Online Group Buying Taking Off in China

China is seeing an explosion of Groupon-like websites as more companies and entrepreneurs hope to get in on the group buying trend.
China, which has 420 million Internet users, saw the launch of its first group buying site in January of this year. Now the country has 1,215, according to the China e-Business Research Center.
Group buying is a kind of shopping approach that became popular on the Internet with the emergence of U.S.-based sites like Groupon, which was launched in 2008. The sites work by offering special discounted deals on a product or service from a featured company. If enough users buy into the discount, then the special deal is given to all those who participated. The formula has been a hit with users in the U.S., with Groupon so far having sold more than 17 million discounted deals. Although its popularity online only started this year, the concept of group buying already had roots in China, where customers often haggle with merchants to get a better deal. The shopping approach later moved on to the web in the forms of specialized sites or forums to barter with businesses.

Mobile Payments

Yet another trend in the naturally social world of mobile is the ability to both make and take payments right from the phone. A startup dubbed Square, a project of one of Twitter's founders, Jack Dorsey, has developed a dongle that attaches to the iPhone's headphone jack that allows credit card transactions to be processed right on the spot.

Existing major players in the finance space such as Visa are getting into the game too, with stated intentions to continue pushing forward aggressively in the mobile payment arena. PayPal too has a popular mobile payments app for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms.

And while all of the above is just starting to trend in the United States, the developing world has been driving rapid adoption of mobile payment services for some time already. Add to all that the ability to make microtransaction purchases within a wide variety of mobile applications beyond specifically payment-oriented apps, and we've got an emerging ecosystem small businesses are going to want to pay close attention to.

Location as a Platform to Make a Statement

MTV recently worked with Foursquare to create the Get Yourself Tested badge. The proactive initiative is designed to encourage sexually active young adults to check in when they visit a clinic, and help to remove the stigma around the experience. The campaign is working — in just a few weeks time, Foursquare has doled out more than 3,000 Get Yourself Tested badges.
Whether or not you agree with the mission behind the Get Yourself Tested campaign, MTV is successfully using Foursquare as a platform to promote a cause they believe to be important.
Last year, Foursquare teamed up with Pepsi to launch a check in for charity initiative in the New York area. Foursquare user activity over the course of one weekend helped raise $9,200 for CampInteractive. The campaign also caught the attention of an anonymous donor who stepped in to donate $50,000, putting the funds raised for the non-profit during the weekend promo just shy of $60,000.
Location-based cause marketing has also found a home on Gowalla. The location-sharing challenger, which takes a stamp-based approach to city exploration, recently partnered with TOMS Shoes on their One for One movement — TOMS matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes for a child in need. The partnership was designed to raise awareness around TOMS Shoes’ one-millionth shoe drop and promote the cause through checkins. Gowalla estimates that it helped to expose the campaign to more than 522,000 people.Gowalla is also linked with LIVESTRONG. During the Tour de France, Gowalla users could check in to share their messages of hope and inspiration for those affected by cancer. Those messages were painted on the streets thanks to the help of a Nike/LIVESTRONG Chalkbot.

Doubletree Hotels to reward guests for virtual check in

Hilton’s Doubletree Hotels has decided to give out digital “gifts” to consumers for Tweeting or checking into one of its hotels on Facebook Places.
As per the information available, consumers who use the major location-based social networking services such as Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook Places or Gowalla, belong to Topguest and virtually connect with Doubletree will receive exclusive discounts. The gift could even be 25% discount on the bed-and-breakfast package at a Doubletree hotel.
As Virgin America stated last week, the industry is finding a new way to reward “tech-forward” flyers. For its part, the California-based airline has chosen to capitalize on the rapid growth and popularity of location-based apps.
The airline has teamed up with Topguest, the new geolocation 'check-in' club that provides guests with real-world travel rewards when they virtually check-in using applications like Facebook Places and Foursquare. The airline will let its travelers earn bonus Elevate points by virtually 'checking in' at the airline's airport terminals, gates and other locations. Each 'Check-in' using popular location-based mobile applications like Facebook Places and Foursquare will earn guests 25 Elevate points.

Searching for travel- related offerings without leaving Facebook

Travel search engine Mobissimo says it has launched the first vertical travel search application available within Facebook.
Users can access Mobissimo’s travel search engine directly from Mobissimo’s Facebook page and get real-time results from over 172 different travel websites.
In addition to the launch of its own search engine within Facebook, Mobissimo is also providing the Mobissimo Facebook travel search protocol to its partners so they can quickly integrate their own travel inventory into Facebook via the application marketplace.
The company has taken this move considering Facebook’s growing importance in online travel distribution and planning.
“As the only major U.S. travel search engine with its own proprietary travel search technology, deep integration into the Facebook ecosystem makes perfect sense for us to reach the 500 million Facebook users who want to be able to search for travel without leaving Facebook.” said Beatrice Tarka, Mobissimo’s CEO and co-founder.

bmibaby plans to re-introduce its FFFF Twitter campaign next year

The airline has been inviting the “twitterverse” to nominate up to three of their most deserving friends to win free flights to a specific bmibaby destination. By adding the #FFFF hash tag into tweets, Tweeple can nominate friends they feel deserve more followers to win one of three pairs of flights. bmibaby has been giving flights away for the past few weeks to Munich, Prague, Belfast and Jersey. It is going to conclude the campaign on 26th November, with flights to Malta.
“A total of 350 people have entered in total over the past few weeks, with the #FFFF hashtag reaching almost 200,000 people so far. Nine lucky entrants have won flights so far, and there are three more flights per week to snap up during Jersey FFFF this week and Malta FFFF the week after,” said the spokesperson.
bmibaby’s Twitter competition FFFF returned this month. The airline also ran this campaign in February and March. bmibaby is also planning to bring it back in 2011.

