Turning Travel Literature Upside-down Rogues in Paradise transcends travel literature…
Marketing Hotels & Tourism | Research, News & Tutorials for Hospitality & Destinations
In this animated podcast, we see how the combination of live discussion -‘ Radio Style” is combined with dynamic images and video to create a persuasive and informative presentation.
The video podcast explores Barbados’s history of challenges with Rogues Culture Podcast One. The island transitioned from a colonial station to an independent nation, with many stumbles along the way.

Rogues in Paradise Book
The True Story of Barbados takes us from Slavery, Rum, and Resistance to independence and a new republic. The real story behind Barbados’ past is the story of Rogues in Paradise.
The book is a penetrating examination of culture, history and identity over 300 years of slavery and ongoing adjustment. The podcast discusses highlights of the Book and the Blog, and images are shown in the video above. The podcast explores the History of slavery, rum, and the rogues who defied the chances. Enjoy now! Key Features: Barbados slavery, History of rum, Caribbean culture, Animated Podcast.
Podcasting began much like radio—an audio-only experience that relied on creativity and storytelling to paint vivid mental images. With the rise of video podcasts, the medium shifted toward a more visual format, often featuring fixed hosts in studio settings. The latest iteration of the Podcast is make it into a short film or The Hybrid Podcast—a seamless fusion of immersive audio storytelling with subtle yet engaging visuals. This format preserves the essence of traditional Podcasting while enhancing it with carefully curated imagery, animations, and dynamic elements.
Check the latest AI development now and in the future – Medium Blog
More about Podcasting resources and Strategies, go to https://roguesinparadise.com/podcast-services/
A Spanish Treat Andalusia! Malaga and Sevilla-
In this travelogue, Avid traveler Calum Glenny takes us through the site, sounds, and tastes of Malaga and Seville. Having spent several holidays (including hosting his daughter’s wedding in September 2022) in Frigiliana, Gourock’s ‘Avid Traveller’ revisited the Malaga area and ventured into the Andalusian capital Seville, seeking the warmth of late summer sunshine and an escape from the damp and cold Scottish autumn.Finding treasures in the warm and friendly Andalusian people of Spain.
After a 3-hour flight from Glasgow to Spain, we were met by the warm October sun in Malaga.
The ‘Old Town has lots to explore, with stunning historic architecture, outstanding restaurants and beautiful beaches. In a short three-night stay, the shorts and flip-flops were back out of the suitcase, and sunshine was abundant.

First on the agenda was Malaga Port and Malagueta Beach, followed by a harbour cruise out past some huge cruise ships docked at the port.
The evening then continued with the first of two visits to La Barra de Zapata near to Malaga Cathedral. This was an eye-opener with fantastic food and outstanding service.

A lunchtime visit to Bar La Tranca opened our eyes to fabulous Spanish hospitality and a truly unique bar with an unforgettable atmosphere. Other tapas bars such as the Malaga Bar and were visited and are covered in the travelogue.

On the fourth day, it’s a two-hour train journey from Malaga to Seville. Even in mid-October the temperature gauge rises as you travel inland. When alighting in Seville’s impressive Santa Justa Station, the temperature was knocking on the high 30’s.
The next six days are spent mostly exploring the city’s stunning sights and sampling its outstanding hospitality. Every restaurant seemed to better the previous one until El Disperate which tops them all with truly a magnificent meal, location, and service.


The unmissable sights such as the massive Cathedral, Gold Tower, Bullring, Plaza de Espana, and the Parque Maria Luisa are all highlighted in the travel blog. Recommended is a sunny walk across the historic metal arch Triana bridge, which opens up the traditional neighbourhood of Triana with its vibrant flamenco culture and tight, narrow streets.

Despite Seville being a large city the small neighbourhoods seemed to be multiple linked villages within the larger city. Neighbourhoods such as Plaza San Marcos are a ten minute walk away from the main tourist sights but had everything you needed, plus food and drinks were drastically cheaper than the prices charged within the city centre.

