Tourism - Autumn 2013 - issue155 by Tourism Society

Contents Editorial Heritage in the tourism mix

Case Study: Shetland – innovation in island marketing Andrew Steven MTS, Destination Manager, Promote Shetland

Oxfordshire Cotswolds Tourism Superstar:Top support for local version of national initiative Hayley Beer MTS,Tourism Services Manager,West Oxfordshire District Council

Currency Matters: How tourists follow the money David Edwards FTS, Head of Research and Forecasting,VisitBritain

6-7

Policy:The Tour Operators Margin Scheme Kurt Janson MTS, Policy Director,Tourism Alliance

In Parliament: Labour’s view – joined-up government led by DCMS Dan Jarvis MP, Shadow Culture and Tourism Minister

Museums in Australia: Adding to the tourism mix Dr J. Patrick Greene OBE FTS, CEO, Museum Victoria

At the Society’s ‘New Markets, New Policies’ event back in July the comment was made that while technological innovation in such areas as the use of smartphones for checking in to a hotel is all well and good, it is the personal experience that marks a stay, a visit or a holiday as memorable. A concierge, museum guide, railway ticket seller or theme park attendant who happily furnishes you with all the information you are looking for, and maybe supplies some interesting alternatives to consider, is a destination’s greatest asset, and something that the mechanical efficiency of automated systems simply cannot replace. South Oxfordshire District Council decided to run a local version of VisitEngland’s quest for a national Tourism Superstar to celebrate and recognise the work done by the tourism professionals in their area.The scheme attracted a great deal of interest and helped reinforce the message of the importance of tourism to the Prime Minister, who was on hand to present the ultimate winner with his prize. Our cover story is an interview with Loyd Grossman, whose many roles include chairmanship of The Heritage Alliance. He is a strong proponent of the connection between heritage and tourism, and when the Heritage Lottery Fund reports that “over a quarter of all UK holiday activities undertaken by UK residents now involve heritage” it is difficult to deny the link. Loyd’s views on other aspects of heritage are explored on pages 16 and 17, and you will be able to hear him speak when he joins the panel for our President’s Debate taking place in London on Tuesday December 3rd. Dan Jarvis MP, Shadow Culture and Tourism Minister, also recognises the importance of heritage when it comes to attracting visitors, citing Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge and the castles of Wales and Scotland as the biggest draws. Cultural elements are crucial as well, but museums face uncertainty following funding cuts. Nick Booker MTS describes the

Country Sports Tourism: A quintessentially British opportunity Julie Wilkinson, Coopers Country

12-13

Case Study:The British Postal Museum & Archive Nick Booker MTS,Trustee, British Postal Museum & Archive; Director, Attract Marketing Ltd

14-15

An interview with... Loyd Grossman OBE FSA

16-17

Images in Tourism Marketing: A picture paints a thousand words Steve Dunlop, Steve Dunlop Photography

20-21

Student View: Event management – opportunities in China and the UK Guoyang Chen, MSc Events Management, Bournemouth University

Social Tourism:The winners and losers with ‘authorised absence’ Scott McCabe MTS, Associate Professor in Tourism Management/Marketing, Nottingham University Business School

Hospitality: National Hotel Marketing Conference 2013 Linda Moore, Chairman, Hotel Marketing Association

24-25

The Back Page: A penny for my thoughts David Curtis-Brignell FTS, Chairman,The Tourism Society

Cover – Loyd Grossman speaking at ‘Heritage & Television:Who profits more?’,York, June 2013

complicated process of establishing a new museum, in this case the British Postal Museum & Archive.Various consultants are involved at different stages of planning and design, along with business modelling and the inevitable grant applications. Further afield, the role of museums in Australia’s tourism offer is described by Patrick Greene FTS, Chief Executive of Museum Victoria. With 56% of tourists to Australia visiting a museum, innovation in and support for this sector is very important. And when you have established your attraction, set up your niche tourism operator or developed your destination marketing campaign, what is the best way to promote it? Turn to page 20 to find out.

Gregory Yeoman MTS Executive Director gregory@tourismsociety.org

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Issue 155 Autumn 2013

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 1800 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.

Case Study

Shetland is at the crossroads of the North Sea and the Atlantic, throughout history perfectly situated for trade, warfare and as a jumping off point for exploration. British, yes, but highly distinctive.The Shetland Flag is probably the best visual indicator of the islands' unique blend of Scotland and Scandinavia – it has the colours of the Scottish saltire but with the upright Scandinavian cross. Shetland established a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) in 2009 with the aim of projecting the isles onto the world stage as a hugely desirable place to visit, live, study or do business with a welcoming community full of creativity and energy. There is major industrial activity here – a booming oil and gas sector, the prospect of sometimes controversial renewables projects – and there is concern over the impact this could have, indeed may already be having, on tourism and our accommodation stock. All this is a big challenge for a small team! But living on an island gave us the ultimate opportunity to experiment with some new ideas and perhaps some elements of our approach will act as inspiration for other areas of the UK. Tourism is worth approx. £16m to the local economy and our visitor numbers have continued to increase with the last official survey showing around 104,000. However, Shetland has a strong business travel element and it’s getting stronger again. In 2006 leisure travellers spent more (44%) than business visitors (33%) but over the next few years we believe the pendulum is swinging towards the business traveller simply down to the current economic benefits the energy sector is bringing. Ferries and aircraft have a finite capacity into these islands and our bed spaces are themselves limited and available to both leisure and business on a first come basis. We simply cannot play the numbers game to increase tourism revenue – it’s more about spend per head and repeat visits that’s important to us. The tourism accommodation sector is

Norwick Beach, Unst doing extremely well but we predicted issues finding beds for a sector where many have never embraced online booking systems – and probably never will for a number of legitimate reasons. Rather than put our heads in the sand we decided to change the way our visitors could search out accommodation.The pilot project was ‘Bid4Bed’ and is now an integral part of our online accommodation listings – it’s simple and is working. The visitor is encouraged to select a number of establishments that have grabbed their attention and submit their dates and other details online. An automated service takes over on their behalf emailing all these establishments and compiling all responses back to the visitor. At this stage the visitor’s contact details are not communicated to the establishments.The visitor can then digest the responses and contact the establishment directly. As a DMO we have facilitated but not intervened. We can, however, reverse engineer the current status of the accommodation sector in real-time i.e. we

Andrew Steven MTS | Destination Manager, Promote Shetland Issue 155 Autumn 2013

Picture credit: Promote Shetland

Shetland – innovation in island marketing

know when we’re reaching capacity and we also know which businesses respond, which don’t and which businesses go above and beyond to support an enquiry. We can also see trends early enough to take a proactive approach in managing expectations. We also survey users of the system weeks later and this gives us extremely useful information about what they booked and what they thought of their overall experience of Shetland. There is no definitive ‘handbook’ for marketing island destinations. We tried to establish a range of priorities that seemed locally relevant. We also became an Internet broadcaster to showcase, through sound and vision, all aspects of our culture and heritage to a global audience. And it's really about honesty.The jargon may be 'destination marketing', but the best way of doing that is to try and present, authentically and without spin, all the parts that make up this creative, progressive and beautiful community. And there’s nothing to stop others from following in our footsteps.