Travel: Purposeful Premium

As the U.S. creeps toward recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression, there are some positive signs that Americans are beginning to loosen the stranglehold on their wallets and spend on "nice to haves" not just "must haves." TripAdvisor's 2011 Travel Trends Forecast brings this good news into more specific relief for the leisure travel category, saying that 90% of consumers plan to take two or more leisure trips next year, and over one-third say they plan to spend more on travel more than they did in 2010.
The 2011 travelers are going to be looking to justify why they should spend more, especially when there will likely still be many discount deals in the market. But they are willing to spend and it's entirely possible to capture those dollars. You just have the embrace the reality that if you are charging more, you have to actually deliver more. So what does purposeful premium look like in the travel space? It's taking the concept of value and redefining it beyond just dollars and cents. It's about value defined by experience, an experience that is so good that it justifies the money spent to access it. Southwest Airlines nailed it with "Bags fly free." Air travel has become fraught with angst for many people with the addition of so many restrictions and fees. Southwest quickly recognized the opportunity to alleviate one major stress point and did so. This promotion not only relieves a consumer pressure point but in a way that is perfectly aligned to its brand positioning and, most importantly, in a way that allows it to move away from price-point advertising.

LUXE Mobile

Anyone who has ever relied on a travel guide only to realize that the “charming” out-of-the-way café the book raved about is now closed will take solace in LUXE City Guides’ new mobile editions. The digital directories offer lists of must-visit shops, museums, bars and hotels, with regular (and free) updates ensuring that its users will never be led astray. The 20 guides, which cover cities like Berlin, Los Angeles and Beijing, flaunt a GPS system that makes it easier to track down a celebrated hole-in-the-wall restaurant or buzzed-about boutique. With baggage fees a fact of modern-day travel, having one less thing to stow in your bags means one less headache—or, space for one more souvenir—come the holidays.

IHG unveils Twitter exclusive Black Friday deal

InterContinental Hotels Group has come up with what is being described as the hotel industry's largest Twitter exclusive Black Friday deal called "50 Free Friday."
“Our Black Friday promotion gives consumers a discounted travel option when they're looking for deals leading up to one of the biggest shopping days of the year,” said Del Ross, vice president, U.S. Sales and Marketing.
He added, “Not only can our guests get $50 off a flight, this combined with our other promotions lets them earn free nights and save on baggage fees at the same time.”
Beginning Nov. 1 through Nov. 29, consumers can uncover the link to IHG's Black Friday deal by following @IHG_Deals on Twitter.
The deal will give U.S. travelers $50 off any flight on any airline to any destination through April 30, 2011 when they stay at least one weekend night at any InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites in the U.S.

TomTom iPhone App Adds Navigate- to- Photo Feature

An update to TomTom's iPhone app will now let you navigate to the location of geo-tagged photos.
With version 1.5 of the app, tap on a geo-tagged photo and TomTom will immediately route you to where the photo was taken. It is available on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with iOS 3.0 or higher.
"You no longer need to enter an address to get going. What you see is where you'll go," TomTom said.
The company has also optimized its app for the iPhone 4, adding high-resolution graphics and sharper maps. Menus are more responsive and positioning is more accurate, TomTom said. TomTom also promised updated maps, which it said includes 1 million more U.S. roads than its competitors.
Existing features for the iPhone app also include destination dialing, navigation to contacts, real-time traffic updates, Google-powered search, route sharing, eco-friendly routes, and more.
The app doesn't come cheap, though. It's available now in the App Store for $49.99. That latest version was released in April.
In September, TomTom signed a deal with Localeze, a business-listings identity management company, to provide local business information as points of interest for future TomTom GPS devices.

Virginia Tourism launches iPhone application

The Virginia Tourism Corporation has launched its first, state-wide mobile travel guide - the Virginia is for Lovers iPhone App.

The mobile guide is available for free at the iTunes app store for iPhones and iPads users.

Some of the highlights are as follows:
• More than 12,000 listings including restaurants, hotels, wineries, museums and historical sites across the state.
• A “Near Me” feature which allows users to find all attractions in a 15 mile radius
• Directions and mapping feature for every listing
• Direct access to call for reservations via phone or website
• Customer reviews for restaurants and lodging properties

“Technology plays an important role in tourism marketing and new developments like these are key to keeping visitors traveling throughout our state,” said Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. “Virginia’ s new iPhone app will help Virginia stay top of mind and connect with travelers who increasingly use technology while planning and taking vacations.”
Tourism generates $19.2 billion in revenue for Virginia, supports 210,000 jobs and provides $1.28 billion in state and local taxes for communities.

