Posts by: Steve Keenan

Steve Keenan

Steve Keenan has been a travel journalist for 25 years. He started at a Reed paper, news editing at Travel News in London - now Travel Weekly - having spent a decade reporting general news in the UK and abroad. He also taught English in Peru, delivered cars in the USA, ran the Sydney desk at AAP and took the train home from Hong Kong. He left Travel News in 1990 to freelance for several publications, including The Times of London, which he later joined as deputy travel editor. In December 2004, he became the first national digital travel editor in the UK, running the combined travel website of The Times and Sunday Times. The introduction of a paywall at the papers in 2010 persuaded him that the connected world might continue outside of Wapping and he left to co-found Travel Perspective. The company runs the social media seminars at World Travel Market London, and works with Reed Expos and others in helping the travel and tourism industry best communicate stories in all forms of publishing.

August 19, 2022August 22, 2022

Scotland aims to be Europe’s leading travel tech hub

Arabian Travel Market, Blog, Technology, Travel Industry, Trends, WTM London

By Steve Keenan, Co-Founder, Travel Perspective Scotland is making a bold bid to become Europe’s leading travel technology laboratory and boost the country’s tourism industry. Travel Tech for Scotland (TTfS) ... Read more

August 3, 2022August 15, 2022

Why more of us are travelling solo

Adventure, Arabian Travel Market, Blog, Trends, World Travel Market London

By Steve Keenan, Co-Founder, Travel Perspective There are more people travelling solo than ever before, with the pandemic accelerating a thirst for adventure after lockdown. Google searches for solo travel ... Read more

April 30, 2021April 29, 2021

UK tourism’s crumbling structure has been exposed by the crisis – how do we fix it?

Blog, Travel Industry

The coronavirus crisis has accelerated a root and branch review of how tourism is organised and funded in future.

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021

How travel businesses can combat the threat of cyber security attacks

Blog, Technology, Travel Industry

Hospitality and tourism firms are being warned to beef up their cyber security with a warning that attacks on businesses is rapidly on the increase.

February 26, 2021February 26, 2021

Tourism’s recovery plan for 2021

Blog, Resilience and Recovery, Travel Industry

The Roadmap out of coronavirus, unveiled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, prompted the rush to book, with consumers understandably wishing to have a holiday to look forward to this summer.

October 8, 2020October 7, 2020

Domestic and international tourism: learning to complement each other

Blog, marketing

If you can’t visit us, watch us. Which is what Tourism Australia said this week in producing high-quality videos reminding would-be international visitors what they are missing.

September 7, 2020September 4, 2020

Ripping up the travel marketing manual for 2021

Blog, marketing

Travel marketing, March-September 2020: Close down, think short-term, salvage remains of the summer season, lose staff, realign, change marketing strategy completely for 2021.

August 7, 2020August 20, 2020

Camping: this summer’s hot holiday

Blog, Destinations

The months of lockdown have left a spectacular pent-up demand for a simple, safe place to relax and breathe. And that place is a field.

May 7, 2020August 13, 2020

The current thirst for virtual travel and its role in future travel planning

Blog, Technology

When travel shut down in March, the Faroe Islands – along with a large part of the world – turned to virtual tourism to remind tourists what they were missing, ... Read more

May 23, 2019

Realising Augmented Reality’s potential

Social Media

On September 1, the Cranborne Chase will launch an app using augmented reality to promote its wares. It’s an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AoNB), largely in West Wiltshire and ... Read more

February 22, 2019February 22, 2019

2019: the year of Culture Trip?

Social Media

SIT back and enjoy the films. No, not The Oscars silly, but a series of travel shorts from Culture Trip, the media company promising to shake up travel. Consciously being ... Read more

January 28, 2019

Blippar stops trading: the long wait for AR and VR to become a reality

Social Media

ANOTHER new year, another debate on whether virtual and augmented reality will become, well, a reality. Not delivering on what’s been promised, gimmicky ideas, a focus on escapism – a ... Read more

December 20, 2018

The retro resurgence in travel and tourism

Social Media

When travelling around America in the 1980s, helpful signs directed you to park the car and photograph a view. With a camera back then, not a smartphone. These viewpoints were ... Read more

November 30, 2018November 30, 2018

Draining the swamp of fake influencers: can it be done?

Social Media

The analysis of an influencer’s worth is deepening daily, as brands turn away and genuine influencers turn on their wannabe colleagues. Two influencers in the past week called out others ... Read more

August 15, 2018August 18, 2020

Neglect your blog and social and suffer the consequences

Blog, Blogging, marketing, Social Media

For the life of me, I fail to understand why a travel and tourism site starts a blog or a social media channel if it can’t maintain it. Mitigating circumstances ... Read more

February 22, 2018June 2, 2020

Social media expertise needed as the market gets complicated

Technology

For three years from 2014-17, I looked after a lot of social media accounts. It was the phase where travel companies knew they had to have social, but had no ... Read more

October 26, 2017

A brief history of travel influencers and what comes next

Blogging

In the old days, about 2014, a travel influencer was a blogger with a decent set of numbers on their website and social media. Such a blogger was very happy ... Read more

June 3, 2016January 23, 2017

Chat Apps: Real-Time Travel Information on the Move

Social Media

If visiting Istanbul, you may well buy a tourist pass giving discounts to museums, bus tours and other attractions. Many cities have them. But not all offer what the Istanbul ... Read more

April 1, 2016April 25, 2022

The only way is video

Social Media

I think this is a UK first: there is a drone film festival in London in May. It is essentially a drinks event with awards attached: 10 categories (including selfie). ... Read more

March 4, 2016January 23, 2017

Social media analytics: be careful what you choose

Social Media

A COUPLE of years ago, I started playing with an analytics tool called Sumall. It’s essentially a site that pulls together social media statistics from all platforms, makes sense of ... Read more

February 8, 2016April 14, 2022

Find a friend in Iceland through social media

Social Media

One of the many, many benefits of this technological age is that it has allowed destinations to put themselves on the map in a way that they wish to be ... Read more

December 1, 2015January 23, 2017

Would you buy a present without reading the reviews?

Social Media

With Christmas shopping yet to reach its peak, time spent researching product reviews will be hugely on the increase. Online reviews now form a vital part of UK consumers’ decision-making, ... Read more

August 12, 2015January 23, 2017

The app making it difficult to be lost in translation

Technology

For several years when I was deputy travel editor at The Times, we ran a weekly slot in which we invited readers to share their favourite travelling tips. Most were ... Read more

January 28, 2015January 23, 2017

Old Media and New Tricks: Money Rules

Blogging, Technology

Recently, a blogger friend told me of a trip she will take in March to Africa. Nothing new there. Except that the publication she is writing for (a very prestigious ... Read more