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Oxfordshire Cotswolds Tourism Superstar Top support for local version of national initiative

This year West Oxfordshire District Council hosted the country’s first local version of VisitEngland’s national initiative when we found our very first Oxfordshire Cotswolds Tourism Superstar. So how did it all happen? Never one for re-inventing the wheel I was immediately inspired when VisitEngland announced their Tourism Superstar initiative, one of their English Tourism Week events. I thought it was a great idea and one that would work in my own destination, where I knew we had a plethora of potential Tourism Superstars ready to step forward. I initially contacted VisitEngland to check if there were any issues with using their term ‘Tourism Superstar’ and see whether they would support the scheme – which they absolutely agreed to do.They even gave us permission to use the new Tourism Superstar logo. The process then very much mirrored the national initiative. We immediately sought a local media partner and our local paper was soon on-board and a full PR campaign developed. Next we went out to our local industry partners and asked them to nominate someone from their business who they thought was their superstar.The aim was to get businesses to put forward the ‘unsung heroes’ of the sector and those that interact directly with the customer adding value to their visitor experience and making them want to return. Entries were in and were whittled down to a shortlist of 10 finalists – a very diverse mix of candidates from all across the sector and representing a wide range of businesses. Local residents got behind the campaign, with enthusiastic voting online to select the final winner. Our annual Summer Networking event which was attended by over 100 local

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David Cameron presents Walter Stewart-Brown with his award. businesses was the perfect occasion to announce the winner. Lady Cobham, Chairman of VisitEngland, attended the event and commented, “The Oxfordshire Cotswolds is the first destination to run a local Tourism Superstar, pioneered originally by VisitEngland. I’m delighted to see this national campaign adopted at a local level and believe they will provide the blueprint for many more destinations to follow.” We were particularly pleased that the Rt Hon David Cameron, Prime Minister and our local MP for Witney, was able to attend, and he announced Walter StewartBrown, a food and beverage assistant at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park, as the first Oxfordshire Cotswolds Tourism Superstar. Speaking at the event, David Cameron stated his personal passion both for West Oxfordshire and for the issue of tourism. He went on to say, “Locally this is massively important with 12% of people working in tourism-related industries and we welcome over 4m people each year. We’ve got some fantastic natural resources, amazing countryside, some fantastic heritage and we’ve also got brilliant pubs, shops, high streets. I would like to commend VisitEngland and West Oxfordshire District Council for the

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work they do for tourism. One of the keys to succeeding in tourism is making sure that people come, and then come back again. The level of repeat visits depends on how well people are looked after, how good the attractions are, how good the service is and how warm the welcome is. I think we do give people a warm welcome in our country, but you can always raise standards and this Champions initiative is highlighting some really good individual performances to set as role models for others. It is an excellent scheme and has my complete backing.” The whole initiative was a great example of partnership, teaming up with VisitEngland and local stakeholders to promote the individuals that work in the industry. Here in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds we have always worked hard to raise the profile of tourism and the visitor economy as a ‘must invest in’ sector and events and initiatives such as this further embed its importance in the economy. We will continue to develop this initiative in the future. See event footage and presentation of the award at http://www.witneytv.co.uk/videos/oxfordshi re-cotswolds-tourism-superstar-awards Hayley Beer MTS | Tourism Services Manager, West Oxfordshire District Council

Currency Matters

How tourists follow the money Those of you that have studied 20th Century British economic history may recollect Harold Wilson’s November 1967 proclamation that following devaluation of the pound from $2.80 to $2.40 “It does not mean that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse or in your bank, has been devalued”. Devaluation took place in order “to sell more goods abroad on a competitive basis”. Nearly half a century later there is still talk about Britain needing to compete effectively in the ‘global race’ and Britain’s exporters have undeniably received a fillip from the lower value of the pound against many currencies in the past four or five years. When ‘exports’ are discussed it seems

always to be in the context of motorcars or other manufactured goods, but every time a visitor from overseas makes a purchase here in Britain that too represents an ‘export’, be it for a pint in the pub, a cream tea, entry to an attraction or paying a taxi fare. The amount Britain earns from inbound tourism depends on many factors but the exchange rate is unquestionably one of the most influential determinants. It shapes perceptions of ‘value for money’ which in turn impacts on the degree to which visitors recommend Britain to their friends and family. As an illustration imagine if you will the Schulz family from Frankfurt – mum, dad and their daughter Kristin. Now if we

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travel back in time to 2007 we find the Schulzes have opted to spend a few days in Britain and have a holiday budget of €1,000.That’ll buy them £675, so enough for a few nights discovering what Britain has to offer. Back to the present and we discover that even in Germany belts are being tightened due to the fragile economic situation, so as they sit and ponder holiday plans for later in 2013 the Schulz’s once again have a €1,000 holiday kitty. However, in the past six years there has been quite a change in the exchange rate between the euro and the pound, meaning that with €1,000 it is now possible to buy £850.That’s £175, or 25%, more than in 2007. Great news for the Schulzes as they can afford to treat themselves to a few little ‘extras’ in Britain

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‘for free’ compared with their visit six years ago, be this staying a little longer, choosing a swish hotel or taking in a West End show and indulging in a gourmet meal. It is equally great news for Britain’s inbound visitor economy as it benefits from the extra £175 of spending, thereby boosting economic growth and supporting tourism related employment. This is more than a German fairy tale.The average amount spent per night by a holiday visitor to Britain from Germany in 2007 was £65 - in 2012 it had risen by more than one-fifth to £79. Looking at the bigger picture we find that since 2007 the number of overseas residents opting to holiday in Britain has grown by 1.2 million to reach 12 million per annum, an increase of 11%.The amount spent in Britain by those holidaying here has risen by 20% in real terms from £6.3bn in 2007 (at 2012 prices) to £7.5bn in 2012. Holiday visitor spending is more elastic (economic jargon for ‘responsive’) to fluctuations in exchange rates than is business visitor spending, but the response to sterling’s becoming more or less expensive is not spontaneous.The British mainstream media often report on how the strength or weakness of the pound is set to affect holiday budgets for Brits choosing to travel overseas, but that’s because as a nation we make 57 million overseas visits per annum, spending £33bn in the process and almost everywhere we go abroad uses a different currency to us. A significant share of ‘outbound’ travel from European countries is to places that share the same currency. For example, anyone holidaying in Spain from the Netherlands or in Italy from Germany

won’t have any need to wonder what the exchange rate is as the local currency is identical to that at home. This means that there is far less coverage, in the context of holidaying abroad, of what is happening to relative exchange rates in Europe than in Britain. It takes time for visitors to Britain who discover how favourable the exchange rate is to return home and ‘spread the word’ before this advocacy feeds through to more trips to Britain being booked. Most Berliners, Parisians or Romans don’t wake up in the morning and instinctively turn straight to the financial pages of their newspaper to learn how many pounds and pennies they’d get for their euros. Against most currencies the pound weakened in 2008 and 2009 but one currency that in the past few years saw a distinct appreciation in its value has been the Australian dollar. In essence this has meant that for many in Australia the entire world has been ‘on sale’ which has resulted in the number of outbound trips jumping from 5.8 million in the twelve months to May 2009 to 8.4 million in the year to May 2013 – an astonishing 44% increase in the space of four years. Britain has been one of the beneficiaries of this trend with the amount earned from the market rising by one-third since 2008 to reach just more than £1bn last year. Another consequence of the pound having been more affordable in the past few years is that Brits have re-evaluated the relative affordability of holidaying overseas and in Britain. Since 2007 the amount Brits spend on foreign travel has fallen by one-third in real terms, whereas the amount they spend on overnight

domestic trips has remained steady (in real terms) at about £24bn per annum. It would appear then that the fact sterling has been weaker over the past few years than in the years before the global financial crisis is to be unequivocally celebrated when it comes to tourism spending in Britain (both inbound and domestic) – well, not quite. Returning to Mr Wilson’s quote, he carefully said “the pound here in Britain” had not been devalued – when buying anything priced in dollars the pound had very definitely been devalued, to the tune of about 14%. Since 2008 any tourism business in Britain which purchases products or services from overseas has found upward pressure on the costs associated with these purchases, regardless of whether buying furniture to equip a new hotel or advertising space to promote Britain as a destination. What of the future? Against the dollar and euro the pound has been comparatively stable for a goodly while, but history tells us that rates will in time shift more dramatically.The trick is being able to predict when, and in which direction. My considered opinion is that it’s best not to commit exchange rate predictions to paper. Doing so would inevitably end in tears – after all, the first report I wrote in my first job was on future oil prices, a report circulated and indeed trumpeted at the end of July 1990 and spectacularly inaccurate within a matter of days, as on 2 August 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait with a rather considerable impact on oil prices! David Edwards FTS | Head of Research and Forecasting,VisitBritain

