Let’s hope this is not the summer of tourism’s discontent. With the economy in a tailspin, a majority of Americans — some 56 percent — recently told Roper pollsters they had no plans for a summer vacation this year. That’s up from previous years. Worse, a third of Americans surveyed said they had already canceled at least one trip this year due to financial concerns.
With more Americans staying at home and domestic tourism suffering as a result, is it any wonder California established a tourism promotion beachhead in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China?
Or that Miami recently set up a similar office in Mumbai, India?
At a time when every tourist dollar counts, it pays to follow the money — regardless of time zone.
For a lot of U.S. tourist destinations, many visitors will likely be locals. But for others, outreach to international travelers can bring financial rewards at a time when spending from any source is welcome news.
Last year brought a record number of visitors from overseas—some 58 million travelers — an increase of 4 percent from 2007. More important, that’s a 33 percent increase from the post-9/11 low of 2003, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. The British topped the list of international visitors at more than 4 million, followed by the Japanese at 3.5 million, and Germans at 1.5 million.
That’s not the only good news when it comes to foreign visitors to our shores. International visitors to the United States tend to stay longer and spend more during their stays as well.
According to the International Trade Administration Office of Travel & Tourism Industries “Survey of International Air Travelers, in California, for example, Japanese travelers stay nearly eight nights on average, spending more than $160 a day. Visitors from China average more than 12 nights and spend $118 a day. And without the economic meltdown last autumn, the numbers would likely have been even higher.
Still, with the global economy now in a downturn, many travel marketers are concerned that potential travelers from these and other economically hard-hit countries may not venture to the United States at all.
How can public relations bolster the numbers of foreign visitors, reassuring wary travelers that they’ll find a warm welcome, highlighting the sometimes-unprecedented cost values awaiting them, and also encouraging them to explore beyond the major gateway cities?
Now is probably the perfect opportunity to highlight the unparalleled flexibility and cost-effectiveness public relations can bring to a marketing mix, as well as the chance to enter the brave new world of social media.
Traditional media relations tactics — from trips for targeted media, media tours for destination and property spokespeople, media events in key international markets — are still working well. Promotions featuring once-in-a-lifetime events such as this year’s 400th anniversaries of Henry Hudson’s and Samuel de Champlain’s explorations will be a focus for New York as well as Vermont and eastern Canada, respectively. Value-added hotel deals abound with Las Vegas hotels leading the way. Festivals, such as Washington State’s “Kirkland UnCorked” and close-by getaways will all likely succeed with domestic and international travelers alike.
But with budgets tightening, staffs decreasing, and online travel setting the pace worldwide, this is the perfect moment for PR pros to embrace Web 2.0 tools to seek potential travelers where they “live”— on the Web and anywhere in the world.
Don’t wait for them to find your Web site: go find them. Following are tips to help get started:
· Facebook pages touting events and special promotions are making it easy for satisfied guests to detail their travel experiences online. These techniques are being used effectively by our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.; Renaissance Hotels; the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, and others.
· LinkedIn connections have become another way of finding trusted travel recommendations. Use your profile to let others know what’s happening at your destination, attraction or property. Join groups interested in your special attributes and appeals, from biking to bird watching, travel motivators all.
· YouTube’s a great opportunity to quickly post entertaining videos that can be seen around the world, showing humorous or newsworthy events or activities.
· Twitter is another great vehicle. Travel Portland (Ore.) recently launched the first “Twisitor Center,” encouraging locals to reply to Twitter queries about restaurants, attractions, and more, boosting their reach, reinforcing their brand, and reaching more potential visitors around the clock.
In all cases, be mindful of how your messages are being received by target audiences overseas. If possible, have foreign language speakers blog in their native language to increase cultural immediacy.
It’s well worth making the investment in attracting overseas visitors. In these tough economic times, every Bienvenue, Bienvenidos or Willkommen you say to a visitor from overseas can mean more money in the bank for you and a better future for your destination.
Peggy R. Bendel is senior vice president/travel marketing and lead media trainer at New York-based Development Counsellors International (DCI), the leader in marketing places. She is currently secretary of PRSA’s Travel & Tourism Professional Interest Section. A principal in the seminal “I Love New York” campaign, Bendel began her career as a travel writer for the State of New York, and worked in economic development and international trade as well as tourism. E-mail: Peggy.bendel@dc-intl.com
