Tourism - Autumn 2009 - issue 141

The Tourism Society Trinity Court, 34 West Street, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1SH T 020 8661 4636 F 020 8661 4637 E journal@tourismsociety.org W www.tourismsociety.org Registered in England No. 01366846. ISSN: 02613700 Designed and produced by Wharncliffe Publishing Contact Tony Barry 47 Church Street Barnsley S70 2AS T 01226 734333 E tb@whpl.net W www. whpl.net Š Copyright 2009 The Tourism Society 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 Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neither transparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned.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, it is distributed quarterly to 1500 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. Britain images Š www.britainonview.com

Contents

Editorial Capitalising on New Media opportunities

Top 5 tips for e-marketing in a recession Justin Reid, Head of Online and CRM,VisitBritain

New Media is firmly on the tourism agenda, with every organization, from micro-businesses to large global players, needing to capitalise on the opportunities presented by New Media.

The level of interest in this topic is evidenced by the number of forums, conferences and publications in both the academic and practitioner communities. For example the ENTER e-tourism conference (www.ifitt.org/enter) with its academic and applied tracks, the Travel Technology Initiative’s (www.tti.org) Spring and Autumn conferences and Summer and Winter forums, the European Travel Commission’s NewMedia TrendWatch (www.newmediatrendwatch.com), and the Tourism Society’s Tourism and New Media event in September.

The articles in this issue of Tourism illustrate how New Media applications and developments impact on all elements of tourism – employee recruitment, the user’s web site experience, proximity marketing for destinations, targeted distribution by a niche tour operator, enhancing the experience of the museum visitor and, from an academic perspective, a useful round-up of e-tourism research over the last 20 years. These articles, all of which have a strong practical edge, demonstrate how the application of New Media can help to address the challenges which beset the tourism “product” – intangibility, perishability, service variability and, not least, the heterogeneous nature of customer expectations.

During a series of one-day workshops on e-marketing which I delivered to small rural tourism businesses, what struck me most was the unlimited enthusiasm among these, generally older, people, and their thirst for knowledge for how New Media can help them gain a competitive advantage for their business. New Media and tourism is, however, a fast moving area and it is essential that the knowledge contained in research papers, best practice industry case studies, conference presentations, textbooks, web forums, blogs, etc. is disseminated as widely and as regularly as possible in a format which is digestible and applicable.This special issue of Tourism is one contribution to that challenge.

Dr Philip Alford MTS | International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR) | Bournemouth University

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Twenty years on and 10 years after the internet: the state of e-tourism research 4-5 Dimitrios Buhalis, International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research, Bournemouth University and Rob Law, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Search Engine Optimisation – 10 top tips Peter Varlow MTS, Senior Associate,TEAM Tourism Consulting

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Using Digital Technology at Tate Modern Jane Burton, Head of Content and Creative Director,Tate Media

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Selecting Online Distribution Channels for a Small Responsible Tour Operator Joanna Owen MTS, Destination Manager, Angkor Experiences

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Creating a level playing field for smaller hotels through technology 10-11 Mac Smith & Keith Bryant, Directors of Delta Squared Performance Improvement Open all hours – service extension through Canditv® Kevin Taylor MTS, Company Director, Data Driven Logistics Ltd

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Proximity-based Technology for Destination Marketing 13 Ian Rippen MTS, Managing Director, Optima Value Group Effective Website Design for Tourism Businesses Andy Nicol MTS, Head of New Media, Sputnik Internet

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The Technology Behind Tourism Statistics Kevin Millington MTS, Director of Acorn Consulting Partnership Ltd

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Wired up to capitalise on industry talent Brian Wisdom MTS, Chief Executive of People 1st

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Annual Conference and debate with the UNWTO Flo Powell MTS, Executive Director, The Tourism Society

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Book Reviews

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Membership News

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New Members

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From the President’s Desk The decision by the parochial DCMS to pull Britain out of the UNWTO is not only shameful, but a direct attack on Britain’s goal of helping developing nations.The view from my desk changed radically yesterday. Like most of us I think of tourism in terms of visitors to the UK and more often to my corner of the North Highlands.The rest of the world is seen as either a market to be exploited or the competition. Last night that view changed when I chaired the Society’s panel debate on tourism and the G20 goals. We had an outstanding panel.

The Secretary General of the UNWTO, a former Jordanian tourism minister, the current South African tourism minister, the Samoan Chair of the Pacific Islands Group, together with VisitBritain Chair Christopher Rodrigues and our own Geoffrey Lipman, all provided thoughtful opening remarks and then engaged in a dynamic Q & A session with the audience. Lelei Lelaulu put it

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beautifully: “Tourism is by far the largest voluntary transfer of resources from the haves to the have nots”. With clarity and feeling, the panel underlined the importance of tourism to developing countries, and the power it has to materially improve a lot of poorer nations. In that context the DCMS decision looks, and is, a stain on Britain’s development record. My suggestion to a colleague who is a DfID spokesman is that he should lobby the Secretary of State for International Development to take this on and provide the modest subscription from his budget.

The other comment that struck a cord was from the South African tourism minister who described the appalling process of trying to get a VISA for his wife to accompany him. He made it plain that in future he will avoid the UK whenever he can, pointing out that he can get anywhere in the world just as easily via Frankfurt or

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Paris. His description chimes with recent cases I have dealt with.

The UK Border Agency is out of control.There is no excuse for the poor process and stroppy attitude that seems to be their hallmark.They are a real barrier to inbound tourism.

It is time to ditch the tabloid attitude and put in place a reasonable process and a real welcome.

Lord Thurso MP FTS | President | Tourism Society

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E-marketing

Top five tips for e-marketing in a recession When I was first asked by the Tourism Society to write on giving some tips about online marketing in a recession, it was back in March and the country was gripped by news of the failing bank system and crippling redundancies across all walks of life.

The outlook, you could say, was somewhat less than rosy. So naturally my starting point had to be “what could be done cheaply, effectively and basically implemented by just about anyone?”

It wasn’t going to be too useful to anyone to start banging on about implementing a new Content Management System or investing heavily in some strategic PPC marketing – the focus had to be on what everyone from a simple B&B owner or a single rural attraction could use to help them attract just a little more bit more online interest that would hopefully turn into a few more bed nights or clicks through the turnstile in the coming months.

The next rule of thumb was that any suggestions had to be in list form so they could be easily remembered and if you’re going to go for a list why not throw in some clichés – hence the “Top 5 Cliches Scenario” was born and if you can bear with me for another 1000 words or so, hopefully some if it will be of some use to you.

So top of the list and cliché #1: 1. If there’s a (free) band wagon driving past … jump on it!

In VisitBritain’s case this was utilising the (free) power of Twitter.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still far

from convinced that Twitter provides THE next big thing in converting passing online interest into actual sales, but what it undoubtedly does do is engage with its audience.

Since humble beginnings back in March, where we had a lowly though committed 200 followers,VisitBritain is now preaching to a solid audience of nearly 4,000.

Key points to remember are to keep the tweets regular and keep them fresh.

When someone asks you a question retweet them, after all it’s only polite. Sure it helps to have a witty copywriter at the helm back in head office but this simple investment in nothing more than a few minutes a few times a day resulted in an extra 37,000 visits to our website in the past 3 months.

Were this to be achieved using PPC

‘If you haven’t got imagery or better yet video on your website get some. Nothing holds the attention of the viewer or converts interest into action better than a short well shot video (90 seconds is more than long enough) or some truly inspirational imagery’

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we’d be looking at an investment of at least £5000 – so time well spent. Not that we’re vain here at VisitBritain but it also garnered this nice little quote from the Times Online – “If you follow just one tourist board on Twitter, make it Visit Britain, which publishes a fun, wellinformed commentary on events across the country” and was given 9/10 and “won” the Best Tourist Board use of Twitter gong.

2. A picture tellls a thousand words.

If you haven’t got imagery or better yet video on your website get some. Nothing holds the attention of the viewer or converts interest into action better than a short well shot video (90 seconds is more than long enough) or some truly inspirational imagery.

