Rhino Conservation

Today I am working with animal conservation charity Save the Rhino. Based in London, Save the Rhino works with communities in Africa and Asia to support Rhinoceros conservation.

There are five rhino species; Black rhino, White rhino, Javan rhino, Sumatran rhino and Indian rhino.

Rhinos are threatened by poaching for their horns and habitat loss.

Save the Rhino are in favour of responsible tourism that supports local communities in rhino important habitats. Save the Rhino has an active fundraising programme that utilises sponsored endurance events in the UK and overseas.

New Hotel SEO Page

Simply Clicks has carried out a number of travel SEO projects over the past 5 years. Some have been for travel agents. Some for villa businesses. However, our most striking success has been with hotels. In recognition of this we have created a separate hotel SEO page on our website.

Hotel Marketing Website - SEO, PR, Branding, PPC, Design

I have just finished writing copy for a new hotel Internet marketing website. The website covers the complete marketing mix from an online perspective. This includes Hotel SEO, Hotel Pay Per Click Advertising, Hotel Branding, Hotel Public Relations, Hotel Web Analytics and B2B  marketing for the Business and Corporate markets.

Simply Clicks has worked on a number of hotel marketing programmes. The hotel segment of the travel industry has been going through a tough time during the recession. However, competition online remains strong. Competition is not only between hotels but also between booking channels. Hotel search typically present search engine results pages that feature online travel agencies as well hotel websites.

Travel Companies to Up SEO Spend

According to global research amongst 225 travel companies, 9 out of 10 companies intend to up their online marketing expenditure during the next year. The research comes from a joint project by Travel Mole and Frommers Unlimited.

Within the overall total there was a wide range of responses. 54% of travel companies plan to increase their online expenditure by between 10 and 50%, 31% of travel companies would spend the same and 15% would reduce expenditure. The current hot spot is social media with 60% of travel companies increasing expenditure.

When asked about search engine optimisation (SEO) 57% of travel companies said they would be upping their expenditure, 30% would be spending the same and 5% would actually cut spending. Paid search, specifically Google Adwords, is reportedly to grow in 39% of cases, stay the same in 35% of cases and fall in 11% of travel companies.

The weakest part of the online marketing mix was display advertising. Where 22% of travel companies plan to reduce expenditure.

When asked where travel marketers plan to spend their budget SEO remains the largest part of the online market effort.

Promotion d'hôtels en France

J'ai créé une page de site Web pour les hôtels anglais de vente en France. La page est écrite en français. Normalement j'écris seulement des poteaux de blog en français quand je suis en vacances en France. Le but de la page française est d'entrer les pages de langue française de l'hôtel de Zetter à Londres dans les pages francophones de l'index de Google.fr.
D'ailleurs, je sais que mon Français est en peu merde.

Travel Thinking | Travel SEO and Marketing: O'Leary Signals Ryanair Change of Tack

Travel Thinking | Travel SEO and Marketing: O'Leary Signals Ryanair Change of Tack

Tui Boss Long in APD Lobby

Tui boss Peter Long has been in Parliament to lobby against the proposed rises in Air Passenger Duty (APD). Long met several MPs including Paul Clark, Parliamentary under secretary of state for transport.

The increases in APD are proposed for November 2010. By which time the UK will have had a change of government. Tory shadow minister Julian Brazier was also in attendance.

In my opinion, the UK Government is using the smokescreen of green taxes to find ways of closing the massive £175 billion in government borrowing. During the parliamentary meeting Long made it clear that he believes a per plane approach to taxation is greener than a per passenger levy. Tui are the UK's largest vertically integrated tour operator with a large charter fleet. As such they will be hardest hit by a per passenger levy as they tend to fill their planes more efficiently than scheduled operators.

British Airways Slumps to £292 Million Loss

Flag Carrier British Airways has slumped to a £292 million loss for the 6 months to September 2009. The loss compares with a profit of £52 million for the same period of 2008. The financial performance was approximately £40 million worse than stock market analysts were expecting.

BA is seen as one of the strongest international airlines. The strength of its position on the key Trans-Atlantic routes has generally kept it above the fray of price cutting on short-haul European routes. This time BA's performance is in contrast to the profits recently announced by Scandinavian carrier SAS.

There was, however, some good news for BA. It has just won a legal ruling that it can changed its working practices. BA's 14,000 cabin crew are to be balloted over strike action in the run-up to Christmas.

London Hotels Good Value Says Lonely Planet

The highly credible and influential tourist guide book Lonely Planet has described London as good value. The falling £, now worth just €1.10, and a host of new cheaper hotels has made the city one of the world's best value destinations.

Travelodge and Premier Inn have opened a number of hotels in the central areas of London. If you are looking for something a little more upmarket it is possible to find good value boutique hotels in London EC1. The close proximity of so many historical sites, museums, bars and restaurants make London an easy place to explore. London has often been criticised for its high prices but with a range of budget options, alongside Tokyo, Paris and Rome it now looks very cheap.

One opportunity missed by many overseas visitors is the opportunity to explore thecountryside surrounding London. South east England has many other tourist destinations within an hour or two of the capital. One popular destination is Kent. The Garden of England is home to Chilham, the recent location for the filming of a TV production of Jane Austen's Emma. Chilham sits in the North Downs of Kent and nearby a range Canterbury hotels are available.