Tourism - Winter 2004 - issue 119 by Tourism Society

TOURISM T h e J o u r n a l f o r t h e To u r i s m I n d u s t r y

Winter 2004 Issue 119

IN THIS ISSUE ●

IN FOCUS Casinos: Those in Favour – Marc Etches Casinos: Those Against – Ken Male

PLUS:

STOP PRESS • STOP PRESS • STOP PRESS • STOP PRESS

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Realising the potential of women and tourism – Graham Wason

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London’s Olympic bid – Ken Robinson

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The domestic market – Brian Human

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Technology and tourism – Michael Jones

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The tourism balance of payments – Philip Cooke

Log on Today to Enjoy the Brand New Look and Use the Brand New Features! Brand New Look: • IMPROVED EVENTS CALENDAR with downloadable booking forms – click on ‘events’ for all the latest information. • MEMBERS ONLY SECTION with on-line journals and member discounts details – click on ‘Just for Members’ and contact the secretariat for your password. • JOBS PAGE – click on ‘jobs’ for recent industry vacancies, student & professional CVs and for tips & tricks in CV writing.

Brand New Features: • SEARCHABLE CONSULTANTS DATABASE – click on ‘Find a Consultant’ to access a searchable database under name, occupation or specialisation. • COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF UK ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS with tourism courses. Click on ‘Academic Institutions’ in the ‘About Us’ section. • BOOK REVIEWS – extended book reviews with the option of purchasing from Amazon.co.uk

A Brand New Way to Contact the Society: For general enquiries, email:

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e - m a i l : a d m i n @ t o u r i s m s o c i e t y. o r g I w e b s i t e : w w w . t o u r i s m s o c i e t y. o r g

E D I TO R I A L “On any given day, there are more persons attending meetings and conventions than there are in all the college and university classrooms combined” Roy Evans, CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association. As an academic and researcher specialising in conference management, I make no apology for the fact that this edition of the Journal features no fewer than five reports of recent Tourism Society meetings. The organising of regular meetings on relevant topics is one of the most valuable services that professional associations can provide for their members. And meetings are particularly indispensable in a fast-changing industry such as our own, where unexpected new trends and unforeseen developments make it essential for current issues to be discussed and original ideas to be evaluated more frequently than ever. But Society meetings are much more than a forum for discussion and debate. The widespread networking that precedes and follows our meetings, with much exchanging of business cards, reminiscences and – let’s be frank – gossip, are a major part of the value of these occasions. Clearly, reports of these events restrict themselves, by necessity, to the substance of the presentations and discussions that constitute the actual meeting; and the dissemination of these reports is a key role for this Journal. But these reports, extremely useful though they are, cannot, by any means, capture the conviviality of the networking and the cut-and-thrust of the debate that characterises all Tourism Society events. Thanks is due here to the, usually unsung, heroes and heroines who make the publication of these reports possible – the scribes who record the essence of what is said, by whom, at these meetings. Having, myself, taken on this role for one of the meetings, I can now appreciate the challenges involved in taking full and accurate notes of the proceedings. So, hats off to the volunteers who kindly fulfil this function and make it possible for all Society members to benefit from the meetings we hold. In the not-so-distant future, in step with the march of progress, it may be possible for members to ‘e-ttend’ Society meetings, using webconferencing technology, rather than attend them in person. And the day when entire conference proceedings can be recorded and later downloaded and viewed on our computers, at our leisure, cannot be very far away. Until that day, the Journal will continue to reproduce the essence of Society events’ proceedings, in order that all of our readers may benefit from the speakers’ presentations and the lively discussions that follow. Rob Davidson FTS Guest Editor

CONTENTS Chairman’s Page

Industry News

In Focus

Business Tourism

Domestic

Gereration X

Meeting Reports

Special Feature

Technology

Letters

Networks

Book Reviews

Membership News

Diary Dates 2004 June

Event Tourism: Panacea or Pandemonium? – The Annual Conference, Liverpool

Mid-September Futures, London

MB Law MB Law have just re-launched their website at www.mb-law.co.uk. If you are a member of the Tourism Society you are eligible to one free introductory consultation with MB Law, specialists in Travel and Leisure. Please contact the Tourism Society secretariat for more information.

© The Tourism Society, 1 Queen Victoria Terrace, Sovereign Court, London E1W 3HA Tel: 020 7488 2789 Fax: 020 7488 9148 Email: admin@tourismsociety.org Website: www.tourismsociety.org Registered in England No.01366846 The subscription fees for 2004 are £72.00 (inland) and £80.00 (overseas). Guest editor – Rob Davidson FTS Print DSPrint & Redesign Tel: 020 8805 9585 Tourism is the journal of The Tourism Society. The views expressed in Tourism are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of The Tourism Society. Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neither transparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned. The Tourism Society cannot be held responsible for any services offered by advertisers in Tourism. All correspondence must be addressed to The Editor. Tourism is only available to members of The Tourism Society and on subscription, and is distributed quarterly to 1400 senior professionals working in national and regional tourist boards, local government, travel agencies and tour operators, visitor attractions, accommodation and catering, entertainment, information services, guiding, consultancies and education and training.

SHINE – Realizing the Potential o f Wo m e n a n d To u ri s m

Society or The origin of the employed by a word ‘mentor’ ...lack of female corporate member springs from role models in the of SHINE. If SHINE Homer’s The proves successful, Odyssey, in which boardroom... the scheme will be Odysseus, setting extended to off to war, chose a encompass all tourism professionals in trusted and wise friend to protect and the future. advise his son Telemachus. This has translated to the modern day as All members of the Tourism Society are ‘mentor’ - an ‘experienced and trusted asked to support SHINE by: adviser’. SHINE will work on two levels: • A series of women-orientated workshops on topics such as career aspirations, returning to work after a break, self-promotion, creating network opportunities, etc;

he Tourism Society is delighted to welcome the launch of SHINE, its Mentoring for Women initiative.

• Individual mentoring – providing ‘experienced and trusted advisers’ to mentor women professionals in the travel, tourism and leisure industries by exploring and identifying solutions to issues of importance to their careers.

SHINE is an outstanding venture that is exactly the kind of professional development that the Society is keen The scheme is flexible and nonto promote. It was spawned as a result prescriptive. The aim is to match the of ideas emanating from the Tourism needs of ‘mentees’ with the expertise of Society, Alessandra Alonso (a member the mentors. of the Board of the Guidelines will be Society) and Gaby ...mentoring could help provided, but how Marcon (who is also the relationship a member of the more women advance works between Society). Alessandra their positions... mentor and mentee and Gaby have is essentially up to developed it from the two professionals concerned. It could initial idea, through the business plan be a continuing relationship or a one-off to its successful launch. meeting and can be conducted either face-to-face or virtually. SHINE is already attracting great interest. The last edition of Travel Trade The scheme is open to women of any Gazette featured SHINE and the age who wish to: Tourism Society on its cover. There are no female CEOs among the top travel, leisure and tourism companies in the FTSE 350. A survey undertaken on behalf of the Tourism Society last autumn by Alessandra and Gaby suggests that the lack of female role models in the boardroom could be depriving the industry of essential talent. The results indicate that mentoring could help more women advance their positions; some 81% of women surveyed believed it would have a positive impact on their career as it encourages active role modelling.

• enhance their professional development within the industry; • improve their self-confidence and self-esteem; • increase their motivation; and/or • broaden their horizons and experience. The individual mentoring service is voluntary and provided free of charge to the mentee. Mentees must be individual members of the Tourism

CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

G ra h a m Wa s o n F T S

• inviting senior women colleagues and contacts to volunteer as mentors; and • inviting all women colleagues and contacts to come forward if they are interested in being mentored; and • inviting companies and others to participate as sponsors or corporate members. Further details are available from Alessandra, Gaby and myself on the following email addresses: Alessandra: Lotufoale@aol.com Gaby: fargold@btinternet.com Graham: RGWason@aol.com

Tourist attractions signposting A circular from the Department for Transport advises that guidance on the signposting of tourist attractions has been published by The Stationery Office, as part of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. It is available in on the Highways Agency website at http://www.highways.gov.uk/cont racts/dmrb/tourist_signs.htm There is also a link to the new guidance from the DfT's own website at www.dft.gov.uk/roads/signs where visitors should click on general guidance and information and then related information on other websites.

L o n d o n ’s O ly m p i c s B i d INDUSTRY NEWS

Ke n R o b i n s o n C B E F T S • Meeting the accommodation requirements • Sustainability and after-uses for new tourism-related facilities • Visitor information services and welcome • Skills and manpower needs, including volunteers • Maximising the London “Gateway” role for Britain • Transportation efficiency and quality • Global Marketing, branding and media liaison arrangements

he real Olympic contest for 2012 is well underway, with the next deadline being the IOC’s announcement of the initial shortlisted locations, on May 18 2004. The London bid is acknowledged to be very strong, even by competitor cities, so it is very likely that this race will continue until the chosen location is announced on July 6 2005. The Government, the Mayor of London, the Greater London Authority and the London Development Agency have given strong backing to London 2012, the company formed to submit the bid. The evidence from other recent Games is that over half of the long term net economic benefit of hosting the Games is from tourism. In an ever more competitive global marketplace, the long term prize for Britain’s tourism is massive. Last summer, the Tourism Society held a discussion meeting and then an open “Think Tank” exercise running through until autumn, concentrating solely on the tourism-related issues of the Games. The main tourism issues identified were: • Preparing a comparative assessment of the Tourism attributes of the competitor bidding cities. • An accurate assessment of required additional tourism facilities • London and Britain’s image as a tourism destination

• Reviewing the cost burden and downside issues for tourism businesses • Optimising value for customers and gain for the tourism industry A comparison of the Tourism attributes of London with the main competitor cities shows that London wins on points, just ahead of New York, Madrid, Paris and Rio. An assessment of additional tourism facilities required, primarily of hotel accommodation, shows that the existing capacity in London with new bed-stock already in the pipeline, is more than adequate for the Olympics’ spectators, media and other related visitors, with most competitors being accommodated in the new Olympic village. The Olympics take place in the summer school holiday period. Of course, for the period of the Games, normal leisure and business tourism demand will be displaced, but the accommodation stock can cope; overall visitor volumes will be within normal capacity limits. The greater pressure will also boost occupancy in hotels throughout the catchment area. We have proposed a “Home Stay” scheme in quality assured and fixed price, inspected homes. Compared to most locations which have to build substantial new accommodation to host the Games and then have to face the fallout of lower subsequent demand, this is a great advantage. The prime requirement from the hotel sector which BHA will be addressing

with its leading members, is to precontract the large number of rooms to the organisers at low rates for official uses, while deterring profiteering by unscrupulous intermediaries. London faces a major challenge in providing the tourism information services and the welcome that international guests must receive. This is recognised by LDA and VisitLondon, who are already working on a number of long term initiatives to improve these areas. Skills and human resources requirements are also a key issue. Following the examples of the Barcelona and Sydney, this will be answered in part by the involvement of many volunteers - over 50,000 in Sydney. This makes the training challenge even greater, for the consistent high standards and cohesive service that must be achieved. There is a strong perception outside London that the Olympics will really only benefit London. By definition, most events of the Games must be located in a core area, in this case the Lea Valley, just east of central London. But the Games will also directly benefit many other locations, as many national teams arrive will early to train and acclimatise themselves, staying in cities throughout Britain. Some events are held outside London: the sailing will be at Weymouth, and the Soccer competition will be staged in Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Belfast. The IOC also now require bids to procure a Cultural Festival to be held throughout Britain in the two years before the Games. Also, the LDA will be working with VisitLondon to ensure that London’s gateway role is proactively developed, to spread the benefits to all. But the evidence from other nations that have recently hosted the Games is quite clear: during the period surrounding the Games, normal tourism activity is greatly disrupted and many businesses will not do as well as in a normal year. However in the two years before the Games and in the years to follow, the heightened international profile of Britain and London will have a strongly beneficial effect on demand for Britain as a holiday destination. The odds on the UK winning the Games are looking pretty strong.

Resort Casinos – A Golden Opportunity fo r R e g e n e ra t i o n a n d To u ri s m M a rc E t c h e s M T S

Resort casinos are powerful economic engines capable of driving large-scale economic and social renewal, if introduced in a purposeful manner. A single slot machine can net as much as £40k annually. In Atlantic City, 35,000 such machines contribute $256m to New Jersey public welfare programmes every year. A further $54m is delivered annually into local community regeneration projects involving housing and education. The prospect of revitalising Blackpool on the back of resort casinos has generated worldwide attention and much support. Blackpool aspires to be a vibrant, all year round, diverse and quality-driven resort appealing to visitors and residents alike, competing for both day visits and short-break stays within the UK market. At the heart of this vision is the development of resort casinos that will act as a catalyst for massive regeneration, thousands of jobs and significant investment in skills, which in turn will deliver wider prosperity and improved quality of life for local residents and businesses. Atlantic City and Biloxi in the US offer relevant examples of seaside town

There is reliable evidence to suggest that the economic benefits associated with high payout slot machines are likely to be greatest, and the social costs lowest, when slot facilities are built in a destination resort environment as opposed to an urban setting. Some academics, notably Professor Eadington, Director of the Institute for Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, have argued that ‘destination gaming’ is more likely to attract a little gambling occasionally by large numbers of visitors, concentrating the positive economic impact in an area of need and sharing any potential social costs more widely, rather than encouraging more regular gambling at more accessible urban locations. The proposed use of planning regulation is an appropriate process by which a region can determine for itself where best to locate resort casino development. However, there will need to be some degree of national control to ensure an effective and cohesive approach to securing economic benefits in the areas of greatest need. There would be significant benefits to the Government of restricting the number of resort casino licences available in the UK. Primarily, it would ensure the controlled introduction of what would be a

completely new and extraordinarily powerful gaming product, the high payout slot machine. Just as importantly, such managed competition would more likely result in world-class attractions in terms of both quality and scale, thereby maximising the positive impact on tourism, and economic and social renewal in those areas of greatest need.

IN FOCUS

he need to regenerate the UK’s seaside towns is irrefutable - not just for social and economic reasons, but because in many cases the overall product does not meet contemporary expectations.

regeneration led by destination gaming. However, Blackpool will inevitably continue to evolve on the basis of its own unique heritage. Blackpool Borough Council has drawn up a comprehensive master plan for the re-development of the town that includes four or five potential sites for resort casinos. It is estimated that the development of resort casinos within the context of Blackpool Borough Council’s master plan would generate £414m additional revenue annually and 14,500 jobs throughout Lancashire. Total investment in Blackpool and the surrounding region could reach £2 billion over the next decade by securing gaming as the core economic engine. The revival of Blackpool as a quality tourism destination is also a key ‘signature project’ within the North West Development Agency’s regional economic strategy.

The regeneration of Blackpool would be best served by there being several competing resort casinos in the town. The eventual number of resort casinos and therefore the size of any subsequent economic impact will be dependent on the number and location of other UK destinations permitted to develop resort casinos, the commercial interest in those destinations, and the proliferation of other ‘large’ casinos offering substantial numbers of high-payout slot machines. Resort casinos that are capable of being a catalyst for regional regeneration and tourism will require significant capital investment. If this scale of investment – and the potential for economic and social regeneration – is to be delivered into those areas of greatest need, an understanding of the relationship between capital and risk is required. The level of capital employed will be in direct proportion to the risk, so that lowering the risk whilst maintaining the same level of reward will result in capital being directed towards mid-size casinos in the primary catchment area of the location that requires economic and social regeneration, resulting in a direct reduction in the capital available for large-scale development. In other words, business would most likely choose to spread its capital risk by operating, say for the purposes of illustration, ten 100+ slot facilities costing £15m each and distributed in highly populated urban areas rather than one 1000 slot facility in a declining seaside resort costing £150m. Blackpool will not achieve its ambition of sustaining resort casino-led regeneration if there are too many large casinos elsewhere in the region. Without resortstyle gaming, Blackpool will not achieve meaningful economic and social renewal. Great care needs to be given to the number and location of licences to

Resort Casinos – Th e C h i p s a re D o w n IN FOCUS

Ke n M a l e F T S In total, Las Vegas probably has more bed-spaces than the total in the 10 biggest resorts in Britain. One hotel alone has more capacity than many of our resorts in total. Their aim is to keep the punters inside spending their money in the casino, and not in the surrounding area. So the additional spend in the local economy is likely to be restricted.

omparisons with the USA in respect of the liberalisation of the gaming laws can lead one to draw conclusions which do not necessarily apply in the UK. The belief that the introduction of casinos into the resorts will provide the sort of revenues that are accrued in the States is a nice dream but I am afraid that is all it is - a dream! Our resorts cannot rely on this Holy Grail alone to save them from the problems of lack of investment from which they all suffer. Firstly, let’s look at the differences. Las Vegas was built upon a worthless bit of desert, where the land values were hardly that of poor old cramped Britain, where the cost of developing represents a major disadvantage. Any casino needs to be about more than just gambling, and hotel rooms need to be present on site for best returns. Next, there is the fact that most of our resorts are already quite densely built upon, and the ability to find or create sites of sufficient size for the purpose is almost impossible in most towns. If the property owners get wind of someone putting together a parcel of land, then one or two are always going to hold out for ‘ransom money’ to complete the package. So let’s imagine that the fairy has waved her magic wand and there is now a parcel of land sufficiently large for the purpose. The question now arises: can the sort of cost of building hotels like those in Las Vegas be justified? On ‘The Strip’ alone there are nearly 70,000 rooms (not bed-spaces!).

Then there is a question of the potential market. The UK has a slightly smaller population than the US.... well only a few hundred million less! The other aspect which I do not believe has yet been proven is whether there is unmet demand. In Bournemouth there were 5 casino licences in 1980, and now there are only two casinos operating there. They were bought out by their competitors and closed because there were not enough punters to go around. Well, is the relaxation of the registration requirement and the ability to increase payouts going to mean that there will be many more entrepreneurs wanting to go to casinos? There is then the measurement of the benefit to the local community where, again, comparison with the US is misleading. Yes, there will be local benefits, creating employment and local wealth as a result. But much of the benefit will go to the national, rather than the local, purse. In this country the Uniform Business Rate is collected locally on behalf of the Government who then redistribute it around the country, according to their criteria for need. PAYE from the additional earnings of employees, betting taxes, etc. all go to central Government for redistribution. We do not have the same local tax systems that there are in the US, and the last thing we want is to be introducing additional taxes when we are already not competitively priced in the international market. Will the Government, therefore, agree to a reassessment of the entire fiscal policy to accommodate the needs of the resorts, allowing local monies to be used locally? There are certainly benefits from major investment in new facilities but these are likely to be within certain pockets within the resorts rather than regenerating the whole resort.

Resort casinos may be an element in the future success of our resorts, but they can only be a part of the whole package of a strategy for regeneration. The truth is likely to be that the resorts will only be regenerated with the support of the players in the local economy so that it is not entirely dependent upon visitors, but that the facilities are used and supported by locals too. Governments (and not just this one the problem has been around for decades!) also need to realise the special case for resorts and their need for help with their regeneration. They are national assets enjoyed by residents from all over the UK and yet the extra facilities they supply have to be funded locally. The local authorities need to provide the infrastructure to make the place inviting, in order to encourage the private sector to invest in new businesses. Tourism has, for too long, not been given sufficient emphasis when calculating the money redistributed by Government in the form of the rate support. In conclusion, casinos can provide an investment and a new facility for a resort, but it would be folly to believe that they can, in isolation, solve the regeneration needs of these towns. The problems cannot be overcome with any such ‘quick fix’ solution. The Government’s new emphasis on the emerging Regional Development Agencies will hopefully deliver a more focussed approach to their needs, with greater, more local understanding. A strategic plan, of which casinos may be an element, is required for identifying the long term investment needs and opportunities for an area, with the private sector fully signed up to its delivery. A much wider look at the resorts’ needs has been undertaken by Prof Steve Fothergill of Sheffield Hallam University. It shows that the problems are not like the decline of industrial towns, and a different approach is therefore required to find a solution. Details of this report can be found on the www.shu.ac.uk website under ‘News Releases’.

tracks conferences organised by international associations. Sponsored by VisitBritain and CAT Publications, the BACD programme seeks to compile a detailed profile of each association, with a particular focus on the principal annual event organised. According to Jeremy Brinkworth MTS, Head of Business Tourism at VisitBritain: “This is the most comprehensive research into national associations' conference buying behaviour. We were pleased to see that only one percent of respondents prefer to hold their principal meeting outside the UK.”

he British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) has announced the latest findings of its UK Associations Research Programme which show key trends in the conference and meetings activity of UK associations. BACD is now into the third year of this major research programme and the 2003 results are based on information supplied by 2,548 UK associations, which include professional associations and institutions, trade associations, voluntary associations and societies, trade unions, charities and political parties. The research is modelled on, but further develops, the programme run by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) which

Tony Rogers, BACD’s executive director, said “Association conferences are highly-valued events in the UK, generating substantial economic and PR benefits for the destinations and venues in which they are held. This research programme is crucial to our understanding of the sector, and to our ability to tailor our marketing and communications with these associations according to their own requirements.” The key findings of the research are: • The duration of associations' major annual conferences has remained constant at 2.3 days • The average number of delegates participating in such events is now 483, compared with 533 in 2002. It is too soon to tell whether this reduction in size is a trend

• The average delegate spend for each event is now £151,179, compared with £166,829 in 2002 • There has been no major change in the timing of these events, with one in five being held over weekends (the same percentage as in 2002), and 50% being held on weekdays (47% in 2002)

BUSINESS TOURISM

B AC D A n n o u n c e s R e s u l t s of its UK Associations R e s e a rc h P ro g ra m m e

• London retains its pre-eminence as the preferred destination for the largest percentage (17%) of associations surveyed. 16% of associations used London venues in 2002 • Birmingham and the Midlands continue in second place, as the chosen destinations of 7% of associations (6% in 2002) • There has, however, been significant growth in the number of associations unable to specify a particular location: 62% compared with 42% in 2002. This seems to confirm findings of other association research studies (such as the UK Conference Market Survey) which have highlighted the greater mobility of associations and their willingness to try new destinations not previously considered. The 2003 results are based on information supplied by 2,548 UK associations, whereas the 2002 data were based on just 1,315 associations. The source data has, therefore, almost doubled in size over a period of 16 months.

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operate large numbers of international slots if the Government wishes to induce resort casino developments that offer additional leisure and entertainment facilities creating thousands rather than hundreds of jobs, improve skills and create tourism attractions of international quality. Government must make clear that all large casino development will require the approval of the Regional Planning Bodies, not just the largest casino developments, and that they must be

properly identified within the regional economic strategy required of a RDA, which in turn will inform the relevant regional spatial strategy. Furthermore, licences to operate unlimited numbers of international slot machines should be dependent upon clear demonstration that the development is supported by the relevant local authorities and is consistent with and contributing to local and regional development master

plans and regeneration projects. This will ensure that full and proper consideration is given to the use of resort casinos as an effective tool for regeneration and tourism in those areas of greatest need that have little or no economic alternative. Marc W. Etches is managing director of Leisure Parcs Ltd, owners of Blackpool Tower, the Winter Gardens and several piers around the UK including the three in Blackpool.

Domestic Scene: E n g l i s h H i s t o ri c To w n s Fo ru m B ri a n H u m a n F T S

DOMESTIC

accessible and some are remote; some are prosperous and some struggle with the need for regeneration. What they all share is a rich cultural heritage of historic buildings and public spaces. Hence, whether they like it or not - and some are more willing than others they are in the tourism business. Bath, York, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton and Chester feature regularly in the top fifteen most popular UK cities, among readers of the Conde Nast Traveller magazine.

he attractions of our historic towns and cities are a key factor in decisions to come to Britain by over a quarter of overseas visitors. Last year 50 per cent of British people visited a historic building, according to English Heritage. In other words, our historic towns are a vital part of the tourism industry. The English Historic Towns Forum (EHTF) was founded in 1987 as a pressure group to lobby about the challenges faced by historic towns in trying to reconcile the conservation of what we value most about such places with the pressure for change, especially from development and traffic. In the past 17 years, the Forum has evolved and grown, and its mission is now encapsulated in the strap line, ‘For prosperity and conservation in historic towns.’ The twin tracks of prosperity and conservation mean that the EHTF encourages a corporate, interdisciplinary and multi-agency approach to managing the environment. It concentrates on disseminating best practice through networking, publications, conferences and seminars and on lobbying central Government on policy matters. The Forum does much of its work through four Working Groups that cover retailing, tourism, transport and the built environment. The Forum now has over eighty member towns, stretching from St Peter Port to Whitehaven and Norwich to Truro. They include ports and market towns, university and cathedral cities, seaside resorts and walled cities, spas and industrial centres. Some are

Historic towns also face common challenges, including managing the impact of traffic, enhancing the vitality of their centres, encouraging high-quality design in new development, and funding investment in conserving the built environment. There are also concerns about managing the public realm, relaxations in licensing laws and the implications of the 24-hour economy. It might be tempting to pass over such things as the routine stuff that we pay local government to deal with. However, they are matters that affect the very qualities of the public places that make historic towns magnets to tourists from around the world. The tourism industry ignores them at its peril! The towns themselves have a vested interest in looking after their heritage assets: tourism creates jobs and income, boosts services enjoyed by local people and raises a town’s international profile, thereby attracting inward investment. Ironically, managing the impact of tourism is itself a challenge for historic towns as they attempt to maintain the qualities that attract visitors in the first place. The EHTF addresses these issues through the interdisciplinary activities of its Working Groups. The Forum’s new guidance, ‘Focus on the Public Realm’, which encourages towns and their partners to prepare Public Realm Strategies, is an excellent example of this. The Forum’s most comprehensive statement of its approach to tourism is ‘Making the Connections – A practical guide to tourism management in historic towns’, published in 1999. This sets out the relationship between tourism and historic towns, gives guidance on assessing the product,

advises on the practicalities of destination management and makes suggestions for implementation. ‘Making the Connections’ is still the best hands-on guide to the subject. In 2003, it was translated into Hungarian! Recently the EHTF’s Tourism Working Group has turned its attention to tourism statistics, the relaxation of licensing regulations, the review of the Tourist Boards, the EU sustainable tourism framework, good practice in coach-based tourism and the implications for tourism of changes to the planning system. The agenda for tourism moves on, and in 2004 the Forum will continue to look critically at the industry and historic towns in today’s climate. In an uncertain world there is a temptation to take a short term view and reach for the marketing manual. Marketing is important, but the EHTF believes that taking a longer term view and an integrated approach to the myriad of attractions and activities that comprise tourism is vital. Several questions, not just for the EHTF, but for the industry as a whole, are on the agenda: • Are governmental institutions geared up to take tourism and destination management seriously? • How do we fund destination management in the historic public realm? • How do we ensure that the proposed changes to planning help to provide better tourism planning? • Where does tourism fit in the national debate about design and sustainable communities? • How do we encourage businesses and destinations to develop environmentally friendly products and practices? • How do we maintain local distinctiveness and sense of place in a global industry? • Where is the best practice in destination management and how do we spread awareness of it? The EHTF is ‘for prosperity and conservation in historic towns’. But where will their tourism industries be in 5, 10 and 20 years? Will they follow the cycle of growth and decline seen in many seaside resorts? The answer will depend on how we deal with today’s challenges. A joint EHTF and Tourism Society Seminar in the autumn will explore some of these issues.

M ay b e i t ’s b e c a u s e I ’ m N o t a L o n d o n e r. . . to be next to Tower Bridge, which I guess is not unusual for people whose vision of the city is shaped by films. I soon learned that there was more to London than a Big Bus tour, but my final conclusion is that its essence is heterogeneity and versatility. The parts of Westminster that still look like they jumped from the pages of Wilde or Conan Doyle are just as real and alive as the parts of London that call to mind the sordid suburbs of a Will Self novel.

The only thing more diverse than the city itself are its people, and that’s what I perceive as London’s chief asset, its multi-cultural nature. Charming as it is to meet from time to time a bona fide ‘Saff-London geezer’, the opportunity to meet people from literally all over the world is the single thing that I value most about London.

When I came over here for the first time, I was rather expecting Big Ben

There is something marvellous about having all these different ethnicities at your fingertips. Just as the Victorians brought treasures from around the globe to London, we can today meet people from all continents without travelling at all - the mountain comes to Mohammed, as it were. (The hospitality and travel industry in London today is a perfect example of this fusion of nationalities and customs. When was the last time you visited a

fter having lived in the United Kingdom for more than four years now, I have finally made my mind up about what I really think of Londoners. Although rent and house prices mean that I prefer an hour’s daily commute from outside London, to living in a bedsit in Hackney, for most of the time since I came here from Iceland, I’ve either worked or studied in the capital’s centre – most recently at Westminster University, taking the MA in Tourism Management there.

MTS hotel, restaurant or an attraction in London and were served solely by staff who were British born-and-bred ?) Perhaps, if there is a single thing that I would criticise about the English, it would be their lack of appreciation for the wealth of knowledge and experience the foreign workforce brings to our industry. The customers, and sometimes the people in the industry itself, don’t seem to realise that the inefficiency that sometimes characterises parts of the tourism industry in London, has much more to do with the inexperience caused by high staff turnover due to wages much too low for an expensive city like London. It’s always easy to put the blame on the ‘one with the strong accent’ and equate verbal dexterity to professional ability.

GENERATION X

B y S vava r S i g u rd a rs o n

On the whole, London and England have a lot to offer, which is the reason for so many people wanting to come here and work. Nevertheless, the treatment foreign workers receive here often leaves a lot to be desired. I believe that this is a delicate issue and one that should be treated with care, because if there were to be a reduction in the number of people coming over to London to work, our industry would have serious problems recruiting for shop-floor positions.

MEETING REPORTS

Wo l ve s i n S h e e p s ’ C l o t h i n g ? Th e Tra n s fo rm a t i o n o f t h e U K ’s Trave l A g e n c i e s 1 8 N o ve m b e r 2 0 0 3 , A B TA O ffi c e s , L o n d o n A d ri a n C l a rk F T S

K travel agents used to be clearly different – and separate – from tour operators. Many are now, it seems, increasingly turning into tour operators because of falling airline commissions and other pressures. A wellestablished feature of the US travel trade scene, this is something of a new departure in Britain. Or is it? This meeting set out to provide some answers and some insights into the current state of the UK’s travel industry. Meeting chairman, Ian Reynolds FTS, opened proceedings by noting ruefully the absence of any travel agents in the audience. He went on to comment on changes affecting them, citing the withdrawal of commission payments by airlines and the encouragement by the mass media of consumers to buy travel products such as accommodation direct.

This led naturally to the presentation by David Moesli of the Civil Aviation Administration’s Consumer Protection Unit, who described himself as a civil servant working in a highly commercial environment. He likened today’s no-frills airlines to the “bucket shops” of 20 or years ago whose low-cost fares had thus become “legit”. He indicated that the CAA would be introducing another version of ATOL to reflect the changing circumstances in which the travel agent had to have the authority to represent the principal. He went on to observe that there was no clear demarcation in Europe between tour operators and travel agents; the regulations in the European Package Tour/Travel Directive were far wider in scope, making the agent responsible for all the elements involved.

30 years before, the Air Tour Operators Licence (ATOL) covered He regretted that – 90% of package as in the case of tours; now only ...travel agents are being Thomas Cook – the 50% were covered transparency of in this way. A far forced to become ownership and greater number of organisers because of consequent holidays are taken customer demand... responsibility to the in the UK than are customer was taken overseas – breaking down. 100 million, Travel agents were being forced to compared with 40 million overseas, of become organisers because of which 20 million are packages. customer demand, a situation in which Instead of merely “brochuring”, travel the key driver was the Internet. He agents were now packaging holiday sympathised with agents seeking to elements and thus “straying across use the Internet when tour operators the fence” while avoiding ATOL had their own sites, and commented as regulations. Because of the split follows: contracting of hotels and flights, problems of failure were created • the public claimed that using the which had obliged ABTA to pay out Internet enabled them to pay less for £5 million to compensate consumers. their holiday He insisted that if travel agents were going to sell packages, they had to be • travel agents used the Internet to subject to ATOL regulations. retain their customers

• as tour operators were channelling their products on to the Internet, smaller retail chains were thus being squeezed • the major Internet-based bookings were for short breaks, using no-frills airlines and selected elements of a traditional package. The end of the split contract opt-out had brought about changes which positively obliged travel agents to become licensed. The CAA website – as part of its consultation process – was indicating how the future would look. To survive, travel agents would have to change and, if they “crossed the line”, they would become organisers, subject to the relevant regulations and charged £690.00 for an ATOL for up to 500 seats. John Harding, the current ABTA President and a tour operator, regretted the pressures from both retail agents and customers faced by tour operators who, because of the European Directive, had to take all the risks. Stating the obvious (to industry colleagues) that customers did not understand or appreciate the need for insurance cover, John demonstrated how the unwary could be caught out when using the Internet to book flights. Often the cost of the outbound leg would be different from the return. Acknowledging that the UK Government obliges tour operators to be bonded, he felt the same approach should be taken to travel agents when, as David Moesli had indicated, they crossed the line. In the Internet, the industry had a formidable tool which enabled customers to take dynamic decisions themselves, leading to the automation

Quoting findings from a Mintel survey, he reported a definite decline in the number of retail agents between 1998 and 2002 though over the same period there had been an annual 2.2% increase in the number of bookings by them.

The survivors in this business would be those who, focussing on the human element, capitalised on the availability He considered ...the survivors will be and appropriate use methods of distributing the those who focus on the of IT. It was little wonder therefore product. The human element... that whereas traditional way for customers used the an operator was to Internet increasingly to book short work through retailers; indirect breaks, they turned to their travel channels were not working well agent where longer breaks were whereas direct selling was, efficient involved, thus permitting packages to database management being the key be tailored to individual requirements. to its success. Travel brochure distribution was no longer as it used to be. Retail agents were not as willing as they had been to order supplies instead of tour operators imposing stocks on them. Because the hard copy brochure created an environmental issue, e-brochures could well be the future. The playing field needed to be levelled as it was currently uneven and therefore unfair. Apart from the CAA, there were parts of Government still not up to date with market shifts. Perhaps ABTA itself needed to change from the Association of British Travel Agents to the Association of British Travel Arrangers which prompted Ian Reynolds to remark that 10 years before, the Association had had two classes of member. Now there was only one and tour operators were predominant. Steven Freudmann FTS, Managing Director of Majestic Travel, somewhat disingenuously claimed to be the Luddite in the debate, stating categorically that he had absolutely no intention of becoming a tour operator as he was perfectly happy to rely on providing his customers with added value. Nonetheless, his business was not immune to change since he noted that customers were willing to pay reasonable fees for the service he provided. Even so, 90% of the business’s income was derived from tour operators’ commission payments. Moreover, he acknowledged that he could sell elements of tour packages; he just wasn’t interested in putting them all together.

The ensuing debate between speakers and audience members touched on at least two further aspects: the increased direct selling to the customer by hotels, thus acting independently of tour operators; and the virtual disappearance of airport to accommodation transfers due to the increased flexibility demanded by customers, thus encouraging the offer of a low lead-in price to compete with the no frills airlines. Perhaps the most sobering thought of the evening was that, though no-one actually wanted it to happen, the collapse of one of the no-frills airlines would focus the minds of customers and politicians on the need for better and more up to date regulation.

MEETING REPORTS

of package prices. Consequently, tour operators had to adapt, becoming more flexible in response to the change in customers’ demands and profiles. He queried the legality of inserting pricing leaflets in brochures – an example of where regulations had not caught up with the changing market place. To overcome this, a web guide to prices was recommended.

In common with the other speakers, Steven commented on the issue of customer protection. Because of “depackaging”- up to 50% of the products booked direct by the public were not covered – the gaps in customer protection were growing. Though consolidated airfares were protected, published fares were not.

Customer Contact Consultation Andrew Duff FTS, Head of Customer Contact Services at VisitBritain writes: VisitBritain has been working with the regions (RDAs, RTBs, London), TMI, EnglandNet, and representatives of destinations and Tourist Information Centres on a new strategy and action plan for Customer Contact Services. As part of this exercise we have now set up an online consultation (this uses a specialist mechanism developed as part of an e-Government initiative). We have arranged direct access to this via the TMI members, website, ENTICE (the TIC extranet) as well as emailing information widely to interested parties. So, this is your chance to have a say on the future direction of Tourism Customer Contact Services in England. If you register on the site (a very simple task that will enable you to comment and see others' comments too) you will find a series of questions and associated notes. Comments are already appearing on the site, so do join in the fun! Here is the address: http://www.e-consultation.net/vb We will also be adding to this material, so it would be worth re-visiting during the next few weeks to review this and other peoples' comments too.

MEETING REPORTS

Jo i n t AC E / To u ri s m S o c i e t y e ve n t : F u t u re Tre n d s i n B u s i n e s s To u ri s m 8 December 2003, New Connaught Rooms, London Joy M o n t m o re n c y, M T S

erhaps it was the combination of the hot weather outside and the last of the summer wine inside, but remembering names proved to be one of the stumbling blocks at this stimulating meeting. What was the name of that speaker John, Paul, or was it George? It was a sobering reminder that the key to any CRM strategy is to get the name right first, and the rest, as we all know, is easy.

The distinguished panel was introduced by Michael Hirst OBE FTS, Chairman of the British Tourism Partnership, and comprised Rob Davidson FTS, Senior Lecturer in Business Travel and Tourism at the University of Westminster, Ray Bloom of IMEX, and ACE members Madeline Styles, Chief Executive of the Historical Association, and Stuart Barnes, Deputy General Manager of the New Connaught Rooms. Michael Hirst emphasised the fact that the Business Tourism sector took the largest market share and is the fastest growing sector in the industry. It also helps urban regeneration, increases employment and creates significant trade for Britain. However, Business Tourism is still the least well acknowledged sector by the UK Government, despite being the most lucrative. In the inbound tourism sector as a whole, Business Tourism currently accounts for 33% of all spend, and by 2010 this figure is forecast to reach 45%. The most pressing challenges are to increase the number of international events in the UK and to refocus marketing efforts for England. In addition to his position within the University of Westminster, Rob Davidson is also Industry Analyst for EIBTM, for whom he produces an annual series of three 5-year trend reports, analysing trends in the Business Tourism sector. For this meeting, he disclosed the results of his recently-published EIBTM Social and Political Trends report, which included insights into how changes in the composition of the working population will bring about radical changes to the profile of conference and incentive

them to a conference. This is already a groups in five years’ time. He reported major trend in the US, which has seen a that firstly the numbers of female 250% increase in delegates bringing delegates is growing at a rapid pace, as their families (especially their children) to women enter management positions in conferences in the 1990s. If the trend is increasing numbers. For example, there repeated here, UK hoteliers and are more female directors in the UK. restaurateurs will have to rectify their Now, one in seven UK company reputation for being hostile towards directors is a female, compared with children, and conference organisers will only one in ten, a year ago. Within five have to take steps to create programmes years, the profile of Business Tourism for overseeing and entertaining the participants will also reflect the fastchildren of their delegates during events. growing numbers of older people in the working population of most European Ray Bloom of IMEX pointed out that a countries. There has been substantial prolonged period of peace and stability growth in the 55-64 age range, while would do wonders for the industry, as those continuing to work beyond the the current economic and political normal retirement range is another situation means that most event significant growth area. Older people organisers are reluctant to plan more will continue working for a variety of than three months ahead. Although the reasons, including economic necessity association meetings market is more and the wish to remain intellectually confident about 2004, the corporate active in a stimulating career. There are sector is still cautious and is generally also many more people of working age holding its events closer to home, to who are living alone, with young and the deficit of the long haul sector. middle-aged men currently representing Conference budgets are more carefully the fastest growing category of single controlled, events are becoming more households in the UK. As the workforce focussed, more participative and more becomes increasingly multicultural, and flexible. The ability to clearly the growing numbers of employees who demonstrate return on investment from are openly gay make their presence felt, meetings and incentive trips is also there will be corresponding changes in increasingly important. the profile of those attending all types of business tourism There has always events, and those ...most event organisers been the risk that who accompany them. are reluctant to plan more events will be replaced to a certain than 3 months ahead... degree by videoThese changes will conferencing. lead to the need for However, so far this has not happened, different approaches to designing and as face-to-face communication is planning events, taking into account the generally regarded as being more particular requirements of a more important than ever. Certainly videoheterogeneous workforce. For example, conferencing has its place but is unlikely the dietary requirements of certain to replace conferences as such. delegates will call for more vegetarian food, in line with their religious practices. Environmental issues will grow in Older delegates will require more toilet importance. There will be an increase breaks, and larger print on conference in events taking place in eco-wilderness literature; and women travelling on areas, and wastage problems will business will want more security become an issue, with companies measures, and adequate numbers of using recycled paper and badges, for female toilets within conference facilities. example. There will also be many more ‘green-’ and ‘eco-‘ awards available to It is also highly likely that more delegates meetings planners and venues will want to bring their families with

demonstrating best-practice in this aspect of Business Tourism.

NCR’s forecast is for a strong growth in UK Business Tourism, but EU business being tighter because of competition from other European cities. With combined efforts, e.g. with VisitBritain, and an upswing in marketing, together with a stronger economy, the NCR forecast growth in both the traditional and specialist venues.

