nothing life-changing ever came about because a meeting in a room like this
Earlier this month, another travel conference happened. An “eCommerce conference designed by the travel industry for the travel industry.” With a keynote by a Bearded Boomer Dude.
Troy Thompson reviews it–via Tweets about the conference–over on Travel 2.0.
Here’s one choice tweet that pretty much sums it up:
Thank you @jeffhayzlett for reminding everyone at #travelcom that we don’t sell travel, we sell memories & experiences.
Ignoring the Hallmarkish tone, this sentiment is everything that’s wrong with the travel industry, and making it more and more irrelevant.
The idea of selling memories–happiness, really–as a commodity is repulsive.
We travelers want to be part of an authentic community, not a prepackaged one. We want to visit and explore what we care about, not what you recommend. We’re not looking to you for recommendations.
Welcome to the new era, travel professionals. You’re not the visionary hand steering a grand plan for the lives of generations of travelers.
You’re a mechanic. Get us in and out, and we’ll decide where we want to go–and what we want our memories to be.
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