Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog Archive for the ‘Brand research’ Category

What business are you in?

Knowing what business you are in gives you clarity of purpose.  This, in turn, gives you focus and an enhanced ability to understand and meet customer expectations.  But surely we all know what business we’re in, right?

Well, think about Domino’s Pizza for a moment.  Domino’s are not in the catering business, they’re in delivery.  Fast, fresh, reliable delivery.  Customer’s don’t call them for a slice of authentic Italy – they want big, hot pizza and they want it now.

Likewise, people don’t buy a drill because they want a drill – they want a hole.  More important still, they want a hole to make a shelf to put their son’s first football trophy on.

In the same way, people don’t visit a destination because they want a tourism experience – they want any number of things, from privacy, to exhilaration, to a convenient place to break a journey – to complete brain-switch off in the sunshine.

No, what business are you REALLY in?

A simple answer to that might be “the one you’re customers think you’re in.” What is the fix you deliver to their problem?

That might initially sound a little too simple and prescriptive – after all, it seems to suggest that you can only ever be defined by what your customers think you do now and that any strategies or messaging to alter this are doomed to failure.

So it’s probably more constructive to start to answer that question by thinking in terms of: “It’s not about me, it’s about you.”

Those of you that have an awareness of strategic marketing might recognise this in terms of ‘features and benefits’.

In other words, it’s not about whether you have, for example, 30 museums and 100 five star hotels, rather, in this example, it’s about cultural enrichment and pampering. It’s not about a list of products and services, it’s about what these mean to your visitor.

Let me explain what prompted these musings….

The first recent occasion was at a conference in Glasgow launching the Scottish customer feedback initiative.  As well as discussing feedback, there were also destination presentation highlighting approaches that could be take in marketing an area .  I was comparing my notes taken during presentations by  Santiago de Compostela and Prince Edward Island and realised that very different approaches were being taken in how they were portrayed.

Santiago de Compostela seemed to concentrate on its features to define itself of the destination whereas PEI explained how they had done research among their visitors and had then defined itself based on the benefits it had found within this research.

Undoubtedly both approaches work – visitor numbers had risen in both location.  But I had a niggling sense that Santiago de Compostela could have gone a step further as they seemed to lack a distinctive narrative or personality (although Santiago de Compostela  would undoubtedly argue that it does indeed have a personality –  that it’s a culturally vibrant place to visit).  However, While they could come across as being a place with ‘lots of things to do’, they could be just be one culturally rich European location among many.

On the other hand, PEI’s research suggested that it’s visitors thought of it as ‘a gentle island’ and to me this seems a more meaningful and human differentiator.

Or, to put it another way, one was about the products and the other was about the customer.

But in this example, I’m still not sure whether one was was superior to another. From a personal perspective Santiago de Compostela sounds more interesting (I prefer cultural tourism to relaxation) but I’m not sure that I would choose it above many other culturally rich places.

Destinations everywhere – but how many really stand out?

While there is ambiguity in the examples above there was less experienced walking round the exhibition halls at  ITB in Berlin.  The choice of destinations  could be not so much mind-blowing as mind-numbing.

The trouble was that I often struggled to think of a reason why Destination X was better than Destination Y. Golden Beaches? Check. Local Cuisine? Check. Authentic experiences? Check. Compelling reason to visit above competitor destination? Not sure…

“We are in the happiness business”

So, to return to the conference in Glasgow where the last session was delivered by Gregg Patterson who runs the The Beach Club in Santa Monica.

For me, the key sentence Gregg used in his session was “we are in the happiness business.” Others might have said, “we operate a high-value members-only hospitality facility” or “The X Group run mid-market hotels aimed at the leisure market.” And they would be right – while also missing the point of why they exist, as they would be defining themselves from a product, not a customer perspective.

They would be emphasising their features, not their benefits.

Yet it is  this recognition of the benefits from a customer perspective that allows a “different” approach  taken.  One that more intelligently communicates with customers, connects with them emotionally and identifies how best to deliver to them at a product level.

It enables you to develop strategically and tactically. In the case of PEI, the local DMO has been liaising with the local authorities to develop facilities that help deliver on the promise of being ‘a gentle island.’

At a tactical level, it has shown The Beach Club how important the ‘dignity’ of customers is. This might sound like a rather odd or old fashioned term but it means recognising the visitor as a person, not as another number.

So how do you start to understand what business you are in?

For me, the starting point would be some form of qualitative research to determine what the area/attraction actually means to your customers. What is their emotional connection? What is the narrative behind their visit?

And there are many ways to pick up this information.  For example, there is user generated content online.  What are people saying about you and how are they saying it?  What images are they posting, how are they branding you?

Also, what terms are people using to find you online? What kind of sites things are they looking at as well as your own?

