Currents
Who is talking about Tourism Currents?
We’re keeping a list of testimonials, comments, and feedback in case you want to go check up on us . . .
** From Taylor Hoffpauir, President and CEO of the Brady & McCulloch County TX Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center:
“As a nonprofit and a tourism industry professional, Tourism Currents has provided me with ongoing tools and resources to work both smarter and more efficiently. They continually provide current and relevant programming and information to an ever-changing market and industry. Their straightforward approach makes programming easy to grasp and retain, no matter if you’re an industry rookie or a seasoned professional. I do my best to attend any sessions they provide at conferences, and I encourage my staff to do the same.”
** News coverage from the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association‘s Lt. Governor’s Travel & Tourism Summit, in the El Reno Tribune:
“We have the advantage today of powerful online tools to make destinations known, and they are mostly free. Don’t be afraid of them, grab them and use them.”
** From Jessica McClellan with Visit Mesquite, Texas, about how the strategic planning portion of our Roadmap Package was particularly helpful to her and her staff’s content marketing planning . . .
** From Teri Cook Haler, tourism specialist for Conyers, Georgia, on our Tourism Currents Facebook Page:
“Tourism Currents, thank you for the difference you make in communities around the country!”
** From Shane Sorenson Wilhelm, Director of Membership and Business Development for the Texas Travel Alliance:
“”In a day and age where Marketing and Communications pros are expected to juggle print campaigns, digital campaigns, targeted marketing and communications across a plethora of social media platforms, as well as manage newsletters, blogs, e-blasts, and internal stakeholder communications, it’s next to impossible to stay on top of everything whirling around us. This is especially true if you also wear other hats, as so many of us do in the travel and tourism industry.
Fortunately, Sheila and Leslie are on standby and ready to help get you up to speed with a wealth of knowledge and first-hand experience to help you rock your Social Media Marketing efforts. Whether you’re just wading into the shallow end of Social Media or you’ve been swimming in the deep end for a while, they’ll share practical tips and tools to save you time, money, and headaches, while leaving you with resources to grow what you’re doing for the future.
Working with them is a no-brainer!”
** We worked with a Chamber of Commerce to increase the social media-savvy of an entire town and surrounding county – find out about our kickoff workshop in Webster City, Iowa, in Getting Social in Webster City from the Daily Freeman – Journal.
** From David DuVal at Discover Prince William & Manassas, Virginia:
“We’ve definitely seen a few of our partners increase their social activity since your training.”
** From Dawn Shalhoup, Potion Public Relations, marketing Japantown in San Francisco, California, one of only 3 remaining Japanese destination neighborhoods in the U.S.:
“Often, the hospitality and travel industries are among the last to be considered for the use of technology. I loved that Tourism Currents offered a course specific to the industry, helping me to understand fully – and feel more comfortable with – marketing my destination using social media. There are many who ‘use’ social media, and then there are those who understand how to efficiently use it while also staying approachable. I felt that [Tourism Currents] offered me that.”
** From Barbara Ann Kinghorn at the Coral Tree Guest House, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa:
“I have been a privileged recipient of your newsletter since late 2010 and look forward to learning from it every time I get a new one….I don’t quite know how to thank you, both, for your infectious enthusiasm for the potential of the Internet to make everything better and more fun for everyone; you are (Very Bright) Stars, and you light the way!”
** From Laurie Rowe, Laurie Rowe Communications in Panama City, Florida:
“I love your [newsletter] posts and the educational tools you offer. I’ve added Tourism Currents as one of my favorite expert resources.”
** From Carolyn Brackett, Senior Program Associate for Heritage Tourism, National Trust for Historic Preservation in Nashville, Tennessee:
“Since taking the course I feel much more confident in telling my clients that if they are going to ‘do tourism’ they must do social media. While I would never present myself as an expert, the course has made me understand the universe of social media, to talk about why it is critical in tourism marketing (to make it clear that social media is not ‘the wave of the future, it is now!’) and to craft strategies for tourism marketing that include social media.
I appreciate so much your willingness to let me pop an email to you with questions….and to continue providing great insights through your Facebook postings and webinars.
In short, consider me a big fan of Tourism Currents!”
** From the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) an interview with Erica Ward from the town of Faro in the Yukon, who mentions taking our online course to learn how to market her town and their Crane and Sheep Festival:
“To help her spin Faro into a dynamic community, one which celebrates the arts and other endeavors, Ward looked south of the border and found a website called Tourism Currents. It specializes in revitalizing small towns, with social media applications.
‘It’s basically a whole crash course on social media for small business and for tourism,’ said Ward.
She says the course is paying off.
‘We’ve had people who they see a tag about the Yukon and so they start to follow and, you know, people express ‘Hey I’ve always wanted to go there’… we had quite a good response so far, with people saying ‘Yes I want to come up there’,’ she said.”
** From Erica Houskeeper, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing:
“I really enjoyed the Tourism Currents course and found the information to be very valuable and helpful….a fantastic resource.”