Surely this costs a lot though? Well it would to commission your own for sure, but search the (largely) free and inexhaustible supply that is YouTube or Flickr (or indeed www.visitbritain.tv).

Most of the videos will have embed codes that you can slot neatly into your site. As for the imagery, Flickr is awash with fantastic shots from mostly amateur photographers.

Many of whom would be only too happy for you to use their imagery on

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your site with nothing more than an accreditation and link back to their site in return.

3. But don’t take my word for it And why would you at this stage? But this particular cliché refers to the vast arrays of User Generated Content already prevalent on the web.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and try to create your own UGC site, go to the acknowledged experts – Trip Advisor / WAYN etc. And put in a search for your particular attractions or area.

Chances are, people are already having online conversations about it, could be just a handful but could be thousands and thousands of people. Join in these online conversations / forums, give recommendations, shout about your products; nothing has more resonance than some bona fide and honest local input and knowledge.

4. You can lead a horse to water … but you can’t make it drrink.

(Already I’m seeing how some of these titles worked better online than they do on paper, but then I do consider ours an online operation so I shouldn’t be too concerned).

What I’m referring to now / scraping the bottom of the barrel (delete as applicable) is that once you’ve got people coming to your site through whatever means give them not only something suitable and readable to look at but a natural next path on the journey to help them convert interest into booking / action.

Hands up we’re guilty too! A year or two ago a PPC campaign was run by VisitBritain that generated a large amount of traffic to the site. Great! Low bounce rates and reasonably high dwell time BUT extremely low number of page views per visits.

A simple check of the actual content on those landing pages showed that whilst the written content was well received by the visitor there was no natural onward

‘Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and try to create your own UGC site, go to the acknowledged experts – Trip Advisor / WAYN etc.

And put in a search for your particular attractions or area’

journey for them to make around the site.

No related further information, no click to buy, no “if you liked this you may also like this” offerings.

A relatively simple redesign of the page ensuring many more options to navigate around the site quickly saw a 300% increase in page views for the rest of the campaign.

5. (The) Internet is a needle in a haystack So create more needles … for years our mantra at VisitBritain has been to put our website at the heart of everything we do.

Don’t get me wrong – that worked.

But now we need to put our content at the heart of everyone else’s websites!

Trust me, the big online portals such as Yahoo / Wcities etc are all very keen to have as much destination and product

content as possible in their portfolio of sites.

A small investment, largely time and research, to produce an article or two about your local passion or product could well end up being displayed before the eyes of hundreds of thousands of online travel seekers all looking for key information to help them determine their next holiday destination.

And if they won’t take it, try your National Tourist Board (Justin.reid@visitbritain.org) – we can always find a good online home for well written content!

Justin Reid |Head of Online and CRM | VisitBritain

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Tourism and Technology

Twenty years on and ten years after the internet: the state of e-tourism research In the highly respected international journal,Tourism Management [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2008.01.005], Professor Dimitrios Buhalis of Bournemouth University and Dr Rob Law of Hong Kong Polytechnic University have written a paper which examines the progress in information technology and tourism management and the state of e-tourism research.

About 20 years since the serious engagement of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in tourism, and 10 years after the internet, the paper examines the body of scientific research on etourism by reviewing the published articles on e-tourism in the past 20 years.

The paper also projects future developments in e-tourism and demonstrates critical changes that will influence the tourism industry structure.

A major contribution of the paper is its overview of the research and development efforts that have taken place in the field, and the challenges that tourism researchers and industry are, and will be,

facing.These developments and challenges are summarised below.

The paper concludes that since the 1980s, ICTs have been transforming tourism globally.

Developments in ICTs have undoubtedly changed business practices and strategies, and also industry structures. If the past 20 years have seen an emphasis on technology per se, then since the year 2000 we have been witnessing the truly transformational effect of ICTs. This has given scope for the development of a wide range of new tools and services that facilitate global interaction between players around the world.

Increasingly, ICTs play a critical role for the competitiveness of tourism organisations and destinations as well as for the entire industry. Developments in search engines, carrying capacity and speed of networks have influenced the number of travellers around the world that use technologies for planning and experiencing their travels. ICTs have also radically changed the efficiency and effectiveness

of tourism organisations, the way that businesses are conducted in the marketplace, as well as how consumers interact with organisations.

The ICT-driven business processes reengineering, observed in the industry, gradually generates a new paradigm-shift.

This alters the structure of the entire industry and develops a whole range of opportunities and threats for all stakeholders. Not only do ICTs empower consumers to identify, customise and purchase tourism products but they also support the globalisation of the industry by providing effective tools for suppliers to develop, manage and distribute their offerings worldwide.

Some of the key issues examined include: The development of ICTs and particularly the internet empowered the “new” tourist who is becoming more internetsavvy and is seeking exceptional value for money and time.

Information search is a significant part of the purchase decision process and has been revolutionised as a result of the internet.

Tourists have become more independent and sophisticated on using a wide range of tools to arrange their trips.

These include reservation systems and

‘Developments in ICTs have undoubtedly changed business practices and strategies, and also industry structures. If the past 20 years have seen an emphasis on technology per se, then since the year 2000 we have been witnessing the truly transformational effect of ICTs’

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online travel agencies (such as Expedia), search engines and meta-search engines (such as Google and Kayak respectively), destination management systems (such as visitbritain.com), social networking and web 2.0 portals (such as www.wayn.com and www.tripadvisor.com), price comparison sites (such as kayak) as well as individual suppliers and intermediaries sites.

Pricing is also a major issue in eTourism as many organizations use ICTs to communicate directly to consumers on web-only fares and rates, passing on discounts that are generated from saved commissions and distribution charges made in a short value chain.

Virtual communities are gradually becoming incredibly influential in tourism as consumers increasingly place more trust in their peers, rather than marketing messages.

Rapid technological development paradoxically means that the more powerful and complex ICTs become, the more affordable and user friendly they become, enabling more people and organisations to take advantage.

‘Interoperability’ offers a realistic alternative to standardisation, as many of the initiatives to establish global standards in tourism have not been widely accepted.

Wireless and mobile networks, and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) in particular, are emerging to provide ubiquitous connectivity and support location-based services, providing a great number of new opportunities and challenges for tourism.

Website design, both in terms of functionality and usability is also becoming critical. Related to usability is accessibility which addresses the fact that web surfing is still a barrier for people with disabilities.

Finally, Ambient Intelligence (AI) will gradually provide an environment where humans will be surrounded by intelligent interfaces supported by computing and networking technology that is embedded in everyday objects, such as furniture, clothes, vehicles, roads and smart materials.

The technological revolution, experienced through the development of the internet, has changed dramatically the market conditions for tourism organisations.

The web-enabled organizations distribute their products not only through direct distribution but also through a very wide range of channels.

Third party intermediaries included online travel agencies as well as meta search engines (e.g. www.kayak.com), all of which could distribute both static and dynamic information such as availability and pricing.

Electronic intermediaries are also emerging dynamically and increasingly

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challenge traditional distributors.

ICTs evolve rapidly providing new tools for tourism marketing and management.

They support the interactivity between tourism enterprises and consumers and, as a result, they reengineer the entire process of developing, managing and marketing tourism products and destinations.

Increasingly the impacts of ICTs are becoming clearer as networking, dynamic interfaces with consumers and partners, and the ability to redevelop the tourism product proactively and reactively, are critical for the competitiveness of tourism organisations.

The literature review undertaken demonstrates that e-tourism research is in its infancy and that a number of issues are only now starting to be addressed in the literature.

Despite the aforementioned benefits, the e-tourism ‘virtuality’ is still primitive.

This jeopardises the opportunities for tourism corporations to develop credible interfaces with other members of the value-chain, thereby preventing them from developing their virtuality further.

A number of organisations fail to appreciate the benefits of ‘co-opetition’ and ‘codestiny’, when organisations collaborate with players that they would normally regard as competitors. A wide range of issues must therefore be resolved before the tourism industry can take full advantage of the ICTs and maximise its virtuality.

Increasingly ICTs will provide the “infostructure” for the entire industry and will overtake all mechanistic aspects of tourism transactions.