And there is always the more traditional research method of  destination audits, street research and focus groups which can also really help to drill down and identify what it is that really makes your destination memorable (or infamous!).

Ultimately, whichever research methods you choose – the challenge is to see yourself as others do.  And to react to those perceptions, even if they differ from your own.

Posted by Stephen (26/03/09)

At an event as large as WTM, I find that a degree of mental fatigue can sometimes set in even to the most open-minded of souls. Yeah, I know that Country A is different from Country B in many important and significant ways and that the inhabitants of both would be very upset if I got them confused.

But the time can come when a man tires of stands offering similar offerings and needs to go in search of something else. Perhaps a walk on the wild side.

So, with that in mind, I decided to venture (within the safe confines of WTM) into the ‘axis of evil’ – in other words, I decided that I would visit the stands of countries that draw a fair amount of opprobrium and see how just how they were marketing themselves from a…errr…negative brand position.

The end result? In some cases, ‘ethical’ concerns might matter but I suspect that this can successfully be got round by some nifty marketing that addresses the emotional fears that unethical actions are a proxy for.

What do I mean by it being a proxy? Well, for example, if I believe that a government ready to imprison and torture its citizens seemingly on a whim, then I fear that there might be a chance that I might be subject to the same treatment, equally on a whim. But, there are ways and means around these unconscious fears that can help present destinations in a more favourable light. And the stands here are WTM might well be interesting insights into how to deal with these perceptions.

Take Cuba for example.

Cuba is not officially a paid up member of the axis of evil but Human Rights Watch (hardly a US stooge) notes that it is still a repressive country but the international public perception of it (outside the US) is that it is, at worst, almost a slightly wayward social democrat country that it is important to visit before it is ruined by nasty commercialism. I suspect that Cuba is well aware of this and, as such, its stand here at WTM is big, brash and confident. Ironically for a communist country, it is is a well marketed and professional destination marketed with considerable commercial nouce.

And it is fun.

As such, Cuba would appear to have listened to research and market forces and responded to consumer demands in improving and diversifying its product.

On the other hand, the Iranian stand (representing a country that is officially a member of the ‘axis of evil’) lacks this confidence. Like many of the Middle Eastern countries, it seems to rely on old images and on a slightly worth line of products. Their product appeals to a bookish person like myself but I think it communicates at the level of the head, not the heart. By this, I mean I need to be reassured that Iran, for example , is a safe place to visit where I won’t be stopped for a cultural misunderstanding. This doesn’t seem to happen and so, despite the attractions, there is still some nagging doubt. Overall, there doesn’t seem to be a suggestion of fun and the emphasis seemed to be on the historic, not the living.

However, fun seemed to be on the minds of the fellow evil-ites in the Syrian stand. Although the cliches undoubtedly abounded here as well, they were living cliches with people enjoying themselves – people laughing, people eating and people chatting. All of which are reassuring images common to all humanity.

While not an official ‘axis of evil’ country, China is nevertheless working hard to improve its image as a destination to visit. They’re not at the Iran level but neither are they are the Cuba level. I think their game is a longer one that will slowly build their brand to the point that they are perceived as a super-charged Singapore – no better or worse but certainly not grounds to avoid.

Finally, I went in search of the really evil Hermit Kingdom of North Korea. However, if they are here, their reputation for secrecy is intact as I couldn’t find them.

So, what can we learn from this slightly silly excuse of a post? Well, I think it is the lesson that destinations need to market to the heart as well as the head. As we noted a while ago, many of us carry conscious and unconscious prejudices and destinations need to address these in order to position themselves effectively. And although I have been using perhaps extreme examples, this lesson applies also to mainstream destinations – I don’t care if somewhere has a spectacular castle if it is an area where I’m likely to be mugged, for example.

Right, I’m off to find the Zimbabwean and Guantanamo Bay stands.

Update 1700: Well, after my mention of the Zimbabwe stand, I did go to and it struck me as traditional (safaris and all that) but…actually good. Despite the situation in the country, the stand suggested safety and fun. Not sure what that means for my theory.

External Links:

GoCuba (Canadian official site)

Iran Tourism

Syria Tourism (actually not a great site in contrast to the stand – you need to come and talk to us, guys)

China Tourism

Tourism in North Korea

Axis of Evil

It has been said again and again. Your competition is not the business next door. Your competition is not the next town or the next region. Your direct competition is are the other destinations (and other distractions) all over the world that could cause your prospective visitor to never even arrive on your shores, yet alone at your doors.

But sometimes, pictures speak louder than words.

This week at ITB the world’s tourism destinations were on display. An attractive, dizzying whirl of infinite travel possibilities, all chasing a finite visitor spend.

So take a glimpse at your competition.

Which destinations really stood out?