There were a number of questions Madeline Styles explained that the from the floor, concerning emerging Historical Association has 6,000 destinations and up-and-coming members, about half of whom teach. markets for Business Tourism. Ray The HA provides services for all groups Bloom replied that the last 2 years and is a registered charity. Members are have seen a downturn in log-haul mostly self-funded, having to pay for travel, which has left an opportunity Stuart sees the conferences for emerging markets, in particular Business Tourism themselves and ...clients are more Eastern Europe. IMEX brought in two market going in therefore more price knowledgeable about the two directions Russian groups in 2003 and will sensitive. Some increase this in 2004 to 11. There has teachers receive market, and venues need specialist type been growth in Poland and Asia (in venues, including school budget to be more flexible... particular, India). sports venues, small funding but this has 1-5 room venues been cut each year Rob Davidson predicted that in five and cultural centres; and the more and the HA have to rethink and years’ time, we shall see an influx of traditional venues such as NCR with all respond to the market. Each Chinese delegates attending meetings round facilities, good space, varied conference is a one-off - the HA never events in Europe, with the emergence menus, and high service levels offering repeat a theme. Finding the right of a substantial Chinese middle class flexibility. He quoted a recent large BBC balance for a venue is not easy. Using eager to attend international event where, on the first day of the university conference facilities makes association conferences in other three-day conference, NCR experienced teachers feel comfortable, as many find continents. He noted that, as security problems because at least 1/3 of the hotels too luxurious (and pricey). has become an important issue, small delegates were on the Atkins diet ! However, against this, hotels are getting island destinations, perceived as safe, more competitive, and quite often have become more Clients have more universities are somewhat lacking in popular. These choice, greater professionalism in their approach to ...‘stop being gutless and include Iceland, expectation and conference sales and management. which has a great expect value for Finding the balance therefore is not get on a plane!’... future as a money. They are easy, and finding the right theme, in the destination for now more right venue, and selling it to members is conferences and incentives. Malta will knowledgeable about the market, and quite a challenge, especially as the HA also continue to increase in popularity. venues need to be more flexible. Clientruns its events with 3 full-time and 6 supplier relations are a key factor. Venues part-time staff. Madeline Styles, picking up the will need to build closer relationships security theme, commented on the with clients and their agencies, and the Madeline disagrees with the family drop in American and Canadian way of selling packages will change with conference concept and says there is delegates attending HA events, and new technology. Instant quotes via web still more need for single rooms, as said that more time ought to be spent sites gives a more efficient service, but families do not always want to get persuading them to ‘stop being gutless most negotiations still need face-to-face involved! The HA is a small specialist and get on a plane!’. communication. organisation, but as Madeline pointed out, if the number of small events run by small businesses was added up they would amount to just as many as some larger organisations. So the small business sector needs more recognition.

MEETING REPORTS

In the past, the Business Tourism industry has shown great resilience and capability to adapt to trends, and it has the potential to meet these current challenges with great creativity and determination to succeed.

competition, not just in London but nationwide, since hotel rates and transport costs are cheaper outside the capital. Hotels are deriving a larger percentage of their revenue from Business Tourism, and universities and training centres are investing in new facilities and chasing greater revenue streams. New technology is a factor too. Especially after 9/11, there was concern that video-conferencing might grow to the detriment of actual live conferences. But while it fills a niche, it has not taken over - mostly because of the introductory costs and staffing.

Stuart Barnes, represented the venue manager’s point of view. He began by saying that as some events were shrinking and as the room sizes stay the same, yield is tighter, but the New Connaught Rooms enjoy a 65% rebooking rate. The outlook is good, although there is increasing

L to R: Rob Davidson, Ray Bloom, Michael Hirst, Madeleine Styles, Stuart Barnes 13

MEETING REPORTS

P ro s p e c t s M e e t i n g 8 Ja nu a ry 2 0 0 4 , S o fi t e l S t Ja m e s H o t e l , L o n d o n B y R o b D av i d s o n F T S

he first speaker, Michael Flaxman admitted that 2003 had been a difficult year for everyone in the tourism industry, but that the 2003 trends provided a guide for what lay ahead in 2004. For example, there had been a steady increase in REVPAR in the UK and the US during the last quarter of 2003, much of it due to growth in the business travel sector. Similarly, there had been an increase in long-haul travel registered by some airlines, including BA. The strength of the US$ would be a major influencing factor in 2004. A weaker US$ would mean cheaper oil (mainly dollar denominated) in the year ahead, leading to improvements in the state of some countries’ economies. However, there was a strong possibility that a weaker dollar would also impact negatively on the US inbound market to the UK this summer. Intra-European travel would continue to be aided by the growth of budget airlines, and the emerging middle classes in emerging Eastern European markets would also stimulate travel and tourism. China is another emerging market, but the issue of visa requirements is yet to be resolved. The tourism industry has always functioned in cycles, but the question is: although we have hit the bottom and are on an upward cycle, how fast and how far will we rise, before the next downturn? Michael Hirst OBE FTS commented that there was ample scope for creativity in respect of producing major events in order to stimulate tourism – for example, the 100th anniversary of the entente cordiale. He also expressed the belief that the current inconveniences and delays involved in inbound travel to the US might represent an opportunity for Europe to capture some business from the US. David Neill said that his company, Shearings’ clients were mainly drawn from the 55+ age group, many of whom would have less disposable income in 2004, as a result of above-inflation increases in Council Tax. Only very limited growth was expected for the UK coach holiday market in 2004, with most gains to be made from winning clients from competitor companies. The UK self-drive holiday

breaks market would continue to grow, as would the European Sea Coach market, although 2004 volumes would still be below those of 2002, mainly due to the strength of the euro. The most significant levels of growth would be seen in the European Air Coach sector, partly helped by the growth in budget airlines from regional UK airports. Other trends predicted included a growth in telephone and internet sales bookings, a corresponding decline in sales made through travel agents, and a growth in late bookings. In response to the question, ‘was the profile of coach holidays going up-scale?’, it was pointed out that there was something of a north-south divide in operation, whereby top-quality hotels were more difficult to sell to northerners. Martin Westwood FTS, former Market Development Director at Beaulieu, discussed the visitor attraction market, saying that current economic conditions in the UK meant that consumer confidence was generally high. However, there were clouds on the horizon, namely the weak US$, slow growth in Europe, Japan still in the doldrums and UK consumer debt at an all-time high. A number of distractions lay ahead in 2004: the US presidential election would keep many Americans at home in the second half of the year. Football and the Olympic Games would also keep people entertained at home. There were additional grounds for UK attractions being pessimistic in 2004: a continuing fear of flying, for some Americans; the weak dollar making the US more attractive for the British; the Europeans’ perception of the UK as an expensive destination; and a certain antipathy towards the UK in some parts of the world, arising from this country’s role in the Iraq conflict. Nevertheless, there were also reasons for optimism: perceiving the UK as a loyal ally, many Americans would be well-disposed towards the UK, and correspondingly reluctant to visit France or Germany; the strong euro would persuade many British consumers to opt for a holiday in the UK, particularly while the excellent weather of last summer remained in the collective memory.

Nevertheless, attractions heavily dependent on the overseas market would struggle, and discretionary spending in general would suffer as belts were tightened. Much creativity and resourcefulness on the part of attractions would be required, and each one would have to continue to add value and keep differentiating itself against its competitors, in order to survive a challenging year. Tom Nutley of Reed Travel Exhibitions gave his forecast for the travel industry, as opposed to the exhibition sector. Some Reed events were set to grow substantially this year. For example, the Arabian Travel Market had experienced considerable growth in the number of its exhibitors, linked to the vast amounts being invested in destinations such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi. There was a strong correlation between the numbers of those exhibiting at travel exhibitions and the amount of actual travel and tourism in the world. Much depended on safety and security levels. People were reluctant to travel far in tumultuous times, in case they were left stranded, away from home. He expressed optimism that EIBTM would continue to succeed, due to growth in the business travel and tourism sector. Consultant Mike Jones FTS, concentrating on the UK inbound and domestic markets, predicted that 2004 would be a difficult year, necessitating increased expertise in the distribution of travel and tourism products. Successful distribution would, in part, depend on effective loyalty programmes and Customer Relationship Management. One of the challenges ahead lay in filling the troughs in demand, by, for example, predicting the numbers of unsold hotel rooms and passing them to other intermediaries for distribution. To be fully effective, suppliers’ own reservations systems would have to work in real time and offer all products and prices. Among the likely casualties in 2004 would be travel agents, as the main GDS companies were to be deregulated. The battle for inventory control and ownership between product owners and distributors would continue, but if distribution and marketing could be harmonised, 2004 promised to be a good year.

Th e A r t o f Fe m a l e E n t re p re n e u rs h i p A l e s s a n d ra A l o n s o M T S as well as Alex Ferguson, whom Karen described as a wonderful football manager and an excellent entrepreneur. Trained in human resources, Karen said that in her twenties she had an excellent boss who taught her the difference between management and Alessandra Alonso and Gaby Marcon leadership ‘a manager has to toe the line, a leader paves the way’ his event, another in the series of still true today. She said the most Mentoring Initiatives held by important thing was to think about why Shine under the auspices of the you are doing what you are doing, and Tourism Society, proved every bit as where the ideas come from. Women are fascinating as its predecessor last good at seeing things through, are November. Two female entrepreneurs good multi-taskers and creative. They offered themselves up for scrutiny are also known for their passion, which Karen Hanton, Managing Director of is an essential part of entrepreneurship. Top Table; and Mary Laurie, manager You have to be willing to give your and proprietor of a luxury bed and business a large part of your life. breakfast, Cassocks House.

The event was introduced by one of the founders of Shine, Alessandra Alonso, who began by saying that women often do not think of themselves as having special talents, such as intuition, which can help entrepreneurship. Karen Hanton, who began ‘Top Table’ a few years ago, financing it from a business which she sold, started by saying that ideas often come in a flash, and after going down a route you will find yourself in business. Top Table has brought £15 million to the restaurant industry, and as an agency selling tables on behalf of restaurants for commission per cover, it was a brand new concept in the business. Karen had as backers both Gary Rhodes (a big Manchester United fan)

UK was suffering an economic downturn, a working bed and breakfast property came to her attention and she persuaded the bank to lend her the money.

MEETING REPORTS

2 1 Ja nu a ry 2 0 0 4 , R a d i s s o n E dwa rd i a n G ra f t o n H o t e l , L o n d o n

Mary works hard at her business but has the advantage that her 5bedroomed B&B is four bus stops from Chelsea Harbour, the mecca for interior designers. Many interior design events are held there, and a great number of attendees stay with Mary. She also contacted small private colleges and has a hot line to churches running conferences. Mary is a member of a number of clubs, such as Business Breakfast meetings, which is part of British Networking International. In order to get business, she used her marketing skills and follows the six Ps of marketing - product – (‘always believe in your product’); price - it must be right; place - very important; promotion; profit; positivity - a positive personal attitude is vital. Mary also shared her perception that the Americans who flocked to London in the nineties do not come any more, and that London is very expensive as a destination. It is obvious that Cassocks House fills a niche.

The audience also discussed some of the unfavourable characteristics that women have to contend with in themselves: Lively debate they can be too followed. It was emotional, taking ...women are good at apparent these were things too seeing things through, two very hard personally, but this can be turned round are good multi-taskers working women with great and channelled and creative... entrepreneurial skills properly. Women - both are happy can also lack and fulfilled. Karen had pointed out that confidence and not believe in your business is always with you - either themselves or their ideas. However, on physically or merely thinking about it. the plus side, women are tenacious with Mary for her part said that running your attention to details, are able to give own business means it is difficult to take praise and are thrifty and intuitive. time off, so taking short city breaks is ideal. One question of great interest was Mary Laurie, who runs and owns ‘Can you have it all?’, to which the Cassocks House luxury B&B, started as response was ‘Women can have it all, a self-employed interior designer. but it may not be all at once’ ! During the early nineties, when the

MEETING REPORTS

C a re e rs fo r To u ri s m S t u d e n t s 1 8 Fe b ru a ry 2 0 0 4 , U n i ve rs i t y o f We s t m i n s t e r, L o n d o n F l o P o we l l M T S

obert Maitland FTS, (of the University of Westminster – the host venue) opened the meeting by welcoming over 50 students from universities around the UK. During the course of an afternoon in which 7 speakers addressed the audience, the following points of advice to students were agreed upon by all speakers:

that travel businesses can be Internetdriven, they are also easier and cheaper to set-up. Connie Jones, a recent Bournemouth University graduate, works for Pembury Leisure Ltd. Her main points were: • Carry out research into the industry. You may find a sector you have overlooked

• Work experience is essential in this industry, even if it is voluntary.

• Tutors are an important resource – make the most of them

• Contacts are vital – go to trade shows, collect business cards and join professional associations

• Get publicity: organise an event and give the proceeds to a tourism charity. This looks impressive on your CV

• Speculative applications can be successful, so it is always worth trying these if you find a company you want to work for but which has no current vacancies.

• Make a portfolio of your work, e.g. references, certificates, anything tangible you can show potential employers

• Match your CV and cover letter to the company’s activities

• Try to remember to be Passionate, Positive and Proactive!