It is evident, however, that the future of e-tourism will be focused on consumer centric technologies that will support organisations to interact with their cus-

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‘Increasingly the impacts of ICTs are becoming clearer as networking, dynamic interfaces with consumers and partners, and the ability to redevelop the tourism product proactively and reactively, are critical for the competitiveness of tourism organisations. ’ tomers dynamically. Consumers are becoming incredibly powerful and are increasingly able to determine elements of their tourism products.

They are also much more sophisticated and experienced and therefore are much more difficult to please. Innovative tourism enterprises will have the ability to divert resources and expertise to servicing consumers and provide higher valueadded transactions.

The development of new and more powerful ICT applications empowers both suppliers and destinations to enhance their efficiency and re-engineer their communication strategies. Innovative technologies will support interoperability, personalisation and constant networking.

Agile strategies are therefore required at both strategic and tactical management levels to ensure that the ICT-driven opportunities and challenges are turned to the advantage of tourism organisations enabling them to enhance their innovation and competitiveness.

Dimitrios Buhalis | International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research | Bournemouth University

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Search Engine Optimisation

Getting to the top of the search results Getting to the top of the search results matters – typically, sites get up to 1/3rd of traffic from search engines. Google sends 87% of that, so these 10 Top Tips are Google-based:

1.Write text that answers users’ questions A search engine wants to make users happy. So the first essential is text on your site that’s more useful to users than your competitors.

2. Keep at it It’s never-ending: search engines continue to evolve their methods, so will your competitors, and you’ll be evolving your own content. Now, some vital detail:

3. Understand the search engine result page (‘SERP’) Google’s search results show: The words in the blue bar at the top of your browser.This comes from the HTML your editor puts into the meta data field called Title – an easy, non-technical task. It’s another essential for SEO, tailored for every page; these words form the clickable link in the heading of Google’s result.

An extract either from the page or from the ‘Description’ meta data field.

Both are your editor’s handiwork.

The page URL. Here you need your developer to put your keywords in the URL, not a string of gobbledygook.

It can help to use the country domain name of each market you have a site for.

4. Know your keywords Your marketers and editors must work closely to identify and prioritise the search words and phrases people use in Google. Research them using: Customer surveys The words users type into your site’s own search facility if you have one Staff, agents and partners Competitors’ keywords Then check other top ranking sites for each term: how well are these sites optimised? How easy is it to challenge them?

5. Monitor how you’re doing Weekly, preferably daily, check your Google rankings against your competitors’. Check your website analytics reports for keyword performance. Look at ‘bounces’ from your page back to

‘Weekly, preferably daily, check your Google rankings against your competitors’. Check your website analytics reports for keyword performance. Look at ‘bounces’ from your page back to Google; Google may notice and downgrade the page.’

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Google; Google may notice and downgrade the page. Adjust the meta and/or page text as searcher and competitor keywords change.To check if a page is indexed, paste a block of text, within inverted commas, into the search engine.

6. Raise your status Another essential: try to get Google to recognise your site as authoritative: Get sites that themselves already have high status and rankings to link to yours.

Make sure their link to you includes your key search terms, that they link to the right page, and that your receiving page contains the same text in the page heading and opening text.

Use PR to stimulate inbound links – issue expert articles and press releases.

Pay for links in general and industry-related directories (but not ‘link farms’).

Develop reciprocal inbound links with all your partners.

7. Be easy to navigate

‘Crawler’-based search engines index sites using robots that follow links between pages.They cache text and HTML, so the quality of code, links and site structure are important, not just your

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text. Essentials include: Links: use the keywords of the destination page. ‘Click here’ is useless.

Give the destination page the same keywords in its heading, or early in the text.

A site map page with clickable text links helps the crawler.Your content management system should generate this.

8. Optimise your text and meta data

Easy but time-consuming; edit pages so your search terms appear 2 or 3 times in the text, as high up the page as possible.

Then include the page’s keywords in: Headings and subheadings (using

‘When you upgrade your site don’t lose your SEO work: don’t change your domain name, keep page URLs the same where possible, keep important and optimised text, keep well optimised meta data, and ask your webmaster about handling redirects and landing pages’

HTML code <h1> and <h2>).

HTML Title Tag (about 10-65 characters): start with keyword phrase, followed by a hyphen; finish with what’s on the page and/or site name or company.

Description meta tag: start with the same keyword phrase, followed by a hyphen, then describe the page (max 1520 words). Be specific and enticing. Don’t repeat the keyword phrase more than twice.

Keywords meta tag: use the search terms and words that appear on the page.

Alternate text (the rollover captions for pics and graphics): always have them, and use keywords.

Links: include the search terms in link words too. Optimise and define keywords for each market version of your site, not just by language. Don’t make important headings graphics, search engines can’t read them.

9. Get everyone using your Content Management System Updating text and meta data frequently is crucial, so spread the load among staff.

10. Work with your developers They will aim to avoid barriers to

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search engines. Risks include mark-up code not complying with worldwide recommendations, Flash introductions and navigation, Javascript (for example in dropdown menus), complex database URLs, frames construction, redirects and linking multiple domain names to one site.

It’s best not to have splash pages.

And don’t try dirty tricks – hidden text, keyword stuffing, and gateway or cloaking pages.

When you upgrade your site don’t lose your SEO work: don’t change your domain name, keep page URLs the same where possible, keep important and optimised text, keep well optimised meta data, and ask your webmaster about handling redirects and landing pages.

To end: 3 key to-do’s: Have active editors and e-marketers; find big-hitter sites to link to you; and put an effective Title Tag on every page.

Further information: among the mass of free and paid-for tools and forums are Google Webmaster, Google Rankings, Search Engine Watch, Keyword Discovery, Word Tracker, Website Grader, BuiltWith, Quarkbase, and Alexa.

For general e-marketing tips, Web Marketing Today has an excellent weekly newsletter.

Peter Varlow MTS | Senior Associate | TEAM Tourism Consulting

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Technology for attractions

Using digital technology at Tate Modern Only a few years ago, the idea of digital technology in an art gallery was sniffed at.The thought of interactive kiosks cluttering up the place and getting in the way of the art made people shudder.

But that didn’t stop visitors wanting rich contextual information about the artworks on display. It was this dilemma – how to give people the context without impacting adversely on the aesthetics of the space - that led Tate to pioneer one of the first ever multimedia tours, back in 2002. Walking through the galleries with a small hand-held computer (PDA), visitors can see videos and still images, take part in interactive games and opinion polls, listen to commentaries, and play art-related music.

The latest iteration of this is the multimedia tours we’ve been producing for visitors to download to their own devices At Tate Liverpool's recent Gustav Klimt exhibition, for example, people could hire iPods from the museum with the tour installed, or download it to their own iPod or iPhone via the gallery's WIFI network.

The increasing convergence of mobile phones and computers means that in the next 18 months, a large proportion of our visitors will be able to access rich digital content on their own device.

This is the world of ‘ubiquitous computing’ where the internet is held in the palm of your hand. Getting wireless networks into all our galleries is a priority to make the most of these new advances.

Tate has set up a new department Tate Media, which includes film-makers and digital producers tasked with creating a wide range of content for people to engage with both in the gallery and beyond.Tate’s online site is fast developing as a broadband arts channel, and you’ll find Tate Media-produced films all over the Internet as well as on Channel 4 and the BBC. The team also delivers a monthly video podcast called Tate Shots, launched in 2007 and best thought of as micro documentaries about artists – the films can be seen on Tate Online,YouTube and iTunes,

where they reach a huge audience.

Tate Modern has been the test bed for most of our in–gallery digital innovations (which are sponsored by Bloomberg).

The Interactive Zone is a buzzing multimedia resource on the Level 5 concourse at the gallery. Its vivid red structures house computer interactives, a reading area, hands-on-games and a cinema space.

Its location at the heart of the museum means that it has very high usage from visitors of all ages.

The interactives are encountered during the natural flow of the visit, rather than the traditional model of a separate computer room. Open-plan spaces for this kind of activity, in proximity to the art displays appear to be much better suited to the needs of the majority of drop-in visitors.