** From Laura Girty, economic developer in Cherokee, Oklahoma:
“These experts have all the knowledge needed to combine your tourism event with social media – they bring together the perfect skills to guide you as you join 2 worlds that were meant to be together!”
** From PR strategist and social media educator Jason Falls on Social Media Explorer
“My friends Sheila Scarborough and Becky McCray are both expert-level social media and marketing thinkers who have a fantastic learning program for travel industry professionals around social media called Tourism Currents. The course has been implemented once already and then vetted and redone with travel industry professional’s feedback to make it even better.”
** From marketing expert Drew McLellan on The Marketing Minute
“You won’t get fluff or puffery from them…you will get real world examples, real world metrics and real world war stories. And when I say real world…I mean from your world.
Best of all — they teach you how to fish. This isn’t theory… this is ‘get your hands dirty’ learning.
Check out the course. Read their bios. Let them make you even smarter.”
** In the Round Rock(TX) Leader
- Tourism Currents incorporates social media
“Scarborough said there are several trends in the travel and tourism industry currently such as people using the internet to research where they want to travel and the best prices on traveling to their destination, reading travel blogs, and researching travel information online by using smartphones.”
** At Rural Tourism Marketing with Joanne Steele
- Is the Tourism Currents Social Media Training Right for You?
“I talk to rural tourism business owners, small town redevelopment folks and rural chambers of commerce regularly, and for them (you) the internet is a blessing and curse.
You understand how important it is to your town and your business.
You are trying your best to carve out a little time to learn about it and do something to add it to your marketing mix.
You’re often confused about what is the best way to approach social media.
For some of you, Tourism Currents will be the answer to your prayers.”
** At Des Walsh, Social Business Mentor
- Practical Social Media for Tourism and Travel Industry
“I was and am very excited that Becky and Sheila got together to develop and deliver this course. I’m saying that not just because they are my friends, which I am proud to say they are. The fact is, these are two of the most practical and at the same time most clued-in people I know on the social media front.”
** At Success CREEations with Chris Cree
“For starters I’ve know the founders of Tourism Currents, Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough both for years now. Not only did I meet them at the first SOBCon, a conference I helped found back in 2008. But even beyond meeting them in person, I was on a mastermind call with both of them for the better part of a year.
So I can say with full confidence that they know their stuff when it comes to blogging and social media.”
** From Chris Brogan
“This isn’t the dirt level basics of “join the conversation.” This is practical step-by-step advice. If I had the time to create something like this for the tourism industry, I certainly would have, but it wouldn’t be nearly as thorough and as researched as what Becky and Sheila created.”
** At Deep Dish Creative with Lara Dickson
- Mastering Social Media for Tourism
“The folks over at Tourism Currents, Becky McCray (@BeckyMcCray) and Sheila Scarborough (@SheilaS) are about to open up an encore round of online workshops and full-curriculum courses that can show you how it all works and how to MASTER social media for your organization. Learn how to tap into the increasing number of people who use social media for travel, and how to promote your destination, venues, hotels, attractions and events in new ways.
I’ve followed Becky’s and Sheila’s tweets and blogs for nearly two years – since I discovered Twitter. They are both extremely connected and immersed in social networking and tourism. I have learned so much from them via Twitter, blogging and sharing information.”
** At Need a Little Advice by Deb Brown
- Tourism Currents – Best Training Practices
“They work with tourism people and destination marketers. It’s their job to help you find your way through the maze of social media. Their focus is on tourism. But I’m going to tell you a secret. What they teach works for every small business who wants to bring in more customers. There are scores of events, conventions, grand openings and attractions to promote. Planning is essential weeks (or months) before the event and a strategy must be in place to follow up afterwards. Small business owners want to assure all visitors leave with a positive experience. Visitors love to post photos and videos – you want to make sure they are a positive reflection on your event!”
** In the ReveNews SOBCon Interview Series
- Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough on tourism, tech and rattlesnakes
[Becky McCray] “If you’re in the tourism business then you understand that promotion and marketing is essentially the only thing that you do. So when they are faced with budget cuts they tend to look at other areas they can cut, like old, traditional promotional methods as demand and response for those decreases and online interest increases. Admittedly it is difficult with established methods of behavior and established ways of doing things for them to funnel money from paper to online. But that is what a lot of them are starting to do.”
** Sarah Page, Tourism Tech
- School’s in Session: Social Media Learning Resources for Tourism
- 5 Tourism Industry Tweeps You Should Follow in 2010
** Amy N. Larson, tourism and hospitality PR account director with Kruzic Communications, on Twitter:
- “Just discovered @TourismCurrents – social media training for #travel, #tourism entities. Looks like an awesome new resource!”
** Andy Hayes, Travel Tech Consultant at AndyHayes.com:
- “I’ve found the materials from the Tourism Currents course to be helpful and informative in a friendly, down-to-earth fashion. If a relaxed group learning environment tackling social media success is what you’re after, you’ve found it.”
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