Noreen McCain of Adrian Clark FTS, spoke on the ...speculative applications VisitBritain presented the subject of using the can be successful, benefits of, and Internet for job how to get into, a searching. His main so it is always worth career at points were that trying... VisitBritain. The you can use the website Internet for the www.visitbritaincareers.com has useful whole process, from searching for information such as success stories and inspiration to preparing your CV current vacancies. VisitBritain offers a according to guidelines, using online good start for tourism graduates and recruitment agencies to search for jobs has a very good training and and preparing for interviews. development record and promotional opportunities. Paul Chandler, MD of the Travel Club of Upminster, advised the audience Joy Montmorency MTS, spoke about about finding a job in the retail sector how to get into the conferences and - travel agents and tour operators. He events sector. There are a plethora of advised them to use websites such as organisations you could work for, from AITO and ABTA, to look for jobs with buyers (e.g. conference organisers and the major players, e.g. Thompson charities), to suppliers (e.g. hotels, Holidays, which has a graduate outdoor venues and conference training scheme. Independents also centres). She is organising a one-day have jobs available such as Paul’s own seminar on ‘So you want to be a company who currently employ three conference organiser ?’ on Monday tourism graduates. 17th May 2004. For more information, contact ACE. Do not rule out the possibility of setting up your own business, now

Philip Cooke FTS, MD, Destination Marketing UK Ltd, noted that the Local Authority world is driven by process, so wait for the job advert, then tailor your application to the precise specification, as they will mark you against how well you respond to their criteria. Philip said he has adopted a Zen approach now: he waits for employees to come to him! Being a freelancer means you have more free time, but you have to fill that time yourself and control your own budgets. However it can be an important source of job satisfaction if you have the selfdetermination to succeed. Graham Wason FTS, chair of The Tourism Society, spoke about working as a consultant. You could make a career out of it, or do it for a shorter time to gain experience. Consultancy can offer variety, challenge, travel, flexibility and a good salary. It is not just about having industry knowledge – it’s also about having a ‘can-do’ attitude.

Wh a t i s t h e F u t u re fo r S u s t a i n a bl e To u ri s m ? B e n j a m i n C a rey M T S

hen Aristotle asserted that “poverty is the father of terror”, he was drawing a causal link between poverty and terrorism, a view often echoed by Quakers, who so kindly hosted this Tourism Society meeting, when no tourism company could be found to sponsor the event. The tourism industry knows how much impact terrorism can have on its activities, but the significance of poverty is far less recognised. The Aristotelian analysis implies that the defeat of terrorism requires the defeat of poverty. This means that, if the tourism industry is to avoid being brought to its knees every time there is a terrorist outrage in some part of the world, then it must address the challenge of sustainability and vigorously embrace the sustainable development of tourism to tackle poverty alleviation. It is one of the tourism industry’s perennial problems that it does not consider sustainability a mainstream issue and this was the theme of Tricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern and a trustee of The Travel Foundation. Offering a global perspective, she began by expressing regret that she could not be more optimistic about the future of sustainable tourism. The World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which governs international tourism and has resulted in the growth of inequitable tourism practices, does “not support key environmental and social goals”, which is “hardly a helpful foundation for a sustainable future”. She observed that, supporting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the British Government is committed to poverty alleviation. When it sponsored the Sustainable Tourism Initiative as part of this country’s preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, it was demonstrating that it saw tourism as a tool of poverty alleviation through measures that include the application of pro-poor tourism principles.

examining fuel efficiency and noise emissions in relation to the airline industry, which of course makes a significant contribution to climate change and the environmental impact of tourism.

MEETING REPORTS

1 0 Fe b ru a ry 2 0 0 4 Fri e n d s M e e t i n g H o u s e , L o n d o n

But, as a result of GATS, “countries are Using the concept of a Triple Bottom for sale”. Quite apart from Line, he defined sustainable tourism in environmental and infrastructural terms of a damage resulting from tourism ...‘poverty is the father business’s performance developments, of terror’... measured against national cultural economic, heritage and environmental and social indicators resources are being undermined, with and stressed that sustainability requires countless examples of dispossession, integration of these three components. eviction and murder to make way for Examining specific climate impact tourism. Tourism is a human rights measures currently under issue. She quoted a representative of consideration, he argued that TUI, the leading European travel group technological advances are likely to that includes Thomson Holidays, who bring about the most environmental remarked recently that “the business of benefits. However, although this was business is business” and denied that presented as a response to the the tourism industry needs to have “an challenge of sustainability, the threat of interest in poverty alleviation”. “demand management” (or external regulation) seemed to be the greater The first point is of course true, but - to motivation for an industry coming be sustainable, the tourism industry under increasing scrutiny. must engage with the bigger picture and think longer term. If it is to avoid The final contribution came from disruption to its business, it must put Anthony Climpson MTS, tourism & more energy into tackling poverty publicity officer for New Forest District alleviation in those destinations, such Council and president of the Tourism as Africa, the Middle East, South East Management Institute. With a Asia and Latin America, on which its compelling argument for multiprofitability increasingly depends. stakeholder engagement strategies, his presentation provided an illustration of Hugh Somerville FTS, former head of the importance of “giving control of British Airways’ Sustainable Business the environment back to the Unit, is also a trustee of The Travel community” in the sustainable Foundation. He opened his development of tourism. The role of presentation with a photograph of a municipal authorities is “to act as bewildered-looking polar bear to honest broker” to bring together all illustrate “chronic overcapacity” in the the stakeholders with an interest in industry. Like many travel and tourism tourism. According to the VICE Model companies, the bear was “well fed, but espoused, he argued that the tourism on a melting ice-flow”. There are too environment in any destination is many bears chasing too few fish and defined by a combination of visitors, too little ice. Observing that industry and the host community. Just “sustainable tourism is difficult to sell”, as the local environment helps to he went on to give a technical shape the tourism products on offer, so response to the question posed,

alleged, the industry was “too scared to ask for a pound”. She wondered how one could be optimistic, when most operators had so little confidence Noting an old West Country saying in their own customers. Hugh “Give blood; kill a tourist”, he observed Somerville remarked that “half the that considerable progress has been people don’t even know where they’re made in recent years. The local going” on holiday. He suggested that community has come to recognise the the Foundation provided a level socio-economic benefits that tourism playing field for tour operators to can bring and, through open and address the challenge of sustainable regular communication, the industry tourism and that an industry initiative has gained “respect and trust”. This was the best way forward. Anthony powerful union between hosts and Climpson said that the challenge operators has promoted the use of would need to be tackled in local farm produce within tourism, destinations by benefiting both the engaging host local environment ...if you think you’re communities. From and the rural the floor Bernard economy. By too small to make a Lane, director of empowering the difference, you’ve the Rural Tourism local community never spent a night in Unit at the and involving them in all tourism bed with a mosquito... University of Bristol and co-editor of planning, they now the Journal of welcome visitors Sustainable Development, observed and create that “local distinctiveness” that we live in a “complicated and which provides a framework for competitive world”. He argued that stewardship by all stakeholders. the United States and Japan aren’t interested in sustainability, tour Tourism in the New Forest has become operators are always being bashed by “the new agriculture” to the extent the media and that the government that the local tourism network has takes no responsibility and asked adopted a new and hugely positive whether it was any wonder that people slogan “Our Future Together”. were “always keen to save ten pence”. Simon Beeching, director of Clive Gordon FTS, head of Management Travelwatch, did some arithmetic and Planning and Sustainable Development denied that ten pence was “derisory”, at the NMSI, who chaired the meeting, because multiplied by fifteen million summed up the three presentations package holidaymakers it adds up to with a call to “do what you can today, quite a lot! but it’s long-term and complex”. The range of questions, all of which focused Mark Wright, managing director of The on The Travel Foundation, seemed to Adventure Company, suggested that affirm his caveat. the Foundation’s progress had been slow and was concerned that its Claiming that “half our operators are business plans made “no reference to bankrupt”, Noel Josephides, managing timescales”. Hugh Somerville director of Sunvil Holidays, asked: responded that the Foundation had a “What reward is there for being more lot of energy and was busy with many environmentally-friendly?” He activities. This view was supported wondered whether there was room for from the floor by Derek Stevens, more optimism for the future of chairman of The Travel Foundation and sustainable tourism with the recent a former director of BA, who agreed establishment of The Travel Foundation with Tricia Barnett’s assertion that tour (of which he also is a trustee). Tricia operators “should have had more Barnett responded with remarks about confidence to do more than the ten “the consequences of cheap tourism”. pence”, but insisted that these small She explained that, while some tour sums will grow. He said that he was operators, such as Sunvil, are keen that the Foundation “mustn’t themselves making significant squander” funds. contributions to the Foundation, many of the larger ones are not. First Fran Hughes, project manager at Choice, for instance, is collecting ten Explore Worldwide, queried whether pence as a voluntary donation from its the industry’s support for the customers, as its contribution to the Foundation was “to assuage guilt”. work of the Foundation, because, she

MEETING REPORTS

the realisation of these products impacts the environment.

Without responding directly, this question was picked up by Derek Stevens, who said that it is “important to engage tour operators in order to get them to set up collection systems”, suggesting that getting them on board is the first challenge. This was echoed by Hugh Somerville, who commented that it was “a good achievement” to get the Foundation off the ground at all. My own view is that, when Tony Blair lent his personal support to the Sustainable Tourism Initiative, which culminated in the creation of The Travel Foundation, he was being an Aristotelian. Whereas terrorism is bad for the world generally and particularly for tourism, poverty is even worse. Reflecting the Blairite mantra of “being tough on the causes of crime”, the Foundation should use tourism to get tough on poverty and unsustainable development, the causes of terrorism. Demonstrating the real value of Tourism Society meetings of this kind, critical lessons in one sector can be applied to others. Thus, building on lessons from domestic tourism, the Foundation must not become a club for concerned outbound tour operators, as some commentators have suggested; it must instead truly engage with destination communities and other stakeholders. It also needs to recognise that sustainable tourism is not simply about environmental management, but is a human rights issue about self-determination and poverty alleviation. This seems to be the only possible future for sustainable tourism. Clive Gordon concluded that we could be optimistic and that there had been tremendous progress over the past ten years. But he went on to make the point that is so often made at meetings about sustainability. The delegates were the same “old buggers” that “were here ten years ago”. If the challenge of sustainability is to be seriously tackled by the tourism industry, then we “need new faces and bright new thinking to take the agenda forward”. He ended with a brilliant call to arms: “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never spent a night in bed with a mosquito”. Benjamin Carey MTS, is a member of Tourism Concern; his company Dunira Strategy is a founding member of The Travel Foundation Forum.

U K To u ri s m : I t ’s a l l i n t h e B a l a n c e P h i l i p C o o ke F T S

HM Treasury is not amused “My biggest challenge is to reduce the Tourism Balance of Payments Trade Deficit”, said Tom Wright, Chief Executive of VisitBritain recently to an audience of leading UK tourism executives. Also, the mission statement of the new England Tourism Marketing Strategy is to ’grow the value of domestic tourism by encouraging the British to spend more on tourism throughout England. These two key statements tell us what Government support for tourism is all about these days. The UK’s negative tourism account is now a serious political issue and the financial performance of UK Tourism Plc simply has to improve. International tourism arrivals have to increase and UK residents must to be persuaded to take more of their holidays in this country. And if you were in Gordon Brown’s shoes at the Treasury and were looking at the yawning international tourism account deficit of £15.2 billion, you would understand why. The record 2002 tourism trade deficit is very bad news, especially when compared to what is being achieved elsewhere, such as the USA’s 2001 surplus of $7.7 billion. But it is the outcome of UK residents spending a record £27 billion on overseas travel, combined with a £1 billion reduction in revenues from overseas visitors to the UK.

In those heady days, we thought that international travel and global tourism would make international conflict less likely. Then Eastern Europe and the Gulf became war zones; tourists became potential terrorists; resorts were blown up and aeroplanes became weapons of mass destruction. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that we do not hear much about tourism’s contribution to world peace these days and that the emphasis is now on the need to boost the industry’s flagging economic performance. The tourism industry has always used expenditure as its key measurement of economic performance and while this is clearly true when considering the movement of tourists across international borders it becomes a crude and inaccurate measurement at regional level, because so much of these revenues can easily ‘leak’ out of the indigenous economy. Tourism expenditure is an economic delusion if it creates, say, £50 million expenditure in a city, and then £40 million or so immediately leaks out of the local economy in the form of profits that go back to the headquarters of national hotel chains, tour operators and large attractions and to distant suppliers. The more money that leaks out of the regional economy, the less capital and revenue growth that is retained within it and the less growth in GDP.

It is worth remembering that the Government’s involvement in tourism was not always about money. There were loftier ideals about in the 1980s when tourism was regarded as an agent of international goodwill and even world peace. For instance, the World Tourism Organisation’s Manila Declaration (1980) instructed that:

It is therefore logical, if a little surprising, to discover that the Chief Economic Development Officers’ Society (CEDOS) does not regard revenue expenditure as a measurement of regional or local economic performance at all. This was evidenced in the 21 November 2003 issue of Regeneration and Renewal, which announced the publication of a CEDOS report entitled ‘Performance Measures for Local Authority Economic Development’ (available from orders@equalis.co.uk ). This report describes the yardsticks that should be used for measuring economic development activity.

‘The economic benefits of tourism, however real and significant they may

They include: Economic activity, measured by the percentage of people

of working age in employment; unemployment, measured by claimant counts; Income, measured by average earnings; productivity, measured by GDP per capita; and business health, measured by changes in VAT Registrations/1000 population. Regional economies are only impacted by the retained long-term beneficial effect of the tourist spend. The key factor is how much expenditure actually stays within the area and how it converts to more jobs, higher wages, and new businesses, especially SMEs. The tourism profession has to identify the impact of the money it brings to an area. High volume tourism often means low value tourism, generating unwanted congestion, pollution, environmental damage and visitor/host conflict.

SPECIAL FEATURE

be, do not constitute the only criteria for a state to encourage tourism...The opportunity for a citizen to know his own environment, a deeper awareness of national identity, and a sense of belonging to a culture are all major reasons for stimulating domestic and international tourism.’