Elsewhere on the concourses at Tate Modern, screens are positioned at intervals along the walls. By simply touching the screen, visitors can find out what is on display in each room, or can access a wealth of information about individual works in the Collection from Tate’s online database. Another popular piece of technology is the ‘send a video message’ system. Visitors press a button on a wallmounted screen and a web cam films their message, which can be emailed on to friends (the system also allows data

Jane Burton | Head of Content and Creative Diretor | Tate Media

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capture, so visitors can sign up to Tate’s email bulletins).

We’re now looking at how to improve on our ideas and capture the opportunities offered by emerging technology as we plan the next phase of Tate Modern’s development – a major new building for 2012. As part of the process we’ve created an interactive blog for people to contribute their ideas and images for the kind of interior spaces, ambience and designs they’d like to find there – technological or otherwise! http://modblog.tate.org.uk

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Online Distribution Channels

Selecting online distribution channels for a small responsible tour operator For any given company, choosing effective distribution channels is a vast challenge engaging a number of different factors, obstacles and prospects. With the unparalleled existing amount of technological options and ever evolving online opportunities, it is advisable to assess selection criteria appropriate to your company prior to choosing distribution. Selection procedures can help small responsible tourism businesses select the right distribution channel from a sea of opportunities to promote responsible products online.

Appropriate selection criteria will cover company strategy, ethics, values, aims and objectives. Risk factors include control, power loss over product, and dependency on one channel. Resources, in terms of personnel, include skills, knowledge and time. Financial considerations include price, return on investment, variable costs and fixed costs. Market factors to think about are compatibility, bearing in mind customer needs and demand and the ability to factor in yield and seasonality opportunities.

Like most small companies, angkorhotels.org has limited budgets, personnel and resources to carry out extensive marketing. By effectively utilising distribution channel options, local companies can ultimately reach a wider global audience with higher budgets and communicate their product, price and promotions.

Direct selling through the internet with online booking methods, search engine optimisation and a variety of infomediaries has made a huge impact on how travel and accommodation are sold, especially for Cambodia and other interesting destinations previously absent from conventional travel itineraries.This change has seen an upsurge in small businesses, similar to angkorhotels.org, and increased direct marketing from destination to consumer and further reach to niche market segments.

Concurrently, travel and social media sites like TripAdvisor, WAYN, Facebook and Twitter have changed the face of

‘’Market factors to think about are compatibility, bearing in mind customer needs and demand and the ability to factor in yield and seasonality opportunities. ‘

travel distribution by highlighting positive or negative customer feedback and promoting and encouraging User Generated Content (UGC).

Social media is a powerful distribution channel that cannot be overlooked.The recent growth of public opinion is potentially more valuable than products endorsed by famous people or given a seal of approval from the travel press.

To maximise online distribution, it is recommended companies make use of mediums like YouTube, video blogs and blogging. People like to be transformed from their PC or mobile to places far away. In a matter of seconds you can whisk your potential guests to a different world away from the rain, the economic crisis and the boss’s demands and whet their appetite to a serene magical environment with birds singing and the sound of the green, muddy Mekong splashing at the side of their boat; or a glimpse of orange robes as a monk, barefoot, walks alongside the river bank. Or envisage the twists and turns of the Banyan tree’s roots nestled amongst Angkorian ruins.

These low cost, albeit labour intensive tools, offer a potentially high return in

investment.They are just the beginning of a journey that attracts attention and interest which can, if utilised correctly with the other recommended distribution channels, stimulate desire and a motive to book a trip with you.

Bearing in mind the speed with which online channels have opened up in the last couple of years, companies which embrace technological change can remain in a strategic position ahead of competitors. Mobile technology and messaging technology enables a business to reach the right person at the right time and at the right place. Mobile strategy should not be overlooked in terms of numbers and distribution, not only in the market place, but also the destination and surrounding areas.

In conclusion, with today’s many online opportunities available, it would be naïve to utilise only one channel; the opportunity exisits to develop a distribution strategy which optimises a range of available channels. Most channels can benefit from cross over and complementarity, and integration is key from social network sites, to linking and brand building across all distribution mediums.

Joanna Owen MTS | Destination Manager| Angkor Experiences

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Technology for hoteliers

Creating a level playing field for smaller hotels through technology Although the hotel industry can appear to be dominated by a relatively small number of large brands, in reality the majority of hotels in the UK are small independent businesses with less than 60 bedrooms.

These smaller hotels are, by their nature, less adept at organizing themselves to use technology effectively. As the increasing sophistication and use of technology in the larger chains positively impacts hotel operations, then the gap in performance between chain and independent hotels widens.

The small independent community is not well served by technology providers, who historically have found this a fragmented and expensive market to sell into and support.

How can the 70% of hotels in the UK that are not associated with a brand compete with large brands?

A key example of this is the issue of hotel distribution.

Typically the smaller independent hotelier, knowing that technology is important and wishing to invest will find: The cost of technology appears to be prohibitive and poor value relative to the business There appears to be a level of complexity that is not appropriate to small businesses Access to hotel distribution is via expensive 3rd party agreements and is complex to manage effectively.

Why is Hotel Distribution important?

Hotel distribution is the process and activity associated with ensuring room availability and prices are easily accessible both to existing and potential customers.

The hotelier needs to manage the channels through which business is captured to maximize rate and occupancy, while taking into account the very different costs associated with each.The cost of these channels can vary between 30% of room revenue for the more expensive intermediaries, to 3% to 4% for the hotels’ own web sites.

The secret is using these channels to market selectively and wisely; the key attributes needed for this are: Seamless and real-time connectivity to each channel with specific channel controls (price and availability) where

‘The hotelier needs to manage the channels through which business is captured to maximize rate and occupancy, while taking into account the very different costs associated with each.The cost of these channels can vary between 30% of room revenue for the more expensive intermediaries, to 3% to 4% for the hotels’ own websites.’

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required Managed and consistent display of price and availability across all channels Last room available for sale in preferred channels, (particularly the hotel’s own website) Distribution is an area which really should not be ignored.The diagram opposite illustrates some of the components and key measures of effective channel management.

What is changing?

A few suppliers are now offering integrated solutions, targeted to the smaller hotels.These solutions can be implemented on a ‘pay to play’ basis, so called Software as a Service (SaaS).This not only avoids the capital outlay for equipment and licenses but also the need to operate and manage what can be a complicated area.

This is an opportunity to level the playing field.The smaller hotel is now able to increase ‘marketing reach’ into new areas with appropriate controls, in a way which can be effectively managed.The big brands should not continue to enjoy a monopoly over distribution channel expertise, and the revenue advantage that goes with it.

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Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

Mac Smith and Keith Bryant | Directors | Delta Squared Performance Improvement

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Examples of Best Practice

Open all hours – service extension through CandiTV® Highlighting the necessity for IT innovation to play a key role in delivering significant service and cost benefits, David Clarke BCS Chief Executive made the following comment at the BCS IT Industry Awards held in London on December the 5th 2008: “ Winners and Medallists in this year’s Awards are examples of best practice and professionalism and reflect the fact that technology is an integral and expected part of everyday life and is at the heart of literally every business. In the current economic situation it is rewarding to see that IT is continuing to lead through innovation and deliver real business benefits.”

More recently the impact of the global economic downturn has caused every business to reflect and, in most cases, make considerable changes to address the immediate and anticipated continued future budgetary effects.

Prior to economic events about to unfold, on the 1st of August 2008, a brand new tourism technology was introduced in Stratford Upon Avon that would go on to receive recognition by The British Computer Society as an example of best practice for Flagship Innovation & Project Excellence, based on the outcomes of an initial pilot designed to extend service and access for visitors to Shakespeare Country.

The technology pilot meant that extended use could be made of the website and existing equipment as the objective for the product design had, from the very first day, been to achieve more with

‘More recently the impact of the global economic downturn has caused every business to reflect and, in most cases, make considerable changes to address the immediate and anticipated continued future budgetary effects’

less and so the implementation budget was very small by comparison to traditional alternatives, but as switch-on day approached the question of whether the project would deliver was about to be answered.

