April 2009
In this issue:
Welcome
Sun Devil Destinations unveils Personal Vacation Club
Around the world in 140 characters: Top travel Twitterers
Visit the Emerald Isle with fellow Sun Devils
Also...
Tip: Use Twitter to promote travel adventure and fun
We want to hear from you
Words to leave by
Welcome
Travel season is in full swing here at the Alumni Association! We’re preparing to lead interesting, culturally rich journeys to Japan in June and Peru’s amazing Machu Picchu complex in September, and already have begun planning for our 2010 trips, which will include luxury cruises to the Panama Canal, the Agean Sea and Alaska, as well as land-based adventures in Dubai, Rome and India. You can get an overview of all of our trips by visiting the Sun Devil Destinations home page.
In this issue of the e-newsletter, we introduce you to an exciting new service—our Personal Vacation Club, powered by Virtuocard. You can join the club and plan an independent trip or select from one of dozens of itineraries. Please visit the site and begin plotting your next getaway!
Finally, we also feature in this issue a number of travel-related tidbits that utilize the social media service Twitter. The interactivity of Web 2.0 applications can make planning for a trip and sharing one’s experiences from the road enlightening and fun. We encourage you to follow the travel “tweeters” we’ve discovered, as well as sign up to follow the Alumni Association’s Twitter account. You can find a comprehensive list of Alumni Association groups using social networking to spread Sun Devil spirit on our Web site.
Christine K. Wilkinson
President, ASU Alumni Association
Senior Vice President and University Secretary
Jennifer Holsman
Executive Director, Operations
ASU Alumni Association
Features
Sun Devil Destinations unveils Personal Vacation Club
Want to plan the vacation of a lifetime, on your own terms? Choose from dozens of vacation options when you book trips through our Personal Vacation Club, powered by Virtuocard. The club offers exciting trips, from city escapes to nature safaris to family-friendly itineraries. You also can book lodgings, transportation and rental cars for independent adventures in the world’s most exotic locations!
Plan your personal vacation today!
Around the world in 140 characters: Top travel Twitterers
Twitter is a service that allows users to post brief (140 characters or less) text messages to each other on their computers or mobile phones. Many travel industry experts and organizations are using it to share their information and opinions. Here is a small sampling of Twitter users (known as “tweeters”) you can follow to increase your knowledge about the current state of travel.
Local sites
http://twitter.com/TravelPortland
http://twitter.com/NewYorkology
http://twitter.com/Londonist
Learn about the world
http://twitter.com/Travelography
http://twitter.com/brillianttips
http://twitter.com/worldhum
Keep up on the world of travel
http://twitter.com/WTNonline
http://twitter.com/nytimestravel
http://twitter.com/TravelEditor
Track travel delays worldwide
http://twitter.com/tripchill
Find a great pub
http://twitter.com/GoodPubGuide
Additional Twitter travel links:
Twitter Tips from 25 Tweeting Travelers
50 Great Travel Tweeters
Around the World with ASU
Visit the Emerald Isle with fellow Sun Devils
You won’t want to miss our upcoming trip to Ireland September 18-26. Immerse yourself in the cultural and historical treasures of Dublin and enjoy Killarney, which is surrounded by idyllic lakes, mountains, rivers and waterfalls.
Learn more about the trip
ASU Tour of Europe deadline APRIL 19!
If you know a graduating Sun Devil senior with international ambitions, a perfect graduation gift might be the ASU Tour of Europe, slated for May 21-June 5, with an add-on trip to Greece running June 5-10. The whirlwind tour includes stops in London, Paris, Brussels, Venice, Rome and many other key destinations on the continent.
The final booking deadline for the trip is Sunday, April 19.
Book a trip for your graduate today!
Other upcoming trips
Mediterranean Cruise (luxury cruise), Oct. 21-Nov. 3
Passage to Panama (luxury cruise), Feb. 9-25, 2010
Check out the complete list of Sun Devil Destinations trips
Packing Light…short takes on travel
Tip: Reach out with Twitter to research, share your travel fun
“The tweets that I like best point me to odd and wonderful travel stories … Good tweeting can also connect you with locals. For example, I might tweet ‘Where can I get decent espresso in Austin, Texas?’ The best possible answer? A link to the primo java joint in town and maybe, ‘Need more local advice, I can meet you there at 3:30 p.m. Let me know, happy to help!’”
– Freelance travel writer and blogger Pam Mandel
Stretch your travel dollar, use the Sun Devil travel portal
Coming back to ASU or the Valley of the Sun for a big game, a conference, or to visit family and friends? The Alumni Association has partnered with Campus Travel Management to create a unique travel portal.
You can use this portal to check out ASU area hotels that offer special Sun Devils rates, enhanced availability and a “Go Devils!” attitude, as well as fill out an ASU Alumni Association Reservation Request Form that will let hotels know you are one of our VIP members.
You can expand your savings by utilizing Campus Travel Management’s network of college-centric travel portals, which covers dozens of other cities throughout the country.
Visit the ASU portal today!
Explore the Campus Travel Management network
Get in on the good stuff: join the Alumni Association now
Travel with the ASU Alumni Association is a member benefit. Join now so you can start seeing the world with other ASU alums today!
To start your travel adventures with us, join online and enter “Travel” in the campaign code line.
We want to hear from you
Got a suggestion for a travel destination? Want to refer a potential traveler? Tell us about it. We want to create a travel program that meets your needs.
Words to leave by
“Effective travel tweets are like evocative travel writing: Specific. Direct. And they should point to something larger than one’s self.”
– Newley Purnell, American journalist and travel-oriented Twitter user living in Bangkok, Thailand