So far, I have seen University library staff advertising their Facebook profiles on library websites, I discovered yesterday that my Auntie has Facebook (which I find weird) and now comes the news that the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism has created a page on Facebook called “VisitNH”. Now maybe I’m just being mean, but I find the idea of librarians, aunties and tourism departments on Facebook slightly horrifying. Ok maybe not horrifying, but definitely unnerving. As Facebook is supposed to be a ’social networking site’, should tourism departments be allowed to advertise on there? The page may look like it was set-up to allow Facebook users to become fans of New Hampshire, but when it pops up in your news feed saying that your friend has become a ‘fan’ of “VisitNH” then it is essentially free advertising. And if I’m blogging about it, then you can be sure that there are other people also talking about it. Now I don’t mind people becoming a fan of Marmite (I certainly am), or Bon Jovi, or some other cultural phenomenon, but New Hampshire? I also wouldn’t mind so much if it was some crazy New Hampshire obsessed person who set the page up. I think it’s basically the fact that some governmental big wig thought ‘I know what we’ll do to increase tourism, we’ll make a facebook page’. It just seems wrong.
Archive for July, 2009
Yet another Facebook page…..
July 30th, 2009Braving the germs?
July 27th, 2009Although the world is currently sat under the germ-infested cloud that is swine flu, it doesn’t appear to be affecting the popularity of the world’s germiest’ tourist attractions. You may well be thinking ‘how on earth can a tourist attraction be germy?’ so let me give you a few examples…. The Blarney Stone in Blarney, Ireland. 400,000 people last year kissed the Blarney Stone, according to the people from Blarney Castle and Gardens. So how many germs will people have passed on to others through kissing the stone? Next example, Market Theater Gum Wall in Seattle, Washington. In a tradition stretching back to 1993, people waiting to see a show in the theater stuck their chewing gum to the wall. The theater did used to clean it but have now given up so that the gum is now several inches thick on the 15 feet high and 50 feet wide wall. And my final example, St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy. Each year 2 million tourists visit St. Mark’s Square, rubbing shoulders with thousands of dirty pigeons leaving mess and attacking tourists. Now it’s probably just a case of luck whether you actually catch anything from these tourist attractions, but just keep it in mind the next time you go to touch or kiss something that thousands of people (or pigeons) will have kissed or touched before you!
Swine flu? What swine flu?
July 23rd, 2009Seeing as the world seems to be in panic over swine flu, I thought I had better make some sort of comment on it! News coming out of the international media seems to be that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have started screening people for symptoms of swine flu and then refusing to allow them to board if they look like they have the virus. As a fairly frequent flier, I find it incredible that the airlines are going to so much trouble and spending time to try and spot people who have swine flu even though the vast majority people who have it, only have mild symptoms and recover within days. From what I have read, it seems to be nicer than the normal flu! But I suppose on the other hand, it is quite unfair on the other passengers, if one passenger on a flight has swine flu and they end up catching it. In order to relieve fear, ABTA has released a statement in which they say that fear of swine flu should not stop people going on holiday, but that also when they go on holiday they should ensure that they have adequate insurance. This is sensible advice, especially when in this financial climate, many economies are relying heavily on tourism. In Greece, the Tourist Development Minister Kostas Markopoulos has called for an end to exaggerated reports of swine flu in the country. He said that “The new flu has not damaged tourism yet, though continuing exaggerations would place Greece in the group of countries with high problem and this would have serious impacts on the tourist industry“. So what seems to be the main message is for people to continue travelling and going on holiday!
To infinity, and beyond…..
July 21st, 2009So yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing and what better way to celebrate than to speculate on the possibility of space tourism in the near future! According to examiner.com, space tourism is not that far away with space travel already an option for the extremely rich. This is mainly due to the fact that in February 2009, space travel halved in price. There is also the fact that there are already two companies, RocketShip Tours and Virgin Galactic, which are vying for our custom. RocketShip Tours has also teamed up with Ensemble Travel Group, an organisation of almost 500 travel agencies, to promote space travel. While on July 27th 2009, Virgin Galactic will unveil their Mothership “Eve” at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. Although I’m sure space travel will be very popular in the future, I’m not sure I will joining them! What with the lack of oxygen and all…..
Top train ride
July 9th, 2009The Rocky Mountaineer rail journey across Canada has just been named the best train ride in the world. The result comes from a survey of members of the Society of American Travel Writers. Randy Powell, president of Rocky Mountaineer, said “It is truly an honour for our Rocky Mountaineer train to be recognised and singled out as the best in the world by SATW, a prestigious organisation with members who are highly respected for providing expert travel advice”. The Rocky Mountaineer takes passengers through the Canadian Rocky Mountains from Vancouver to Banff or Jasper. Other train rides in the top ten were the Glacier Express in Switzerland, the Peru Rail and the Flying Scotsman. I love trains, so maybe I’ve found my next holiday……
