When I was 16 I was involved in an English contest. One of the topics to be developed in the written paper was a 300 words essay on “Every cloud has a silver lining!”. I had no idea what the silver lining was, but it was somehow intuitive. I wrote the essay with the mind of a troubled teenager, one that chose to study intensive English in one of Bucharest’s high schools in 1997. I am curios what did I put in the essay, since I am almost positive that I wasn’t the optimistic type. I remember getting a good grade, so I must have lied a lot. I really wanted to have the chance to attend this event, The Power of Storytelling, which will be held tomorrow in Bucharest. I think that this time the odds were against me. But…I was invited by Manafu, at the Etravelconference, and I felt that this was my silver lining. So I am going to tell you a story, not on power, but on travel. I work for an airline, the national carrier, a company that sometimes seems to be stuck in some ancient times. Truth is I like working in an airport, and being involved in this industry. I think it has to do with the fact that most of the time airlines deal with departing for a vacation, or arriving home, where the loved ones are waiting. And being a small part of this, makes you feel you work more in the line of hospitability, rather than transportation. So I really enjoyed the Etravel conference. I have learned that the travel agencies feel that there is still room for improvement in the Romanians’ travel habits and travel frequency. That there is an urge double the technology budgets (to the extent that the marketing budgets are left a little behind). That the interest of foreign tourists for Romania has increased, and this demand has to be attended (that’s precisely why I am writing this in English). Also, that hotelguru.ro is a very good alternative to other accommodation sites. On the other hand HotelsCombined offers the same thing, and an interesting affiliation program. See here details. The people of Millward Brown ran a study on the travelling habits of Romanians, highlighting especially those aspects that concern online bookings, and they gave a brief presentation on the results of the study. I really enjoyed watching the presentations of Iulian Pădurariu, a passionate marketing professional who said he is able to speak for 24 h on tourism marketing. Also Victor Caraş, Head of Online Marketing at Christian Tour delivered an insightful opinion on online marketing, filled with inspirational quotes. One bold move was sending some bloggers in mystery city-breaks, an attempt called #aventuravivolis which proved to be quite a success. This adventure was promoted by Vivolis. And again I saved the best for last. The blogging and Online Content was a special treat for those who attended the conference. The lively dialogues and presentation made it worthwhile. I advise you follow the work and writings of: Răzvan Marc and Mihai Jurca, ’cause they both seem to have found the secrets of a good life.

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