Choose-Your-Own-Seatmate, an Emerging Travel and Tourism Debate

When news that the Dutch airline KLM expects to choose their seatmates their passengers via Facebook and other social networks, lit a big debate in the travel and tourism, a debate that students travel to school will undoubtedly chew for years to come. This is an example of innovation in travel and tourism ... or is it just creepy?
There is still no clear consensus in favor or against the so-called KLM Meet & Place of employment in the long-range combat. A travel and tourism site, tnooz.com, offering tourism management team with information on travel technology and tourism, described the new plan places like "fun, but potentially pregnant".
Branding Magazine raises a concern shared by many teams in the management of tourism and travel industry of tourism, the service, which is presented as a good networking tool for business travelers, will be abused by passengers who just try to sit next to the most attractive man or woman.
Other publications herald KLM to take new risks with social media. Nigeria says social media expert, Yinka Olaito, in a blog post, "I am particularly excited about this new initiative."


Some writers, such as a travel blogger Harriet Baskas of Stuck at the airport, note that Facebook itself is not a booking travel and tourism sector in the first place, that other team managing tourism KLM had already beaten to the punch. He mentions Malaysia Airlines, which apparently has a program called MHbuddy that allows passengers to book flights on Facebook - and check to see if they have some "friends" on the fly.
Many bloggers wonder if we can soon expect to see this type of service offered in other parts of the travel and tourism, for example, on the trains.
The administrator Sky Travel Web & Tourism today has a post on the program, which cites some of the privacy and ethical concerns raised by this decision to tourism management.
But perhaps all this has nothing to do. Perhaps the main objective of the management team of tourism to KLM was to get the world talking about Meet & Seat, even if not embrace it with open arms.
In this sense, the decision to KLM to take a risk with social media in travel and tourism shows how the simple use of social media - regardless of its reception - can create a buzz heard around the world.

1 comment:

  1. Hello! I'm South Korean and my major is Tourism management. For me, this service is really attractive and interesting. Because, though there can be some risks, I can make a friend during my boring flight which might take over 10hours here in Korea to America or Europe countries. Also, this service has a potential to improve a small business. For example, the travel agencies can make good tourism products utilizing this kind of service and matchmaking companies can make use of this service as well. So I'm pro to Choose-my-own-Seatmate service!

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