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Issue 155 Autumn 2013

Policy

1. Background Normally, businesses register for VAT in every EU country in which their services take place.This is a significant problem for Tour Operators who put together panEuropean tours. To resolve this problem the EU introduced the Tour Operators Margin Scheme (TOMS). Under TOMS,Tour Operators pay tax on the difference between the total tax inclusive price that they purchase the components at and the price the package is sold to consumers. While TOMS means that Tour Operators are spared registering for VAT throughout the EU, they are taxed on all costs associated with sourcing and selling tours (eg design, marketing, branding and company overheads) as well as being taxed on their profit. 2.The Adverse Impacts of TOMS Taxing Tour Operators on their costs as well as their profits has resulted in a range of adverse impacts. a. It makes EU destinations uncompetitive. If an EU-based operator sells a package to a non-EU destination,TOMS is not payable.TOMS therefore creates a clear incentive for Tour Operators to sell holidays to non-EU destinations. b. It makes EU-based Tour Operators uncompetitive. Because non-EU Tour Operators do not pay TOMS when selling EU packages, very few of the tens of millions of EU holidays that are sold to non-EU consumers each year are sold by EU-based companies. c. It distorts the market within the EU As transport services are zero-rated for VAT in many countries, packages are constructed with the costs loaded on the transport element.This makes ‘travel inclusive’ packages far more tax efficient than ‘land only’ packages. As a result, UK operators either: a. Relocate overseas in order to sell EU packages. b. Sell packages to destinations outside the EU. c. Undertake tax avoidance by

Image© yadvigagr

The Tour Operators Margin Scheme

overweighing the travel component of packages. Since TOMS was introduced, the UK has gone from operating a tourism surplus to incurring a cumulative deficit of more than £316 billion pounds. While reforming TOMS will not totally reverse this, studies by VisitBritain indicate that every £1bn reduction in the deficit will create 20,000 jobs and increase tax revenue by around £200m. 3. Recent Events in Europe There is one type of UK Tourism Operator that still survives – wholesalers that sell European Holidays throughout the world.These businesses still survive because TOMS does not apply to Business-to-Business transactions. However, a recent opinion for the Advocate General at the European Court of Justice1 has ruled that TOMS should be applied to these businesses. If this is upheld, these businesses will, like the consumer-focused Tour Operators before them, relocate offshore. Britain will then have lost its last champions of inbound tourism. 4. Reforming TOMS It is clear that TOMS needs to be reformed to encourage UK Tour Operators to relocate back to the UK. This, in turn, will boost the UK’s tourism

Kurt Janson MTS | Policy Director, Tourism Alliance Issue 155 Autumn 2013

revenue, increase employment and raise tax revenue for the Government. There are two straightforward reforms that are needed.They are: a. An exemption from TOMS of sales to non-EU customers and businesses2 This will enable UK companies to sell to consumers worldwide. b. An opt-out of TOMS for business to business supply3 This will enable UK wholesalers to compete with those based outside the EU, and enable taxable businesses to reclaim input tax. Tourism is currently at the forefront of the UK’s economic recovery.To maximise the revenue and employment that the UK receives from overseas visitors, the Government urgently needs to push the EU to reform TOMS. OPINION OF ADVOCATE GENERAL Sharpston, delivered on 6 June 2013. Case C-189/11: European Commission v Kingdom of Spain, and others. 2 This has already been proposed by the European Parliament: 27 August 2002; REPORT on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC. (COM(2002) 64 – C5-0112/2002 – 2002/0041(CNS)) 3 This is the current advice of the European Commission, but has been questioned by the Advocate General. 1

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Picture credit: Dods

In Parliament

2012 was a bumper year for ‘Brand Britain’, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic and the Paralympic Games all bringing in a record 31m visitors to Britain, who contributed £18.6 billion to our economy. But tourism is much more than figures and statistics. It’s important for regional and local economies, culture, national and local events and profiles; it enables us to grab the attention of the world, promoting our past and demonstrating the very best of Britain. Given the wide ranging nature of what attracts visitors, and the benefits Britain can reap from a flourishing tourism industry, focus is required across a range of departments, led by the DCMS. Transport, communities and local government, culture, business, the environment – all these areas have a role to play in formulating a sustainable and successful strategy for tourism. This year we have seen further sporting success for Britain at Wimbledon, the Tour de France, the Lions series and the Ashes, all making ‘Brand Britain’ increasingly popular with tourists. With the Commonwealth Games heading to Glasgow and Yorkshire hosting the Tour de France, Britain can expect a busy 2014. But, these great events should not be an excuse for the government to sit back and rest on its laurels. According to a recent VisitBritain survey, the most sought after activities for overseas visitors include visiting Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge and the castles of Wales and Scotland. Our heritage and culture is a major attraction to overseas visitors but funding cuts to the Arts Council and local government have resulted in a real threat to our museums and galleries. In June the Science Museum Group warned that it may have to close one of its three major museums in the North. Whilst this threat has been staved off for now, it serves as a sharp reminder that our museums need to be supported.The government should be doing more to find new solutions to funding issues between the cultural sector, private giving and local investment.

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Labour’s view – joined-up government led by DCMS

Will collaboration revive seaside towns? Recent figures from VisitBritain also demonstrate that of the 12m holiday makers who came to our shores last year, two thirds based themselves in the capital for at least a night. London is a fantastic city, but all regions in Britain offer cultural delights, beautiful countryside and recreational activities. Whilst DCMS have indicated that encouraging visitors to regions outside of London is an aim, a lack of coordination across government means progress here is unlikely. From January commuters are set to face above-inflation fare rises of 4.1%, with Ministers allowing private Train Companies to hike fares up to 9.1% – a significant deterrent for any traveller. In response, Labour’s Transport Team have pledged to restore the ban stopping train companies from hiking prices beyond strict annual limits, prevent the stretching of peak time and introduce a legal right to the cheapest fare. Finally, tourism is tied to the wellbeing of our country.Towns that are maintained and looked after, that have innovative industries and a high level of jobs

combined with low levels of antisocial behaviour are likely to attract more visitors. In the past, Seaside Towns – still a vital element of our tourism economy – were vibrant centres of enterprise and growth. Today, many of these areas suffer from deprivation and underdevelopment. They need a strategy not just focused on tourism, but also growth and jobs. Therefore, the Shadow DCMS team, in coordination with teams across the Shadow Cabinet and local authorities, is developing a strategy titled “Seaside Towns: What Matters to Coastal Communities and Economies”, aimed at regeneration and growth. Tourism is essential to Britain’s economy but the wider benefits of the industry should not be overlooked. ‘Brand Britain’ is currently experiencing a high, but more must be done to ensure its future, particularly after the influence of London 2012. To achieve this, DCMS must work with other departments to ensure a long term, successful tourism strategy.

Dan Jarvis MP | Shadow Culture and Tourism Minister Issue 155 Autumn 2013

Museums in Australia

Adding to the tourism mix The clichéd image of Australia for firsttime tourists is dominated by the Reef and Rock (and of course the Opera House). There is no doubt that the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the Sydney Opera House are outstanding ingredients of a visit to Australia, but there is so much more. Museums are part of the tourism mix that play a key role in tourism, attracting 56% of visitors.The motivation is strong: having experienced the fascinating history, wildlife and landscapes of the Great Southern Land visitors want to know more, and museums are the obvious place to look. Museums provide rich content in their galleries but given Australia’s distance from its major markets the internet is particularly significant, and extending their reach to global audiences through their websites and apps is a key activity for these attractions. Museum Victoria developed one of the first apps for the iPhone and iPad.The Field Guide to Victorian Fauna has had over 60,000 downloads and now has an Android version. Museums are found everywhere, from the tiniest communities in remote locations to the big cities in which the greatest numbers of Australians live.Through exhibitions and websites, people get insights into a remarkable continent with its own unique stories.Take gold, for example. Sovereign Hill is an outstanding open-air museum that attracts around 600,000 visitors to Ballarat in central Victoria every year to immerse themselves in the recreated town that evokes the drama of the 1850s gold rush. The sense of theatre is skillfully crafted in the houses, shops, mines, workshops and diggings where visitors can pan for gold – and yes, some find it! After dark, Blood on the Southern Cross dramatically recreates the miners’ rebellion against exorbitant licences and heavy-handed policing that occurred in 1854. Sovereign Hill has expertly addressed the needs of the Chinese market with tailored content and an office in Shanghai. While tourism from the UK and Europe to Australia has been largely static, or declining, there is a rapid growth in visitation from China, India and other Asian

Aboriginal performers in Kalaya: Bunjilaka: Melbourne Museum countries that has brought international arrivals to over 6 million a year. Many visitors to Australia are eager to know more about the continent’s original inhabitants. People have been living here for over 50,000 years – the oldest continuous culture on earth. Every state and territory museum, as well as the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, has displays presenting aspects of Aboriginal culture. It comes as a surprise to many overseas visitors that the culture is very diverse, as a result of people adapting in different ways to different environments and climates.The museum that I direct will be opening a new gallery in September 2013 called First Peoples. Working with Indigenous communities throughout Victoria, it will speak with an authentic Aboriginal voice to 900,000 people each year. We know from our audience research that overseas tourists are enthusiastic to explore Aboriginal Australia and we are working with Tourism Victoria to make the most of the opportunity.