Virgin Hotels brand unveiled

The Virgin Group has formed a partnership to spend as much as US$500 million on high-end hotels over the next three years.
Virgin Hotels will be a four-star chain that targets `high income, well-educated, metropolitan “creative class” customers’, according to a brochure on its website.
As per the information available, the hotels will be midsize — 150 to 400 rooms.
“We polled a group of recent travelers and something like 70 percent said they would stay in a Virgin hotel,” reportedly said Anthony Marino, the executive director of Virgin Hotels. “We felt like we could make an impact.”
Though the hotels aren’t likely to open before six months to a year, Marino, according to nytimes.com, said, possible choices for first-phase locations include what he called “gateway cities”: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington D.C.
The company said it would consider partial ownership stakes in properties, or operating solely as a third party manager in addition to acquiring hotels outright.

Letting travelers to search for a hotel together with their Facebook friends

A new Facebook app 'Hotels WithMe', an offering that has been specially adapted for the “social-media generation”, has been launched in the UK.
Launched by Columbus Internet, a specialist in collaborative online applications, and online travel company Hotels.com, the application enables travelers to search for a hotel together with one or more of their Facebook friends. At the time of the launch, it was highlighted that until now there was no way to enable the choosing of the right hotel a collaborative process unless everyone was sitting in front of the same computer. But this offering overcomes such hurdle.
The chosen friends are invited to join a 'trip', from where they can search for hotels together. All members of the 'trip' can view the hotel searches in real time while additional functionality of the app also allows 'trip' members to vote for the hotels they prefer and write notes about them before adding them to a shortlist of proposals.
Once the proposals list is narrowed down it automatically updates in real time, so if a room-type becomes unavailable or the price changes, this is shown in the list immediately. Once all members of the 'trip' are agreed on the hotel, a quick click on the "book" button links straight through to the Hotels.com booking page.
'Hotels WithMe' includes the full range of Hotels.com's property offering.

Starbucks and L'Oreal Test Location-Based SMS Coupons in UK

UK network provider O2 has partnered with location services platform Placecast to enable brands to automatically deliver targeted SMS and MMS to more than 1 million opted-in O2 customers based on their exact whereabouts.
O2 Media, the mobile marketing arm of O2, has signed on Starbucks and L’Oreal as the first two brands to test the location-based messaging service in the UK for a six-month trial period. The O2/Placecast partnership lets Starbucks and L’Oreal fence off geographic zones and push SMS discounts to O2 customers who enter those areas.
Starbucks is offering O2 customers 50% off discounts — delivered via SMS and redeemable at nearby stores — on its Starbucks VIA Ready Brew product. The discount will be delivered to individuals who have expressed an interest in food and beverage. As for L’Oreal, the makeup brand will dole out a buy-one-get-one-free discount on a hair care product to customers interested in beauty.
The partnership between Placecast and O2 is a first of its kind in the UK and one that we find quite interesting. The combination of geo-fencing technology and carrier distribution is a potentially huge, and device-independent, way to deliver mobile marketing messages to the consumers who want them.

Artisit brings undersea world to life with surreal reef project

Lots of people have created artificial reefs, using old ships and various debris. But nobody turns them into masterful creations the way artist Jason deCaires Taylor does with his life-sized and almost life-like cement sculptures.
His latest project is the development of an underwater museum within the National Marine Park off Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The final and most ambitious of four stages, nearing completion, is called "The Silent Evolution." DeCaires Taylor, a Brit, has crafted 400 statues -- each of them depicting a local villager -- and has already positioned more than 250 of them on the sea floor.
The artist posted a YouTube video of "The Silent Evolution", revealing a surreal seascape in which he captured with vivid reality the moods and expressions of men, women and children, whose immortality will be obscured, over time, by algae, coral and the many fish and marine creatures that will make this new home.

The environmentally-friendly reef, constructed with the cooperation of marine park officials and
the Cancun Nautical Association, will become popular among scuba divers and, as a new attraction, it should relieve some pressure from the area's more fragile natural reefs.

SeatGuru

In October 2001, frequent flyer Matthew Daimler launched SeatGuru.com with a single color-coded interactive airplane seating chart. Having experienced firsthand the vast differences between airline seats, he was determined to collect this useful information and share it with other travelers. Over ten million visitors later, SeatGuru has enjoyed incredible success and has expanded to include more than 700 airplane seat maps from nearly 100 different airlines.

In 2007, SeatGuru was purchased by TripAdvisor.com. Sharing the common goal of finding the truth from real travelers, SeatGuru and TripAdvisor work together to bring you the most up-to-date information about travel

Study Abroad likely to increase college drinking

A new study has found that students who go abroad while in college are likely to increase or even double their alcohol intake while they're away.
The study by researchers at the University of Washington found that drinking increased most dramatically in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Students reported drinking more when they perceived their fellow travelers were drinking more heavily. And those who planned to make drinking part of their cultural immersion did so.
UW graduate student Eric Pedersen says his research did not pinpoint why students drink more while they study abroad, and the results don't necessarily indicate binge drinking. Pedersen says a drink or so each night with dinner could add up to the 10 drinks a week European visitors reported on average.

ezRez to power Emirates' hotel and car hire offerings for online bookings

Emirates Airline is gearing up to offer its passengers an option to add hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities to their flights when booking online at www.emirates.com. Travelers will also be able to use the website to book standalone hotel rooms and car rentals.
The entire itinerary, whether booked individually or in a shopping cart with Emirates flights, will be available through the “Manage a Booking” tab on the airline’s homepage.
The airline has signed a multi-year partnership with ezRez Software. EzRez will be the exclusive technology provider for hotel rooms, car rentals and destination activities available through the airline's website, www.emirates.com.
In addition to using ezRez’ s configurable online tools, Emirates is making extensive use of the ezRez API to access inventory.
The online hotel and car hire functionality is scheduled to launch in Q1 2011.

