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Archive Category: Tourism

VisitBritain ties up with BA, easyjet for a new campaign

VisitBritain has tied up with British Airways and easyJet to encourage visitors to travel to cities across the country.

The national tourism agency is launching a ‘Cities’ campaign in partnership with these two airlines. 

The campaign focuses on 10 cities with a bespoke website and positioning line for each of the locales. The airlines will offer low cost flights from 12 European countries to dovetail with the promotion. The cities include Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford.

The campaign microsite, www.visitbritain.fi/cities, will depict two contrasting selling points of each city.

Laurence Bresh, marketing director, VisitBritain said, “The ‘Cities Campaign’ will not only help make visitors’ money go further but it raises awareness of ten key cities around Britain which offer great value for money and engaging cultural experiences. Whichever city the visitor is lucky enough to experience, they all combine an incredibly rich combination of centuries of history and heritage, rural landscapes with dynamic and vibrant atmospheres.”

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Tourism Authority of Thailand to make use of Twitter and Facebook

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched new Twitter and Facebook campaigns, offering Thailand-related travel information to the public.

The TAT is offering up-to-date information about Thailand events, activities, news etc. 

“We want travelers to Thailand to be more actively involved into the shaping of our web content by updating our site with their own experiences and advices,” said TAT’s new governor, Suraphon Svetasreni. 

Those looking to visit Thailand will find a wide variety of resources on TAT’s social media pages, including external links that provide information about Thailand, videos, general Thailand news, events and more. Users can also leave comments or ask questions about Thailand.

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Mexico tourism board to use social media to combat negative publicity

Mexico’s tourism board, the Consejo de Promocion Turistica de Mexico, SA de CA, is collaborating with Latino social network Quepasa Corporation for an online initiative.

Quepasa will promote Mexico’s tourist destinations via online communities, which will index content related to specific destination and facilitate user interaction via blogs and viral tools.

The two entities will also approach online travel agencies, hotels and airlines with regards to sponsoring a broader viral campaign using the Quepasa Distributed Social Media platform. 

“Over the last several months, Mexico has received an unfair share of negative press,” said John Abbott, CEO of Quepasa. “We believe that the word of mouth nature of our social media platform in combination with content relevant to the North American tourist provides the most effective and authentic solution toward reestablishing Mexico as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world.”

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Indian industry shake up theme for India’s 2009 Distribution Summit

TDS India special

What a shake up the Indian travel sector has undergone since this time last year. For the broader industry it is still a market that promises so much, however some recent developments suggest that this golden chalice of a market has been slapped with a grim dose of reality.

Consider the relatively slow shift to ecommerce by the positively booming middle classes, the drop in average hotel room rates to what some call “truer” values, the withdrawal of airline routes due to unreasonable costs, the zero commission model stalemate with powerful/stubborn agencies, and a general tourism infrastructure that doesn’t reflect India’s standing as a top global destination.

This is a stark removal from the kind of opportunities that we have become accustomed to associating with India’s burgeoning industry.

But regardless of these hindrances, India remains packed with potential and easily the most tantalising platform for travel ecommerce growth.

This year EyeforTravel’s annual Travel Distribution Summit India challenges travel companies to step outside their individual ambitions, throw down their rose tinted glasses, and confront these issues/opportunities as an industry with a united goal.

Leading proceedings on October 6th is Glenn Fogel, Executive Vice President Corporate Development for priceline.com, with an insightful and animated look into India’s online travel environment, and some predictions for what to expect next based on his many year’s experience. Key local players will be offered the chance to retort in what promises to be a revealing analysis.

Online networking through social media channels has become an extremely important means of communication to acutely targeted market segments. As more Indian consumers login to social channels, marketing potential will be unfulfilled if social networks are not receiving some dedicated attention as will be discussed by TripAdvisor and Orkut.

As always there is plenty for the revenue managers as discussion on both event days dips in and out of the analytical side of sales. Industry veterans Puneet Mahindroo (Taj Hotels) and Gautam Bhandari (Marriott) unravel some of the issues surrounding price discounting to stimulate demand and the possible implications this may have on a brand.

The event will continue its tradition of drawing upon global perspectives to help benchmark india’s position within the market. This year sees Marnix Fruitema (Air France KLM) confront the zero commission argument, while Frank Tietjen (TUI AG) applies some of his global experiences to shed light on changing consumer ecommerce behaviour.

2009 looks set to be another excellent forum for any business in India’s online space, and one not to be missed.

The Travel Distribution Summit India is now into its 4th year, and will feature 35 industry leading presenters. October 6-7th, Taj President hotel Mumbai. More information can be found at www.eyefortravel.com/tdindia or by emailing reece@eyefortravel.com

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Mexico marks $90m for new ad campaign

Mexico has launched a $90 million campaign to revive its tourism industry.

The nation is trying to give a boost to its tourism industry, which has suffered as a result of the A-H1N1 swine flu outbreak. 

The national campaign is called “Vive Mexico”, and the goal is to enlist Mexicans in revitalising the tourism industry and counteracting the negative publicity from the epidemic. 

International stars, including Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, Mexican film actor Diego Luna and soccer player Rafael Marquez, from FC Barcelona, are featuring in adverts for the campaign launched by President Felipe Calderon. 

Calderon said the new campaign involved an unprecedented investment in the country’s tourism industry. 

“It’s more than a promotional campaign, it’s a national movement which requires the participation of all Mexicans, especially those who are most well-known,” Calderon said. 

Tour companies would launch a wide range of promotions to lure back tourists from alternative destinations, Calderon added. 