Dr J. Patrick Greene OBE FTS | CEO, Museum Victoria Issue 155 Autumn 2013

There is considerable rivalry between the states in efforts to attract interstate tourists. Melbourne led the way by establishing the Victorian Major Events Company.To begin with it concentrated on sporting events such as the Grand Prix and Tennis Open Championship. Cultural events were then added to the calendar under the banner Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, exclusive to Melbourne and hosted by Melbourne Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. They have transformed what was traditionally a quiet time for tourism. Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney have followed suit with their own exclusive offerings. Some commentators deplore the use of culture in this way but I believe it has resulted in an enrichment of the cultural landscape and much-needed injections of finance into our museums and galleries.The result has been a boost to short-stay tourist trips and a significant contribution to the economy, as successive impact studies have shown.

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Corporate Member

Country Sports Tourism

A quintessentially British opportunity Country sports are quintessentially British pursuits and have, for many years, been considered the preserve of the rich and famous. WRONG! Country sports enjoy a broad appeal and go cheek-by-jowl with conservation, the topography of our landscape and the heritage of our countryside.They are a fantastic way to show-case our green and pleasant land and represent a massive opportunity as far as our inbound and domestic tourism industry is concerned. There are currently in the region of 750,000 shotgun and firearm certificate holders in the UK, all of whom participate actively in game or clay-pigeon shooting. Fishing is this country’s biggest participant sport with some 3 million adherents, and although difficult to quantify, clearly many of our international visitors will also have an interest in shooting or fishing and the countryside in general. A recent PACEC survey reported that over 480,000 people shoot live quarry in the UK, and the sector supports 70,000 full-time jobs. Government figures show that countryside recreation and tourism is now a larger industry than agriculture in terms of numbers employed and financial turnover. Within this context, shooting has become an important part of the rural economy both through direct spending and the stimulus to wider economic activity which helps to sustain it. Shooters spend £2 billion each year on goods and services, much of which relates to the accommodation and catering sectors, and this produces a direct financial benefit, defined as gross value added of £1.6 billion a year. Game shooting, stalking and fishing clearly may not be for everyone. However, claypigeon shooting is growing in popularity and is an exciting, dynamic and invigorating sport that can be enjoyed in our ‘great outdoors’ by anyone who is big enough to hold a shotgun properly and has the level of concentration and the degree of maturity to do so. It’s not weather dependent either. Rain simply does not stop play. And actually, we’re proving to be rather good at it, with our own Peter Wilson, a member of the British Team for

the 2012 Olympics and the youngest competitor in the Men’s Double-Trap competition at the age of just 26, winning gold. He is the current world record holder for the event and is an example of a very natural young countryman who has inspired people to take up the sport. Those who are born into shooting and fishing grow up with its customs and conduct themselves accordingly, but what if you want to take up the sport and don’t know anything about the rules and regulations and the opportunities that exist. How do you find out more and how do you get started?

Issue 155 Autumn 2013

There are over a hundred professional shooting schools and many more shooting clubs in the UK and hundreds of fisheries, all of which welcome experienced sportsmen and women as well as complete beginners and those simply wishing to ‘have a go’ at shooting or fishing.These establishments provide valuable instruction and tuition in all aspects of the sport and by definition are based in rural locations, affording participants the opportunity of enjoying the countryside and all it has to offer. Operations like Coopers Country in Suffolk seek to develop a responsible

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attitude towards shooting and fishing and raise the profile of country sports. A number of courses and programmes are generally available, all of which offer a proper grounding, with practical tuition, whether it be focussing on shotgun, rifle or rod. ‘Experience’ packages are also on offer for those who are curious and want to give it a try. Importantly, these are usually arranged for only one party at a time, so privacy and safety are controlled, and everything is paced at the right level. Not all participants are complete novices but education is the key – whether young or old, experienced or not - and a firm grasp on all aspects can only be beneficial. There’s so much more to shooting and fishing than just turning up with gun or rod in hand. Individuals are often keen to find out more about country sports activities but usually know very little and sometimes have experienced difficulty in locating a suitable entry point.They enquire about all manner of things ranging from sporting etiquette, conservation, how different types of guns work and ‘is it environmentally friendly?’ Nobody wants to look a fool and in an arena where safety is critical, everyone has to get it right first time.The same applies to fishing. It doesn’t matter whether it is a group

looking for some fun together, or a CEO who wants to be knowledgeable and confident enough to host a corporate hospitality programme. On the corporate front we work with a number of companies on meetings ‘with a difference’, team-building events and client/staff entertaining. We also see lots of families looking for something new they can actually do and enjoy together and country sports work well across all ages. It’s not a sport for ‘the boys’. In fact ‘the girls’ often out-perform ‘the boys’, simply because they tend to be better listeners. Some hotels and self-catering establishments already enjoy a cooperation with a local shooting organisation or fishery and include these activities in their product offering.There is, however, clear scope for development in this sector, since clay-pigeon shooting has a broad appeal to everyone from the younger professional and families to the ‘dynamic retired’. On the corporate front there are also real opportunities to include cost-efficient conference add-ons whether a group travels off-site to a shooting ground or services are brought in (land and safety permitting). Of course traditional marketing techniques apply and country sport’s e-commerce

platform is adapting to meet the everchanging communications challenge of modern times. Interestingly, this is in stark contrast to the development of the shotgun which still today follows the same design pattern perfected over a century ago when English gunsmiths were world leaders.There were few cars, no planes and certainly no credit cards – not to mention mobile phones or smart technology – in those days and yet many of the shotguns built in the early part of the last century are still in use today. Thankfully, some things are destined to last! Television programmes such as BBC’s ‘Countryfile’ have increased awareness of the rural lifestyle.This, coupled with Britain’s previously mentioned success in last year’s Olympic shooting events, has stirred the imagination of people seeking to participate in shooting sports. The key now is to build on this momentum and gain greater input from tourism bodies and accommodation providers to raise the profile of country sports, thereby enabling more potential participants from home and abroad to access information on the various opportunities more easily, and enjoy an activity which has a great British heritage. Julie Wilkinson | Coopers Country www.cooperscountry.com

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Issue 155 Autumn 2013

Case Study

The British Postal Museum & Archive

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) is developing a £22 million museum and visitor attraction in London with a planned opening in 2016.This article highlights some of the many elements that go into realising the vision for a major new London-based tourist experience appealing to a wide range of UK and overseas audiences. In 2004, Royal Mail outsourced its Heritage Department – which dealt with archiving and the management of the heritage collection – to the BPMA, the public face of the Postal Heritage Trust, an educational and heritage charity that exists to provide public access to and learning about its collections. The Royal Mail Archive, designated by the Arts Council for England as being of outstanding national importance, occupies two and a half miles of shelving containing records of The Post Office and Royal Mail from 1635 to the present day. It is currently on Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant complex, low on space and housed in less than ideal conditions. The museum collection consists of 60,000+ objects covering over 400 years of postal history, from 2D records, such as

stamps, artworks, staff records, letters, posters and photos, to 3D objects such as pillar boxes, telephone kiosks, vehicles and uniforms. It occupies over 1500sq.m of storage space and is predominantly housed at the Museum Store in Debden, Essex, where it is only occasionally accessible to the public. Running of the BPMA is in the hands of 43 full-time paid staff supported by approximately 30 volunteers.The principal funders are Royal Mail Group and Post Office Ltd who make an annual payment for the management of The Royal Mail Archive and a charitable donation to help develop the BPMA’s services to the public. A board of 12 trustees look after the overall strategic direction and development of the BPMA, advised by a senior management team, headed by the Director, Dr Adrian Steel. When I joined as a trustee in 2007, a search had been going on for several years to find the BPMA a proper home. At one stage, it was thought that place might be in Swindon, alongside STEAM, the railway museum. For a variety of reasons that didn’t happen and the focus moved to London.