Airlines use Twitter and other social tools to revolutionize customer service

Airlines are setting themselves apart through their use of social media tools.

Airlines have become leaders in adopting social media strategies. They’re using tools like Twitter to simplify customer contact and response by proactively monitoring and responding to online chatter. For flyers who have lost luggage or missed a flight, the immediacy of social media-based feedback could render toll-free numbers and website feedback forms – the customer service equivalent of a brick wall – obsolete.
In an industry where every airline essentially sells the same commoditized service, airlines that use social media to turn disappointed customers into happy ones, or to simply enhance the travel experience, are already setting themselves apart and building loyalty.
“There are a couple of interesting things about social media,” says Joe Fernandez, CEO of Klout, an industry analytics provider. “It allows for really quick, direct interaction. But it also strikes fear in the hearts of these airlines in terms of how they treat people because these bad experiences can be amplified so quickly.”
“There’s huge value in instant feedback,” says Hounslow, “but it goes the other way, too. If somebody has an experience that doesn’t live up to expectations, these tools give us a chance to find solutions to the problem. It doesn’t take months to figure it out; it happens almost immediately.”
There can be a dark side, though. Social media-based customer service initiatives can backfire if the organizational culture doesn’t support them.

Bicycle Diaries: Audiobook

Bicycle Diaries chronicles David’s observations and insights — what he is seeing, whom he is meeting, what he is thinking about — as he pedals through and engages with some of the world’s major cities. In places like Buenos Aires, Istanbul, San Francisco, and London, the focus is more on the musicians and artists he encounters.

A twist on the traditional travel diary, the audio book version of Bicycle Diaries is available as individual chapters in a podcast-style download exclusively via the site. In addition to music and narration by DB, it also features location sounds, creating an atmosphere more akin to a radio show than a simple reading of the book.

Foodspotting makes finding and sharing food recommendations easier

Instead of reading and writing reviews of restaurants, you can share photos of specific foods you recommend and see what’s good wherever you go.

Finding recommendations is as easy as looking in a bakery window and seeing what looks good. You can discover foods around you, find whatever you’re craving and see what’s good at a particular restaurant. Sharing a recommendation is as easy as taking a picture of your food, saying what it was and where you found it. You can earn virtual tips and real rewards for sharing things others love.

Foodspotting is not about the place, the price, the surroundings, the crowd or the nutritional value- it’s about good food and where to find it. The site was built to work in any city, small town or country from the start. It encourages exploration- trying new things vs. following the crowd. Whether you take photos of every meal or are a self- proclaimed expert in a certain dish, Footspotting wants to reward what you’re doing and make it useful to a broader community.

'No connectivity required' airline and hotel guide iPhone app launched

London-based Collinson Latitude, has launched what is being described as “the first ever complete airline and hotel guide application that works offline.”

Available from the iTunes store, TravelPlan costs £5.99 for a year’s subscription, and includes a monthly downloadable data update.

The company says iPhone users can now tap into travel plans at home or abroad, without the need for live downloads that can incur significant data roaming charges.

The ‘TravelPlan’ app can be used onboard when in ‘flight mode’ and provides access to 99 percent of all worldwide flight schedules, with information on more than 750,000 trips from over 750 full service and low cost airlines around the world .

This is in addition to searchable details for over 15,000 hotels and more than 100 international airports and car rental outlets.

As well as schedules, TravelPlan comes complete with a trip planner, so users can build their travel itinerary and share it with friends and colleagues via email. It also provides contact details so users can get in touch with service providers at the touch of a button, stated the company.

Letting consumers shop for hotel freebies along with hotel booking

Online travel company priceline.com has launched a free new service on its website that lets future hotel guests “mine” priceline.com’s global database of published-price hotels for all kinds of valuable hotel freebies.

The new service provides freebie prospectors with two ways to uncover the hotel extras. With Freebie Filter, you are able to choose a specific type of freebie and the service will retrieve all of the hotels in priceline.com’s global hotels database that are offering that particular freebie. Customers can search for the extras, such as free breakfast, free nights or spa credits. The hotel listings include an availability calendar that show the travel dates when specific freebies are most likely to be available.

City Filters allows you to find hotels that are offering any type of freebie, by typing in a designated city name. The freebies service will retrieve the hotels in that city and list the freebies along with the latest room rate.

“Hotels of virtually all star levels are using a wide variety of freebies to add value and differentiate themselves for potential guests,” said Tim Gordon, priceline.com SVP, Hotels. “For many travellers, freebies are as important as nightly rates in making a booking decision. This new service allows priceline.com to satisfy those customers and further strengthen our image as the pre-eminent brand for travellers seeking maximum value for their dollar.”

Be careful of roaming fees with travel apps

The iPhone has opened the door to a world of opportunity for consumers’ personal lives. More and more developers are jumping on board daily to create useful apps for travellers.

However, “To the shame of many short-sighted iPhone app developers, many budget travel apps have an enormous flaw. This fatal issue could turn a 99-cent app intended to save you cash into a nightmarish drain on your cell phone bill. The problem: Many travel apps require a data connection to work,” highlighted an article from WalletPop.