A return to Malaga on the impressive train service from Seville to Malaga confirmed the high standards experienced on the inward journey were not a one off and train travel in Spain can certainly be recommended. Another three night Malaga stay followed, this time more relaxing in the 5-Star Vincci Posada del Patio Hotel. This got off to a hesitant start as the balcony room had no view. However, the staff and hotel recovered very quickly and was a highlight of the Malaga stay. With the temperature difference working against us this time, it was bizarre feeling cool in the high 20’s temperatures.
Read both Malaga and Seville travel blogs and immerse yourself in the history and culture of two main cities within Andalusia. Certainly a very worthwhile Spanish adventure!
Once you unravel the Andalusian secrets, you’ll want to travel and experience it for real!
In association with the Rogues Guide by Rogues in Paradise
Rogues in Paradise the soon-to-be-published book of The History of the People of Barbados.
In a buzzing backdrop of iconic rum shops, historic chattel houses, and bustling open-air markets, The book explores the character of the island beyond its pristine beaches to uncover remarkable people who survived 300 years of slavery and discrimination.
Calum Glenny is an Avid traveler who writes from a deeply personal point of view about people and places and experiences of his travels. He chats with the people he meets ad shares what he loves about the food, wine, and ambiance of the unique hotels, restaurants, and bars in historical settings.
https://roguesinparadise.com
https://RoguesinParadise.com
The story of an exceptional people from a fascinating past
Grab your free samples chapters of this book at
https://Smaple.RohuesinParadise.com

RoguesInParadise is an open, honest, and funny book of quirky characters full of wit and humour set against a turbulent past
Rogues in Paradise transcends travel literature going where no book of its kind has dared to tread. It is a celebration of the Afro-British Caribbean Culture of Barbados and its people and an examination of contemporary life in light of a troubled past.
Ian R. Clayton uses his 20 years of expertise creating the world’s first multimedia digital media Tourism Encyclopedia of Barbados, to author a one-of-a-kind book. It is about the extraordinary ordinary rogues and heroes of a renowned Caribbean island destination. He weaves their stories into the backdrop of history, confronting slavery and colonialism to paint a riveting picture of a remarkable people and the world’s most revisited Caribbean vacation island—Barbados.
As Reedsys’ Savyajha says in the book’s first review:
“I’ve read several boring slice-of-life vignettes and travelogues, but this piece of writing was anything but boring. I can’t quite place the style, but I was able to get a hint of Roald Dahl’s writing in Boy and the first few chapters of Going Solo in the rhetorical flourishes applied to the characters; a bit of Ruskin Bond’s flow in the poems and rhythms applied left, right and centre.”
Savyajha adds, “Even the descriptions of places seem to have their own metre, the writing swaying in your head as it gently colours in an increasingly clear outline. The author complements these descriptions with some poetry here and there. I amused myself for a bit by reading the poems out loud, as I believe many others reading this book might do as well. At the end, though, one puts this book down with a smile on one’s face and a gasp upon the realisation that what one thought was five minutes was actually closer to an hour and a half. Reading this book is no effort; it is best described as a joy. It is uplifting, fun to read, and extremely engrossing. A must-read for sure!”
With its style, humour, and candid storytelling, Rogues in Paradise turns travel literature on its head! Readers get the
In the book, Ian explores humanity, heritage, and cultural responsibility with warmth and humour. He addresses the psychological question of character, tracing how after 300 years of slavery, the island’s people can be so self-assured and open. History is coupled with lucid storytelling to redefine what it means to be human despite all circumstances. To rise for one and as one in pursuit of the common good.
To see the chapters click the icon
on top left
The Google Map is a unique adaption for a book. Readers can navigate the destination and read what the Rogues in Paradise chapters say about each location’s people, place, and history. The map shows how the series covers the entire islands, North, South, East, and West, and points in between. The editors proposed the structure as it adds meaning to the sequence of events. The new structure combines men, women, and places and classifies them by area, where practical. It adds to the flow of the stories and to the Rogues in Paradise book tours that will follow.
See the Rogues In Paradise Book Website at https://roguesiparadise.com
Plans for the reopening of global tourism vary as to timelines and strategies due to the many different scenarios, level of and control of the virus and options on what are safe and feasible global tourism reopening strategies. This blog reviews informed views and thinking across a wide spectrum of professions and the media. We look at real-life strategies that are both being put in place and currently active, as well as known data on timelines and opinions and experiences from industry leaders. It analyzes and summarizes information from sources like Skift, PhocusWire, The New York Times, CBC and leading authorities in travel.

