Google sausage rolls?
This week saw bakery chain Greggs in an amusing twitter exchange. Google searches for the Bakery displayed a fake tag line instead of their usual ‘always fresh always tasty’. The person behind the Greggs twitter account used this to their advantage and engaged in a public conversation with Google. Luckily Google got involved and there was humour passed back and forth between the two twitter accounts. Greggs even posted an image of the word Google spelt out in their popular sausage rolls requesting that they were given the Google Doodle for the next day. Google were quick to respond with the same but the sausage rolls were replaced with crumbs – implying they had eaten them. The interactions generated over 2000 retweets and also had a dedicated hashtag – #FixGreggs.
France has been named the most visited country in the world with 83 million visitors over the past year. Over one billion people travelled to a different country last year according to the World Tourism organisation and the UK was one of them, making it eighth in the list with 31.2 million visitors. Thailand has made it to the top 10 list for the first time. No doubt all of these destinations have been seen and hash tagged all over your Facebook and Twitter timelines this summer, with endless amounts of photos giving you the holiday blues.
Facebook has been abuzz this week with videos of celebrities and ordinary getting involved in the Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge is aimed to raise money for the ALS Association (colloquially known as Motor Neuron Disease). The challenge has started a global conversation, which as of Monday involved more than 28 million people. By Wednesday the campaign had raised a whopping $31.5 million for the charity which aims to fight this degenerative disease compared to $1.9 million for the same period last year. Everyone from Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates to Cheryl Cole and Rita Ora have taken part in the challenge, will you be next to feel the chill in the name of charity?
If work is stressing you out, and you are dreaming of getting away from it all, then the Gold Coast Tourism’s new "4-minute vacation" video might just be the best thing that’s happened to you. Take a short break from your daily routine and journey to Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast in this timelapse video. Timelapse seems to be the medium of the moment as tourist boards are hopping on board and showing us the beauty of their cities in an effective and wide-reaching way.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt