I've been writing about travel marketing for a long time, and the changes over that period, of course, are overwhelming. While early campaigns were Internet-free, they are now dominated by online initiatives - heavy on Facebook contests and other social media efforts (although one arena that hasn't changed much involves tie-ins with movies and television.)

If you pop on over to the Amazon Best Sellers list this graduation season, you'll see a phenomenon as predictable as the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano. Oh, the Places You'll Go!, the last book written by Dr. Seuss, is making its annual pilgrimage to the top of the charts. Released in 1990, the book has become a favorite grad gift the world around, thanks to its message that the future is a bright and wondrous world of possibilities.

The great thing about consumer trends is that they lead us to think about the future in new and innovative ways. To help my team and me ponder where things are headed, we subscribe to and regularly consult the trend-spotting service Iconoculture.

Think you're up to date on how to manage travel public relations programs? Take this quiz to see whether or not you're operating like a pro.

Talk about eyeballs. An estimated 4.7 billion people will be watching the London 2012 Olympics on one kind of screen or another. That's almost 10 billion eyeballs - enough to give anyone a headache just thinking about it.

If you're a travel marketer on the hunt for an incredible sponsorship opportunity, have I got a great one for you! For years, business travelers have been a disorganized bunch with little collective voice. But now, thanks to the amplified magic of social media, they have a mascot to call their very own-The Pet Peeve(R)!

Everyone has an opinion.

I struggle with how the vacation experience has evolved in the digital age. There is an upside and a downside to knowing practically everything about a hotel, destination, attraction, or restaurant prior to visiting.

Savvy PR professionals plan their media outreach based on deadlines of the different editorial outlets they're targeting. But in this age of constant communications, that means travel or lifestyle editors are not only working six months or more in advance, they're also blogging, tweeting, and producing weekly or daily newsletters. Yes, content is king, and these busy editors, like travel marketing pros, need to feed that content machine. So knowing how to best provide value to travel writers and editors is critical.

Over the next week or so, Brand USA will unveil its campaign for marketing a certain product we all know - the United States of America.