Social media and customer/friend endorsements are becoming much more important in the travel industry as a way to stimulate business. The endorsements often come in the form of travel diaries.

Jane L. Levere reports in the  New York Times that “campaigns by Crystal Cruises and Air France invite prospective customers to use special apps to create online photo souvenirs of their trips, which they can share with Facebook friends or post on the companies’ Facebook page. Crystal also has introduced an advertising campaign whose tagline is ‘Begin a new story.’ Sofitel, a high-end, global brand of Accor, the French hotel company, has begun a series of magazine ads, each containing a glamorous photo of a hotel opposite a photo of a handwritten travel diary page.” This is illustrated by the photo below.

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Photo source: New York Times