30 April 2010

TravelMole Web Awards winners revealed

SINGAPORE - New Zealand has excelled in the 2010 TravelMole Web Innovation Awards.

The Kiwis produced a swag of winners among the 10 categories with Air New Zealand taking our four individual awards.

Chairman of the judging panel Ric Shreves, founder and partner of Water & Stone, said the quality of this yearââ¬â¢s nominated companies was extremely high and both winners and those short-listed for the awards could be proud of their compelling websites.

Shreves was joined on the judging panel by Liz Craig, principal - Oneglobe Network; Joe Buhler - Buhlerworks - principal and PhocusWright - Social Web Marketing Consultant and Senior Destination Marketing Analyst for PhoCusWright; Ron Ramanan - founder & managing director GoQuo; Reece Gladstone - consultant TravelZoo; Aaron Koh - consultant and Meraj K Huda - founder/principal of Forumline.com

Commenting on the awards, Joe Buhler said, ââ¬ÅâœReviewing the various candidates reveals some creative and innovative approaches to website development and web based marketing in the region.

ââ¬ÅâœWhat needs to happen also, however, is more integration with social media, user generated content and traveller reviews within sites rather than just for specific campaigns.

ââ¬ÅâœAs for design, less is often more and simple, logical user interface design is better than adding all the latest bells and whistles.ââ¬~

Meraj Huda said, "The winners in each category have indicated that travel industry-related websites are utilising more and more of the 'best practice' features. There were several finalists and winners that had a balance of rich content, technical competency, as well as functional focus.

"Clean Cruising was a clear winner in its nominated categories for its exemplary use of new technology to make interactive user experience an integral part of the overall e-marketing process.

"Gap Adventures was a great example of a niche product provider with a highly competent website experience. It includes all features that makes a website both relevant for the user and address all the technical features. This is about as good as it gets."

THE WINNERS

Best Website Design

WINNER: Gap Adventures

ââ¬~¢ http://www.gapadventures.com

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.grabaseat.co.nz
ââ¬~¢ http://oodles.com


Travel Innovator of the Year

WINNER: Clean Cruising

ââ¬~¢ http://www.cleancruising.com.au

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.venuemirror.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.passport2theworld.com

Best Travel Startup of the Year

WINNER: Urban Adventures

ââ¬~¢ http://www.urbanadventures.com

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.newyoungtravel.com.au
ââ¬~¢ http://www.Vaustralia.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.venuemirror.com

Best Use of Social Media

WINNER: AIR NEW ZEALAND

ââ¬~¢ https://www.airpointsfairy.co.nz

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.4320LA.com
ââ¬~¢ http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/

Most Exciting New Use of Technology in Travel

WINNER: Clean Cruising

ââ¬~¢ http://www.cleancruising.com.au

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.urbanadventures.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.venuemirror.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.travelsim.net.au

Most Creative Marketing Campaign

WINNER: Air New Zealand

ââ¬~¢ http://www.nothingtohide.co.nz/
ââ¬~¢ http://www.youtube.com/user/AirNZnothing2hide

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.4320LA.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.zestpj.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.extraordinarytaxiride.com.au

Best Web 2.0 Mash Up

WINNER: Zest

ââ¬~¢ http://www.zestpj.com

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://airnz.co.nz

Most Innovative Use of Video

WINNER: TV Trip

ââ¬~¢ http://www.tvtrip.com

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.cleancruising.com.au
ââ¬~¢ http://www.youtube.com/user/AirNZnothing2hide#p/u/

Most Effective Use of Mobile Technology

WINNER: Air New Zealand

ââ¬~¢ http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/mpass

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.travelsim.net.au

Best Ancillary Revenue Strategy

WINNER: Air New Zealand

ââ¬~¢ http://carrental.com/RentCar/airnewzealand/index.html

SHORTLISTED

ââ¬~¢ http://www.passport2theworld.com
ââ¬~¢ http://www.travelsim.net.au

The TravelMole Web Innovation Award winners were announced at Eyefortravelââ¬â¢s Travel Distribution Summit Asia in Singapore this week.

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• Who decided ?
  
  

  I am amazed at your selections ... GAP for best website ... it is a cluttered, obnoxious layout, how can it be considered best, the shortlist ones were much better ......Urban Adv, best new startup ... sorry it is a division of a long standing company, you should be looking at new company's that are true start ups, not a tourism giant trying to capture another niche.

  By Tom Sheehan, Wednesday, May 5, 2010