Skift shares a detailed infographic for each of the major travel and tourism sections. Below is the hotel and tourism section. It covers May to July with the planned opening of TUI Southern European Resorts.
June 4 is a big day for the Caribbean as Sandals All-Inclusive Resorts plans to open most of its resorts starting June 4 to July 1. The Destinations Infographic details known and announced plans and includes the June 4 deadline for St. Lucia’s planned opening with conditions, which is noted in the Barbados Caribbean outline at barbados.org.
Of course Caribbean tourism all depends on the airlines and cruise ships. Many airlines are expected to start international flights by July. Ryanair expects that 40% of seats will be open by July and Finnair will open flights to 40 destinations by July 1.

See all at https://reopening.travel/reopening/
Airlines |Attractions |Business Travel | Cars and Trains | Cruises Destinations | Hotels & Rentals | Meetings | Tour Operators

Naturally this is all, to a large extent, conjecture and we know that even the best laid plans can get disrupted. PhocusWire looks at it more pragmatically, suggesting several possible scenarios.
They take the shape of the 3 graphs depicting a sharp recovery (V), a slow recovery (U) and a dramatic shift with no going back to the old norm (L). Not noted is the W graph that indicates a fast rebound and another pandemic.
In this scenario a second wave of infection is avoided as the lessons learned in healthcare and containment will ward off further spread.
Global lockdowns and curfews have created a need for people to feel liberated once again. There will be a demand for safe travel. Destinations that are considered to be the most safe will do well. This includes many of the Caribbean islands which, by their very nature, have to a large extent been able to isolate themselves far more than cities like New York or countries with massive land borders.
An island is by nature cut off from entry by the sea. St. Lucia and Dominica both reported no deaths and marginal numbers of persons who tested positive. In Barbados the virus appears to be under control. Still the government is moving cautiously with regards reopening.
https://www.phocuswire.com/Futures-radically-different-travel-industry-part-1
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The early years of travel were a period of discovery. Travelers escaped to destinations off the beaten track to explore the world and experience a different heritage and culture in a measured and low-key way. Today’s tourism is all about making travel available to everyone. Many destinations are eager to expand tourism at almost any cost to society and the environment.
In scenario 2, the social impact of the pandemic will dramatically change this mindset and the current normal of mass tourism will no longer be what people want.
In this scenario, off-season travel will increase. The long curfews and social distancing will have conditioned travelers to seek holidays without crowds. This is expected to be a permanent shift in attitude that will cause dramatic changes in the travel industry.
Vacations to crowded tourism destinations at peak periods are already seeing some decline and this will continue at an accelerated rate. Travelers will choose to avoid crowds and many will favor outdoor and nature holidays over cities and popular resort destinations.
In a related survey, PhocusWire noted that off-season is the new in-season. “We may see large numbers of travelers who would prefer to avoid high-density seasons (even in high-density destinations).” Source >>
In the same study, health and safety were a top priority. “Travelers will be holding hotels and other accommodation providers to a much higher standard than usual. They will do more research before booking and will become more proactive in the information-gathering process.”
Travelers will demand top security, privacy and safety. In many cases travelers may perceive alternative accommodation like private homes and vacation rentals as being less crowded and safer, so long as they are confident that health and safety certifications are in place and can be trusted.
Governments and international agencies are already scrambling to coordinate policies on health and safety for travelers, hospitality staff and the local population. At the moment efforts are uncoordinated and confusing.
A coordinated effort will be needed to establish consistent health certifications for airlines and hospitality globally.
More about health standards, distribution, digitization, business travel, alternative accommodation and travel’s soul-searching moment.
Source: PhocusWire Pandemic 2 >>>
Is this the worst case scenario? I hope so because here the virus brings the world economy to its knees.

