Tag Archives: travel trade gazette

Travel Trade Gazette using Google Docs to engage readers in debate

As part of its coverage of the strike action threatened by British Airways’ cabin crew, industry magazine Travel Trade Gazette is using Google’s document tools in an innovative way.

Using a spreadsheet from Google Docs, the Gazette is asking readers for their views on British Airways’ terms and conditions with travel agents in a follow-up to BA’s appeal to the trade not to switch customers to competitors, because of potential action. The survey is being promoted in relevant stories on the TTG site.

There have been plenty of lengthy responses so far and its the first time that TTG has approached readers with Google Docs, chief sub-editor for the TTG Group Matt Parsons told Journalism.co.uk.

“What’s also interesting is that it’s causing people to phone the news desk with ideas. The next step may be for us to hold a round-table – we may invite travel agents to come in and speak with British Airways,” says Parsons.

“It’s touched a nerve with agents, but we’re trying to turn around the negativity most people think the web is for, and be constructive. A lot of people are still venting their anger, but there’s some good suggestions coming in after tweaking the Google Doc form wording.”

Chance to edit Travel Trade Gazette for the day

Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) is running a competition in which readers can win the chance to guest the edit for a day, on August 18.

Readers are told:”You’ll get to see behind the scenes to see how TTG is created each week, discover how stories are researched and written, and get to see the front page before anyone else!”

TTG’s editor, Lucy Huxley, is off on maternity leave: other guest editors covering her absence will include Tui’s Dermot Blastland, Thomas Cook’s Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Virgin Atlantic’s Steve Ridgway and Abta’s Mark Tanzer.

The reader prize also includes a night at a hotel, a meal, and a ‘therapeutic treatment’ (at the hotel, not the magazine…)

Closing date is June 30, 2009. Full story at this link…