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Following detailed visitor catchment area analysis of various Royal Mail owned sites around London, the Trust Board decided that a location adjacent to Mount Pleasant, Royal Mail’s home in London for the past 122 years was the most suitable. The museum site, Calthorpe House, has been gifted to the BPMA by Royal Mail on a 999-year lease. It will be extended to a 2,600sq.m size building incorporating 500sq.m of exhibition space, a café, shop, education room, meeting rooms, the archive repository with a reading room for the general public, digitisation studio, conservation studio and staff offices. In addition, Calthorpe House sits opposite the entrance to one of the stations and maintenance depot of the Post Office Railway - also known as Mail Rail. Mothballed in 2003, the railway consisted of six and a half miles of tunnels connecting the West and East Ends of London, with eight stations at sorting offices along the route. The ‘WOW’ factor in the overall visitor offer is now to include a train ride through some of the original tunnels.The Mail Rail building also provides a further 1,900sq.m of space for additional galleries and

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Picture credit: British Postal Museum & Archive

Mail Rail depot revenue generating activities such as hospitality and a family zone.The whole museum and Mail Rail development will be a core feature of the commercial redevelopment of Mount Pleasant. The process of realising the BPMA’s vision ‘To connect people through the evolving story of communications past and present’ embraces many activities.The initial Commercial Study by consultants Britton McGrath in June 2012 indicated that on a conservative estimate, the addition of Mail Rail would deliver an extra 100,000+ visitors a year with a top estimate of 200,000, on a par with Churchill War Rooms. Since then the study has evolved into a Business Plan to support the Heritage Lottery Fund Stage 2 application with further development of the ‘visitor offer’ and modelling on pricing and visitor numbers. Current projections indicate achievable visitor numbers of up to 190,000 with a very positive ‘bottom line’. The visitor forecasts are supported by market research amongst potential visitors. Britton McGrath looked at not only comparator sites in London but also postal museums elsewhere in Europe, modelled as if they were in the London market.This provided some encouraging insights into what the potential could be. The business plan and modelling that underpins it covers all the potential revenue streams including ticketing, retail (on and off line), catering, corporate

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hospitality and functions, licensing and donations. As an example of the additional consultancy work involved, we commissioned work on catering and hospitality and the pros and cons of product licensing directly, rather than using third party agents. Early on in the planning for Mail Rail, the leisure ride consultants Severn Lamb were commissioned to examine the feasibility and operational aspects of the ride.This has been key to planning the integration of Mail Rail into the overall visitor offer. In March, the long-term funding and service agreements with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd, together with other finance, property and intellectual property documents including the Calthorpe House lease were signed. However, the support of Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd is only one element of the funding for the project. The Heritage Lottery Fund confirmed in October 2012, a first-round pass for an application of £4.25 million and awarded £250,000 of development funding. Further activities to generate funding include applications to trusts and foundations, sponsorship, the sale of duplicate philatelic material and individual giving. A key element in raising profile, maximising networking and supporting the fundraising campaign has been the establishment of a small team of ‘ambassadors’.They are drawn from a variety of backgrounds

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including business, finance, philately and railway heritage. A key requirement for membership is a good network of influential personal and third party contacts! The project is led by a Project Director and he and his staff manage a variety of consultants. Exhibition designers Haley Sharpe have been working up the museum exhibition displays while architects FCB have been working through the RIBA Stages for both sites. Others on the project team have examined visitor flow and issues such as the provision of emergency escape routes from Mail Rail. To illustrate one of the challenges in implementing the project, we have had to take advice on whether the Health & Safety Executive or Railway Inspectorate should be involved with Mail Rail operation. Currently it looks like HSE. As the project approaches implementation phase, branding consultants SUMO have presented their concepts. We now know what we will call ourselves, how that will translate into a logo and everything that goes with that. Meanwhile the Digital Marketing Team continues to refine the Digital Marketing Strategy. There are more bridges to cross, including achieving our funding goal, but we are well on the way to ensure that a “….national treasure of global importance” (Mayor Boris Johnson) finally has a proper home. Nick Booker MTS | Trustee, British Postal Museum & Archive; Director, Attract Marketing Ltd

An interview with...

Loyd Grossman OBE FSA Loyd Grossman’s interests span the full cultural spectrum. Instantly recognisable, both visually and aurally, from his work on popular television series such as MasterChef and Through the Keyhole, he is also at home on stage as the guitarist in punk band Jet Bronx and the New Forbidden. His work in tourism and particularly heritage might be less well-known but his CV in this area is impressive – among other appointments he is a former Commissioner of the Museums and Galleries Commission, a former Commissioner of English Heritage (where he was Chairman of the Museums Advisory Committee and the Blue Plaques Panel), and a former Commissioner of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. In 2007 he was appointed Chairman of The Churches Conservation Trust, and in 2008 he became Chairman of the University for the Creative Arts. In 2009 Loyd was appointed Chairman of The Heritage Alliance, which represents over 90 of the non-governmental and voluntary organisations working in the

Get involved with your heritage heritage sector. He spoke to Gregory Yeoman about the role of heritage and some of the challenges it faces. GY:What were your plans on leaving university? LG: As I’ve just spent four years working on a PhD, I'm not sure that I've ever left

university. However, when I first graduated I was pretty determined to be a guitarist. GY: Did you foresee having such a varied career? LG: I didn't foresee anything other than the hope that I would be able to do things that I found interesting and exciting. GY: Food, music, art history – which is your main enthusiasm? LG: I am equally enthusiastic about them all. GY:What does ‘heritage’ mean to you and how did your interest in it develop? LG: I was lucky to grow up in New England where there is a deep and pervasive sense of history. My father loved the art and architecture of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century and shared that love with me.

St Benets Abbey, Norfolk undergoing conservation work in 2012

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GY: How important is heritage to the UK economy? LG: Heritage is important to us in so many ways. It makes a direct contribution by underpinning the tourism industry. Both visitors from abroad and people who live here want to visit out historic churches

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and cathedrals, castles and stately homes. But perhaps more importantly our heritage provides a wonderful context which can encourage creativity and enterprise. GY:What is the role of The Heritage Alliance? LG:The Heritage Alliance provides a unified voice for the wide range of charitable, private sector and nongovernmental organisations involved in all aspects of our heritage from vintage motor vehicles to ancient monuments. GY: Other countries have historic buildings and enduring cultural components in their tourism offer. How does the UK keep ahead of the competition? LG:There are a couple of ways in which we keep ahead. First, for a relatively small country we have an extraordinary variety and quality of the heritage which reflects our role as a transformational force in world history. Secondly, we study, conserve and interpret our heritage to an extraordinarily high standard. GY: How would you differentiate a love of heritage from nostalgia? LG: I think the question is about the difference between history and nostalgia. Nostalgia is a warm bath in the past, history is an attempt to understand both what happened and how we fit in to an unfolding epic. GY: Celebrating heritage is great, but the UK wants to be known for its modern aspects as well. How does The Heritage Alliance address this? LG: I love heritage because I love the present and the future not because I want to live in the past. Heritage is part of the fuel that propels us forward. GY: How easy is it to pull together the different elements of what can be seen as ‘heritage’ to put forward a coordinated case for support? LG: It's not always easy but all aspects of the heritage have more in common than what may divide them. GY: Maintaining the fabric of our heritage is vital but financial support is needed in other areas as well. Is it possible to address all these areas successfully? LG: Government austerity has made funding and fundraising highly competitive. I wouldn't say that the heritage is more important than health or education. But if we want a good society and a society in which people can feel valued and fulfilled, heritage is an important part of the mix.

