For avid travellers, it's unquestionable that the internet has revolutionised the way that people plan their holidays. Not only can you book flights and accommodation online, but the birth of Web 2.0 has meant that many holidaymakers are able to read reviews of a particular beach resort or five-star hotel before deciding on their destination of choice. However, written reviews and user comments can only go so far - in order to really know what a particular holiday location might be like, photographs, virtual tours or online videos can be a lot more helpful.
In fact, many travel writers and bloggers are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that people don't want to be told about how beautiful Miami Beach is in July or how spectacular the Alps look from Grenoble - they want to be able to see it for themselves. This is where social sites like photo-sharing service Flickr and online video website YouTube come into their own. Sites which allow travellers to share images or videos are quickly being flooded with everything from amateur holiday snapshots to semi-professional video tours of hotels in an effort to share their travel experiences with like-minded individuals.
For instance, a simple search for Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab hotel on Flickr currently generates over 6500 images. These include photos of the Burj Al Arab rising above the Dubai skyline, as well as images of the hotel's lavish interior and vistas of the city from the building's apex. So anyone planning to book a stay at the Burj Al Arab will be able to get a taste of what awaits them through the photo-sharing site.
Additionally, the search engine Yahoo!, which owns Flickr, has recently begun to integrate popular Flickr images into its search results. So if you're searching for the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids of Giza in Yahoo! when planning a possible holiday, you'll easily be able to find images as well as more information to help you come to a decision.
Moreover, posting your hotel experience on YouTube is also a great way to share your travel memories. Whether you've just come back from an unforgettable hotel that you want other people to enjoy too, or you're keen to make sure people avoid a particular place to stay, you'll certainly be providing web savvy travellers with a valuable resource.
While many hotels offer virtual tours on their own sites, these often require the installation of QuickTime or Windows Media Player before viewing. If you don't have these pre-installed, watching these virtual tours can be rather time consuming. As a result, a lot of people planning a holiday are more likely to watch hotel tours on YouTube because it tends to be both quicker and easier. It's also true that people are more likely to trust videos on YouTube as a more honest representation of the hotel in question, rather than simply as a video tour that's been vetted by the hotel to make it look as good as possible.
So whether you're keen to stay at a luxury seven-star hotel in Dubai or you simply want to find a small beach hut in Goa, don't underestimate the value of searching for an online video tour or photograph of your prospective hotel or holiday location on the internet. Your vacation is sure to benefit in the end!
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