Tourism is now being regarded primarily as an agent of economic regeneration and it is moving out of the leisure sector, at all levels. This is good for tourism. Economic regeneration is a prime governmental, regional and local policy and is well funded. On the other hand, tourism for tourism’s sake, finds itself being stripped out of the public sector landscape. One by one, all over the UK, Regional Tourist Boards are being subsumed into the immensely well resourced and much more powerful Regional Development Agencies. These RDAs have a strong strategic role and many of them are currently trying to harmonise the development of a whole cohort of related activities under the umbrella of the ‘Visitor Economy’. This Visitor Economy has to be viewed through the eyes and the experience of the visitor. Our heart leaps when we know that we are travelling to a destination that is full of character, with a great quality of life, an interesting urban townscape, excellent shops, good hotels and an exciting arts scene. The better the experience, the more we spend. This is the Visitor Economy. The RDAs will require tourism to ensure that inward tourism revenues are instrumental in creating new forms of employment and physical capital within the region, based on the inherited assets, character and traditional skills base of the area. This means manufacturing to fashion (Manchester); engineering to design (Birmingham) and land cultivation to high cuisine (Ludlow). This is the real purpose of the tourism agencies.

TECHNOLOGY

The case for technology in tourism ( Th e re q u i re m e n t s a n d t h e i m p a c t o f t h e i n t e rn e t ) M i c h a e l Jo n e s F T S

he tourism industry, it seems to me, has every right to be a defining authority on the deployment of technology, including, as it does, both the most sophisticated of practitioners (the airlines) and the least so (much of the rest of the industry.). The problem with this tidy encapsulation is that investment in technology would frequently seem to “enjoy” an inverse relationship with profitability. The hotel industry for example stands formally charged, by the awesome authority of the consultancy community, as drastically under investing in technology over the last twenty years. During this time, and despite the ravages of war, unstable exchange rates, diseases and economic recessions, the hotel sector has remained broadly profitable. Not so the airline industry! Notwithstanding this slightly uncomfortable comparison, the ability to own, develop, buy-in to and understand the various applications of travel-related technology would appear to be a current commercial imperative, and those who do not will surely feature as historical footnotes in an industry whose growth potential is, along with perhaps health-care, the highest in the world. Travel-related technology is a huge subject, but the most pressing issues confronting the industry over the next two or three years are surely distribution and yield / revenue management. The ability to reach out effectively to the marketplace, make the buying process simple, price sensibly and manage perishable inventory profitably are the key drivers of commercial success for virtually all operations in the travel and tourism territory. Clearly, few would argue that smart technology could ever compensate for inferior products and service, but if these are regarded as “a given” in terms of profitable survival, then I would claim that effective distribution and sophisticated revenue management

will be the factors that separate the star performers from the “also-rans”. The intelligent deployment of technology by industry players should be seen against a background of rapidly changing business environments.

Consolidation The industry is consolidating in terms of both product owners and technology suppliers. The power of organisations such as the GDS owners (for example) is awesome and their influence should not be underestimated. All the GDSs were once owned by airlines, either individually (Sabre/AA) or by consortia (Galileo/United/BA etc) Amadeus (Air France/Lufthansa et al). This is largely no longer the case and they all now have their own business agenda. Worldspan powers the Expedia travel distribution network, the largest in the world. Galileo is owned by Cendant, the hospitality and travel distribution giant. Amadeus has just bought significant positions in Opodo and Optims, a hotel revenue management company. All these moves are technology and distribution initiatives. Even as the consumer markets are fragmenting, the infrastructure which serves them is consolidating.

The Worldwide Web Because the distribution channels are becoming more sophisticated and complex (and being influenced by fewer players), the ability to understand them and the competence to use them to advantage is becoming increasingly important. The availability of more products to the consumer via the internet means that, for suppliers, placing products attractively on the electronic shelf is critical, and the capability of measuring the effectiveness of both strategy and deployment equally so. Additionally, electronic access to more products gives consolidators, wholesalers, and retailers the opportunity for dynamic packaging, and the creation of customised one-to-

one type products. To be able to grasp these opportunities means owning, or having access to, robust booking and channel-management technology.

Revenue Management We all know that hotels make their money on the last room sold, airlines on the last seat and car rental companies on the last car, but any company which sells all its products at a marginal price will go broke. The ability to forecast demand, set prices creatively and maintain price and product integrity is critical, and can only be accomplished using technology. Most hotels (or flights or car rentals) have literally thousands of combinations of booking lead times, product type and pricing, to the point where manual intervention as an operating routine is not viable. If a business does not have the technology to manage inventory effectively to a strategy, it will not be profitable. To put it another way, if you sell everything at last minute prices, it will be your last minute sooner than you think. Finally it is worth showing that these issues are not just the province of major chains and flagship businesses. Owners and operators of small and medium businesses have to have the means to compete. (Companies such as Cendant and Hoseasons are major players in the small lodge/chalet market but they don’t operate like a cottage industry) More products such as theatre, restaurants and attractions are available on electronic channels; the emergence of initiatives such as EnglandNet, and the growth of independent consortia in the hotel sector are further evidence of these factors. Equally, low cost airlines and economy lodging businesses, which used to operate on the back of the “customer will beat a path to my door” are beginning to embrace technologysupported distribution strategies. These developments are radically affecting the market place and ignoring or misunderstanding them could be a terminal condition.

N o r fo l k t o u ri s m bu s i n e s s e s b e n e fi t f ro m n e w we b s i t e

The purpose of the new site is to help the Norfolk Tourism Partnership to be even more effective in their efforts to grow tourism in the region. Tourism is Norfolk's major industry and worth more than £1.2 billion. UK residents visiting the East of England spent over £1.8 billion in 2002, with more than £616 million of that being spent in Norfolk. With an additional £52 million being spent by overseas visitors, it is no surprise that there are 3200 tourism businesses in Norfolk, generating more than 35,000 (FTE) jobs. The new VisitNorfolk website has been developed by the Norfolk Tourism Team, headed up by Crispian Emberson, to enable Norfolk Tourism to drive forward the county's tourism product by incorporating features such as data capture, e-marketing tools and advertising opportunities. The site will also be supported by a significant marketing programme which will generate visitors to the site, encourage

them to plan a trip, and consequently maximise the potential economic benefits of tourism to the county. “The new site has been designed to be more than just an online information brochure for visitors to the county. Its purpose is to enable organisations working within Norfolk to utilise emarketing technology in order to do business more effectively,” explains Crispian Emberson. “Our aim is for the site to spread the benefits of tourism through the whole of Norfolk, bringing further spend into every area of the county, from big towns to the smallest rural communities”. The site was launched by Richard Ellis, who is the founder and Chairman of Norfolk Country Cottages, a key tourism business, as well as being Chairman of the East of England Development Agency. The Beechwood Hotel was chosen as the venue for the launch event, following its award as Hotel of the Year 2003 by VisitBritain. The VisitNorfolk site enables potential customers to make direct contact with service providers via links. It has been designed and built to incorporate

many new and innovative features which provide a search experience which is simple to use but full of ideas and information. As visitors explore the site, they will be presented with random suggestions for places to stay and visit, to encourage them to look deeper and discover new attractions. Those searching for accommodation will automatically be served up with a selection of attractions, and vice versa. An on-screen tourist information service provides insight and tips on free things to see and do in the county, based on the visitor's particular search

TECHNOLOGY

n Monday 2 February, at the Beechwood Hotel in North Walsham, Norfolk Tourism officially unveiled the brand new VisitNorfolk website.

Key themes, including Butlers & Blooms and Cycling & Walking, have been selected to help people plan their visit and enjoy the real highlights of the county. The site also provides a vast amount of information on the seven districts of Norfolk plus links to other useful sites. In addition, there are special sections designed especially for travel trade representatives and group travel and conference organisers plus a media and education centre.

Wi re l e s s t e c h n o l o g y m a d e s i m p l e fo r bu s i n e s s

K online for business launches a Wireless Technologies pack to help companies introduce flexible working environments UK Online for Business, the DTI partnership between industry and government, has released a Wireless Technologies pack aimed at helping companies to understand the benefits of using wireless technology and making it easier for them to implement this technology within their businesses. By removing the restrictions of being connected by wires and cables, wireless technology encourages a more flexible working environment. Not only can wireless technology improve efficiency by leading to a faster communication

process, it can also save a company money as most wireless networks are cheaper to install, relocate and maintain. Available at www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk/wireless, the pack contains Jargon-free background information on the differences between local wireless, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and mobile phone networks. The pack also contains: • An overview of wireless technology • WiFi factsheet • Bluetooth factsheet • Mobile working booklet • 3G factsheet • Smartphones factsheet • PDA factsheet • Ten case studies of companies that use wireless technologies effectively.

Mark Swarbrick, Deputy Director, ePolicy and Delivery, at DTI recently commented: “This pack is a great help to companies who want to take the step to implement wireless systems but need further information to know what's best for them. The pack helps businesses realise wireless technology need not be complicated or expensive and can benefit micro and small businesses as well as larger ones” The Wireless Technologies pack is available in hard copy and online. For further information or to order the pack, visit www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk or telephone 0845 715 2000.

Vi s i t S c o t l a n d . c o m – re v i s i t e d From Douglas Logan FTS, Speciality Scotland:

LETTERS

In the Autumn Edition of Tourism, Andrew Grieve in his article on Inbound Tourism makes some illinformed comments about the new online distribution channel that has been launched in Scotland. First of all, he gets confused as to who has launched this. VisitScotland is the national tourism body in Scotland. However, the new distribution channel www.visitscotland.com - has been launched by a separate company visitscotland.com Andrew is correct in saying that this is a public/private partnership, with its own Board of Directors including at least one VisitScotland member. However, he then goes on to say that VisitScotland has invested £millions of taxpayers money in it. This is incorrect. The new company was set up with the following funding:£1.875 million from VisitScotland and the Area Tourist Boards. SchlumbergerSema (the private sector company) invested £4.5 million. They were chosen after an exhaustive application process, respecting all EU regulations. The final investment of £1.125 million is from Partnerships UK, the government agency that gets involved in all PPP setups. £7.4 million of this investment is in the form of a loan, on which all parties pay 12% interest. The other £100k is equity. Andrew then goes on to say this operation is currently bleeding money and that it will be years before the poor taxpayer gets any return on their investment. Yes, they did make a loss in

their first year, but this was budgeted for. Indeed, they are slightly ahead of (better than) their projected budgets. Again, any company which is required, in its first year, to make such a massive investment in infrastructure, must expect to make a loss for its first few years. Later on in the article, Andrew goes on to say that the new channel is selling, this year, £3.5m of holidays. In 2003, they actually sold over £7.5m of holidays - not bad for their first year. Not long after they were set up, the Scottish Tourism Forum approached them to see about setting up a Trade Advisory Group. This was readily agreed and has met many times since then. The STF includes representatives of all sectors of the industry in Scotland, e.g. hotels self-caterers, BBs, visitor attractions. All have one representative on the Group. However, the incoming DMC sector actually has two representatives on it. I am present on the Group as Chairman of the Scottish Destination Management Association (SDMA). The SDMA is the official body, recognised by the Scottish Executive, representing DMCs and Tour Operators in Scotland. BITOA also are on the Group and both their Chairman and Chief Executive have, separately, attended meetings. Finally, VisitScotland.com have always been very keen to talk to DMCs in Scotland. In October 2002, they came to an SDMA meeting and gave a presentation. I recently organised and chaired a meeting at their offices at the Livingston Call-Centre, which was for both SDMA and SIGTOA (Scottish Incoming Golf Tour Operators

Association) members, at which we got an update on what was happening and also how we might work with them in the future. Discover Travel & Tours, through their Edinburgh Office, are members of the SDMA but their local Manager did not come to the meeting. Already there are DMCs offering packages on VisitScotland.com and, following this recent meeting, possibly more packages will be offered. I hope that the above clarifies the situation and corrects some of the comments made in Andrew Grieve’s paper.

From Andrew Grieve FTS The new distribution channel is titled VisitScotland.com to link the brand with the tourist board VisitScotland. Indeed the domain name VisitScotland.com is registered and owned by the tourist board. The public/private partnership - eTourism Limited - has £2m of government agency/Tourist Board funding plus more than £7m of public funds in loan capital, which, if unsecured, ranks close to risk capital, against just £4m invested by ShlumbergerSema. By any measure this is a large sum of public funding in a business area already crowded with highly competitive private enterprises. The £7m annual sales claimed for the VisitScotland.com operation pales into insignificance against the £552m annual sales of a leading UK website such as Lastminute.com. Minnows tend to get eaten or squeezed out in the competitive world of real business. As my grandmother used to tell me, “I fear there will be tears before bedtime”.

P o s t c a rd s f ro m S i n g ap o re a n d Vi e t n a m From Roger Wild MTS Towards the end of 2003, Roger Wild, on a visit to South East Asia, sent these inspiring impressions of two emerging destinations. Those who witnessed Singapore 37 years ago at its inauguration, following its rejection by Malaysia, will today see an enormous transformation from third world to first world country. Starting nation building late in the day, Singapore was able to adopt 'best practice' in many areas of life. Driven by the national sentiment of kiasu, the fear to fail, it has achieved much in the areas of housing, transportation, education and medicine. During a brief

visit, you would be able to see the impressive parliament, the law courts, St Andrew's cathedral, the waterfront, the shopping centre, and the concert hall, the Esplanade, which follows in the tradition of the Sydney Opera House. For some, this is the ‘civilized’ introduction to South East Asia. Harrington, in his “Clash of Civilizations”, describes it as an exercise in commonality, for here cultures and races live together. The Economist, on the other hand, calls it a dot in the ocean, but a significant dot with a nimble and flexible knowledge-based economy.

dishes sold by market hawkers. Shopping is of such quality that visitors from the surrounding countries come specifically to shop here, free from hassle.

Visitors to Singapore find ample quantities of glitz and glamour. Food ranges from haute cuisine to equally enticing simple

For those who lived through the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon generations, Vietnam was synonymous

A two hour flight taxes from Singapore you to Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon) in Vietnam; a country which is extremely keen to develop its tourist potential. The immigration process is very slow, but once through you can become an instant millionaire. One hundred US dollars becomes one and a quarter million dongs which go quite a long way.

