Stranger in a

Strange Land

The New Digital Normal,

and What It Means for Travel

#ETC2015

Perry Hewitt | Harvard University

1. Travel today

2. Digital

opportunity

checklist

3. What’s next

We travel, initially, to lose ourselves;

and we travel, next, to find ourselves.

We travel to open our hearts and eyes

and learn more about the world than

our newspapers will accommodate.

We travel to bring what little we can, in

our ignorance and knowledge, to those

parts of the globe whose riches are

differently dispersed. − Pico Iyer

Let’s start here:

“My name is Perry, and I

have a travel problem.”

Image credit: Elliot Verhaeren for The Noun Project

TRAVEL TRENDS INTERSECT WITH DIGITAL ADVANCES

http://skift.com/2015/01/28/international-

tourist-arrivals-reach-record-1-13-billion-in-

2014/

Image credit: Archives New Zealand

There is a lively

intersection

(collision?) of the

global travel industry

and the internet

Image credit: Atelier Iceberg for The Noun Project

Booking: ubiquitous, flexible, mobile

Alternative transportation

Visibility into locations

Alternative accommodation

And unprecedented transparency

We live in an era of

blurred lines and

high expectations.

A new trend started

in 2007 which

affected not only the

researching and

purchasing, but the

experience of travel

Image credit: George Agpoon for The Noun Project

The four phases of the user

experience of educational travel

Evaluate AnticipateExperienc

eReflect

Optimize digital presence for 24/7 searchers

Embrace email as a killer app

Ask for social profiles

Provide shareable content about the trip itself

Recognize that WIFI is the oxygen for travel

Consider a template for tour leaders

Recommend website and photo/video sharing tools

Digital opportunities checklist

Evaluate

1. Optimize your digital presence

for 24/7 searchers

Evaluate

2. Embrace email as killer app.• Lists clean?

• Brand consistent?

• Voice?

• Send strategy baked?

• Mobile first?

• Measured and optimized?

Anticipate

3. Ask for social profiles upfront

to enable (but not mandate)

social connection

Anticipate

4. Provide shareable content to

your guests about the trip

before they travel

Experience

5. Recognize that WIFI is oxygen

for travel

Experience

6. Consider templates for tour

leaders – plug in two photos a

day with location

Reflect

7. Recommend website and

photosharing tools for traveler

connections post travel

THE UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED NEAR-FUTURE

On the horizon …

Where can I go with a beach and

nightlife scene that also has things

for teens to do?

On the horizon …

On the horizon …

One final,

parting

thought

Embrace digital

capabilities to

complement rather than

threaten travel

Thank You

Be in touch!

@PERRYHEWITT

PERRY_HEWITT@HARVARD.EDU