On the brighter side of life, a vaccine will be available around 2023 and then the miracle will happen: travel will ignite as people once again reach out for new experiences after the devastation of the previous years.
Large chains will come out on top and many small independent hotels may well be acquired by the larger players in the industry.
In a related study, Max Starkov, Hospitality & Online Travel Tech Strategist, shows how hospitality is already dominated by chains. Currently 70% of hotel rooms in the U.S. and 50% in the U.K. belong to branded properties. He explains: “Post-crisis developers, owners and managers will flock to the major chains, attracted by their deep pockets, ability to implement safety and cleanliness protocols, huge loyalty programs… unparalleled direct channel distribution, 2x lower OTA commissions and 3x-4x lower dependency on the OTAs.” See Max Starkov – Hospitality Post-Crisis
Amazon may well become a dominant player and Google may well give up its dream of travel after the many past years of benefiting from profitable ads. Social media giants like Facebook will see revenue slashed but will hold onto a role in the travel sales funnel.
Truly global Online Travel Agents (OTAs) like Booking.com or Airbnb, which do not have a high dependency on any single geography, can quickly and opportunistically redirect business to the most promising geographies.
In another PhocusWire interview with Expedia, CEO Peter Kern was very bullish on the prospects that lie ahead for Expedia and OTAs in general. Among other things, he sees it as an opportunity to lessen reliance on Google!
Whatever happens it seems that this scenario will witness many mergers, acquisitions and affiliate deals that will forever change the distribution channels.
The tourism boom that took 1.3 billion travelers around the world in 2019 will slow to a trickle. Governments will try to support major airlines domestically and destinations will want to help fund attempts to bring tourism back to their shores. The smaller low-cost carriers will not do so well with government support leading to many failures and “a wave of consolidation”.
Global network carriers and international hubs of airline alliances will be been mostly replaced by loosely tied flight combinations connected through the NDC technology standard.
Airline traffic will take as much as 6 years to recover. 2025 will see a few mega-carriers. State-subsidized low-cost carriers will operate mainly money-losing domestic routes.
See Example of how airlines are addressing virus safety concerns on Barbados News Blog
The pandemic lead to a mass swing to virtual services from online shopping to fundamental change in entertainment, which for the first time, saw online screening become the preferred distribution method. Theater goers are staying home to avoid the crowds and so it will be for many parts of life we took for granted.
Media streaming platforms, online gaming, e-sports and technologies emerged in response to the change in society. travel virtualization began with the first virus spread. Viator, Airbnb and tour operators will have to create virtual experiences like virtual walks, yoga courses and meditation with the top gurus. Destination will create their own virtual tours and experiences like & OurBarbados.online aimed and sharing an inside view of the people and culture of a “destination just out of reach!”.
Travel for the elite does not change much as the luxury travel will continue to jet around the world and enjoy its wonders in-person and in relative privacy in the post pandemic socially re-aligned world.
They will enjoy travel without the crowds as the masses are curtailed. In this scenario the worlds top tourist destination will become exclusive lounges offering health and wellness services and trendy cocktail bars for the very wealthy.
In this environment OTAs will have embraced the technology and the new virtual worlds which will become the new shopping malls for travellers and tourism. Travel consumers may hang out in virtual islands and indulge in digitally experience with online gamers that offer special deals. All will be driven by new tech giants entertaining the masses on their virtual platforms. “Google platforms such as Maps, YouTube and Google Arts&Culture, may become major platforms for travel brands, streamlining interactive content and channeling users to the bookings funnel.”
The scenarios are a guiding light of directions we might expect. We should consider strategies for each possibility. We must create new travel related products and new technology to carve out competitive niches in this brave new world. Interestingly Expedia has just announced Free Marketing for its partners.
This is a well-reasoned out debate on the merits of Airbnb vs Hotels. It looks at which is most likely to succeed in the rebound. Traditional hotels have a slight edge in this regard but that is highly debatable. Many feel that the private residences, rather than condos, give a far greater feeling of security as one is not as likely to share spaces with strangers as in a hotel. That seems logical as vacation rental via sites like Arbnb are certainly more private.
The author, Elaine Glusac, suggests that hotels may have an edge in health and virus control. They are typically under strict government guidelines and have well-formulated international standards on health and cleanliness in place. See Barbados – https://barbados.org/blog/?p=4450
On the other hand, vacation rentals also are putting into place international standards. See Premiere Suites‘ example.
Many Airbnb properties are now reverting to professional managers who take care of the full, up-to-standard disinfection of facilities between guests. Travelers communicate with the property managers who advise them on the standards adhered to. Check-in is also hands-free. Guests arrive to ready-to-occupy homes with no meet and greet. They enter using a code that opens the lock or a case for the key – all of which have been disinfected between guests.
Areas of the world that have recovered from covid19 may well find themselves ready and able to allow travel between similarly virus free destinations. See more on this on the Barbados Blog
The Website Strategy Process is a set of techniques and a system for perfecting your website presence and positioning to gain trust and build brand integrity. It was developed and perfected by the Power Marketing Consultant Network as a way to amplify your brand website for digital marketing.