Almost 2 years in the making prior to the inaugural UK Tourism launch, canditv® (which stands for Call AND Interact TV) had become the subject of worldwide patent applications and the subject of daily discussions by its inventors. On Friday the 1st of August the very first visitor used their mobile telephone to dial a local Warwickshire telephone number to take control of the screen just like a TV remote control.

At the time of writing this article the celebration of the switch-on anniversary has yet to take place, however the project, designed to provide low cost out of hours service extension to visitors to Warwickshire, has continued to attract visitors who are interacting with screens.

More are planned to roll out across the County, helping to extend service and the visit experience.

Following my invitation, as a very new MTS, to join a panel of respected technology speakers and to take part in a discussion evening event held at the Strand

Kevin Taylor MTS | Company Director | Data Driven Logistics Ltd

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Palace in London, I took the opportunity to meet with fellow members and providers to the industry. It was following that meeting that I was asked to present canditv® to the Yorkshire Tourist Board which has resulted in the implementation in York railway station VIC and the following comments from Gillian Cruddas Chief Executive of Visit York: “Canditv is an excellent example of how York is leading the way in information services for its visitors and residents, using the very latest technology.This new service will provide round-the-clock access to visitors wanting to search for somewhere to sleep, eat or visit as they travel around the city, allowing us extend the existing information services that we provide through our Visitor Information Centres.”

In summary it is the author’s experience and opinion that tourism service providers are taking the opportunity to seek out new ways of extending service as part of the competitive nature of sector evolution.The influence of the economic downturn on budgets for TICs and VICs has meant that several are now finding new and innovative ways to adapt and extend the future model of service delivery for technology driven tourism both in the UK and Europe.

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Destination Marketing

Proximity-based technology for destination marketing Most of the targeted communications delivered for tourism are aimed at getting visitors to your market.You spend time, effort and budget to entice them to your destination, you possibly nurture them for a number of years trying to influence their behaviour, make them visit the first time and then visit again.You try to keep them visiting and to favour your destination, time and time again.

However, as soon as they reach the destination, you lose sight of them.You don't know where they go, what they do.

You are unable to understand if the vacation is going well or not and you can't promote a structured programme of activities or additional sales opportunities.

It is true, a lack of mobile communication technology has played its part and you have had to rely on your visitors getting in contact with you – either via the local TIC operations or by picking up one of the many un-targeted leaflets. But now it is possible to continue your long nurtured communications and measurement with the database whilst they are on holiday.

Emerging technology and clever integration of existing technologies means that travel and tourism organisations can communicate efficiently and effectively to people whilst on holiday or vacation.

Location or proximity-based technology is now allowing organisations to use the mobile phone as a sophisticated one-toone marketing channel.

It is possible to utilise the free-toreceive Bluetooth capabilities available in over 80% of all mobile phones to send targeted communications based on a person’s location. Bluetooth and GPRS mobile solutions add a further dimension to your marketing initiatives – that of location. It is possible to monitor location and movement of individuals and use this information in your marketing campaigns.

So now you can continue the dialogue with your customers, even when they travel. A number of forward thinking destination marketing organisations are making use of this technology. It's true that it

is still relatively new, but if used as an extension to your current one-to-one marketing channels, it creates a new dimension in permission-based marketing.

The momentum is just building on using these technologies but the possibilities for the tourism industry are huge.

It is now possible to track and understand a person’s movements within a destination.

The mechanisms are now in place to enable exciting ideas of a mobile concierge service. Book your holiday in Edinburgh or Aviemore, and as part of the booking process, you are invited to register your phone to receive your own mobile trip advisor. As part of this, the visitor provides some information about his party, their interests, number of children, etc.

As soon as they reach their destination they receive a welcome video sent to their phone, providing real-time, targeted advice about a range of relevant products for example, romantic dinners, family outings or late availability theatre tickets.

The ability to send targeted text, images, video and music to a person’s phone means a better experience for

your visitor. In return, and with the person’s permission, you get detailed behavioural data on where and when people move and stay around your destination.

As with any communication channel, the key is to use it responsibly. All channels are open to abuse if not used with respect for the customer, and this is where we recommend caution.

New technology is great, shiny and exciting but you have to remember that it is the impact it has on the customer experience that is the key.

Don't fall into the email trap – just because it is a low cost method of communication does not mean you use it all of the time.

Use wisely, within customer preferences, and always respect the customers decision to opt-out. It is just another targeted communication channel.

There are a number of powerful marketing capabilities available now based on proximity marketing. It is true to say that the capability far outweighs the solutions at the moment, but now is the time to seize new opportunities and ways of communicating with your customers.

Proximity marketing is only the start.

Ian Rippen MTS | Managing Director | Optima Value Group

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Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

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Website Design

Effective website design for tourism businesses “Effective Website Design for Tourism Businesses” sounds like a fairly specific title for an article. Once you’ve been involved in the development of a few tourism websites, you come to realise there is no generic answer. From the outset I’m aware there is no prescriptive advice applicable to all.

You are in tourism where every business has a personality, an experience to talk about.This is a very positive thing, if ever you start to think it isn’t, try and build a website for an accountant!

Instead of a “Top 10 Tips” which many readers would try to commit to memory, I’m hoping instead to provide less of a supernova (followed by inaction, and darkness) and more of a general understanding of what may make a website more effective, a gut feeling that will stay with you when you come to revisit your own.

One of the first things we ask our clients is what they want a website for. It’s surprising how many people stare back blankly, not because they think it’s obvious, but because no one has ever asked that question.

We’re not cruel enough to let them dwell on it too long, so I’ll spare you that experience as well, and try and take you through the process.

“Fundamentally”, we break the silence, “there are 2 factors critical to a successful website – traffic and conversion”.The traffic generation is for another day, and

covered in part by the Search Engine Optimisation article in this issue of the Tourism Society Journal. I’ll also leave you to consider the rewards of off line website promotion in situations where your desired search terms are highly competitive; or people simply don’t know your product exists, so how could they search for it?

In any case, we now assume your website gets visits, and we want to get as much bang for our buck by making sure we convert as much of that traffic into “something useful”.

The role of a website is much more sophisticated than it was 10 years ago.

‘So from a standing start, we have 6 hooks to build our website, all focussed on achieving “something useful” for both the visitor and ourselves. We now need to consider what make us different.This really is nothing new, and is just a revisit of old school marketing principles.

It’s time to crack open a bottle of wine and reacquaint yourself with old friends like Demographics and Unique Sales Proposition’

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When asked to consider the role of your website some of you may exclaim: “more business, of course!”, and rightly so. Some of it we can, and will, convert now.

This leads us to define some objectives as: Provide information on products or services Provide contact details and enquiry/booking forms Include frequent “Calls To Action”.

We must also remember the customer is in control of their experience, so some we will have to bait for the future.This helps us to build on our objectives; Answering a customer query Facilitate an online booking Encouraging newsletter sign-ups So from a standing start, we have 6 hooks to build our website, all focussed on achieving “something useful” for both the visitor and ourselves. We now need to consider what make us different.This really is nothing new, and is just a revisit of old school marketing principles. It’s time to crack open a bottle of wine and reacquaint yourself with old friends like Demographics and Unique Sales Proposition.

Within half an hour you’ll have some flesh on the bones of your objectives, I

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promise.

Now you know what you’re trying to achieve, try and see things from the customer’s perspective.You both want the same thing, that’s why they’re visiting your website, but first you need to show them what you’re selling.The tourism industry is already well versed in selling “the experience”. It’s often worth considering the experience in the widest context. What else would a customer want to know in order to feel comfortable about buying from you? Are you easy to find? Is parking available? What else can I do in the area?

Do you offer package deals? Have you been useful in helping them plan their wider experience?

You probably have enough by now to build a decent website, or at least create a decent brief, but here are a few more things to ponder if you want to make your site stand out.

There are still far too many websites out there with a “welcome to our website” message on their homepage. I suspect this is a legacy from when nerds ruled the web with their personal homepages, and had little to say while they played with the technology.

We like to prioritise a series of “advert panels” – at least that’s what we’ve come to call them at Sputnik.The idea is that the user can see, often with the aid of imagery, they key areas of the site, current offers, or even a snapshot of content such as the last few news articles, all on the homepage.

