See that little badge over on the right? Nope, not the new Tom Bihn one (doesn’t it look all retro and cool?). Scroll down to the Travel Insights 100 button. If you click on it, it’ll take you to a nifty site that serves as a forum for a diverse group of travel leaders (most of whom are bloggers). It’s a platform, if you will, to discuss all sorts of issues affecting travel and tourism around the world. The group is the brainchild of the smart folks from Uptake (where SoCalGal and I also blog), Tips from the T-List and BootsnAll — and The Vacation Gals are so proud to be a part of it.
In fact, in our travel-blogging talk at the Type-A Mom conference last week, I recommended the Travel Insights 100 website as a great way to find new-to-you travel bloggers. All of our RSS feeds are on the site and you can click on links in the member directory to follow us all on Twitter.
Surveys of the group will help serve as fodder for discussion and offer insight into travel trends. I love that the first survey was about Twitter – since I’m seemingly on the social-media network all the time. I use it not only to network with other folks in the travel industry, but I do Tweet about my personal life — from my plans for the day to my husband’s cancer diagnosis to the freakish Colorado weather.
I also use Twitter to get insider tips on potential vacation destinations. In fact, just yesterday, I asked my Tweeps for the scoop on accommodations at Yellowstone National Park, since my family is thinking about visiting next summer. I got a wonderfully detailed response from @aknickerson, who visits the area regularly. She’s chock full of tips!
I’m not alone in using Twitter for travel help: 91 percent of the Travel Insights 100 Twitter survey respondents recommended using Twitter for finding insider travel tips, information and deals.
If you do start following the Travel Insight 100 folks on Twitter, do keep this in mind: Top pet peeves include Tweeps that are too mundane, too corporate or too promotional. So, if you’re new to Twitter, have fun, be personable and don’t cram your company’s message down our throats. 
Here are the full results from the Travel Insights 100 Twitter Survey.
