Tourisme Intelligence
THE Quebec source for information on global trends in tourism

Tags: adventure, eco-tourism, Quebec, region, Sustainable tourism, wildlife-observation

Whale watching is still the fastest growing sector of general wildlife tourism worldwide and this is important for Québec, since marine tourism is a lucrative activity. According to a recent report, 13 million people went whale watching in 119 countries in 2008, compared to 9 million in 87 countries in 1998.(1) In the past 10 [...]

Tags: Internet-Strategies, Marketing, medias, virtual-communities, web-2.0

Web 2.0 offers organizations some amazing and effective opportunities. And it cannot be repeated often enough: consumers trust reviews from other customers and recommendations from experts more than they do official sources of information. Some destinations have truly got the message and put this principle into practice. The following article looks at some examples of [...]

Tags: air-canada, blogs, content-sharing, Farecast, Internet-behavior, technological-tools, transat, virtual-communities, web-2.0

In an earlier Globe-Veilleur article, we explained why Facebook has quickly become one of the top virtual communities and a new social phenomenon unto itself. We are now going to examine its sphere of influence within the tourism industry, as many Quebec businesses are starting to make use of it. Some concrete examples from the [...]

Tags: adventure, Issues, luxury, Marketing, packages, products-and-activities, promotion

If recreational equipment and residential components are included, the adventure sector is now a trillion-dollar industry. Commercial adventure tours make up only part of this sector, but a significant one. Outdoor tourism, largely adventure, makes up at least one-fifth of the global tourism industry. Adventure trends are therefore significant to the tourism industry as a [...]

Tags: blogs, content-sharing, Internet-behavior, myspace, technological-tools, virtual-communities, web-2.0

In the summer of 2006, we drew attention to the important phenomenon of Web 2.0. Since then, a great many Web users have become familiar with virtual online communities and several players have really started to stand out. One such site is Facebook, which is the process of establishing itself as a mainstay of the [...]

Tags: loyalty, outbound-operators, transat, travel-agencies, Trends

The sector of so-called traditional travel agencies has probably undergone more upheaval than any other over the past decade. And yet, despite the popularity of the internet, the events of September 11, 2001, and the advent of zero commissions, agencies have learned to adapt, reinventing themselves in the process. Though many consumers have become devotees [...]

Tags: culture, Internet-Strategies, technological-tools, virtual-communities, web-2.0

The internet continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Indeed, recent changes have been so profound that they have led to the introduction of the phrase “Web 2.0�, which has quickly become the trendy, catch-all term used to describe the new ideology that is shaping the internet. This new approach has been adopted by numerous [...]

Tags: content-sharing, hotels, Internet-behavior, tripadvisor, virtual-communities, web-2.0

The opportunity to review a lodging establishment, restaurant, transportation company or destination is no longer a privilege reserved to professionals. As part of the Web 2.0 phenomenon, consumers now have many opportunities to share their opinions and evaluations of their travel experiences with other consumers. Whether you are pleased or dismayed with this turn of [...]

Tags: asia, australia, Europe, ski, solo-travellers, youth

Although the idea of taking time off in order to travel is by no means a recent one, “gap year travel” is both a relatively new and a relatively unknown market segment. Travellers in this segment do not spend a great deal, yet nonetheless make a significant contribution to the local economy because of their [...]

Tags: blogs, content-sharing, myspace, online-behavior, Online-users, rss, social-networking, tripadvisor, web-2.0, Web-strategies

As the number of web users keeps growing, so the internet keeps evolving. It now features much simplified, more flexible and lower‑cost technology that encourages interactivity. Thanks to broader applications, internet users are now truly benefiting from the web’s participatory philosophy, forming virtual communities in which they share information about personal experiences, interesting websites, photos, [...]