Tourism Entrepreneur Podcast

Topics: Virtual Reality, Virtual Reality, Albert Poghosyan, Augmented Reality, E-Tourism, Prof. Roman Egger, Google

Today’s episode is the last of our series on travel photography and Virtual Reality and I am very excited to chat to our guests, who are experts in the fields of VR and E-tourism. It’s quite an interesting topic and it is important to note last year already, the global virtual reality market size was valued at more than 10 billion dollars. It is also predicted in the near future, VR videos will become the ultimate tool in tourism marketing and travel planning.  We will talk about how this specific technology can be used to revive the tourism industry and practical ways for small tourism businesses to adopt Virtual Reality. Albert Poghosyan, the founder of 360 Stories is our special guest and Prof. Roman Egger, head of the department of innovation and management in tourism of the university of Salzburg in Austria will be joining us later to answer our listeners’ questions.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[01:05] Albert’s background and why 360 Stories was created

[03:19] How to implement/adopt VR as a small tourism business

[05:20] Opportunity: How to become a 360 Stories partner/content creator

[06:21] Opinion: will VR ever replace physical experiences?

[07:18] Upcoming plans/projects for 360 Stories

[07:57] Albert’s Advice to fellow tourism entrepreneurs.

[09:27] Prof. Roman Egger answers our audience’s questions about AR/VR and the future of tourism

[21:52] That’s it for today! Coming up next: A chat with Venicia Guinot on business tourism in Africa and virtual events. Let’s keep in touch! Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @tourismpreneur

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

360 Stories: https://360stories.com/

More on VR: http://www.virtual-reality-in-tourism.com/

Topics: Travel photography, Shoot My Travel, Valerie Lopez

Through our workshops, I have met a lot of young entrepreneurs who would love to create more opportunities for themselves but think because of their background, the colour of their skin or their gender, they shouldn’t be too ambitious. Our guest’ story is a reminder that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself and your idea. She founded a global marketplace connecting travellers with on-demand professional photographers in more than 500 destinations around the world. Her company has raised over a million dollar in VC funding and if you haven’t read about her on The New York Times or Forbes, be sure to catch her today on the tourism entrepreneur podcast. Today’s episode is the third of our series on vacation photography and Valerie Lopez, the founder of Shoot My Travel is our guest.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:55] Valerie's background and how Shoot My Travel was created

[05:10] Achievements: Shoot My Travel’s expansion, partnership with Apple and awards

[06:43] From bootstrapping to VC funding

[08:48] Challenges faced as a female founder in tourism

[09:59] Valerie’s insight on the future of travel

[13:19] Upcoming projects

[14:10] Valerie’s advice to new and aspiring tourism entrepreneurs

[16:16] That’s it for today! Coming up next week: Albert Poghoshyan of 360 Stories on AR/VR in tourism. Let’s keep in touch! Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @tourismpreneur

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

Shoot My Travel: https://www.shootmytravel.com/

360 Stories: https://360stories.com/

Topics: Travel photography, location scouting, Explorest, Justin Myers

While preparing episode #6, I came across some interesting stats that showed that in the UK only, 40% of millennials consider how instagrammable a location is before thinking about travelling there… Well let's be fair, it's not only a millennial thing, we can all agree that a great picture can make us dream about a destination we never had in mind before. That is why Explorest has been on everyone's lips or phones recently: this innovative location scouting app has been consistently making headlines and was described by Forbes as the ultimate instagrammers dream. Today Explorest co-founder, Justin Myers is our guest.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [01:15] Justin's background and how Explorest was created


• [04:04] How Explorest differentiates itself from its current competitors


• [04:59] Exciting updates and new features on the Explorest app


• [06:50] Conservation: Explorest partnership with Leave No Trace


• [09:06] Challenges faced while building the Explorest brand


• [12:54] Justin’s take on the future of travel


• [14:22] Why Explorest was first launched on IOS


• [15:37] Justin’s tips to new and more experienced tourism entrepreneurs


• [17:06] That’s it for today! Coming up next week: Valerie Lopez of Shoot My Travel


• [17:37] Let’s keep in touch! Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @tourismpreneur

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Travographer


• Explorest


• Leave No Trace


• Shoot My Travel

The next 4 episodes will be focusing on a trend that was already huge before the covid19 crisis and which will certainly survive it: Travel photography and Virtual Reality in tourism.

As you may know, millennials are the fastest growing demographic of travel but they’re also the ones driving this trend. Indeed according to WeSwap, 31% of millennials said that posting holiday pictures online is just as important as the holiday itself and 90% of them share their vacation photos on social media during their trip ( https://crowdriff.com/resources/blog/travel-statistics) 

The demand for Instagram-worthy travel pictures has paved the way for innovative services like Travographer, which aims to provide travellers with the best on-demand local photographers, to capture & preserve beautiful memories anywhere in the world. Travographer’s co-founder, Kapil Arora is our special guest today.

As tourism restarts in an increasing number of countries, many companies are looking for effective ways to reconnect with their customers. This however might  be more complicated for some businesses and today's guest, will help us figure out the best strategic steps to follow. His name is Peter Fabricius, he's been working with tourism brands across Asia and Africa and he is the co-founder of Springnest,  an online marketing platform for tourism and hospitality businesses.

Welcome to the Tourism Entrepreneur Podcast.

We are back in South Africa where according to  the Tourism Business Council ( TBCSA) , a daily loss in tourism expenditure of R748 million  has been recorded, as a result of covid19 pandemic. Up to 600 000 jobs or more could also be at risk... In order to uplift and meet the needs of tourism employees who have been left without an income during this time, the Mzansi Tourism Champions initiative was born.  Its co-founder, Tim Louw is our guest today.

During a family trip to Togo (West Africa) , seasoned traveller Nelly Gedeon realised the devastating effects of global warming on the environment. When she returned to the United States, she started researching the impact of tourism on the environment and found out up to 9% of greenhouse gas emission originated from it. Nelly decided to create Wayaj, he first ecotravel app designed to explore and book sustainable and socially responsible destinations around the world.

In August, South Africa celebrates Women's Month and today's guest started the brillant #IAmTourism campaign which aims to uplift women in tourism as herself. She will also share relevant and practical tips on how to market tourism brands in times of crisis. We are delighted to welcome Natalia Rosa, the director of Big Ambition Marketing.

Hello everyone and welcome to the tourism entrepreneur podcast!

This is a platform for - and about - tourism entrepreneurs from Africa and beyond. Together, we are going to discover some of the world's most innovative tourism ventures. I am your host, Vanessa Mbenoun and I am the founder of 2 award-winning tourism companies: Creative And Moving and Kamaroutes Travel Designers.

Tourism is a multibillion industry and also one of the fastest growing in the world. Don't you wonder sometimes who are the mysterious men and women behind it?  Well I do and I can't wait to meet them and learn from their journey. And ultimately get inspired by their stories.

One of the goals of the show is also to keep you updated on the current trends and developments in the tourism and hospitality industry

So please do not hesitate to join us and connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @tourismpreneur!