二零零五年十二月十四日
By 蒂姆Siglin 特约编辑
专题文章

假日旅行的流媒体

Holiday travel doesn’t rank as high on the personal pleasure list as gift giving or gift getting. 长长的队伍, inevitable delays or car trouble are somewhat expected during the holiday season, but the assumption is always that those hassles will be mitigated upon arrival in the distant city or town by a clean, 舒适的房间和放松的机会.

适合那些去拜访朋友和家人的人, but appalled by the idea of staying in cramped quarters for several days at the family homestead, 旅馆通常是首选. As creatures of habit, we often go with what we know and book into the hotel chain of popular choice.

当没有名牌选择的时候, 然而, 许多用户都不知道如何选择住宿. 传统上, the role of recommending alternative lodging has fallen to a travel agent, 但是随着在线旅游预订的增加, a new group of Web sites have emerged that allow travelers to rate their experiences and several of these sites are using streaming media as a visual aid.

用户评论网站已经存在好几年了, 提供从汽车到巡航的各种反馈. The proliferation of broadband and smaller digital cameras – some of which can be used to capture both still images and short-length videos that are captured in streaming formats such as MPEG-4 – allows travelers to post their experiences and show examples of gripes or benefits.

TripSmarter就是这样一个网站.com, which allows user postings of favorite locations alongside hotel and restaurant video reviews. TripSmarter.com专注于美国东南部城市, 比如亚特兰大, GA; Myrtle Beach, SC; Key West, FL; and New Orleans, LA. Some of the video reviews show "Top 5 picks" for restaurants in particular towns, but the highest rated videos are from travelers or aspiring amateur tour guides.

除了视频片段，TripSmarter.com has live Webcams showing some of the cities it highlights, plus a unique streaming audio feature called "Speak Like a Local." The RealAudio clips allow non-natives to hear local pronunciations of particular words such as Versailles, 肯塔基州, which is pronounced "ver-sales" rather than the traditional "ver-sigh".

These user-review video clips are part of a growing trend in the travel industry to use streaming video and audio. 如StreamingMedia所述.com article in 2001, travel videos evoke a visceral response in potential buyers as well heightening anticipation of an upcoming trip for those who have already purchased a vacation package.

Even travel agencies are using streaming media to their advantage. 传奇假日, 这家英国公司专门为50岁以上的游客预订假期, is using streaming video to dispel the myth that senior travel has to be mundane. A spot on their Website highlights this point in a way that words cannot.

这段视频展示了泰姬陵的美丽照片, 里约热内卢, and Saharan camel expeditions juxtaposed against a voiceover that says, 在某种程度上”. . . if you think we only do coach trips, if you think our customers are over the hill, think again . . . "

Several travelers interviewed for this article say that they have come to rely on the Web reviews and vacation clips as they make travel plans.

"While I might make my decision for a particular vacation based on personal recommendations and travelers’ reviews,丹·瓦伦蒂说, General Manager of the Holston Business Development Center, "my young daughters are more interested in knowing what the hotel or pool or cruise ship looks like. Streaming video allows me to show the girls where we’re going, so that they’re both familiar with it when we arrive as well as looking forward to particular parts of the vacation before we go."

路易丝Nuttle, 与东田纳西州立大学合作, agrees that online reviews and visuals of a particular location or hotel also carry weight in her purchase decisions.

"I tend to discount reviews that only have a few users listed,纳特尔说。, "and I’m aware that someone with a gripe against a particular hotel could ‘plant’ a problem and then photograph or videotape it. But if I see consistent praise or consistent criticism, 特别是如果它看起来是合法的, that may very well change my decision on where to stay".

Convention and Visitors Bureaus are also championing the use of streaming media to attract visitors to their communities. 这是TripSmarter网站上一个令人心酸的片段.com site, labeled "Christmas in New Orleans" shows a Christmas tradition in one of the city’s parks. While it has traditionally been a walking/driving tour, the city has limited it to a walking-only tour this year. The video conveys the spirit New Orleans has cultivated throughout the years, reminding anyone who views that clips that–while New Orleans may have to scale back the celebrations in this time of rebuilding–they want the world to know they’re still open for business.