Bonus Summary of Chapter 5 explains what the Website Strategy Process is and why you need it. Click image to go to the strategy.
In website design process, you will learn that websites today are your brand representation. It’s important that it represents you design-wise with graphics, photography and videos that tell your story. It is the message that is important. Too often website designers get this wrong and put image first. It is the message that counts. Click here to learn more about strategic messaging for you website.
The message is layered; it is never a simple tagline. That is an important part of the brand. But the message is weaved into the site navigation. It starts with hot buttons, which are the few critical things that shoppers must know immediately.
Typically, the Hot Buttons are related to Benefits, Comparison and Objections – three critical points of navigation. You can control the flow and direct travellers through your pages by building on these hot buttons. On Page One, the message is concise and the details follow the links (navigation). Few hoteliers try to compare prices but shoppers will want to know how you compare to others. It’s a good idea to explain clearly what category you are in and provide some idea of how you compare. The Bonus looks at some case studies of how this is done.
The objective for many hotels and tourism marketers is to get more direct bookings. It’s not always the case, as the market intermediaries are vital. Online travel agents don’t really need your help and you probably can’t compete with them. Nevertheless, if a user comes to your website directly, you will want to convert them by using the strategies and resources noted in the Website Direct Booking Strategy.
The unfortunate reality is that most travellers who visit your site will not book. On average, travellers will visit 24 or more sites and get into a real muddle, often forgetting which site they visited.
For these travellers, you have got to make them Aware of the advantages and features of the destination. You need to build Interest and Desire. Your strategy is to filter early stage browsers off to Learn More pages. You use the same messaging idea but now the hot buttons (Learn More) may have more to do with the destination and why they should come to your island, city, country or destination. Your website should have lots of content to help them see the advantages of visiting your location. These are collateral pages described in the Bonus.
Travel is highly emotional. Physiology plays a huge part in what people like and how they choose hotels and destinations. It is all about personalising and fitting the experience to the personality. The Website Strategy Process goes into all of this and more. Learn More here >>
For the PDF eBook on the Web Strategy Process, Go Here >>
The first book in the series Marketing Hotels and Tourism is the award-winning WEBSITE. It’s an illustrated guide to the WEBSITE process and marketing strategy. The book starts by evaluating the dramatic changes in hotel and tourism marketing in the digital age. Like everything in the digital age, The Keys to Travel (Chapter 3) are not immune to change. Keywords have been and still are a vital component of marketing.
Chapter 3 provides you with core technology, resources, tools and guides related to keywords for hotels and tourism travel marketing.