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Experiencing heritage GY:Would you like to elaborate on your belief that funding heritage is investment not subsidy? LG: Funding heritage is an investment because of the contribution heritage makes to our sense of well being, to our tourism industry and to our national competitive advantage. Our heritage signals that Britain is a good place in which to work, to invest and to do business. GY: In your role as Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust how do you see churches becoming more involved in tourism in future? LG: Historic places of worship are a vital part of the tourism offer in many European countries and our parish churches and cathedrals are among the most distinctive features of our cities, towns and countryside.The Churches

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Conservation Trust is a stalwart member of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and works hard with the tourism industry. GY:Where do you see the role of the internet in creating interest in heritage? Is it creating a generation of stay-at-homes or a generation of experience-seekers? LG:The Internet has been a great source of information about our heritage. I think the online world has created a tremendous demand for tangible, authentic experiences. GY: Lastly, with the continuing success of ‘MasterChef ’ would you say that you are part of Britain’s television cooking heritage? LG:You might say that, but I couldn’t.

Corporate Member

Images in Tourism Marketing

A picture paints a thousand words Not that long ago pictures were something of an afterthought in the marketing plans of tourism businesses. Whilst days were sometimes spent poring over the words for ads and press releases, snap (excuse the pun) decisions were made regarding the images to include. But times have changed. Images can make the difference between making a sale or not and so they have become much more important in the marketing mix. All great pictures should contain the best in composition, colour, and lighting. All of these can affect what the picture says and at the same time tell you something about the destination, moment, event, or person. Good composition should draw the viewer’s eye into the main element of the picture, the part of the picture that you want to speak for you. It might be a country church on a hillside or it might be the CEO posed in the HQ atrium. Good composition will draw you into that main element.There should be clarity in the message you are trying to convey. Don't confuse the image and the viewer with things that detract from the main message.

Lovely shot of Egypt and The Nile but Different colours have different meanings: vibrant dramatic Rio Carnival colours or muted pastoral churchyard colours? Make sure the colours match the message you are seeking to convey.The overall message within an image changes radically depending on the type of lighting used e.g. hard dramatic light or soft high key light.

Close ups can say something about your event and venue

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doesn’t work as a thumbnail Event Photography It’s not just about getting the right people in the shot – or at least it shouldn't be. Too often, too much time is spent getting the “right” people in the shots and forgetting what the actual event is itself. Of course, the people are important – but ultimately business people in suits in pictures are pretty boring, as indeed are most celebrities.You need to capture the overall flavour of the event and not just a catalogue of who turned up for the free champagne. Unless the images are specifically commissioned to appear in a publication that just wants straight line-ups – e.g. “Hello” social pages – then you really should be thinking more about the event itself. The advent of online publications has signalled a step change in event photography.The online publication can publish more and more pictures from one event. Printed publications are hindered by the myriad of costs involved in print reproduction. With online publications this is not the case.The online news page can have one (eye catching) thumbnail on the main page. Click the thumbnail and you are taken to another page that holds all the other pictures. There is very little cost involved to the publication – none at all if the link takes

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you through to their Flickr photo pages or equivalent portal. Top Tip: Running your pictures on your own Flickr or Pinterest pages will also greatly increase your SEO. Images Online It is important that a picture meant for use online works as a small thumbnail. Small details in a photograph whilst amazing on a large printed page won’t work in thumbnail format. Bold shapes and bold colours help make the pictures stand out from the crowd.This is increasingly important with the growth of mobile technology: what is clear as a large magazine image does not necessarily work on a tiny smartphone screen viewed from the top of a bus. Google Searches creates thumbnails from images on the websites it trawls.You need that boldness in shape, structure and colour to help yours stand out from the myriad of other thumbnails generated by search engines.This is especially so with landscapes. Look at a large picture with half closed eyes, if you can still see the form and structure of the image then the picture will work as a thumbnail.You will increase the chances of that all-important click through. Social Media Pictures are a great way of increasing your SEO and spreading the word – promoting your product. If you don’t have pictures on your social media posts viewers cannot share them with others and Google can’t search them. Posts that contain images get more interaction from the viewer – more ‘Likes’, ‘Shares’ and comment – and it will stand out better on a viewer’s screen simply because it takes up more space. More interaction and more retention means a picture really can paint a thousand words. Be honest, when was the last time you read a thousand words on a travel website? Social media platforms are an opportunity to endorse an existing brand image, but they are also a fantastic opportunity to present an alternative brand image – or at least a different photographic style – to essentially a different audience.There is a young audience out there with a different set of visual criteria. Raised on fast-cut videos and 0.5 second attention span, their attention can be grabbed if you break some basic picture rules. Social media is a more instinctive medium, short pithy thoughts that appear to be shot from the hip and the images should reflect that: ‘I saw this so I shot it’, i.e. quirky and fun. Pictures Increase SEO Here's a simple tip: give your pictures proper names.This helps in Google searches. Don’t name the file “Pic0001”, call it e.g. “Tower of_London_at_Night”. If possible, put a caption as close below the picture as you can. Google picks up this

Strong contrasts and lines mean a thumbnail of Egypt Find Pictures description and may present it in a search. Images in Blogs with all of the above get Commission a professional photographer the best of search results. Images to the I would say that wouldn’t I? Don’t plunder side of a website are often ignored by them from the internet, the photographer Google searches – they run the risk of or copyright owner will sue you. Just being regarded as ads. because they are on the internet doesn't mean they are free. Everyone’s a photographer these days so get your Dpi social media contacts to post and share The standard dpi (dots per inch) for their pictures of a destination or event. It’s images used on the web is 72dpi. Print an opportunity to find out what your publications use 300dpi. Many social media viewers and fans ‘Like’ visually. platforms will automatically create a Commercial photo library sites offer thumbnail for you from the 300dpi image license-free and royalty-free images based you upload. Some won't though. If the on a scale of fees per image determined media platform, photographer, or art department can’t re-size it for you then it’s by image size, resolution, exclusivity of use and other criteria. best to find a tool that does. Top Tip: A useful online tool, PicFindr is a There are too many to mention here but search engine that finds free image sites a simple Google search will find the for you.These sites consist of images answer. Images intended for your own submitted by professional and amateur website should really be resized before photographers and carry no fees. uploading, giving you the opportunity to However, they will want their credit beside crop to your preferred shape and the published photo. augment the composition. Steve Dunlop | Steve Dunlop Photography www.stevedunlop.com

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Student View

My dissertation is investigating the perception by Chinese students of experiential learning on Event Management in the UK.There are a few personal, professional and academic reasons for me to do this research. After I achieved my BA in English Literature I unhesitatingly chose Event Management as my postgraduate course. The most important reason for this was that I had had extensive voluntary and internship experience at various events as an undergraduate, including Olympic Games, Boao Forum for Asia, and the Tour of Hainan International Road Cycling Race. This gave me the initial impressions of the event industry and Event Management. Furthermore, I was eager to learn the academic background to Event Management because I understood all my personal experiences were fragmented and they needed to be digested with theoretical knowledge. I chose Bournemouth University’s course because it offered experiential learning opportunities while having lectures in the classroom. As part of the Event Management course students were required to organise ‘live events’ in the second semester. Guided by the lecturers, students worked in the group and took on all the responsibilities for their events.The ‘live event’ allowed me to put theories into practice. Moreover, I completed a 10month placement with an international event catering company.The placement experience opened my eyes, broadened my industrial experience, and boosted my confidence in job hunting.To sum up, experience learning has had strong impacts during my study in the UK, and I became interested in exploring more about how experiential learning impacts Event Management education. Also, as an international student from China, I decided to focus this research on Chinese students in the UK. The whole output value of China’s Events industry grew more than 1.5 times from 2006 to 2010 and reached c.£14.5 billion. In the future, the sector will require more professionals and experts to improve and standardise the market since it is still a

