up with everyone yet. The focus of investments still remains on the traditional tourism-related components.To create a layered travel experience, the hospitality industry is gradually promoting themselves as the portals for the local community. Although that might not be a necessity but local experience will definitely give a competitive advantage.Blending national culture and heritage into luxury travel tours need careful planning and is bound to enhance tourist’s experience. Getting certified from the government tourism policies which include inter-cultural education policy helps to makes the travel agents’ outset more impressive.Counter homogenization of the travel experience is the new clause of the tourism authorities. Embracing local cultural tourism will have an impressive lasting impact on travelers with like-minded outlook. Traditional vertical distribution chains among the travel providers has given way to complex value chains and thus in this increasingly competitive marketplace, providers need to seize every opportunity for competitive advantage. Collaborative advantage through local and government partnership is thus a new norm. Local culture and society has become an essential part of tourism value chain. The integrated inter-relationships between travel and other socio-economic sectors are now conceived as a ‘value network’.Promoting Local Cuisine
Sustainable tourism, which is tantamount to responsible tourism, has been a major concern in the travel industry for the past couple of years. Experiencing the local culture largely contours around the traditional gourmet industry. Trying traditional food completes the cultural experience of the place. Talking of the economic aspect, if you are eating at McDonald’s, instead of benefiting the local community, a major chunk of it leaves the local socio-economic circle. The international traveler’s gang consist majorly the Western tourists and without much doubt, the need for Western food is always higher than the local recipes.While traveling for a single night’s stay, people might think it not important enough to connect to the local traditions. However, pennies in the pocket of the local cuisine industry help to uplift the local tourism industry on a larger picture. Walking into a McDonald’s or a KFC might fill your tummy but will neither add to the local tourism sector nor enhance your experience. For instance, Vietnamese pho is now a big pull for travelers in Vietnam and when in Costa Rica, do not miss gallo pinto. Building connections with the local folks is not always the only token you get in return but you actually help to build a perception about your nationality as a whole. A country’s heritage is strongly rooted within the memories of the local people and as the old folks say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!Experiential travel – creating a deeper connect
The demand for ‘experiential travel’ is arguably the most significant as well as systematic trend in worldwide tourism. The term typically defines immersive, authentic, local, and more active travel trend. While some travel enthusiasts would like to argue that travel is inherently ‘experiential’ by nature and that the term is overused, the idea is to make it more mainstream. Travel consumer attitude has varied wildly when it comes to local tourism and it is its degree of definition varies widely how the overall trend is approached.On a deeper emotional and more personal level, people want to travel better at the end of the day. Growing numbers of travelers shying away from the traditional packaged travel brochure is definitely a valid evidence of how local experiences matter for the new age travelers.Going Social
Relying on technology and global networks of small and individual travel providers, travel brands are offering more connected experiences. Almost infinite online matrix of social media networks keep us connected no matter where we travel. But ironically enough these social networks are gradually isolating people in real life than helping them make closer to human connections. The online sharing portal pair travelers with the local citizen network and offer experience to travel like local.With packaged tourism losing its appeal among modern day travelers digs the question of what exactly is authentic travel. Consumer data might reveal a section of these answers but tracking social media will give an organic result. For travel brands targeting specific niches, evaluating and adapting to the changing travel behavior is much important.Tech tools
Undoubtedly, the most influential and dependable tech tool for millennials is the smartphone. Mobile phone location technology has made connection right. On niche apps, review-stuffed maps by Google etc. have made planning for set-piece events easier than ever before. The transparency of peer-to-peer accommodation and transportation services like Airbnb and BlaBlaCar add to the authenticity of the travel experiences and their reviews. The underbelly of a place can only be offered by the natives of the place and thus creates difference in the authenticity of the travel experience.Large industry players have also chosen to go down to local level. The Instagrammable ideas and images of the less explored destinations is fun in itself. With a series of themed guides and commissioned travel advice by savvy locals has found intense popularity amongst the new age travelers. The aim is for travelers to get a genuine local experience of the destination. Travel Companies can do well to follow the adage – Think global, act local!

