With the help of my colleague Beth Jones, we decided to explore the current situation of social networking within the travel industry. The number of travel networking sites has increased dramatically over the past few years. One of the first of its kind, couchsurfing.com, is a site dedicated solely to connecting travellers to local people, so countries can be explored beyond the guidebook. To find out how it works check out Vicky Baker’s post on using CouchSurfing or have a gander at hospitalityclub.org to discover the real South America.
But this isn’t the only way the internet has proved to enhance the standard of our travel. Statistics show that consumers want to hear from people like themselves, 72% of young UK professionals said that their online travel choices had been influenced by other consumer reviews in a survey conducted by EyeforTravel. The article goes on to report that the statistic is backed by a recent boo.com survey, which found that one in every six Brits will post a review following a holiday. 
Now that more than half of us are involved in social computing activities, ranging from Facebook to YouTube, will there really be a need for travel agent advice anymore? After all, we are all wise (most of the time) to the advertiser's spin, and it’s becoming ever more apparent as people speak out in pursuit of justice. Consequently we should try to use these comments written by fellow travellers so we can learn from their experiences. Let’s all say goodbye to crumbling hotels and dirty beaches and hello to happy surfing!
In this video Cheapflights' general manager, Francesca Ecsery discusses the impact of technology and the social networking world of Facebook on the travel market place:
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