One needs to be wary of the cases where apps don’t tell users how much data they are using as they use it. No matter whether you use an iPhone, a BlackBerry, or whatever, the amount you spend in data could far surpass the amount you thought you were going to save by using the app. Many data-reliant applications will gloss over this programming failure by simply neglecting to mention it, and if that happens, comb the user reviews for a customer who will deliver the truth about how it works.”

There are workarounds. You could activate a Wi-Fi network, but in most places outside of America, free Wi-Fi signals are hard to find. They're also site-specific, which defeats the purpose of being able to roam anywhere you want and have information at your fingertips.

"Life doesn't always fit into 140 characters or less": Twitter

Acknowledging that life doesn’t always fit into 140 characters or less, real-time information network Twitter has chosen to introduce a new, re-engineered version of its site.

Now on Twitter.com, one can see the familiar timeline, yet underneath each Tweet is a handful of information, deeper context and even embedded media.

Some highlights include a new design, updated media, related content, and mini profiles. The site has a cleaner timeline and a rich details pane that instantly adds more impact to individual Tweets while still maintaining the simplicity of the timeline. Also, one no longer has to click “more” to view additional Tweets.

Now, it’s easy to see embedded photos and videos directly on Twitter, thanks to partnerships with DailyBooth, deviantART, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, TwitVid, USTREAM, Vimeo, yfrog, and YouTube.

When you click a Tweet, the details pane shows additional information related to the author or subject. Depending on the Tweet’s content, you may see: replies, other Tweets by that user, a map of where a geotagged Tweet was sent from, and more.

Click a username to see a mini profile without navigating from the page, which provides quick access to account information, including bio and recent Tweets.

ParadiseHunter comes up with "52 Weeks Paid Competition" online job competition

ParadiseHunter.com, a website that connects people who are looking to buy, sell, and rent vacation homes and properties around the world, is looking for a host for an upcoming television series.

The online job competition - dubbed “52 Weeks Paid Vacation” - is inviting anyone in the world to apply, no experience required.

The series will showcase a different destination every episode, where the host will learn about the life, culture and sights of each country. Along the way, they’ll meet locals and expatriates, as they explore the world in search of their paradise.

In addition to an annual salary of $60,000 in the final show of the season, the host will reflect back on their journey and choose “their own piece of paradise”, worth up to $150,000.
Applications will be accepted at www.ParadiseHunter.com until November 5, 2010. Anyone 18 years and older is invited to send in a 60-second video clip showing why they are the ideal Paradise Hunter.

Dennis Kambeitz, CEO and founder of Paradise Hunter, said, “The number one thing we’re looking for is a passion to travel and explore other cultures.”

The YouTube Vacationer

YouTube and Norwegian Cruise announced a new partnership at the beginning of September to create YouTube Vacationer, a video channel devoted exclusively to trip planning, how-to's and advice.

The site boasts videos from Lonely Planet, National Geographic and the Travel Channel, on topics from how to not look like a tourist to how to play beach volleyball to the best Dublin neighborhoods. The videos certainly make light of themselves, but beneath the humorous exterior lies some actual good advice. The "how to get a passport" video features a slice of pepperoni and mushroom pizza as the main character.

The site features destinations in the Caribbean, U.S. and Canada, Europe and what they call "Exotic," a mix of off-the-beaten-path destinations and activities like belly dancing.

The site features Norwegian Cruises "Freestyle Cruising" approach, allowing users to create their own video montages based on their ideal cruises--not to mention find their next cruise through their preferences in videos.

7 Wonders In 7 Days

7wondersIn7days.com was conceived on April 5, 2009 after Chi-chi Ekweozor was moved by an episode of The Secret Millionaire, Channel 4’s undercover entrepreneur TV show. Whilst browsing through a local Manchester entertainment magazine called The Scene (published by Concept Publishing) after the program ended, she spotted a challenge at the end of an article about the New 7 Wonders of the World.

The challenge stated:
“You’d either be very crazy or very rich to attempt to see all 7 new wonders in one two week trip…”

Somehow Chi-chi misread the end of the statement and decided to take on the challenge of seeing all 7 new wonders in a one week trip. And 7wondersin7days.com was born.
Inspired in part by Paul Smith’s Twitchhiker project in which he travelled half way across the globe relying on the goodwill of Twitterers, Chi-chi aims to travel to see the 7 new wonders of the world in 7 days from 10th October 2010 (10/10/10), raising £777,000 for 7 charities.

The plan is to use this trip to raise the profile of a foundation for education dedicated to the memory of her amazing grandmother which she is starting with her parents.

In helping the 7 charities she is fundraising for through 7 wonders in 7 days, Chi-chi hopes to finally do something significant to make a difference to the lives of the billions of people around the world living in abject poverty.

The 7 charities involved and some smart companies are helping her make the trip a reality, not just for herself but for 7 lucky people who will each win a 3 day holiday to one of the 7 new wonders of the world by supporting the cause.

Twitchhiker

It all began in the bread aisle of Paul Smith’s local supermarket. Somewhere between white and wheat, he decided it was time for an adventure. And not any ordinary adventure, Smith was determined to travel the world in 30 days without so much as buying a plane ticket or paying for a cab. He would rely solely on the kindness of people who follow him on Twitter, a social media micro-blogging site. Dubbing himself the “Twitchhiker,” Paul Smith set off from England to find out just how far the kindness and generosity of others can take you.

