Virtualtourist
Encyclopedia
VirtualTourist is a free, travel-oriented community website featuring user-contributed travel guides for locations worldwide. VirtualTourist (often written VT) is one of a number of travel website
s on the Web, which include websites like Tripadvisor
(VT's parent company) and Cruise Critic
(a sister company to VT). VirtualTourist hosts content such as tips and reviews, online forums, sells advertising and provides travel booking or link to travel booking. Because VirtualTourist derives its revenue from advertising and selling ancillary services, the general public is able to register on the site as a 'member' and use a number of the website's services at no cost.
VirtualTourist uses social media
techniques to provide not just content for travel issues, but to enable a sense of community through its active travel forums. VTers regularly get together for face-to-face social events all over the world. For example, in May 2010, more than 150 VTers from around the world met in Krakow, Poland, for VT's 6th annual Euromeet.
With over a million registered members, the website offers 1.7 million travel reviews and 3.6 million photos on over 72,977 destinations.
In July 2008 VirtualTourist.com, Inc. and sister site Onetime were aquired by global internet travel company Expedia
(owners of Tripadvisor.com) for a reported $85 million.
reviews, must-see activities, restaurant reviews, local customs, nightlife, off-the-beaten path tips, tourist traps, warnings, transportation, packing lists, shopping, sports travel and general tips.
Unlike Rick Steves
website, Tripadvisor
, and Cruisecritic, VT has in practice only one 'miscellaneous' or non-destination specific forum (the technical help forum is very narrowly focused on questions about the website itself). Tripadvisor
, for example, has some 35 non-destination specific forums. Having only one Miscellaneous Forum has the effect of forcing the entire VT community into one area, with the result that the VT member base tends to interact a great deal.
This leads to one of the biggest differentiators between the other travel website
s and VT: the high number of face-to-face meetings that, while encouraged by VT, are largely put together by the members themselves.
and other travel website
s.
On November 14, 2008, Reuters
carried a story on VirtualTourist's list of the "World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments." Boston City Hall
came in first place. Other top ten lists have included the Top Ten Wild Rides for Travelers
(an Italian newspaper) listed VirtualTourist as one of the "big three" travel community websites in 2005 (along with TripAdvisor
and Worldsurface). The newspaper commended VT for being easy to navigate, 'spartan,' equipped with a search engine to goes down to the smallest town, and really covering the world ("Facile da navigare, spartano, è dotato di un motore di ricerca che arriva alla città più piccola (esempio, Finale ligure) e copre davvero il mondo"). In addition, the paper advised Italian readers to evaluate the website by looking at the tips on their own hometowns.
In a September 2007 International Herald Tribune
article about how online travel agencies like Orbitz.com were enabling the capability of users to add tips and helpful content like social networking travel websites, New York Times contributor Bob Tedeschi said, "As fast-growing as the new travel networking tools are (i.e., Orbitz.com and others), they have far to go before they challenge the category leaders, Yahoo Travel and VirtualTourist.com."
As noted in the User Agreement, advertising, attacks on other members, racist language, abusive speech, overly political discussions unrelated to travel - all these things are deleted by the forum moderators, who are often alerted to the misuse of the forums by the members themselves.
. However, there is no requirement that the content in the tips or in the forums be restricted to English
, and it is not unusual to see Spanish
, French
, or other world languages. The forums on Virtualtourist do not, however, support Unicode
, which means that languages with non-Latin alphabets cannot be represented in their native alphabets. VirtualTourist maintains a list of volunteers who offer language help, typically to help non-native speakers of English "clean up" their tips.
Travel website
A travel website is a website on the world wide web, that is dedicated to travel. The site may be focused on travel reviews, the booking of travel, or a combination of both. Approximately seventy million consumers researched travel plans online in July 2006...
s on the Web, which include websites like Tripadvisor
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
(VT's parent company) and Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic
Cruise Critic is a cruise review community website which also has information for cruisers written by editors, news on cruising and a forum. They offer over 225 reviews written by editors and members of the site, and information on cruise ships and over 135 ports of call and includes information...
(a sister company to VT). VirtualTourist hosts content such as tips and reviews, online forums, sells advertising and provides travel booking or link to travel booking. Because VirtualTourist derives its revenue from advertising and selling ancillary services, the general public is able to register on the site as a 'member' and use a number of the website's services at no cost.
VirtualTourist uses social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
techniques to provide not just content for travel issues, but to enable a sense of community through its active travel forums. VTers regularly get together for face-to-face social events all over the world. For example, in May 2010, more than 150 VTers from around the world met in Krakow, Poland, for VT's 6th annual Euromeet.
With over a million registered members, the website offers 1.7 million travel reviews and 3.6 million photos on over 72,977 destinations.
History
VirtualTourist.com, Inc. was founded in 1999 by J.R. Johnson and based in Westlake Village, California. The site grew to an annual revenue of $18 million EBITDA.In July 2008 VirtualTourist.com, Inc. and sister site Onetime were aquired by global internet travel company Expedia
Expedia
Expedia is an Internet-based travel website based in the US with localised sites for 21 countries...