Event management – opportunities in China and the UK

developing area.The very first eventsrelated course in China studied Exhibition Design and was launched in 2001 by the Shanghai Arts Speciality Institute. Later on, a few colleges and universities began to offer some MICE and Event Management curricula. Hainan University, where I did my undergraduate study, established its Event Management course in September 2011 – the purpose was to foster professional event management personnel and respond to the huge market demands in Hainan Province and across the whole country. After the successes of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai Expo, it is indubitable that Event Management education in China is important for the development of society. It has been acknowledged by many researchers that experiential learning is valuable for Management education. However, the studies of experiential learning within Chinese Event Management Education were very rare. Moreover, the studies and published information of Chinese Event Management Education were very limited as well. Therefore, my research can expand the study of current Event Management education in China and contribute to its

Guoyang Chen | MSc Events Management, Bournemouth University Issue 155 Autumn 2013

process of development by implanting the knowledge of experience learning. Last but not least, the findings of this research will help future researchers to study in this area. The overall aim of my research is to inquire into the opinions and attitudes of Chinese Events Management students towards experiential learning in the UK. By exploring how experiential learning impacts on their studies and whether the results meet their initial expectations I would like to gather first-hand data of their experience and perceptions.There are nine participants involved in the research, and most of them are satisfied with their study experiences in the UK. I am analysing the data at this stage. Hopefully, the conclusions and recommendations will contribute to Event Management education in both the UK and China. From the UK point of view, the demands and expectations of international Event Management students will be understood. Regarding Chinese Event Management education, the recommendation will focus on how to apply experiential learning in teaching programmes.

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Social Tourism

The winners and losers with ‘authorised absence’ There has been a flurry of recent news stories as councils have revealed for the first time the number of parents who have received fixed penalty fines for taking their children out of school during term time to benefit from cheaper holidays.The Nottingham Post reported on 27th July that 262 parents have received the £60 fine in the year from September 2012, and the Government has announced a further crackdown on offending parents in the coming school year. The problem runs at the heart of the challenges for both the tourism industry and the Government in striking a balance between a profitable and sustainable tourism and travel sector and the real need to improve educational performance. Whereas under the previous regulations, head teachers had flexibility to authorise up to ten days each year for ‘special circumstances’, the new amendments now restrict authorised absences only to ‘exceptional circumstances’, such as bereavement, or religious reasons. The issues surrounding education and the seasonal pricing structure of the tourism industry is something that is central to those charities and other organisations in this country working in the area of social tourism. Charities like the Family Holiday Association (with whom I have worked for the last seven years) which have limited funds would only be able to help a fraction of the number of families they currently support if they were restricted only to peak holiday times. Whereas the law may not discourage middle class parents from taking their children out of school where the cost of the fine might easily be off-set against the differential cost of a peak-season break, perhaps poorer families who desperately need a holiday may be the real losers. A lack of flexibility in the new regulations is likely to hit most those pupils who might be supported with an off-peak break by charities.These children sometimes have lower than average attendance and achievement rates because of issues and circumstances affecting the family.They might find it more difficult to engage in school, and there may also be issues between the parents and

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the school. In research we undertook as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the Family Holiday Association, we found that relationships between the family and the school improved after they all worked together to organise a family holiday supported by the charity. Research by Lynn Minnaert at the University of Surrey found that holidays were important in providing opportunities for ‘unplanned learning’. On holiday children learn about the world through geographical and cultural knowledge, history through visits to heritage attractions, they have increased social interactions, experience new things and places. Also, children may learn new skills or participate in more physical activity than they would at home. Our research showed that while on holiday children were able to develop a range of skills and adopt learning styles different from those they were able to in the classroom. It is vital that children have opportunities to learn outside the classroom to spend time with their families and become more engaged, active learners.There is an

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opportunity for Government to recognise that everyone benefits from a family break and that in some circumstances a supported Family Residential experience such as the innovative Sheffield Family Learning Adventure can provide the impetus and context for learning together and can contribute positively to children’s education.The tourism sector can do more to promote beneficial outcomes from holiday experiences, build products that include learning and educational opportunities, beyond the narrow context of school-based travel packages.The charities working in the field of social tourism, such as the Family Holiday Association, must also press Government to improve the transparency of who benefits and loses from the new rules and to encourage greater flexibility for disadvantaged families. Issues such as this will be further explored during the Holidays Matter conference, to be held at the Royal Society on 24th October. www.familyholidayassociation.org.uk/holida ysmatter2013launch Scott McCabe MTS | Associate Professor in Tourism Management/ Marketing, Nottingham University Business School

Hospitality

National Hotel Marketing Conference 2013

Hilton at St George’s Park The Football Association’s impressive new HQ at St George’s Park, Burton-UponTrent, was the venue for this year’s 7th National Hotel Marketing Conference, held in partnership with the Hotel Marketing Association and organised by Martin Evans FTS. With references and artwork paying tribute to various footballing greats scattered throughout the Hilton Hotel that hosted the event, it was definitely the place to be if you love the beautiful game. Hotel and leisure marketers from around the country gathered to listen to an experienced panel of speakers cover the theme ‘What’s New in Marketing’ with topics including digital marketing, working with on-line travel agencies, creativity in campaigns and future trends. Kicking off the conference, Peter Hancock, Chief Executive of Pride of Britain Hotels, said he was still surprised at how many hospitality businesses were seemingly oblivious to the break-even price of a

room in their establishments. “They often do not know the answer and rely instead on information from on-line travel agents. People are being deterred from booking directly with hotels and yet this should be the best price proposition,” he said. He also produced some amusing anecdotes about how some hospitality businesses responded to complaints on TripAdvisor.These included the family that complained about their children’s sausages being frozen in the middle only to be met with the response that they would put them in the microwave. Or the couple who complained of a drains smell in their room, only to be told that once they had departed the smell had gone away! Former Hilton Senior Vice President of Marketing & Brand Management, Mike Ashton, now Managing Director of Ashton Brand Consulting Group, spoke about the dangers of short-term decision making. He quoted a recent poll by the Chartered Institute of Marketing in which a survey of

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senior marketing directors had found that only a fifth were investing in new customers. “There has to be a shift from this bunker mentality, to growth,” he said. He spoke of the importance of brands, “In a downturn the best-managed brands are the ones that will survive.” While social media provided an opportunity for marketers to take a lead they must not be slow to react. Marketers needed to be business people first and marketers second. “Marketers must learn the language of finance and operations.This is a great time to be in the hotel industry, this is your time to shine in tough times,” he said. Miranda Ballard, Director of Muddy Boots Real Food, spoke about how her company, which makes high quality burgers sold in outlets like Waitrose, used social media channels to engage with food writers and customers. She said these were methods which could be adopted very cost effectively across any industry. She also explained how they used Twitter during the recent horsemeat scandal to reinforce

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Linda Moore with conference speakers Mike Ashton (l) and Peter Hancock (r) the provenance of their meat products. In a series of workshop sessions topics covered included ‘Online Travel Agents and Daily Deal Sites’. Martin Phillips, Managing Director of Recommended Hotels, revealed the results of a survey about online bookings. He said that 76% of internet bookings for hotel rooms were made with online travel agents. More than 60% of bookings made on mobile phones were for a stay on the day of booking. Around a fifth of those surveyed could take up to five hours to actually make the booking, while women were bigger users of social media than men. He spoke about the importance of getting the right images on online travel agency sites. “The more photos that you post the more likely you are to increase sales,” he said. Hotels needed to have a website image strategy. For example, each medium whether it be desktop, mobile phone or tablet, had different photographic requirements in terms of size and quality. “Choose your online travel agents well and make sure you make use of the sales reports that many of them provide,” he said. In a second workshop, Roddy Whiteford, Managing Director of Hotelfone and Director of Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa, highlighted the importance of answering telephone calls effectively out of hours. He had commissioned a group of university students to cold call a number of hotels to see how they responded.The results were surprising, with a number of establishments not even answering the calls. Out of 700 calls, only 7% were recorded by the mystery