The adventure began in Smith’s hometown of Newcastle, and ended on Steward Island in New Zealand. Traveling by bus, train, air and car, Twitchiker made his way across the map. This 11,000-mile journey took him through Europe, the United States and finally on to New Zealand. Along the way he raised money for charity: water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Smith’s journey is a testament to many things the power of human kindness, as well as the actualization of social media. As he so eloquently put it, "The Twitchhiker project showed that kindness is universal, that the whole can be infinitely greater than the sum of its parts, and that social media may begin online but it will converge with the real world whenever and wherever you let it." Follow Paul Smith on his Twitter!

Win a return flight to LA from Australia

To celebrate the return of Virgin Money Australia we have teamed up with V Australia to offer you the chance to win a return flight for two to LA...

All you have to do is answer six quick questions on what you would or wouldn't do with your money (or in some cases, other people's money!) One lucky respondent will be picked at random to win a free return flight to LA, so what are you waiting for?

CAMPING OUT IS IN

SPURRED BY THE FESTIVAL SCENE, CAMPING HAS A NEW, MORE STYLISH, IMAGE

Music festivals like Coachella have glamorized camping, not so much for the opportunity to sleep under the big sky, but for the fashion and celebrity aura, not to mention cool gear, that comes along with it. Zandra Rhodes, has taken her love of textiles and nature with a capsule collection for camping gear store Millets. The stylish line of outdoor products, which includes tents, flasks and umbrellas are easily locatable amidst a crowded campground.

This year’s key festival accessory is a 19th century bell tent. The bell tent has drawn most adoptees to the utilitarian chic aesthetic ivory canvas covering. Growing legions of modern day campers are invoking not only their choice of shelter, but an experience that incorporates Moroccan throw pillows, homemade hummus, and champagne. The tents can be rented from several vendors; American companies like SoulPad are now selling them as well. Of course, one need not move into festival grounds to lounge in a bell tent, since furnished backyard model could be the alternative to a coveted home addition, minus the contractors’ and construction fees.

New travel website first of its kind in Australia

A website launched in July 2010 is offering Australians a unique option for finding accommodation in Europe. And with research showing that more than 84% of Australian travelers over 40 intend to travel overseas in the next three to four years and that Europe comes out on top of wish-lists of nearly one in two travelers, it couldn’t come at a better time.

Getaway Guru offers travelers a property portfolio of Australian owned holiday rentals across France and Italy. From an apartment in Rome, cottages in Burgundy, Languedoc and Provence to a luxurious farmhouse in Le Marche in Italy, there is something for every Australian traveler and every budget, with more properties being added weekly. “We’re offering a unique service,” says Getaway Guru Owner, Leanne Anderson. "There are no agencies, no tours being sold, just Australian owned property in France and Italy where you can deal directly with the owner. The site will save Aussie travelers time and money and make the search for their dream French or Italian holiday rental so much easier. “No more endless google searches to find the right property it’s all here, on one site, in your backyard, there’s nothing else like it in Australia," said Anderson.

Tune Hotels

Tune Hotels keeps costs down by using a self-service online booking system, minimizing staff and employing a pay-as-you-use system for various amenities such as air-conditioning. The chain currently operates five hotels across Malaysia and Indonesia, but aims to expand to 150 hotels around the world by 2012.

It already began in London on Westminster Bridge Road, close to many of London’s many attractions. The standard room will cost $57 canadian located in central London. Travelers should be aware that luggage stored, room cleaned, hair dryer, and towels will cost extra. The chain will open first London hotel on Aug. 30 and plans for up to 14 more, creating an additional 1,500 rooms across Greater London by 2017. Many travel observers view Tune Hotels as a “compelling” opportunity if you can get the room. According to the Daily Mail Online, the hotel chain will be offering a series of specials on “Tune Days,” when the room rate will be cut to just one penny a night when booked online.

Electronic Boarding Passes

Remember when you needed a case for your travel documents? Find another use for it. As the industry embraces the 2-D bar codes, you can utilize your phone as a boarding pass. Continental leads in the adoption of smart-phone boarding-pass technology, allowing passengers to board with electronic passes at 42 U.S. airports, followed by American (27 U.S. airports), United (18) and Delta (17).

Part-Time Voluntourism

Doing good while traveling has been a trend for years, but organizations have long required one or even two weeks' commitment, arguing that it takes time for people to get trained and make a difference. Organizations are discovering that a day of help is better than no help at all. Most U.S. national parks have cleanup days and other volunteer opportunities for which they put out a call, often on Facebook, for locals and visitors who want to donate four hours. It's not just the Teva-wearing set that's gotten on board: in 2008, Ritz-Carlton launched Give Back Getaways, in which every property has joined with a nearby organization for a social or environmental endeavor. Guests might spend half-days assisting staff and locals as they build facilities for street children in Jakarta or plant endangered indigenous trees in Tenerife, Spain. You can do good in the morning and kick back in the afternoon.

