Operators often ask me what they can do to improve their websites. While there are many books and course out there, a couple of my colleagues have recently posted some excellent tips. Cover these, and you’ve gone a long way towards improving your website significantly.

William Bakker from Tourism BC recently posted a series of tips:

• #1 Be Remarkable
• #2 Get your website in order
• #3 Monitor and Respect Tripadvisor
• #4 Encourage Your Customer to Share their Experiences
• #5 Find your target audience and join the conversation
• #6 Be found in Search Engines

And Alicia Whalen from Coupleofchicks Marketing posted a summary of tips from experts at online giants like Google, Yahoo and E-Bay.

If you are interested in getting deeper into online marketing, then be sure to follow my CTC colleague Daniel Vasquez’ blog with regular online marketing tips for the tourism industry.

If you have implemented these tips, you have gone a long way towards improving your website.

Newfoundland and Haida Gwaii are hot right now, but my prediction for the next hot destination? Iles de la Madeleine. Until now this small archipelago between PEI and Quebec, out in the middle of the St. Lawrence has made the news because of the annual seal hunt in the area, but it becoming a must-visit multisport destination. Try various wind sports with Aerosport, go cave kayaking, or try ice kayaking in winter. But there is more to do than just outdoor adventure: En Route magazine is raving about the cheese, the food, the artisans, the massages, the accommodation. Everything you need after a full day of being out on the land and water.

Fly in from Quebec, or in summer, take a ferry from PEI. Highly recommended.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the return of David Thompson (the greatest HBC explorer of his time) to Ontario, a fleet of canoes - the Thompson Brigade - will make its way from Rocky Mountain House to old Fort William (Thunder Bay , Ontario) this summer. This would be an amazing experience, covering more than 3,600km! I wish I had the time to go. It’s only a two month paddle.

Together with their top destinations, TripAdvisor also published their top 100 places to stay. Canada has three entries in the top luxury hotels:
17: Fairmont YVR airport hotel
27. Hotel Dominion 1912, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
95. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

I would have rated the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver or Chateau Lake Louise higher - I wouldn’t don’t see an airport hotel as a wonderful place to stay, no matter how luxurious.

The rest of the top 10 luxury hotels in Canada:
4. Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City, Quebec
5. Loews Hotel Vogue, Montreal, Quebec
6. Hotel Nelligan, Montreal, Quebec
7. Four Seasons Resort Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia
8. Hotel Gault, Montreal, Quebec
9. Le Place d’Armes Hotel & Suites, Montreal, Quebec
10. Sofitel Montreal, Montreal, Quebec

Some interesting hotels among their top 10 hidden gems in Canada:

1. Harbour House Hotel, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
4. Alpine Village - Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta
6. Mt. Engadine Lodge, Canmore, Alberta  <- keep an eye out for this lodge. Up and coming.
8. Patricia Lake Bungalows, Jasper National Park, Alberta
9. Chateau Beauvallon Mont Tremblant, Mont Tremblant, Quebec
10. Artisan Inn, Trinity, Newfoundland and Labrador <- another property to keep an eye out for. Very cool place.

Another top 100 list, this time it’s TripAdvisor’s first ever top 100 destinations, as measured by ratings and popularity rankings.

The top destinations are:
1 Milford Sound
2 Queenstown

Canada has eight destinations in the top 100:
9 Banff
16 Victoria
19 Lake Louise
52 Vancouver
55 Niagara-on-the-Lake
61 Quebec City
77 Whistler
88 Jasper

Not bad, but what’s interesting about the entire list is that all the places are popular tourist spots; there really are no new or off-the-beaten track locations. This is obvious from the Canadian list - all tried and true locations. That is even the same for the top 25 Canadian destinations. No St. John’s Newfoundland, nothing in Nunavut, etc.

There is only one Indonesian location in the list - Ubud in Bali. But despite the smog and overcrowded streets, Beijing made it onto the list. Obviously, it’s still popular with mainstream travellers.

My friend Will Betz has a great collection of New Guinea photos, but never had a chance to post them online yet. He’s finally scanned and posted a sample. Check out the images of bowerbirds, they’re amazing. The males of these New Guinea birds build massive structures, and will collect all kinds of colourful objects to attract females. What guys won’t do to get the girl…

The sample includes some great shots from South America and Africa as well.

Elu lodge is a high-end Inuit-owned lodge, across from Victoria Island on Nunavut’s mainland. If you are looking for an escape to the heart of Canada’s Arctic, and want to see its abundant wildlife, look no further than this lodge. See a recent article on the lodge in the San Fransisco Chronicle for more information.

The EU finally launched its second Galileo test satellite. Why is this significant? Because the much-delayed project will eventually (currently by 2013) provide an alternative to the American GPS system. It is supposed to be more accurate, and complementary to GPS, which will mean more satellites to receive signals from.

There has been a lot of news recently about the woes of the US airline industry. With the skyrocketing prices of fuel, airlines are starting to feel the pain - in a major way. My good friend Will Betz talks about some of the potential doomsday scenarios. If this trend continues, we could see some major impact on global tourism. Tourism in Canada would be heavily impacted as well, since we rely mainly on air travel for our international arrivals.

Ashoka’s Changemakers and National Geographic and  have launched the first Geotourism challenge. The competition has received 320 entries (out of 456 nominations). Sadly, there are only twelve Canadian entries, of which four are actually in Canada. They are very worthwhile, though: Pioneer Farm in PEI (stay at a self-sufficient farm), The Muskwa-Kechika Conservation initiative in northern BC, the Evergreen  Brick Works in Toronto, and Chanterelle Country inn and cottages in Nova Scotia.

There were some interesting Canadian nominations as well (those are operators who were nominated, but did not choose to submit an entry). Check out the Mountain hostel, Delawana Inn, Sacred Rides, and Nipika Mountain Resort.