5 Tips for using Twitter to Plan a Vacation or Business Trip

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Social media has many benefits, but if you want help with your next vacation or even your next business trip, try using these Twitter tips.  Twitter is a tool that can help you plan, prepare and get instant insight into the place you will be visiting.  Not only can you find travel deals, you can also use these tools and tips to get you almost all of the information you need.

Tip #1 – Some airlines like JetBlue and United airlines have started to use twitter to offer very cheap discounted fares.  JetBlue refers to them as Cheeps and United calls them Twares.  JetBlue posted its first "Cheep" on July 6, a $9 one-way trip from JFK to Nantucket.  United uses Twares to surprise customers.  The prices are extremely low and there are very few of them so you have to act fast.  You can find an article that discusses this at  Airlines and Social Media.

Tip #2 -  Check out Twisitorcenter.  Many destinations are already represented and you can get some location specific twitter id’s and hashtags.  Use these hashtags and ids to get local advice either before you leave or even while you are traveling and want to get some unique local knowledge.

 Tip #3 – Twaller is a another helpful service.  It connects visitors with information from local people who already know the area well.  This can be invaluable if you want to find information about restaurants, events or other "local knowledge."  Twaller organizes information into specific categories for each location.

Tip #4 – Post a question on Twitter to get responses from travel agents.  A lot of them continually monitor via keywords.  Be specific and make sure to include  where you want to go and the dates and times you can travel.  You will be surprised how many responses you get.

Tip #5 -  Check out NileGuidance; they always have great information and are a terrific resource for many travel topics.  I also like 151TravelTips and  although it is focused towards seniors, there are some great pre-travel tips in his tweets.

Georgia McCabe spent 30 years as a Sr. Executive in the computer and photo industry.   She was a driving force in conceiving and executing breakthrough approaches to the photo printing, sharing and delivery  market place that literally “changed the rules” for a category undergoing massive change and re-invention.   She is a certified social media strategist, and is a market and branding consultant helping businesses utilize the tools and power of social networking.  For more information email Georgia@wecouldoit.com.

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