Disney World opening luxury pet resort

Pluto never had it so good: Best Friends Pet Resort scheduled to open Aug. 27, will offer not just boarding, but also bedtime stories and a water park for dogs. The luxury facility will accommodate way more than 101 Dalmatians, with 50,000 square feet of space, room for 270 dogs, 30 cats and assorted other animals, including birds, potbellied pigs and small mammals like hamsters and guinea pigs. (Sorry, no turtles, snakes or lizards.) Standard indoor boarding for dogs $37 nightly, there are upgrades and personal accommodations for extra cost. In addition to the water park, Best Friends offers play groups, outdoor runs, walking trails and areas for playing ball or Frisbee. Pets can be left for the day without overnight boarding, and owners can drop by to visit or play on their way from hotels to the park.

Huffington Post launches travel site

Influential online blog The Huffington Post launched a new travel section July 21, promising to "cover all aspects of travel, from the glorious to the maddening.” The site's founder, Arianna Huffington, announced the new venture on July 20, saying that some of her happiest, most enriching, and enlightening moments have come through travel.

Some of the benefits the site offers are travel news, tips and advice, reviews of hotels, cruises, spas, airlines, photographs, and blog post about traveling. The visitors of the site have the ability to post reviews and send in their own photographs and tips

Using Flickr photos as a travel guide

Researchers at Yahoo!, which owns Flickr, has developed a way to gather photos and construct travel itineraries, based on the location of the photos and the time between each picture, in five cities — Barcelona, London, Paris, New York, and San Francisco.

Yahoo! figured out which photos were from tourists based on the amount of time the users stayed in a city, and then they mapped out “timed paths” based on the pictures. Some of the photos on Flickr include people in them, but the tool itself is designed to provide itineraries, not those photos, even though they are public.

The tool was presented by researchers at a recent technology conference to demonstrate the possibilities of harnessing Flickr’s technology and valuable user-generated content for new applications. Though not available to the public, researcher Munmun De Choudhury said, “that it’s something that could be constructed by a software developer using Flickr’s free interface.” And the next step, she said, “would be refining the algorithms or gathering more data so that users get recommendations based on their preferences — like a love of art museums — or get itineraries for places farther off the beaten path”.

Being a paying guest of the king

Tourists who want to travel like kings can now do so, thanks to a unique new hotel commissioned by Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, called the Royal Mansour. Sparing no expense, the palace-style hotel will use word-of-mouth to advertise to potential guests.

The prices run from $1,928 a night for a one-bedroom riad (a traditional, three-story, Moroccan-style house), to $5,397 for a two-bedroom, or $38,552 for the almost 20,000-square-foot Riad d'Honneur. The experience begins on the tarmac at the Marrakech airport when an arriving guest is whisked out of the line of weary travelers, led to a quiet room and offered sustenance while passports and baggage tags are collected.

Within minutes one is escorted out of the airport into a discreet shiny black Mercedes. Well, fairly discreet. The bags are in the trunk and passports are returned inside the car. All this is done in reverse upon departure, bringing home the notion of what it really means to be staying, as it were, with a king.

The accommodations of the hotel include; lounges, bars, library, restaurants, spas, and 500 hotel employees. The employees arrive, unseen, from beneath. The hotel has a parallel underground city where the staff drive golf carts and can enter each riad through hidden elevators.

O Canada! Tastes from the land of maple leaf are hitting the US food scene

What do ice hockey, cheap prescription drugs and Michael Cera have in common? If you said "O Canada!," you're correct!

You can't talk about Canadian food without talking poutine. And while fries with cheese curds and gravy might sound more like the ultimate 2:00 AM drunk-and-starving dish, the quintessentially Québécois junk food is getting the royal treatment by the two guys most heralded for their non-vegetarian fare.

With a moniker that pays tribute to the source of many of its dishes, it's no surprise that Animal's Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook are putting their stamp on the carnivore's delight. Braised, coddled and loved for hours until it falls off the bone, an oxtail appears amid a thick, intensely rich gravy and melted white cheddar cheese in the restaurant's gourmet interpretation of the dish.

We're pretty sure even Canadians will approve of this upscale version. If you're not lucky enough to be in the City of Angels while craving poutine, a number of cities across the US, including Chicago, Seattle and New York, are also dishing it up these days.

A collaborative sound map of New Orleans

Open Sound New Orleans is a community media project that invites and enables New Orleanians to document their lives in sound. Their intent is to make more accessible the authentic, unedited sounds and voices of New Orleans.

Sharing the sounds of the city helps celebrate and promote the city’s unique culture. But it also serves each contributor – open to everyone – as a simple way to extend their own experience to others and participate in New Orleans' public culture.

The site also hosts a Facebook page as an additional opportunity for locals to connect. More than a way for residents to celebrate their home, the site gives potential visitors a deeper understanding of the town’s rich music history and a unique way to experience a piece of New Orleans.

American Airlines debuts an iPhone app to provide travel info to customers

American Airlines’ new iPhone application’s intelligent data display provides the most relevant day-of-travel information which implies that the application knows who the customer is and where they are going.

In addition to allowing users to access key booking information, the app will push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically. The settings include a parking reminder, monitoring the standby list, tracking elite status progress, and viewing of personal flight details. There are also direct and easy accesses to several other tools that help customers manage plans and enjoy each trip on American Airlines.

The new iPhone application will be introduced in phases as the airline continues to develop the capabilities of the tool. It is also planning an iPad-specific version in the coming weeks.