(owners of Tripadvisor.com) for a reported $85 million.
Website features
Each destination page offers information on the local time and date, number of members living there, member tips, hotelHotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
reviews, must-see activities, restaurant reviews, local customs, nightlife, off-the-beaten path tips, tourist traps, warnings, transportation, packing lists, shopping, sports travel and general tips.
VT Forums
VT offers several forums - a travel forum with a top-down structure to get to each destination, a 'miscellaneous' forum and a technical help forum.Unlike Rick Steves
Rick Steves
Richard "Rick" Steves is an American author and television personality focusing on European travel. He is the host of the American Public Television series Rick Steves' Europe, has a public radio travel show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored various location-specific travel...
website, Tripadvisor
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
, and Cruisecritic, VT has in practice only one 'miscellaneous' or non-destination specific forum (the technical help forum is very narrowly focused on questions about the website itself). Tripadvisor
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
, for example, has some 35 non-destination specific forums. Having only one Miscellaneous Forum has the effect of forcing the entire VT community into one area, with the result that the VT member base tends to interact a great deal.
This leads to one of the biggest differentiators between the other travel website
Travel website
A travel website is a website on the world wide web, that is dedicated to travel. The site may be focused on travel reviews, the booking of travel, or a combination of both. Approximately seventy million consumers researched travel plans online in July 2006...
s and VT: the high number of face-to-face meetings that, while encouraged by VT, are largely put together by the members themselves.
Homepages
Members have their own travel pages with space displaying their personal writing and photographs. These homepages can be much more extensive in content when compared to the 'user profile' at TripadvisorTripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
and other travel website
Travel website
A travel website is a website on the world wide web, that is dedicated to travel. The site may be focused on travel reviews, the booking of travel, or a combination of both. Approximately seventy million consumers researched travel plans online in July 2006...
s.
Top Ten Lists
VirtualTourist takes advantage of its worldwide membership to periodically ask for "Top Ten" lists. These lists, humorous as well as informative, are routinely repeated in the press around the world.Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
carried a story on VirtualTourist's list of the "World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments." Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...
came in first place. Other top ten lists have included the Top Ten Wild Rides for Travelers
- the Top 10 Unusual Places to Sta
- the Top 10 Good Luck Monuments; the Top 10 Unusual Places for Holiday Gifts; the Top 10 Most Unusual Foods and the Top 10 Most Legendary Bars
Recognition
- Travel Weekly: Gold Magellan Award (2009)
- NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
: Featured Travel Site (2004) - Travel + LeisureTravel + LeisureTravel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by...
one of 35 Best Travel Sites (2004) - TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
: Recommended Travel Forum (2003) - Yahoo!Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
: Most Popular Guide site (2002) - AOLAOLAOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
: Editor's Pick (2002) - USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
: Hot Site (2001) - U.S. News: Best of the Web Travel Site (2001)
- Yahoo!: Most Popular Destination Guide
Other Reviews
Corriere della SeraCorriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
(an Italian newspaper) listed VirtualTourist as one of the "big three" travel community websites in 2005 (along with TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and engaging in interactive travel forums. It is part of the TripAdvisor Media Group, operated by Expedia, Inc. TripAdvisor is a pioneer of...
and Worldsurface). The newspaper commended VT for being easy to navigate, 'spartan,' equipped with a search engine to goes down to the smallest town, and really covering the world ("Facile da navigare, spartano, è dotato di un motore di ricerca che arriva alla città più piccola (esempio, Finale ligure) e copre davvero il mondo"). In addition, the paper advised Italian readers to evaluate the website by looking at the tips on their own hometowns.
In a September 2007 International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
article about how online travel agencies like Orbitz.com were enabling the capability of users to add tips and helpful content like social networking travel websites, New York Times contributor Bob Tedeschi said, "As fast-growing as the new travel networking tools are (i.e., Orbitz.com and others), they have far to go before they challenge the category leaders, Yahoo Travel and VirtualTourist.com."
Copyright
VirtualTourist members who post their own content at www.virtualtourist.com are granting a perpetual, non-exclusive copyright to VirtualTourist to use the material. Thus, no content may be posted at www.virtualtourist.com which is under another copyright (i.e., other than the member's own). Previously copyrighted material that is posted at VT without the proper permissions will be deleted as quickly as possible.Moderation of Forums
As part of the User Agreement, VirtualTourist states in part:
"VT values freedom of expression on our site but we do not guarantee the right to free speech. We believe our community will thrive when there is freedom to present what you want, but not at the expense of others."
As noted in the User Agreement, advertising, attacks on other members, racist language, abusive speech, overly political discussions unrelated to travel - all these things are deleted by the forum moderators, who are often alerted to the misuse of the forums by the members themselves.
Languages
The VirtualTourist website is in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. However, there is no requirement that the content in the tips or in the forums be restricted to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and it is not unusual to see Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, or other world languages. The forums on Virtualtourist do not, however, support Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, which means that languages with non-Latin alphabets cannot be represented in their native alphabets. VirtualTourist maintains a list of volunteers who offer language help, typically to help non-native speakers of English "clean up" their tips.