AT T T N E W S B y B ra n d o n C ri m e s M T S

It was at the Tourism Society’s AGM in Cardiff last July that Adrian Clark very kindly offered me the position of ATTT chair. Little did I realise what this involved. Since then I have been trying to gain an understanding of the previous work undertaken by past chairs, and at this stage, I should thank Verite ReilyCollins for her excellent contribution in keeping the association moving forward. It is timely that as I sit down to write this piece for the Society's journal the latest government review of our schools has identified falling standards, with a major review of GCSEs and A levels no doubt on its way. Some would suggest that this is long over due as far as vocational education is concerned. I view this as an excellent opportunity for those of us delivering travel and tourism courses to get involved in shaping the future curriculum of vocational education in our schools and colleges. To this end, one of my intentions is to try and improve communication between all of us, in order to try and narrow the gaps that exist between the various sectors

involved in delivering tourism education and training in our schools, colleges and Universities. I believe that, as with the travel and tourism industry, a great deal of diversity is one of our strengths. A clearer and stronger voice is necessary to communicate to employers and to students what travel and tourism courses offer and how they are of direct benefit to the intellectual growth of individuals as well as to the industry as a whole. The provision of travel and tourism courses within our schools and colleges has its supporters as well as its detractors. While many of us have had the considerable satisfaction of seeing our students enter excellent careers in the tourism industry, we are also aware of the opinions of some of those in industry who claim that there are too many graduates and far too many courses. How should the ATTT respond to that view, especially when every year new tourism courses are offered? No doubt you, like me, are aware of the many conferences and events that highlight the changing demands within the world of education. An area I consider important for the ATTT is to further develop the existing dialogue between the travel and tourism industry and providers of training for the sector. For example, the recent Tourism Society careers event hosted at the University of Westminster in March is the type of event the ATTT should support. Given the potential popularity of such careers events, should the ATTT be encouraging the Society to hold them on a regional basis?

It may be time to review the aims of the ATTT, particularly as I note that it was established in 1995. Perhaps we need to plan for a twentieth celebration as a way of raising the association’s profile further. One thing that is very different from ten years ago is the use of Information and Communications Technology. Who would have dreamt then that e-mail would become such an essential vehicle of communication for an organisation? Given that, I would very much like to hear from members what they feel about the ATTT being a 'virtual' members’ association.

NETWORKS

ay I take this opportunity to introduce myself as the recently appointed chair of the Tourism Society’s Association of Tourism Teachers and Trainers (ATTT). Having been lecturing in tourism for the past 14 years at both Further and Higher education institutions, and prior to that employed as a resort management and tour manager in Europe, I hope to draw on my past experience to the benefit of ATTT members.

Some other ideas I have that I would like to hear your views on are listed below. Do you consider annual meetings as still being vital to the success of the ATTT? What activities do you as members want to see on future agendas? Should the ATTT set up some kind of ‘buddy system’ for those new to teaching and training in this sector? Aware of the time pressures that we are all under, I end this first submission to the Journal, with the hope that I will hear from you, the members, so that I can report in the next issue some of the developments that reflect the diverse nature of courses and the many enthusiastic individuals involved in the education and training of travel and tourism in the UK. 01707 285451 B.Crimes@herts.ac.uk

Scottish Chapter News page 22 continued

with warfare, napalm and defoliation, rather like late twentieth century Kosovo not the place for a holiday. However I was thrilled by what I experienced. Ho Chi Min City throbs quite literally to the quiet purr of multitudes of motorcycles, which are adept at just missing you on the crossings. The French clearly left a good road system of boulevards and avenues, with fine buildings in abundance. Eat in ‘Cafe le Loi ', and you could be forgiven for thinking you were actually in France. Beneath the surface, some hurt appears to remain; however there is a strong sense of national common endeavour as corporate memories of the war recede. The Vietnamese people are fiercely

independent and have resisted invasion through the centuries, a fact that the Americans may have wished they had learnt earlier. In the hinterland, Vietnam has a multitude of sites of unique cultural and historic interest. Its craftsmen make all sorts of artefacts in metal and stone, with pictorial artists gifted both in copying European artists and also painting with their own distinctive national character, originality and flare. Vietnam remains a communist country, but everywhere, we only found courtesy and honesty, essential elements of a successful and memorable visit to this emerging destination which so much deserves to succeed.

Forthcoming Tourism Society Scotland events are as follow: • April 2004: ‘Rural Wildlife and Environmental Tourism’, Tourism Society Scotland/ Scottish Borders Tourist Board/Forestry Enterprise; Location: Scottish Borders • May 2004: Tourism Society Scotland AGM and 'Budget & Boutique Hotels: Crossroads or paving the way ahead?' Location: Central Scotland • Late summer/Autumn 2004: ‘Skills and Education: Bridging the Gap 2’ Location: Highlands. For further details please contact Martin Robertson, Secretary M.Robertson@napier.ac.uk

BOOK REVIEWS

Tourism and Development In Tropical Islands: Political Ecology Perspectives Edited by Stefan Gössling, Lecturer, Department of Service Management, Helsingborg Campus, Lund University, Sweden UK Publication Hardback 2003 ISBN 1 84376 257 9 304 pages £59.95 Tropical islands often find themselves with few economic alternatives apart from developing tourism and off-shore banking. However coastal developments and environmental change often generate conflicts between the interests of different stakeholders such as investors, tourists and residents. Tourism and Development in Tropical Islands adopts a political ecology approach. Chapters include: an Introduction to Tourism and Development in Tropical Islands; Political Ecology Perspectives; and a number of case studies from around the world. This book will provide considerable food for thought for students, researchers and academics of tourism, service management, geography, environmental studies, human ecology and economic development. Professionals will find the book useful too. Dr Dimitrios Buhalis FTS University of Surrey

Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages By Mark Abley Heinemann ISBN: 0-434-01153-3 302 pages £14.99 This book examines the situation of some of the minority languages spoken in various parts of the globe. The author describes, in a lively, anecdotal style, his personal encounters with some of these languages and reflects upon the factors that are contributing to the decline of so many and the revival of a few. His studies range from languages that are in their death throes, such as Mati Ke in Australia, to languages staging a determined revival such as Manx to the Welsh language,

which has survived doggedly and is now flourishing, in relative terms. His passion for the subject is patent as is his thorough knowledge of linguistic structure and theory. This is rewarding reading for anyone who has an interest in languages and cultures, in the evolution of societies and in the impact of globalisation on small entities.

CONGRATULATIONS

Joy Davies MTS Swansea Institute of Higher Education

The Grange Hotel, York

Handbook of Checked Baggage Screening – Advanced Airport Security Operations By N E L Shanks and A L Bradley Professional Engineering Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1860584284 272 pages £89.00 Safety continues to be a major headache for the aviation industry. This handbook provides practitioners with a definitive guide regarding what needs to be done in airport security and how best to put the requirements into practice. The book covers a wide range of issues and processes that determine airport security, including: Hold baggage screening, Airport and Airline Staff and Airport Management, General Airport Processes, Retail Developments and Security Provisions. It explains the needs and requirements of different airport users, as well their involvement in security. In addition, it explains general airport processes and practices, and includes a number of actual case studies demonstrating how security can be improved in real situations. Airport development and management professionals as well as engineers and airport operational and security teams working in the airport development or operational sector will benefit from this handbook. Researchers and students of transportation, airport and aviation studies will also find the book of interest, although at almost £90 it will be mainly libraries that will purchase it. Dr Dimitrios Buhalis FTS University of Surrey

Colin Doyle FTS has been appointed as the new Chairman for The North West Tourist Board

Michael Hirst FTS has been awarded an OBE.

has received a top accolade in the RAC’s Annual awards to the UK and Ireland hospitality industry

Fiona Grant MTS has been awarded an MBE.

Tom Hooper MTS has been awarded an MBE.

The Monkbar Hotel, York was named the Conference Venue of the Year in the York Tourism Awards

Dr Alistair Somerville Ford FTS has been awarded the Linus Humanist Medal by the International League of Humanists in recognition of his contribution to the educational development of young people in Sarajevo

Julian Zarb MTS has been nominated as ETurbo News representative journalist for Malta and Gozo. He has twice been awarded the Tourism Journalist Award by the Maltese Ministry for Tourism, in 2000 and again in 2003. He is also the FounderPresident of Socjeta Turistika Maltija, the Maltese Tourism Society.

DIRECTORY UPDATES AND NEWS & MOVES Ronald Haylock FTS The Tower House, Dingley Hall, Market Harborough LE16 8PJ Tel: 01858 468 567. Fax: 01858 468 712. E-mail: ron.haylock@btinternet.com

More detailed reviews of these books appear on our website www.tourismsociety.org

Jennie Bell MTS

Richard Bryan MTS

Francis Cornish FTS

Director of Commercial Services, The Horticultural Trades Association, Horticulture House, 19 High Street, Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5AH Tel: 0118 930 3132. Mobile: 0773 852760. Fax: 0118 932 3453. E-mail:

Proprietor, Spanhoe Lodge, Harringworth Road, Laxton, East Northampshire NN17 3AT. Tel: 01780 450 328. Fax: 01780 450 328. E-mail:

Project Manager, Questions Answered, Brackenhill, 29 St Georges Place, York YO24 1DT. Tel: 01904 632 039. Fax: 01904 610 070. E-mail:

Chairman, South West Tourism, Woodwater Park, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5WT. Tel: 01392 353 201. Fax: 01392 445 112. E-mail:

jennie.spanhoe@virgin.net Website: www.spanhoe.co.uk

richardb@questions.co.uk Website: www.questions.co.uk

sthompson@swtourism.co.uk. Website: www.swtourism.co.uk

Julie Blackshaw MTS

Sally Carrick MTS

Gillian Cruddas MTS

andrew.maxted@the-hta.org.uk

Business Development Officer, Loughborough, University The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU. Tel: 01509 226 474. Fax: 01509 226 475. E-mail:

Managing Director, Carrick Travel Limited, Talisman House, Talisman Square, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1JB. Tel: 01926 514 101. Fax: 01926 514 100. E-mail:

Chief Executive, York Tourism Bureau, 20 George Hudson Street, York YO1 6WR. Tel: 01904 554 455. Fax: 01904 554 460. E-mail: gc@york-tourism.co.uk Website: www.visityork.org

UPGRADED TO FELLOW Ros Pritchard FTS Director General, British Holiday & Home Parks Association, Chichester House, 6 Pullman Court, Great Western Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL1 3ND. Tel: 01452 526911. Fax: 01452 508508. E-mail:

julieblackshaw@isrm.co.uk Website: www.isrm.co.uk

Geoff Blagg MTS

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Managing Director, Galaxy Travel Ltd, Cringleford Business Centre, Intwood Road, Norwich NR4 6AU. Tel: 01603 730 000. Fax: 01603 730 017. E-mail:

Nigel Adams MTS

geoff@galaxytravel.co.uk. Website: www.galaxytravel.co.uk

r.pritchard@bhhpa.org.uk Website: www.ukparks.com

Head of Policy, Wales Tourist Board, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff CF24 0UY. Tel: 02920 475 267

Chris Allcoat MTS Management Consultant, Co-optimize Marketing, 31 Fieldhead Drive, Barwickin-Elmet, Leeds LS15 4EE. Tel: 0113 393 5116. Fax: 0113 393 5116. E-mail: chris.allcoat@cooptimize.co.uk

Nick Beale MTS Director of Post Sixteen, Carr High School Specialist Engineering College, Royal Avenue, Kirkham, Preston PR4 2ST. Tel: 01772 682 008. Fax: 01772 673 0478

Roger Beck MTS Proprietor, Beck Fisher, Hettle Meadow, West End, Ample Forth, York YO62 4DY. Tel: 01439 788 483. Fax: 01439 788 483. E-mail: beckfisher@hotmail.com. Website: www.beckfisher.co.uk

Natalie Blogg MTS Head of Commercial, TUI UK, TUI UK Clarendon Avenue, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 5PS. Tel: 01926 514 101. Fax: 01926 514 100. E-mail: sallycarrick@carricktravel.com Website: www.carricktravel.com

sallycarrick@carricktravel.com Website: www.carricktravel.com

Rosa Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Alessandro MTS Roland Castro FTS Principal, Castro Consultancy, 3 Chester Close, London SW1X 7BE. Tel: 020 7235 1659. Fax: 020 7235 9636. E-mail: roland@rcastro.demon.co.uk

Joan Clark MTS Policy Director, British Holiday and Home Parks Association, 6 Pullman Court, Great Western Road, Gloucester GL1 3ND. Tel: 01452 508 504. Fax: 01452 508 508. E-mail: j.clark@bhhpa.org.uk. Website: www.bhhpa.org.uk, www.ukparks.com

jondeb99@supanet.com

Ron Brooker FTS

lynda.clayton@teesvalleyjsu.gov.uk

3 Commonside Cottages, Sheffield Road, Todwick, Sheffield S26 1DJ. Tel: 0114 287 4168. E-mail:

Marketing Manager, Cavendish Hotel Eastbourne Limited, Grand Parade, Eastbourne BN21 4DN. Tel: 01323 410 222. Fax: 01323 410 941. E-mail:

Tourism Development Manager, Greenwich Council, Peggy Middleton House, 50 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6HQ. Tel: 020 8921 6282. Fax: 020 8921 5950. E-mail: rosa.dalessandro@ greenwich.gov.uk Website: www.greenwich.gov.uk

Stephen Deakin MTS General Manager, Copthorne Hotel, The Close, Quayside, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE1 3RT. Tel: 0191 222 0333. Fax: 0191 230 1111. E-mail: stephen.deakin@mill-cop.com

Patsy Dias MTS Lynda Clayton MTS Tourism and Conference Officer, Tees Valley Tourism Bureau, Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, P.O Box 199, Melrose House, Melrose Street TS1 2XE. Tel: 01642 264 937. E-mail:

Jon Broadhurst MTS

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Andrew Maxted FTS

4 Henderson Road, Forest Gate, London E7 8EG. Mobile: 07951 052 743

Lew Eccleshall MTS Visitor Manager, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St James' Mount, Liverpool L1 7AZ. Tel: 0151 702 7217. Fax: 0151 702 7292. E-mail: lew.eccleshall@

Lady Penelope Cobham FTS

liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

Website:

info@cavendishhotel.co.uk.

