South Belfast Partnership BoardCultural Tourism Workshops

Ian Henderson & Kieran Swail14th August 2008

Session 2 How to better promote and market your area as a tourist destination?

3 simple steps to effectively promote your area

• Identify your key products• Establish your target markets• Decide on the best way to reach your

target markets

Understand what visitors are looking for

What are visitors looking for?

“The Profile of our consumers has changed greatly. With greater mobility and the desire to use time more effectively, they are spoilt for choice and are asserting their right to new and authentic experiences that can turn a holiday into a lifetime adventure” (TI Corporate Plan 2008 – 2010)

QualityCustomer serviceInformation provisionPackaging & presentationPrice

It’s now all about the experience

Pre-requisites to the visit

Today’s visitors want to know three critical things about your destination or tourism service before they decide to visit:

1. That others have traveled before them, 2. That other people have had a good time, 3 That it is safe to go to your destination.

The world has changed…

Today…

iPod has become the generic descriptor for the

MP3 sector

processes estimated 1bn searches per

day through all its services

90% of all phones have multimedia and

internet access and the ability to view

video footage

years ago… the terms Google, iPod, 3G meant nothing!10

Web 2.0 and your destination

YoutubeMySpace FacebookTripadvisor FlickrTwitterWayn

By 2010 80% of visitors to Ireland will have used the web to search for their holiday/short break

The web and your destination

1 Web users are impatient, typically visiting only the first three results from a query

2 People make instantaneous judgments about whether to stay on a site, and if a site doesn't the give the right first impression, they’ll leave

3 You must make it easy. Web users want to “Look, Plan and Book” with varying degrees of urgency

4 A page has to be well-designed, easy to load and relevant to a searcher's needs

How do you attract Visitors –host of online and traditional media options?

Telephone – cold v warm / Text Mkting

Direct Mail – postcard mkting Competitions Demos PR Testimonials Word of Mouth Referrals Web Marketing

email, blog, podcasts, social networking, Flickr YouTube

Advertising– Radio, newspapers, supplements,

journals. Local business circulars, Magazines, Billboards, Google Adwords, eBay…..

BrandingMerchandisingTrade shows, ExhibitionsDiscussion ForumsEvents and FestivalsConferencesMarket ResearchNetworkParticipate in competitionsJoint VentureJournalists VisitsFam trips for local tourism providersSponsorshipPromotional Theme Evenings

Marketing Prioritisation – Q/A Discussion

• Q Where do you start in South Belfast?• Q What are the priorities• Q Roles and Responsibilities – who

should what?

Flipchart Exercise 3

Who? What? When? Where? Why? & How? Consider target mkt, budget, time, personnel

Questions to consider

• What is the budget ?• What practical actions need to be taken?• Where are the segmented offers?• Who is going to agree the offers?• How are they going to be promoted? What type of offline Advertising? Are you going to form a network? Press/PR campaign? Events Calendar?• Who is going to manage the existing or new website?• Will a web-based model deliver more business?

Way forward

• Embrace technology & take heed of changing consumer trends

• Find your niche and ‘laser-target’ not broad brush!

• Get feedback from your customers and use it!• Find a partner! Form a Network• Act Now!• “ A Place’s image must be valid in many

ways through several channels if it is to succeed and take route” (Kotler 1993)