Advertising will be handled by the Mexico Tourism Board’s international creative agency, Publicis Groupe’s Olabuenaga Chemistri in Mexico City.  

A spokeswoman for the Mexico Tourism Board reportedly said different international ad campaigns will be created later.

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Visit Britain launches new social media initiative and offers free UK user generated content to travel partners

Visit Britain, Britain’s National tourism agency, will be at TDS Europe 2009 to launch a new social media initiative in partnership with Digital Visitor.

Currently on course to create the largest media library for leisure and tourism in the country, Visit Britain are building a one-stop shop for user reviews, photos and videos of tourism experiences around Britain through Digital Visitor’s white-labelled social media platform, Visitor Review. Furthermore, Visit Britain are looking to partner with businesses who want to utilise this content to enhance their own marketing – free of charge.
 
“We want to offer travel organisations promoting Britain a media stream of our reviews, photos and videos”, Comments Justin Reid – Head of Online Marketing for Visit Britain.  “UGC has been shown to increase browse time, bookings and online interaction and if we can entice more people to come to the UK using innovative media marketing like this, then this is a win win for Visit Britain and our tourism providers.”
 
TDS Europe 2009 is taking place on 19-20 May at the Business Design Centre in London. To register for the free exhibition and seminars taking place at the Summit, click here

Visit Britain will be located at the Digital Visitor stand and will be exploring opportunities with interested organisations to provide this content – free of charge. To take advantage of this opportunity please visit stand 7 to discuss this opportunity with either Visit Britain or Digital Visitor. To arrange a meeting at the event please contact Anthony@digitalvisitor.co.uk.  Appointments will be limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

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VisitOrkney develops a promotional campaign

VisitOrkney has teamed up with a number of local businesses to develop a promotional campaign.

The campaign, highlighting Orkney as a tourism destination this spring, is running in partnership with transport providers NorthLink Ferries and Flybe (operated by Loganair), along with a number of Orkney brands to achieve national distribution, including Highland Park, Orkney Islands Smokery, Ortak and Sheila Fleet. 

Ortak supported the campaign through a number of marketing initiatives including sending out mailers and online activities whichgreatlyaugmented the campaign’s exposure. 

Additionally, VisitOrkney has been working closely with Highland Park in order to send out a spring themed email to 40,000 of its members. Next month 108,000 bottles of Highland Park whisky will hit the shelves with an eight page promotional booklet promoting the islands; all of which will provide Orkney with new routes to the consumer.  

A new spring themed website has also been created to promote the islands - www.visitorkney.com/celebrate - which offers visitors the opportunity to receive an Orkney brochure, inspiring potential visitors to sample Orkney’s unmissable 

VisitOrkney and Flybe have partnered up for additional marketing. This includes colour page advertorials in the weekend and Scottish editions of the Daily Mail throughout April. And Orkney will receive exposure on www.dailymail.co.uk, targeting nearly 2.5 million potential visitors. 

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VisitScotland garners £48m from its relationship marketing initiative

VisitScotland has shared that its analysis of the travel behaviour and patterns of UK and Irish tourists has boosted revenue in the Scottish tourism industry by £48 million in a single year.

According to sundayherald.com, the national tourism agency, via its relationship marketing programme, processes data garnered from tourist feedback to allow the agency to target information and promotional material to potential visitors as per their known preferences. 

Independent market research has calculated the value of trips by visitors who claim that they would not have visited without prompting by the marketers at £48m, added the report. The agency has a database of more than 1.5 million consumers, collected over the past four years. Among these are 80,000 names of regular visitors, while others on the “loyalty ladder” are 260,000 tourists counted as occasional visitors. 

Gwen Raez, VisitScotland’s group product manager, said the initiative in essence is a highly tailored direct marketing system that allows the agency to focus its communication towards consumers whose preferences best match a particular area of Scotland or offer. The level of marketing investment spent on an individual depends upon their position on the loyalty ladder. It also includes a wide variety of seasonal offers and discounts, with the content and commercial offers. 

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Michigan goes for its first-ever national tourism ad campaign

Travel Michigan, a division of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has launched a $10 million national cable television campaign.

The Pure Michigan campaign will run through June on 15 national cable channels in the US. 

“At a time when many states are reducing their tourism promotion efforts, we have the largest budget for tourism promotion in Michigan’s history at $30 million,” said George Zimmermann, VP of Travel Michigan, the State of Michigan’s official agency for the promotion of tourism.

Zimmermann said the campaign is designed to introduce to the nation the attributes that “make Michigan such a popular and unique destination”. 

“There are millions of Americans who know little or nothing about the vibrancy, heritage, culture, arts and entertainment in our great cities, the sandy beaches and stunning overlooks along America’s longest fresh-water coastline, or the majesty and recreation in our 19 million acres of magnificent forests.” 

Michigan’s tourism promotion budget has grown dramatically in recent years from less than $6 million in 2005 to $30 million in 2009.

Specifically, for each dollar Michigan spent on out-of-state advertising from 2004 through 2008, new visits to Michigan motivated by that advertising created more than $40 of spending at Michigan businesses and generated $2.86 in new state tax collections. 

Zimmermann noted that visitors spend $18.1 billion annually traveling in Michigan, generating $874 million in state taxes, and accounting for 192,000 jobs statewide. 

Related links: Tourism, Marketing  

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New Internet-based tour operator launched for the Dutch market

In a new offering for the Dutch market, Thomas Mes has introduced an
Internet-based tour operator www.OpenWorldJourneys.nl
<http://www.openworldjourneys.nl/> .

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