Board Member VisitBritain, c/o Canal House, 42 Gas Street, Birmingham B1 2JT. Tel: 0121 633 4149. Fax: 0121 632 5062. E-mail:

Website:

canalhse@aol.com

www.cavendishhotel.co.uk

Nora Collinson MTS Director of Sales, Copthorne Hotel, The Close, Quayside, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE1 3RT. Tel: 0191 222 0333. Fax: 0191 230 1111. E-mail:

www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

Peter Frost-Pennington MTS Managing Director, Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass, Cumbria CA18 1RQ. Tel: 01229 717 614. Fax: 01229 717 010. E-mail: peter@muncaster.co.uk Website: www.muncaster.co.uk

nola.collinson@mill-cop.com

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Lorna Gotts MTS

Jane Heard MTS

Donna Lewis MTS

Sandra Murray MTS

Project Co-ordinator, Business Link South Yorkshire, Reresby House, Bow Bridge Close, Templeborough, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S60 1BY. Tel: 01709 386 342. Fax: 01709 386 330. E-mail: lgotts@blsy.com. Website: www.blsy.com

Proprietor, Tregynon, Tregynon, Gwaun Valley, Fishgaurd, Pembrokeshire SA65 9TU. Tel: 01239 820 531. Fax: 01239 820 808. E-mail:

Account Director, The Saltmarsh Partnership, Unit D, The Copperfields, 25 Copperfield Street, London SE1 0EN. Tel: 020 7928 1600. Fax: 020 7928 1700. e-mail: donna@saltmarshpr.co.uk Website: www.saltmarshpr.co.uk

Owner, Sandy Travel, 55 High Street, Normanton, West Yorkshire WF6 2AF. Tel: 020 7323 3408. Fax: 020 7323 5189. E-mail:

Peter Mackie MTS

Kristenne Pickles MTS

Hugh Green MTS

Tony Iredale MTS

UK Head of Travel, Leisure and Tourism, KPMG LLP, 1 Puddle Dock, Blackfriars, London EC4V 3PD. Tel: 020 7311 2010. Fax: 020 7311 2914. E-mail:

Managing Director, Tony Iredale Travel, 21 Commercial Street, Brighouse, Yorkshire, HD6 1AQ. Tel: 01484 723 723. E-mail: tony@flightfinders.net Website: www.flightfinders.co.uk

General Manager, Althams Travel Services Limited, Riverside Offices, Netherwood Road, Burnley BB10 2AN. Tel: 01282 434 431. Fax: 01282 831 535. E-mail:

Marketing and Events Executive, London Wetland Centre, Queen Elizabeth Walk, Barnes SW13 9WT. Tel: 020 8409 4412. Fax: 020 8409 4401. E-mail:

hugh.green@kpmg.co.uk Website: www.kpmg.co.uk

tregynon@online-holidays.net Website: www.onlineholidays.net/tregynon

peter.makie@althams.co.uk. Website: www.althams.co.uk

Gordon Jackson MTS Steve Green MTS Director, Bowles Green Limited and Special Places Tour Limited, Vales House, Oswaldkirk, North Yorkshire YO62 5YH. Tel: 01439 788 980. Fax: 01439 788 226. E-mail: steve@bowlesgreen.co.uk

Hotel General Manager, Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa, 1150 Century Way, Thorpe Park, Leeds, LS15 8ZB. Tel: 0113 264 1000. Fax: 0113 264 4040. E-mail: thorpepark.gm@shirehotels.co.uk Website: www.shirehotels.co.uk

Director, Eco International Limited, 3 St. Davids Close, Leverstock, Hertfordshire HP3 8LU. Tel: 01902 323 2000. E-mail: bgurnett@hetlab.co.uk

finishingtouches.uk.com

Website: www.finishingtouched.uk.com

deborahhaylock@monmouthshir e.gov.uk Website: www.monmouthshire.gov.uk

Head of Vocational Education, The Castle School, Park Road, Thornbury, Bristol BS35 1HT. Tel: 01454 862 157. Fax: 01454 862 151. E-mail: amakepeace@castle.gloucs.sch.uk Website: www.castle.gloucs.sch.uk

Grant Leisure Group Ltd, Westward House, 155-157 Staines Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 3JB. Tel: 020 8607 1553/7. Fax: 020 8274 0205. E-mail: s-ody@grant-leisure.com Website: www.grant-leisure.com

Janet Oldham MTS

Samantha Jones MTS

howard.masters@wwavrc.co.uk

Account Manager, The Saltmarsh Partnership, Unit D, The Copperfields, 25 Copperfield Street, London SE1 0EN. Tel: 020 7928 1600. Fax: 020 7928 1700. E-mail:

Website:

Gavin Percy MTS

www.wwavrcnorth.co.uk

Acting Director of Sales, Best Western Hotels, Consort House, Amy Johnston Way, Clifton Moor, York YO30 4GP. Tel: 01904 695 427. Fax: 01904 695 402. E-mail:

samantha@saltmarshpr.co.uk Website: www.saltmarshpr.co.uk

Maxine Kelsall MTS Commercial Communications Manager, Co-op Travel Tradings Group, Hamil Road, Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent ST6 1AJ. Tel: 01782 309 730. Fax: 01782 823 180. E-mail: maxine.kelsall@cttg.co.uk

Deputy Managing Director, WWAV Rapp Collins North, Mayerbrook House, Lawnswood Park, Redvers Close, Leeds LS16 6QY. Tel:0113 222 6300. Fax: 0113 222 6363. E-mail:

Bill Maxwell MTS Trade Relations Director, Wallace Arnold Holidays, Lowfields Road, Leeds LS12 6DN. Tel: 0113 263 6456. Fax: 0113 263 0312. E-mail: wmaxwell@wallacearnold.com Website: www.wallacearnold.com

David Moyser MTS Chief Executive Officer, The Heart of England Tourist Board, Woodside, Larkhill Road, Worcester WR5 2EZ. Tel: 01905 761 102. E-mail: david.moyser@ visitheartofengland.com

Website: www.visitheartofengland.com

kristenne.pickles@wwt.org.uk Website: www.wwt.org.uk

Howard Masters MTS

Deborah Haylock MTS Tourism Officer, Monmouthshire County Council, County Hall, Cwmbran NP44 2XH. Tel: 01633 644 847. Fax: 01633 644 800. E-mail:

www.adventure4travel.com

Lecturer, King Alfred's College, Sparkford Road, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4NR. Tel: 01962 827 089. Fax: 01962 827 385. E-mail: hazel.jarvis@wkac.ac.uk. Website: www.wkac.ac.uk

Caroline Ann Halliday MTS Owner, Finishing Touches UK, Prospect house, Prospect Street, Huddersfield HD1 2NU. Tel:01484 469 888. Fax: 01484 317 847. E-mail: enquiries@

Website:

Simon Ody MTS Alison Makepeace MTS

Hazel Jarvis MTS Brian Gurnett MTS

rogers@adventure4travel.com

Head of Vocational Education, St. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s RC High School, Kirkmanshulme Lane, Manchester M12 4WB. Tel: 0161 248 1550 ext. 1565. Fax: 0161 248 1551. E-mail: oldhamj@st-petershighmanchester.sch.uk

gavin.perry@bestwestern.co.uk Website: www.bestwestern.co.uk

Barry Peters MTS Managing Director, Holidays in the UK Ltd, The Old Mill, Firth Street, Skipton, BD23 2PT. Tel: 01756 693 600. Fax: 01756 693 601. E-mail: barry@imhgroup.com. Website: www.holidayuk.co.uk

Dominic Speakman MTS

Gerald Wait MTS

Wolfgang Zahn MTS

Tourism Manager, Poole Tourism, PO BOX 5337, Poole, Dorset BH15 22X. Tel: 01202 262 077. Fax: 01202 633 888 E-mail:

Managing Director, Travel Counsellors Limited, Travel House, Churcheate, Bolton BL1 1TH. Tel: 01204 536 002. Fax: 01204 536 050. E-mail:

Technical Director, Gifford & Partners Limited, Carlton House, Raywood Road, Woodlands, Southampton SO40 7HT. Tel: 02380 817 500. Fax: 02380 817 600. E-mail: gerry.wait@giffordconsulting.co.uk Website:

Portimar â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DMC, 75 Stour Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2NR. Tel: 01227 462 388. Fax: 01227 462 388. E-mail: w.c.h.zahn@portimar.pt. Website: www.portimar.pt

g.richardson@pool.gov.uk Website: www.pooletourism.com

dom@travelcounsellors.com

Website:

Paula Rogers MTS Managing Director, Admiral Group, 20-21 Widegate Street, London E1 7HP. Tel: 020 7877 8500. Fax: 020 7877 853. E-mail: paula@admiralgroup.com Website: www.admiralgroup.com

www.travelcounsellors.com

www.gifford-consulting.co.uk

Nigel Stevens MTS

www.boroughofpoole.com

Peter Sloyan MTS Chief Executive, Northumbria Tourist Board, Aykley Head 1, Durham, DH1 5UX. Tel: 0191 275 3000. Fax: 0191 386 0890. E-mail: sloyan@ntb.org.uk Website: www.visitnorthumbria.com

Victoria Smiley MTS Conference Officer, Tees Valley Tourism Bureau, Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, P.O Box 199, Melrose House, Melrose Street TS1 2XE. Tel: 01642 264 935. E-mail: victoria.smiley@ teesvalley-jsu.gov.uk

Roger Smith MTS President, Adventure Travel Centres, Kenilworth House, 79-80 Margaret Street, London W1W 8TA. Tel: 020 7323 3408. Fax: 020 7323 5189. E-mail: rogers@adventure4travel.com

Website: www.adventure4travel.com

Jon Smithells MTS Managing Director, QDOS, The Quest, Stockdale Walk, Knaresborough HG5 8DZ. Tel: 01423 797 076. Fax: 01423 797 078. E-mail: qdos@smithells.co.uk Website:

Bournemouth University

Director, Shire Cruisers, The Wharf, Sowerb Bridge HX6 2AG. Tel: 01422 832 712. Fax: 01422 839 565. E-mail: n@shirecruisers.co.uk Website: www.shirecruisers.co.uk

Paul Wallace MTS

Helen Talbot MTS

rapa@wallberry.freeserve.co.uk

Victoria Heath

Emma Watson MTS

LITE Piccadilly

Mara Magagnin

htalbot@worldchoice.co.uk. Website: www.worldchoice.co.uk

Tourism Marketing Manager, Poole Tourism, PO BOX 5337, Poole, Dorset BH15 22X Tel: 01202 262 673 Fax: 01202 633 888 E-mail: e.watson@poole.gov.uk Website: www.pooletourism.com

Thomas Thiollier MTS

Marian Webber MTS

Westminster University

Head of Sales & Marketing, EnglandNet, Thames Tower, Blacks Road, London W6 9EL. Tel: 0208 563 3167. Fax: 0208 563 3310. E-mail:

Head of Vocational Education, Shoeburyness High School, Caulfield Road, Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 9LL

tthiolliers@englandnet.co.uk. Website: www.englandnet.co.uk

Lynsey Welstead MTS

Simon Gidman Kalliopi Manolakou Lynn Minnaert Maria Pitharouli Sarah Rippinger Cherisse Thompson

Graham Shaw MTS Head of Marketing Services, Poole Tourism, Civic Centre, Poole, Dorset BH15 2RU. Tel: 01202 633 273. Fax: 01202 633 888. E-mail: g.shaw@podo.gov.uk Website:

WELCOME STUDENT MEMBERS

Head of Sales and Marketing, Worldchoice UK Ltd, Worldchoice House, Minerva Business Park, Lynchwood, Peterbrough PE2 6FT. Tel: 01733 390 900. Fax: 01733 396 823. E-mail:

Simon Thorp MTS Head of Tourism and eProgrammes, BESO, 164 Vauxhall Road, London SW1V 2RA. Tel: 020 7849 7861. Fax: 020 7630 0624. E-mail: sthorp@beso.org Website: www.beso.org

Roy Varghese Mathew MTS Director, Stark Communications Pvt. Ltd., 1564 Garden House, Elankom Gardens, Vellayambalam, Trivandrum, India. Tel: +91 471 231 2707. Fax: +91 671 231 2708. Email: roy@starkgroup.net Website: www.starkgroup.net

Head of Upper School, Carr High School Specialist Engineering College, Royal Avenue, Kirkham, Preston PR4 2ST. Tel: 01772 682 008. Fax: 01772 673 0478. E-mail:

Tourism Manager, Poole Tourism, PO BOX 5337, Poole, Dorset BH15 22X. Tel: 01202 262 673. Mobile: 07973 575 954. Fax: 01202 633 888. E-mail:

Tiina Landen Glasgow Caledonian University

Helen Vass

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Graham Richardson MTS

University of Hertfordshire

University of Luton

Dipasish Dey Scottish Agricultural College

Patricia Leslie

University of Wolverhampton

Kiranjit Moore

l.welstead@poole.gov.uk. Website: www.pooletourism.com

Craig Wilson MTS Marketing Manager, York Tourism Bureau, 20 George Hudson Street, York YO1 6WR. Tel: 01904 554 456. Fax: 01904 554 460. E-mail: cw@york-tourism.co.uk. Website: www.visityork.org

Fiona Wilson MTS Tourism and Information Manager, Newcastle Tourism Information Centre, 132 Grainger Street, Newcastle NE1 5AF. Tel: 0191 277 8002. Fax: 0191 277 8009. E-mail: fiona.wilson@newcastle.gov.uk Website: www.newcastle.gov.uk