What You Need to Quickly and Easily Outsource SEO Content Writing

Chief among the specialised skills that your business should outsource, you should outsource SEO content writing.Writing SEO content is a specialisation that marries insight from two important areas: how the human psyche works, and how search engines crawl. In other words, the science of keyword analysis applied to the art of human communication.SEO content development is more important than everIt’s been maligned and misunderstood as trying to “game” search engines, but is it really an evil word, “SEO”? No.According to the Wikipedia SEO content definition:Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users.As long as there are search engines, content will have to be optimised for search engines. As search engines become more “human”, backdoor tactics and deceptive methods will more and more become obsolete. And that’s a good thing for us all.Now – more than before Google’s revolutionary algorithm changes of recent months – our chances of ranking high are better than ever. The scammers and spammers who used awkward tactics to block up our search engine results pages have been flushed away. But you still do need to understand how search engines “think”, if you want to score well with them and attract more traffic to your websites.Is “outsource” an evil word, then?Since SEO content writing is such an important and specialised skill, is it a mistake to outsource it?Yes – if you outsource such crucial work to a part-timer working out of his parents’ bedroom halfway around the world. But if you hire a professional to provide a well-defined product into a well honed workflow: No, it’s definitely no mistake.Outsourcing can open up a whole world of talent at your disposal, for a fraction of the cost of traditional employment. And thanks to the internet, you can quickly and easily take advantage of the global outsourcing company boom.It used to be that you could just write keyword rich content and rank wellYou know what those look like:”Dog training trainers are always looking for the best dog training resources they can find. Unfortunately, dog training resources are not always available at dog training pet stores. However, at dogtraining.com, you can find all your dog training needs at our dog training website.”Not only is copy like that annoying as heck to read, but it now gets penalised by Google’s algorithms.Google is always trying to get its search engine to think more like a human – maybe one day it will, and “SEO content” will simply be called “content”. But until that day comes, if ever, SEO will always be an essential need for all businesses online.

Keyword stuffing is dead.

Indiscriminate backlinking is dead.

Deceptive methods are dead.

But SEO is alive and kicking harder than ever, especially with LSI.
LSI isn’t a drug, but it’s a cure.Today, search engines use a methodology called Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), which uses mathematical models to figure out the overall theme of a body of copy, the way people normally talk.So, instead of ranking an article based on keywords, Google now ranks an article for using the key phrases that real people use when they talk about a given subject.This means that today’s solid SEO content is creative SEO content. Unlike the bad old days of keyword stuffing, LSI themed keyword content reads and sounds the way a human speaks – because it uses the actual phrases that a real person would use.3 reasons why you need outsourced content:1. It keeps your content writing freshWriting new SEO content on a regular basis is not an easy task, but a dedicated SEO Content Writer can provide you with fresh SEO copy regularly, no problem.2. Content writing for social media has gone SEO as wellSocial media marketing begins with solid SEO content. How so? You want people to tweet, like, share and otherwise upvote your content. Which they can only do if:

Your content is great and

They can find your great content
A good SEO Content Writer hits both targets.This goes for content writing for Facebook, Google+, blogs – everything.3. Premium content is even central to video – which is skyrocketing in importanceVideos are based on scripts and introduced by copy on web pages, whether your own or on YouTube. This copy must be SEO copy.What do you need to successfully outsource? 1. A well-defined workflow, eg, a website into which you simply plug and play solid content2. A willingness to benefit from a world of top talent – not just what can be found in your particular geographical location3. Expert SEO Content Writers who are well versed with what works in SEO todayThere’s a difference between SEO Content Writers and conventional writers: professional SEO writing is qualified and optimised to be ranked highly by today’s search engine algorithms, whereas general writing is not.Additionally, for English content, you want to make sure that you hire English-speaking writers. Native English-speaking writers can give you an edge that non-native speakers can’t.Sidebar: Are you a Web design or SEO agency?Do you offer an SEO reseller programme or maybe even run a turnkey SEO outsourcing agency? Professional writers can help you with white label SEO content.Let’s say that you offer a complete marketing solution for online. This would include web page content, website design, blog content, hosting, SEO, SEM, PPC, etc. You would hire specialists to fill each of these roles: a designer for the website design, a webmaster to handle the hosting, a marketer to oversee the advertising campaigns and a writer to provide copy for the Web assets.It pays to have a dedicated professional in each role; with outsourced SEO services, you can afford to hire a dedicated SEO Content Writer, not just general purpose writers.To outsource successfully, outsource it to a professional, not a pretenderWhen you outsource content writing services, make sure you contract a supplier who provides premium online writing, not “content mill” hash. Your content reflects your company – and your clients.Outsourcing to an SEO dedicated content writer can make the difference between having content that is loved by both people and search engines – or content that is simply fluff. A professional knows the tips to SEO content that converts.

Online Health Insurance Quote – Finding Low Cost Plans

Looking to find an affordable health insurance quote online? Right now, you can get up to 5 low cost health insurance quotes within minutes. Getting competitive quotes from National insurance companies is a snap with the use of the Internet.Health Insurance PlansMany types of individual and family health insurance plans are available to those searching online. You may be surprised by the variety and affordability of the health insurance plans offered on the Internet today. Many National insurance companies now offer instant online quotes for all types of health insurance.You can get online quotes for managed health care plans such as HMOs, PPOs, and POSs. If you don’t know much about these plans, there are usually articles and information you can read at most online insurance websites. Learning about the different insurance policies is a good way to get the most coverage at the least cost.Most online health insurance plans will have an annual deductible to pay before the insurance company begins to pay. The amount of the deductible plays a large part in determining the cost of your monthly premium. Finding a plan with a higher deductible can mean a lower monthly premium for you.Online Health Insurance Quotes One of the best ways to find online health insurance quotes is to go to a free insurance quote website. There you can get competitive quotes from up to 5 health insurance providers so you can compare plans and prices. After you have your quotes, you can look more closely at the policies and decide which one is the best for you.