Tourism Social Networks - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

It's been a while since the Austrian National Tourism Office announced embarking on a "joint venture" with MindShare MindTake to launch an Austrian Social Network for travellers. The first inofficial version of CoolAustria was launched in May . Austrian bloggers and many of my international readers were not really amused and had quite some helpful advice (see the assessments by Jens Traenhart, William Bakker and a few of the comments here). Now their second relaunch has gone online (via Tourismus Zukunft).

Unfortunately, the only thing that has been changed seems to be the colour scheme. Lets compare it with the social network GoSeeOregon which is a "joint venture" by Travel Oregon and the network specialist GoToSee Network.

GoSeeOregon was launched in late April. Its launch was announced in Travel Oregon's blog in March. Which - by the way - is a very fine example of a blog for a DMO. Like most social networks the content of GoSeeOregon is only accessible for members. But on their first page they make sure to tell potential users what the membership is all about:

"What GoSeeOregon will do for you:

Tips for more than 300 destinations in Oregon and over 90,000 others worldwide
Connect with thousands of fellow travelers from all continents
Rate and review hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more
Search the database for members with similar interests
Customize your own passport page and track all your travel."

Yes, read again, this not only holds true to Oregon, but to 90,000 destinations worldwide. Why? Because one state alone is not enough to build a travel social network. The colour scheme is pleasant and there is no advertising on the site.

Lets have a look at CoolAustria.

What strikes me: There is no information on their first site explaining what this is all about, what my benefits upon joining are and what to expect. The large picture shows the Viennese City Hall next to the latest travel tip which praises a destination in Styria (not even close to Vienna). The colour scheme is very daring, to say the least. And an oversize banner looms obtrusively across the top.

I hope this is not the big relaunch that was announced at the tourism conference in Schönbrunn Palace three weeks ago. Why?

Lets put it this way: A touristic social network is not about a destination, but about travellers of that destination. Which in turn means, that a community cannot be established around a destination. It has to be created around the emotions, experiences, likes and dislikes of real people.

It's all about people. It's not about making money (at least do not concentrate on making money from the beginning). So do try to build credibility and trust first.

Find some of my suggestions and remarks here:
Travel 2.0 - More on Social media & corporate websites morphing
Social Web in Destination Marketing - tu felix Austria?
Social Web in Destination Marketing - tu felix Austria II?

Also read:

• Web 2.0 & Destination marketing - Holland.com leads the Way
• The Social Web in Destination Marketing - Canada & New Zealand relaunch
• Travel 2.0 & User Generated Content in Destination Marketing - Interview with William Bakker from Tourism British Columbia

This was my traditional English post on Monday. More to come in my English category. About me.