With a little thought based on our findings earlier, we can signpost the user to where they want to go, which is, after all, where we want them to go.The brain has an excellent ability to filter out the irrelevant, and focus on the useful.

Implementing advert panels is simple enough, but is greatly enhanced if you can

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enlist the skills of someone with an artistic bent to add a splash of personality and relevance to each box.

Remember your space is limited too, so you can’t have an advert panel for everything. Put the important ones in the part of the browser where you don’t have to scroll down, or “above the fold” as it’s known.That normally means in the top 600 pixels or so.

There are lots of ways of delivering your content to make it more engaging, but there’s a risk that this becomes an article on technology. For those of you with a web designer to hand, this is another good area to ask for their advice.

For those that want to get more hands on, try Googling “AJAX examples”.

Applied well, AJAX can make a user experience much more engaging, but done badly it can be a little tacky. It’s a good idea to restrict it to improving usability – the better experience will

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‘There are lots of ways of delivering your content to make it more engaging, but there’s a risk that this becomes an article on technology. For those of you with a web designer to hand, this is another good area to ask for their advice’ wow the customer a lot more than the technology itself.

Be sure to guide the customer through the process with relevant “Calls To Action”. Again, precious space can be saved here by relying on Google to provide information for those that want to find out more.

Andy Nicol MTS | Head of New Media | Sputnik Internet

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Tourism Statistics

The technology behind tourism statistics Just like any industry, tourism needs to be measured. The trouble with tourism, is that unlike most other industries, it is more complex to gauge. Leaving aside the logistics of measuring visitors, tourism has so many facets that keeping track of it is a challenge.

When we talk about measuring tourism or developing tourism statistics, we may speak about accommodation occupancy data, the number of visitor arrivals, perhaps the economic impact of a festival, or the number of coaches parking in a city centre. We may be measuring the average spend per visitor, or their experiences at a destination, or maybe the levels of confidence of hotels, restaurants and attractions regarding the year ahead.

There is so much to consider when building up a picture of tourism, whether it is for marketing, promotion, monitoring, planning or policy making, or any other purpose; that an organised structure needs to be in place to manage all the information. All too often, this information is thrown into a big pile, and not utilised properly. It needs to be carefully sorted and stored appropriately, so that linkages between all the different types of research commonly undertaken by tourism administrations (accommodation surveys, business performance monitors, visitor surveys, economic impact assessments, etc) can be identified and exploited.

It is not uncommon in the tourism industry to find considerable data having been collected, but so poorly exploited.

Equally, there are often opportunities to collect and utilise data without considerable cost that are being missed.

‘There is so much to consider when building up a picture of tourism, whether it is for marketing, promotion, monitoring, planning or policy making, or any other purpose’

Over the last 10 years, we have been working with the UNWTO and various other international agencies on tourism statistics databases in countries around the world, developing systems to help them to collect, compile and disseminate their tourism statistics in an effective manner.

Over this period, we found that there were common elements to such a system that each administration wanted; these included monthly accommodation statistics, data on visitor arrivals, business performance information, and visitor expenditure data. Most users also wanted to keep track of their supply, in the form of an inventory of tourism services (accommodation, restaurants, attractions, etc).

Consequently, we developed a core database system that offered these features, and a host of other “bolt-on” options to track other elements of the tourism sector, such as licensing, footfall in shops and tourism information centres, conference and convention data, visitor arrivals and spend in national parks.

The database (which we have named TSTATS) is programmed in MS Access, and is completely bespoke, in so far as we tailor it individually to each country, region or city that uses it.

Even with relatively standard data, such

Kevin Millington MTS | Director | Acorn Consulting Partnership Ltd

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as monthly accommodation statistics, there are variances in what is collected in each location. This is the only way it would be possible to develop a useful database for tourism statistics: off-theshelf packages would not work.

In most overseas destinations, the interest in T-STATS is driven by the desire to develop a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). A TSA requires a well-organised system of tourism statistics, and T-STATS provides a system that enables tourism administrations to organise their existing data, and collect and compile additional data. The system enables the user to capture data electronically or manually, and produce reports at the touch of a button, that are specifically formatted to provide the information as required.

Botswana used T-STATS to develop its first TSA in 2008, and the Falkland Islands are currently doing the same, with a system of tourism statistics now sufficient to attempt a first TSA later this year.

Interest in T-STATS is now growing at a regional level in the UK, having been used to develop regional tourism statistics in Europe. Whilst its powerful ability to assist with the collection and dissemination of data has been its greatest strength overseas, here in the UK, the facility to organise disparate data all in one place is proving to be an equally important asset.

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Technology and Education

Wired up to capitalise on industry talent Technology is rapidly transforming the way in which the travel and tourism industry operates. It’s expected to play a greater role as businesses seek to innovate their way out of the recent economic turmoil.

Some of them will take this opportunity to ‘spring-clean’ and reassess their business practices, others will streamline resources holding onto highly skilled staff that can add value to the customer experience and generate revenue.

Yet, given that the industry has relied heavily on a transient and cheap labour force, the challenge now for those businesses is to find multi-skilled individuals who can easily juggle superb customer service skills with astute commercial acumen. Specialist skills too, continue to be in great demand and 28% of travel consultant vacancies are deemed particularly hard to fill.

So where can employers find highlyskilled talented staff? The web is a great resource – an immediate and cost-effective channel for tapping into a new pool of fresh talent. Yet it’s vastly underutilised. A recent People 1st report ‘State of the Nation 2009’ found that only 41% of industry employers used technology to recruit staff and monitor potential employees - a missed opportunity. One in seven employers questioned said that they preferred to recruit through ‘word of mouth’ or through an agency.

However, the annual cost of recruiting and developing staff within our industry each year is £414 million, with an average cost of £673 per person.

People 1st soon realised the enormous benefit of bringing together quality employers with skilled staff, as well as new entrants into the industry, through a dedicated online communications channel offering a wealth of information on careers, job opportunities, qualifications, training providers and funding. Launched last year, www.uksp.co.uk has gone from strength to strength and has proved to be an invaluable asset and resource for all those in the industry.

Over 600 businesses (over 15% of our

sector) including Merlin Entertainments, The Tourism Society and Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board have signed up as ‘Good Employers’, giving them access to 40,000 individuals, of which 45% are industry apprentices and students taking industry qualifications. Businesses who have signed up to be Good Employers demonstrate their commitment to developing and training their staff.

Whilst UKSP enables registered companies to check job applications on the ‘Get Spotted’ section of the site, it’s more than just an online job shop service. Smart employers know that it’s a great opportunity for them to showcase their organisation and wealth of career development opportunities available, and to position themselves as a company that values and grows its staff, as ‘the company of choice’ to work for.

UKSP is also a great source for industry information. It can really help employers make sense of the training landscape and find funded training that will benefit their business. Last year, People 1st negotiated

a deal with the Government worth £112 million to fund training in crucial areas such as customer service, and management and leadership. By registering as a Good Employer on UKSP, businesses can find out how to make the most of that deal.

As the 2012 London Olympics fast approaches with more job creation and opportunities, employers need to seriously think about preparing for a recovery.

By 2017, it’s projected that an additional 1,846,700 jobs in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry will be created over and above the 716,000 replacement posts envisaged.

The race will be on to fill those posts with capable professionals who can hit the ground running and provide a worldclass service and customer care.

Employers will need to have a dedicated and sound pool of talent to tap into for recruiting staff.The website www.uksp.co.uk is an example of how technology offers a viable solution to that challenge.

Brian Wisdom MTS | Chief Executive | People 1st

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Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

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Tourism Society Events

Annual conference and debate with the UNWTO Photography by Carl Pearson Photography.

L-R: Deborah Evans MTS, Development Agency, Andy Tordoff FTS,Yorkshire Forward, Penelope Viscountess Cobham FTS,VisitEngland, Iain Herbert, Scottish Tourism Forum, Nigel Leacock MTS, Lloyds TSB Cardnet and Alison Cryer FTS,Tourism Society.

The Tourism Society recently hosted its most successful Annual Conference to date, on 25th June 2009 in York, which looked at tourism’s role as a potential saviour of the UK economy.