keyword research
Chapter 3: The Keys to Travel is about how to find the correct keywords for your niche market, how to do keyword research and how to optimize your page so that it can get listed in search results. It is on-site (Webpage) specific. Off-site marketing is covered in Book 2: Digital Media Marketing.
This article reviews what has changed in the past few years. Google has made several changes to the way it evaluates sites and content. Keywords are still the main criteria and all strategies of the book are as valid today as they were at the time of publishing.
The search engine changes have all been about understanding the implied meaning of users’ searches and displaying content that is the best match in terms of quality, meaning and comprehensiveness. Search has become more intelligent and now it looks for more that keywords alone. For example you have to show Expertise, Authority and Trust (EAT) or keywords will fail.
Today, Google rewards sites that display Expertise, Authority and Trust (EAT). It’s not new and all these are inherent in the Book WEBSITE. What is new is the degree to which EAT features and the level of intelligence now used in determining the match.
Google’s Semantic Search is now based on Artificial Intelligence that uses psychology to understand and interpret meaning from users’ searches and from internet content. It extracts meaningful information from the intent of the search and matches that with website content.
Google’s RankBrain, discussed in Book 2: Digital Media, was the first step in Artificial Intelligence-powered SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This has expanded the focus of Search to include keywords with a deeper understanding of meaning, expertise, authority and trust.
All this lends to creating credibility for today’s search. The final test of credibility and match is what travellers do when they are on your site. If they hit the Back button and go back to Search, it will indicate that it’s not a credible match. It does not fit the buyers’ intent.
The importance of keywords is vital to today’s search results but many digital marketers fail to connect intent to their content. To do this, we need to understand our market. It is never the case that one single keyword will capture this. Your content should contain a comprehensive set of keywords that helps Search to understand the intent and clarity of your content.
This is why Long Tail Content has become more important today. Long Tail Content is very specific to your target market. Chapter 3 of WEBSITE does refer to this with specific examples.
Say, for example, ‘Family Holidays’ is a very common term. A lot of people may be searching for this term but it’s really not specific to a booking. By comparison, terms like “Adventure Family Holidays in the Caribbean” or “Luxury Family Holidays in the Caribbean” are more precise. Still
, the wording is a good indication of booking intent.
A traveller who is ready to book may have already settled on an exact location and also have a few places at which to stay in mind. They will be looking for experiences that fill their needs for comfort, adventure, romance, budget, escape, privacy, safety, community and character. When you know who they are and what they really enjoy, you can craft a message that connects. This is discussed at length in Chapter 10 on Hot Buttons and Messaging.
Google refers to the phase of the travel customers journey as moments. They count 5 moments: dreaming (1 above), Planning (3), Booking (2), and Post Booking journey- Experiencing and Sharing. All of these are part of the sales funnel which is discussed in book series 2 and 3. The sales funnel is as much about what you do off site (Digital Media Marketing Book 2 and 3) as on Site (Website Optimization Book 1).
For more, see Travel Shopping
It’s not all that new but today’s Voice Search is dominating Search. Over 1 billion voice searches are made monthly – that’s over 33 million voice searches every day. And it’s expected that 50% of all search queries will be by voice by 2020. It saves time, is mobile-friendly and much easier to use than typing in a long question. It’s also more versatile and will handle long complex questions far better that text search. It’s also more forgiving on bad grammar and spelling.
With new tools like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant or Cortana, the traditional search methods are going to see a slide in their dominance.
To take full advantage of this trend, you can optimise your profiles and website so that Google finds you for voice searches. Check out this video for a better understanding of this at The Deep End. They recommend that you have all your Internet profiles optimised well. They suggest you claim and optimise your Google My Business page to start. All these profiles must be fully synced with your website. The video goes further and talks about getting your site listed in Position Zero. This is an off-site strategy that is featured in Book 2: Digital Media. See more about Position Zero with Google News.
Voice Recognition and Response will not be limited to Internet Search Engines. The technology exists for you to add voice to your website. It is a bit technical and tricky to implement right now but that will change. To find out more about this, see How to add voice to your website by PAYMILL. Unless you are technically inclined, I don’t suggest you do this now. It will get better in the future.
In the future, websites may have voice search technology to help guests navigate the site. It may help in finding answers to “Frequently Asked Questions”, House Rules, etc. A bit further off, it may answer questions about packages and cost, as well as help with bookings. But that is for the future. It may be featured in Book 3: Technology.
Chapter 3 in Book 1: WEBSITE gives you a firm grounding in the Keys to Travel. You will learn about keywords and get reviews and suggestion on tools and resources that will help you plan a keyword research and strategy. The lessons from this article are:
Buy WEBSITE on Amazon. Available in Digital and Paperback
Stay tuned – Coming soon how snippets and featured snippets and structured markup can help you rank on top of search.
Book buyers are offered several bonuses that include access to membership, updates and newsworthy items related to technology change and trends in Hotel & Tourism Marketing.
This article is a complementary bonus for book buyers that is now shared in this public blog. See Book Series
Marketing Hotels Tourism Book – Website Marketing Strategies on Page from RealHolidays on Vimeo.
More about The Author – Ian R. Clayton
© 2019 Ian R. Clayton
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