Fake user content, for now, to breathe life into your site. Several respected people on HN have noted this works well.
Issues:
* I'm not exactly sure what I'm getting for clicking on "sign up." Is it only a travel blog platform or is there more?
* I don't care "what's happening right now" on some map. That is prime homepage real estate that is being wasted. Perhaps leave that for when I'm logged in on a "news feed" page; and then only show my friends (via Facebook or Twitter connections); also, you could show other site users in whatever town I'm now in (if I'm traveling now).
* The Hot News and Travel Deals columns are competing for my attention. And I am repulsed from bothering to read them. It's the 50-50 column widths. And there's too many (10); try showing only the top 1 or 2 of each.
* You ask the user "are you a QT?" I don't get it. Maybe I'm missing something.
Credibility: I like to travel, I blog about my travels on my own Wordpress blog, and I read a lot of other people's travel blogs and travel-lifestyle blogs.
I hope that helps.