This was followed by a high-profile debate in London with the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on 14th July, which sought to highlight tourism as an economic stimulator for the G20 economies.

2009’s tourism headlines have been dominated by gloomy reports of the credit crunch, budget cuts from UK government, tourism companies failing and increased rises in taxes such as APD (Air Passenger Duty) coupled with a weaker pound and stronger Euro and US dollar.

The conference programme therefore aimed to increase understanding of the economic value of tourism to different parts of the UK, how these regions were coping under the recession and what marketing activity was being undertaken.

The conference programme included a heavyweight line-up of speakers headed

by Nigel Leacock MTS, Director, Lloyds TSB Cardnet, who warned the recession in the UK could carry on into 2010 but that the value of tourism as an economic contributor should not be underestimated. Nigel commented that tourism is the UK’s fifth biggest industry, generating £19bn of foreign exchange earnings and around £86 billion of revenue in the UK in 2007. The other speakers went further to state the value of tourism as an investment opportunity; Deborah Evans MTS

from the London Development Agency announced that a 3-month New Year campaign to market London to Europe had cost £600,000 but generated a proven £11 million economic impact. Sir Thomas Ingilby FTS from Ripley Castle stated that the £30 million investment in tourism promotion in Yorkshire had resulted in the largest rise for attraction visits of any region in the UK. Sir Thomas commented that this was “proof that if it were so minded, the government could provide a considerable boost to the national and regional economies and shorten the recession by investing more money promoting the country for tourism.”

The debate on 14th July was the first co-hosted event between the Tourism Society and the UNWTO.The programme boasted the most international and high-profile panel the Society had ever had including the first UK appearance by Taleb Rifai in his new role as Secretary General for the UNWTO, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, the new Minister for Tourism for the Republic of South Africa and Christopher Rodrigues FTS, Chairman of VisitBritain. The debate kicked off almost immediately with an idea from the UNWTO that the UK tourism industry should change its lobbying approach from trying to get the government to appreciate the value of tourism to the UK economy to tourism’s role in helping developing economies.

Prof. Geoffrey Lipman FTS, spokesman for the UNWTO, commented that during

Flo Powell MTS | Executive Director | The Tourism Society

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the G20 summit "Gordon Brown has taken as one of his issues the need to help developing countries.Tourism is an industry that creates jobs, improves infrastructure, helps the poorest, and is changing towards a green economy." Lelei LeLaulu, Chairman, Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International, reinforced this message by stating: ‘Tourism is the largest voluntary transfer of resources from the haves to the have nots in history.’

The issues of Air Passenger Duty and obtaining a UK VISA were raised by many panellists.Taleb Rifai criticised the UK government’s tax policy: “how can a government like the UK deprive the poorest countries by deterring people from visiting them? We need to make it easier for people to travel, more affordable, and we need to maximise the opportunities for policy makers to communicate with one another."

The Society’s Autumn/Winter calendar is set to increase communication between key industry players and provide professional development opportunities for members. See page 20 for the calendar or go online to www.tourismsociety.org to book your tickets today and login to view the presentations, photos, notes and film clips from these events.Thanks to conference sponsors Yorkshire Forward, and debate sponsors Christel DeHaan Tourism & Travel Research Institute, University of Nottingham, Smiles for Britain and the UNWTO.

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Book reviews International Tourism: Cultures and Behaviour Yvette Reisinger Elsevier, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-7506-7897-1 429 pages This book is written specifically for the undergraduate market, and I only wish that such well-constructed studyaids existed in my own day.The references for each subject are exhaustive, the suggested websites useful, and the objectives listed before each chapter well structured.The author’s tabulations of diverse qualitative data are invaluable.

Even better, as the author herself points out, its usefulness is not confined to international tourism as an academic discipline: it raids the mines of social anthropology (well over half the book), plus marketing and international trade.

It is thus a useful handbook for anyone attempting to do business of any sort in a market place which is increasingly globalised while remaining stubbornly immured in a large number of mutually uncomprehending cultures.

I lived and worked for many years in several of these cultures, where I thrived.This book explains to me how I managed it, and I find little to disagree with. It is, in short, an immensely useful work of reference for anyone involved – especially for the first time – in intercultural commerce.

Are there no negatives? Well, I found many of the Case Studies bland and perhaps contrived (granted, they’re included to make points to specific students); and the ‘Discussion Points and Questions’ at the end of each chapter seem undemanding.

I’d prefer the occasional: “In 2050, how will US hospitality accommodate Chinese hegemony?”

It seems to me that the nub of the book lies in a sentence embedded about halfway through: “Real and authentic communication is not about sharing meanings; it is about the ability to see, acknowledge and respect the difference and uniqueness of other people ...” (p191).

If this book enables just a few graduates a year to understand their chosen discipline and to succeed in international commerce, it will be valuable indeed.

Tom Burnham MTS | Principal | CTB Associates

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Disaster Communications in a Changing World George D Haddow and Kim S Haddow Elsevier, 2009-07-11 ISBN: 978-1-85617-554--8 218 pages The front cover of this book features a picture that perhaps sums up how far we have come in communicating and managing news of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and accidents and terrorist incidents. It's a screen shot of the Twitter web site. The advent of the internet, blogging, social networking, YouTube etc means "first informers" or witnesses have the ability to leapfrog traditional news channels and those who want to manage news. As the authors say, governments' role as gatekeepers of news is now an anachronism.This book looks at the key elements of disaster communications and how to manage news and information in the context of new media.

Much of the material covers the planning that organisations should have in place anyway – like a Crisis PR plan and providing front line staff with media training.

However, it looks in detail at integrating new media and imbedding it into planning and implementation before disaster strikes. It is not just a dry analysis but very much a book to be picked up and used as a reference with lots of practical suggestions such as dealing with interviews; and it uses case studies to illustrate dos and don'ts.There are descriptions of other resources to consult such as websites and a short bibliography of other books to read but, given its subject, most of the references are to other websites.

If the book has a fault, it is its North American bias. However, that is a small criticism in the context of the insight that the authors (both experts with practical experience) provide for dealing with communications management whether TV or text messaging. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone likely to have to handle communications in a crisis either in the public or private sectors.

Nick Booker MTS | Director | Attract Marketing Ltd

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etourism case studies Roman Egger and Dimitrios Buhalis Butterworth Heinemann, 2008 978-0-7506-8667-9 463 Pages This excellent volume does exactly what it says on the tin.

42 interesting case studies are covered in 463 pages of intense content. Each begins with a panel giving specific “Learning Objectives” and concludes with a set of “Review and Discussion Questions” together with references for “Further Reading”.

The well-structured format means that the book is broken into bite size chunks.

It is easy to chew if not necessarily to digest, such is the detail within each case study. The book is well structured with six sections covering Hospitality, Intermediaries, Destinations, Transportation, Information Systems and Mobile Systems.

The case studies themselves follow a consistent pattern, moving from a basic scene setting through an analysis of the main products offered, where value is added to the specific business models applied, and an interesting “Key Challenges for the Future”. Inevitably events rapidly overtake the printed word, especially so in the course of the last twelve months. Some of the ‘challenges’ are now by no means consistent with today’s realities. But this should provide no problems for students who should be able to think on their feet and effectively engage their critical faculties.

This well-specified and carefully assembled volume should provide real value to any student of this important aspect of the industry. A hyper-critical reviewer might suggest that some of the case studies are too close for comfort to being a sales pitch but that is a small price to pay for such a wide ranging set of studies. Similarly some of the studies themselves lack critical edge. For example the case study on VisitBritain and EnglandNet praises the development as a whole but fails to mention that fewer than 200 bookings a month are affected through it, despite a multi-million pound investment. Overall, for less than £30, this deserves to be a well-thumbed volume.

Gilbert Archdale FTS | ASW Consulting

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Membership News The Society recently achieved its most successful Annual Conference with 120 delegates attending the programme in York on 25th June, followed by a lively and informative debate with the UNWTO on 14th July in London.

You can view the film clips from these events on the members-only section of the Society website.