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits displays a great example of how easy and sharable trip planning can be. The website is designed as a calendar for the visitors to easily interact with. They have the ability to choose the day, time, and concert of their desire.

In addition to that they can share it within popular social media websites including Facebook and Twitter. ACL may not be the first multi-day festival to offer concert-goers the chance to customize their music itinerary online beforehand but their version is simple and enjoyable to use.

Zero Waste

A unique Australian restaurant is giving new meaning to the timeless adage “waste not, want not.” At Yukako Ichikawa's restaurant Wafu in Sydney, Australia, failure to polish off your meal - either by consuming it or taking home the leftovers via "acceptable" waste-free means (do’s and don'ts are posted on the restaurant's website) - is not an option.

Hoping to bring the Japanese concept of mottainai to her restaurant, Ichikawa directs customers to her no-waste policy at the door, and only after clientele agree to abide by her rules are they invited to dine. And if they don't make every last scrap disappear, they're asked to never return. While the zero-waste policy may seem a bit extreme, Wafu has been able to significantly decrease the amount of food it throws out. Plus, showing a more gratuitous side, the restaurant gives diners who clean their plates a 30% discount on their bill.

Airline Passenger Satisfaction Improves

Overall, air travelers' level of contentment with carriers is on the rise, according to the University of Michigan's latest American Customer Satisfaction Index for the airline industry. The findings are similar to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Study released last week.

Not surprisingly, the survey also showed that air travelers are frustrated with paying extra for amenities that used to be free, like checked bags. Fees were the No. 1 complaint when passengers were asked what they disliked most about flying. What are air travelers willing to pay for? Alcoholic drinks, access to the Internet and extra legroom, according to the survey. Less than 1 percent said they'd pay for a pillow or blanket.

Tweets from the Streets

In an effort to increase visitor traffic, Canadian Tourism is using storefronts in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, along with Twitter, to generate interest. The installments, placed in high-traffic locations like the Grove in LA, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Times Square in New York, feature enticing images of Canada’s various attractions. Consumers are encouraged to follow Canadian Tourism via Twitter for a chance to win $5,000 in travel vouchers.

Soccer Fans Dance the South African Diski

As soccer fans from around the globe celebrate the World Cup, South Africa is giving people a taste of its culture while promoting tourism with a fun, user-generated video contest that engages people through the universal language of dance. As part of the promotion, South Africa Tourism engaged YouTube sensation Matt Harding (Where the Hell is Matt?) to demonstrate the Diski dance in a viral video shot in different locations throughout the country. http://learntodiski.com

New and Unusual Activities To Enjoy When Traveling

As consumers continue to seek out unique, yet budget-friendly vacation experiences, there are certain activities that have gained popularity.

Vintage Train Journeys are becoming more popular as travelers are beginning to enjoy the long treks on the train with the accommodations of sleeping cars, dining cars, and observation cars, in order to take in the beautiful scenery.

River Cruising has also grown in popularity as more people learn about its availability. One can board a boat and cruise down the Rhine or the Volga. Or one can coast down the Mekong River if they want to go tropical.

More than ever, there are exclusive underground supper clubs worldwide, in which members can indulge in dinners by the very top chefs. Meanwhile, younger French chefs are finding new freedom in culinary self-expression, which could revamp aspects of French cuisine.

When traveling to unique destinations, people are coming home with more exotic and sentimental keepsakes, rather than cheap and commercialized trinkets. This change adds greater value to their travel experience and creates more lasting and personal memories.

Twitter Launches Promoted Trends with Toy Story 3

Disney-Pixar’s new animated film, Toy Story 3, is the first topic to receive the Promoted Trend treatment as Twitter launches a new paid program for promotional partners. According to Computerworld, Promoted Trends are highlighted on user pages as a supplementary addition below the top ten current trends. Twitter has confirmed that topics can only become promoted if they are already being actively discussed in the Twitter community. By clicking the yellow promoted link, users of the site will be taken to the latest tweets about the film, headed by a Promoted Tweet published by the advertiser at the top results.

With Promoted Trends, users will see time-, context- and event-sensitive trends promoted by Twitter’s advertising partners. These Promoted Trends initially appear at the bottom of the Trending Topics list on Twitter, and are clearly marked “Promoted.” As conversations about the topic increase, Promoted Trends may move up the list. As Twitter explained, “Promoted Trends are a new advertising concept; they are an extension of our Promoted Tweets platform.”

Twitter will base the future of the advertising model on the success of Toy Story 3, its first promoted trending topic. Analysts are praising Twitter for developing a business model that will not have an impact on the all-important user experience by making Promoted Trends minimally invasive. As Business Analyst Eza Gottheil clearly explained, “People will tolerate advertising as long as it lets them do what they want to.”

Travel agents compete for dream trips with OfferMeATrip

Consumers who are tired of planning, negotiating and comparing costs for trips can turn the duties over to OfferMeATrip, a London-based start-up that combines travel-agency-type service and expertise with the convenience of the Web.

Free to use, it invites would-be travelers to outline their ideal trip (destination, length of stay, budget, activities). Then, OfferMeaTrip's network of certified agents put together personalized proposals for users to browse and choose from online. Once the bidding war is complete, users are connected with the winning agent for booking confirmation and payment details.

The site allows busy consumers to customize and compare dream vacation options by crowdsourcing a host of certified experts, saving them time and energy.