shoppers as ‘business asked for’ and only 3% offered call back. He estimated that potentially over 300 customers were being lost as a result of telephones being ineffectively answered out of hours and yet on evenings and weekends customers were more likely to call rather than resort to the internet, he suggested. The third workshop, called Big Data, covered how hotels could double the effect of their marketing overnight. According to Fiona Robson of Rocketseed, email was the biggest driver of revenue in a hotel’s marketing mix. One of the key opportunities that hoteliers ignored were ‘abandonment’ web bookings. Hotels should respond to these bookings and incentivise them to return to their website and book. Other opportunities were missed by hoteliers who failed to email guests prior to their stay using data already submitted to upsell products during their stay. Another route to engender loyalty and an ongoing relationship with the hotel was post-stay emails offering information on future events at the hotel. Dexter Moren, Managing Partner of architects Dexter Moren Associates, talked about current and future trends in hotel design. He said the market for Aparthotels in London, where a hotel room was squeezed into as small a space as possible, was booming. However, there was now a push to create a more luxurious version. Private dining rooms and rooftop restaurants were also very popular. Mobile phone technology would feature increasingly not only for checking into

hotel rooms but also for activating many of the services like lighting and television in the room. He also spoke of future trends in terms of rooms for disabled guests, citing a new Express by Holiday Inn in Southwark which was being built with 100% of the rooms being made accessible and dubbed ‘A room for all’. It was fitting that the final presentation of the day came from Chris Timbs, Manager Brand Marketing for Hilton Hotels and the Hotel Marketing Association’s Young Marketer of the Year 2012. Chris highlighted some of the off-peak marketing ideas that they had successfully implemented, including Sunday nights targeting hairdressers, multi-generational short breaks with grandparents taking grandchildren and hotels that took dogs. The conference closed with feedback on the day with several delegates saying that they had picked up plenty of valuable marketing tips which they were going to take away and put into practice immediately.The conference had stimulated new and creative thinking, but there were still lessons to be learned from more traditional marketing practices as outlined by Peter Hancock and Roddy Whiteford. It was also a fantastic networking opportunity for delegates and exhibitors with many travelling from different parts of the country to enjoy the conference and see the fabulous new FA HQ and Hilton Hotel. For details of the 2014 National Hotel Marketing Conference go to www.hotelmarketingassociation.com and @hmainfo. Linda Moore | Chairman Hotel Marketing Association

www.tourismsociety.org

Issue 155 Autumn 2013

Corporate Member

Membership News Congratulations to Robert Louden MTS, Director General of The Camping and Caravanning Club, who was awarded an MBE for services to the Outdoor Recreation Industry in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. Congratulations to the following who have been upgraded to Fellow of the Tourism Society (FTS): Anthony Ernest and Brian Garrod. Welcome to the following new Society members. New Corporate Members: Neil Quigley, Jo Taylor, Annette Burgess and Victoria Jowett, G4S Assessment Services.

Corporate Member

New members: Grace Chung,The British Hospitality Association; Dr Gershon Paz-Tal; Stephen Wilkinson, AA Hotel Service;Thomas LeClair, Elegant Hotels; David Beaumont, Going For Travel; Asa Morrison, AJ Morrison Enterprises; Hatty McShaneSmith, Discover Rutland; Sandra Withington, Bassetlaw District Council; Anthony Igwemoh, Dublin Institute of Technology; Kathryn Haigh, University

College Birmingham; Anja Bogaert,Visit Flanders; Louise Harris, Golley Slater / Margaret Street; Kevin Duxbury, URS Infrastructure & Environment UK Ltd; Dr Robert Lewis, Jon Munro, Stephanie Woodward, Gerwyn Evans, Ian Murray, Peter Francombe, Arthur Emyr, Glyn Roberts, Helen Davies, Lawrence Manley, Gillian Berntsen, Steve Albert, Heddwyn Jones, Carys Bowen (all Visit Wales); Rachel Gillis, Peak District National Park Authority; Anete Pieca; Karolina PrzybylKonieczko, University of Greenwich; Natasha Marson, Wolverhampton University; Peter Whitehead, Peter Whitehead Associates; Jo Butler,Visit Oxfordshire; Emma Tatlow, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce; David MacIntyre, The market specialists; Jenna Dalton, Plymouth University; Jill Sinclair, Sinclair Global Ltd; Charlie Mansfield, Plymouth University; Stephen Holt, Welsh Government office, London; Kerstin Andrews,Visit Kent; Kathie Wilcox, Jason Yip and Becky Madeley, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative; Amy Stevenson; Adam Sargeant, People 1st.

Company Membership of the Tourism Society Whatever the size of your business we have a level of company membership to suit:

Group Member Corporate Member Company Member Corporate Partner

Contact Barbara Stott (Member Services) on 0207 269 9693 or barbara@tourismsociety.org to discuss which would be best for you.

Full business and contact details for all members can be found on the Society’s website.

Events Calendar

September Tourism Society Yorkshire - Pie and a Point! - Date tbc 24th Marketing Workshop: Pay Per Result – Tourism Society office, London October 3rd Tourism Society Scotland – Market Trends – City Chambers, Edinburgh 16th-18th TMI Annual Convention – Durham 24th TCN visit to Polesden Lacey 29th Media Masterclass – Bloomsbury Hotel, London November 6th Tourism and Human Rights:Time to Act – In association with Skal International – ExCeL (World Travel Market) December 3rd President's Debate – London January 2014 Prospects – London Watch out for our regular e-mails giving updates about events, venues and speakers. More information can be found on the Society's website at www.tourismsociety.org/page/12/tourism-society-events.htm

www.tourismsociety.org

Issue 155 Autumn 2013

The Back Page Chairman’s view with David Curtis-Brignell FTS It was a newspaper article that started this chain of thoughts, about local authorities that were closing public conveniences at an alarming rate – due to austerity measures, of course. There are now around 4,600 council-run toilets in England – compared to 5,200 in mid-2011 meaning that 600 have closed over the past 18 months – around one a day, according to the British Toilet Association. They say that the elderly and those suffering from long-term and chronic illnesses will be particularly hard hit and warn that public sanitation could be at risk as a consequence. Heather Wakefield, Unison’s national secretary for local government, said that while everyone needs access to public toilets, it can also be a particular problem for parents with children, as well as the elderly. There is also the issue of public health. If there are no facilities available, there is the temptation for people to go in the street – spreading germs. She added: “Relying on the goodwill of cafes, pubs and restaurants is simply not good enough – particularly when ‘customers only’ is a regular policy for businesses.” No mention of tourism in the article, although (like tourism activities) the provision of public toilets is discretionary for councils. The prospect of tourists suffering discomfort and embarrassment then returning home with tales of lost loos, ending with the immortal phrase “well, we won’t be going back THERE,” is not a welcome one. The UK has a better provision of convenient conveniences than some of our competitors. In Germany, for example, there are clean loos guarded by an attendant, possibly female, and a free visit is “nicht in Frage”. A lack of public ones in some Spanish destinations results in visitors having to ask to use facilities of variable quality at the back of a bar or cafe, then feeling guilty about not being a customer and buying a coffee, which of course has the effect that they then need to find another bar or cafe half an hour

A penny for my thoughts

later. And then there's France and some very unpleasant experiences only exceeded by horror stories from Greece. Forget the lack of soap, these lack the essential porcelain! If I am being a little unkind to our European friends I only do so because I sense double standards. People come to our cities and resorts expecting facilities that, if provided back home, would neither be free nor easily found. Prioritising services in a local authority is far from easy. Street lighting, the TIC, maintenance of parks, gardens and verges and of course the provision of public loos all have to compete with ‘essential’ services. But in destinations dependent on the visitor economy, ‘essential’ could refer to services that will keep visitors coming back.The leader of the Council may ask “What is the cost of this?” when the real question should be "What is the cost of NOT doing this?" Putting funds into tourism should be seen as investment, not subsidy.

An issue raised at our July conference in Cardiff also made me think about where we are today. It followed a presentation about a start-up offering motorcycling holidays in Wales.This sparked off a discussion about the increase in cycling tourism in the New Forest and the problems this has caused locally. Great ideas, applause for entrepreneurism and creativity, but has product development taken into account capacity issues and whether the local facilities can cope? Which in a way takes me back to the public loo. If you don't provide the services, and if you can't get the basics right, should you be promoting the product and inviting visitors to your destination? If you don't provide basic infrastructure you won't get inward investment. Would you invest millions in a destination to build a boutique hotel or a new visitor attraction if the local authority is shutting the local loos and failing to support its local visitor economy?