Our special thanks go to the attendees and sponsors of these events and also to the three new corporate members; the Holiday Cottages Group,The Tourism Company and Welcome to Yorkshire, taking the total to 12 which is the highest in Society history.

The Society strives to embrace new media and this journal is now available as online; please visit www.tourismsociety.org/jour nal to view it.You can also follow the Society on www.twitter.com, and join our groups on www.linkedin.com and www.facebook.com.

This will be my last column as Executive Director of the Tourism Society; it has been an absolute pleasure working with you all over the last three years.

I hope to see you at a future Society event!

Flo Powell MTS | Executive Director | flo@tourismsociety.org

From the Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Desk My thanks go to Dr Alford for editing the journal and all of the contributors for their informative articles.

At the July AGM members voted unanimously for the integration of the Society and the Tourism Management Institute in January 2010 which will bring an exciting CPD program to the Society.

Members expressed their support in developing overseas chapters which I have been working on.Volunteers as Overseas Chapter Chairmen would be very welcome.

Finally, on behalf of the members, board and President I would like to thank Flo for her hard work, support and enthusiasm in moving the Tourism Society forward.

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She will be a hard act to follow and I sincerely hope that we can keep her involved in The Society in a different guise.

Alison Cryer FTS | Chairman | The Tourism Society

Events calendar SEPTEMBER 7 Marketing Masterclass, Copthorne Tara Hotel, London 22 Tourism & Climate Change, Royal Geographical Society, London

24 Tourism & New Media, Bournemouth University, Poole

OCTOBER 13 Tourism & the Public Realm, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds

22 Annual Dinner, House of Commons, London 28 Tourism & Farming: what can the future hold? Castle Green Hotel, Kendal

NOVEMBER 4 Annual Media Masterclass with TravMedia, Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms, London 12 Careers Forum with the ITT , World Travel Market, Excel Centre, London

Obituary The Tourism Society was extremely saddened to learn that one of its board members, Stephen John Price FTS, passed away peacefully after a short illness on 16 July 2009 aged 58 years.

Born 21 April 1951 in West Bromwich. Much loved husband of Margaret married for 27 years and dearest father to daughters Rachel and Stephanie. Beloved son, of Dilwyn and the late Marjorie Price. A dear friend to many and will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Steve was a well-known figure in the tourism industry and his background includes 14 years running SMP, his own tourism consultancy with Margaret, latterly working with AU Marketing; prior to starting SMP he was managing director of Rainbow Holidays and previously was with Thistle Hotels and Grand Metropolitan. Steve was involved in many industry bodies and initiatives, a mem-

Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

ber of the Tourism Society Board,Yorkshire Tourist Board members group and others.

Steve had been a member of the Society since 1983, was involved as a board member from 1987-1991, then again in 2003-2009 when he was elected as Chairman of the Society's Yorkshire chapter.

journal@tourismsociety.org

Membership News Congratulations to...

Donald Pelekayomo FTS and Russell Bowman FTS on their upgrades to Fellowship, to David Steele FTS, Head of Sales & Marketing for City Cruises plc, for winning `Best Inland Canal/Riverboat Operator' for the eighth time, at the 2009 Group Travel Awards on the 12 June 2009 and to Rob Davidson FTS, Senior Lecturer in Business Travel & Tourism at the University of Westminster, who has been decorated by the Polish Government for 'outstanding services to the business tourism industry in Poland'.

Welcome New Corporate Members Holiday Cottages Group T: 01282 84428 W: www.holidaycottagesgroup. co.uk

Tourism Research Solutions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An Independent Consultancy E: tourismsolutions@tiscali.co. uk W: www.tourismsolutions.net

Garry Adam MTS Holiday Cottages Group Ltd E:garry.adam@holidaycottagesg roup.com

John Carmichael MTS VisitBrighton T: 01273 292605 E: john.carmichael@brightonhove.gov.uk

Geoffrey Cowley MTS Holiday Cottages Group Ltd E:geoff.cowley@holidaycottage sgroup.com

Donna Chambers MTS University of Surrey T: 01483686360 E: d.chambers@surrey.ac.uk

Simon Law MTS Holiday Cottages Group Ltd E: simon.law@holidaycottages group.com

Nicola Daley MTS Lotus UK T: 02079537429 E: nicola@lotus-uk.co.uk W: www.lotus-uk.co.uk

Nicholas Rudge MTS Holiday Cottages Group Ltd E: nick.rudge@holidaycottages group.com John Rogers MTS Hilton Hotels Corporation T: 020 7856 8151 E: john.rogers@hilton.com Welcome New Members Moira Alberts MTS T: moira@moira-alberts.com Philip Alford MTS Bournemouth University T: 01202 961646 E: palford@bournemouth.ac.uk W: www.bournemouth.ac.uk Andrew Ball MTS haysmacintyre T: 0207 969 5530 E: aball@haysmacintyre.com W: www.haysmacintyre.com Andrew Burnham MTS MacIntyre Hudson LLP T: 0207 429 4100 E: andrew.burnham@mhllp. co.uk W: www.macintyrehudson. co.uk Peter Beasley MTS

www.tourismsociety.org

E: shina.li@nottingham.ac.uk W: www.nottingham.ac.uk/ttri/ Catherine Lucas MTS Guildford College of Further and Higher Education T: 01483 448 500 x8493 E: clucas@guildford.ac.uk W: www.guildford.ac.uk John McEwan MTS Advantage Travel Centres T: 0207 324 3940 E: johnm@advantagetravel centres.com W: www.advantage4travel.com Glen Melia MTS T: 07983558021 E: glenmelia@hotmail.com

Tom Evans MTS Barnstaple Tourist Information Centre T: 01271 375000 E: tom@oyez-oyez.com W: www.staynorthdevon.co.uk

Rachael Merrifield MTS iknow-UK Ltd T: 01772 521166 E: rachael@iknow-uk.com W: www.iknow-uk.com Sean Morgan MTS Lynn Jones Research Ltd E: sean@ljresearch.co.uk

Jason Freezer MTS VisitEngland T: 0208 563 3180 E: jason.freezer@visitengland. org W: www.enjoyengland.com

Nikki Nichol MTS The Caravan Club T: 01342 336797 E: nikki.nichol@caravanclub.co. uk W: www.caravanclub.co.uk

Marion Green MTS Scott Wilson T: 01235 468700 E: marion.green@scottwilson. com W: www.scottwilson.com

Carmen Niemeyer MTS Grant Thornton UK LLP T: 020 77282759 E: carmen.niemeyer@gtuk.com W: www.grant-thornton.co.uk

Nick How MTS QA Research T: 01904 632039 E: nick.how@qaresearch.co.uk W: www.qaresearch.co.uk Angela Ivey MTS London Borough of Richmond E: A.Ivey@richmond.gov.uk Shina Li MTS University of Nottingham T: 0115 846 8178

Abiodun Odusanwo MTS Tourism Development Foundation Ltd T: 07932649106 E: tourismdf@hotmail.co.uk Maggy Sainsbury MTS TIN Travel Intelligence Network T: 01784 471009 E: maggy.sainsbury@thetin.com W: www.the-tin.com

Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

Eve Saint-Simmons MTS iknow-UK Ltd T: 01772 521166 E: eve@iknow-uk.com W: www.iknow-uk.com Gary Smith MTS Anthony Vobe Travel T: 01508 493321 E: AVobe@aol.com Mark Smith MTS Heritage Railway Association E: mark.smith@hra.gb.co.uk W: www.heritagerailways.com Thomas Wallentin MTS ByNovation T: +39.347.4503220 E: tw@bynovation.biz W: www.bynovation.biz Lucy Whittington MTS Inspired Business Marketing Ltd T: 07789 997756 E: lucy@inspiredbusiness marketing.com W: www.inspiredbusinessmark eting.com Barry Woodfin MTS Scott Wilson T: 01235 468700 E: barry.woodfin@scottwilson. com W: www.scottwilson.com Students Bath Spa University Samantha Horsburgh Canterbury Christ Church University Tommy Broughton Edinburgh Napier University Andrew Grant University College Birmingham Helen Joyner University of Salford Wilma Blyden University of Westminster Gareth Jones

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