India was again incredibly impressive. I have previously posted here about the Incredible India campaign and I am a big fan of the marketing and strategic efforts being made by India to dramatically grow its inbound tourism. Those efforts were in full flow at ITB and business was clearly being done.

The efforts seem to be paying off – compared to 2006, foreign tourists earnings grew 33.8%, with 2006 having previously registered a growth of 19.2% over 2005 (more facts and figures here). As hosts of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and with an aggressive tourism growth strategy in place, it seems likely that growth will continue.

Poland – not surprisingly given its geographic proximity to Germany, Poland’s presence at ITB was extensive and compelling. With dramatic landscapes, historic buildings and deep culture it represents an interesting potential competitor to Scotland. Poland also now has an extensive expatriate population working across the EU and beyond, who are effectively prospective return visitors (just as the Scottish and Indian Diaspora represent prime targets in their “home” markets).

Euromonitor predicts the hosting of Euro 2012 will be a significant development factor for Poland’s tourism industry: “This third largest sports competition in the world will intensively impact the development of such sectors as hotels, foodservice and transportation. Rough estimates are that about EUR50 billion will be spent in the coming years to ensure that the complete infrastructure is in place for this large event.”

The Faroe Islands – now with a direct flight from London’s Stansted Airport, Faroe is in its own words “bypassing Shetland” where the visitors from London previously used to land. Like Shetland, its remoteness is an attraction, but it comes at the price of high transportation costs (though it does not regard itself as being as expensive as Iceland, for example). Also like Scotland’s Northern Isles, the Faroe Islands lead on the natural environment and historic culture and it is focussing product development on areas like cycling, hiking, seabirds, diving and fishing.

Scandinavia – sited right next to the UK stand (embracing an individual presence for Scotland, Wales, England and London) was the united front of Scandinavia. Featuring Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, the Scandinavian group has some of the strongest destinations for natural beauty, environmental and eco-tourism. Most of the group are experiencing fairly consistent tourism growth.

Like parts of Scotland, some of Scandinavia suffers from extreme seasonality in its tourism, with summer the most popular time to visit. Iceland, according to Euromonitor, has managed to curtail this somewhat in the past few years with strategies to attract convention and incentive travellers as well as those looking for a city break. Evidence suggests it is en route to becoming a major destination.

So, how does a destination compete with the rest of the world?

To get insight into this I’d recommend checking out the Country Brand Index research by FutureBrand. This highly useful and in-depth annual research ranks key tourism destinations according to factors such as assets, reputation, experiences and perceptions.

Australia leads the overall country brand index. India was number 1 for authenticity in the 2006 country brand index, with New Zealand leading in 2007 (all extremely strongly marketed destinations). Sweden topped the environmental rankings in 2007, with Croatia named as rising star. (Poland also appears in the top 10 places on their way to becoming major destinations).

In their 2006 report, FutureBrand explained:

“A country’s ability to be authentic, deliver authentic and communicate authentic is probably one of its biggest destination advantages today.”

“People want to experience the true essence of a different place. This is the magic of a country brand.”

But in such a competitive market, destinations are struggling.

“Within the sea of print collateral, few country brands stand out. In addition to having similar language and tone, many ads and brochures share a similar look and feel. In fear of narrow-casting or focusing on one core asset, many countries go in the reverse direction and link to sweeping and generic words like “truly” or “amazing.” They feature hero shots of sky, beach and other stereotypical images of “paradise” and “culture,” employing a wide palette of bold colors. This attempt to grab consumers and invite them to think about vacationing as the realization of dream, discovery and relaxation has become undifferentiated in a saturated marketplace.”

The destinations I highlighted above have not made this mistake (nor do other leading destinations, including in my opinion Scotland). They have a strong sense of identity and authenticity and they focus on the core values at the heart of the brand.

Many of Euromonitor’s top 150 city destinations worldwide, which account for 27% of the global inbound tourism in terms of arrivals, also demonstrate these same features. This suggests that authenticity and a focus on unique, defining character is a far more potent strategy than attempting to promote a destination as a generalist “something for everyone”.

Do you agree? What country destinations do you think the competition should be aware of?

A fact that often demands repeating at a local tourism level is that your primary competition is not the neighbouring accommodation provider or a visitor attraction up the road, but the other contenders for your target customer’s time and money – such as emerging destinations on the other side of the world.

During a recent Scottish Marketing Association presentation on Scotland’s international image, Judy Torrence, Head of International Image for Scotland’s Government, was asked which country branding campaigns currently had her attention.

Incredible India was one of the campaigns she cited.

On the surface, India may seem an unlikely competitor to Scotland, particularly when contrasted with New Zealand, one of the more obvious contenders. However, in my view there are striking parallels between the strategies of the two countries.

Tourism parallels of India and Scotland

Just like Scotland (which aims to increase tourism revenues 50% by 2015), India has set itself aggressive tourism growth targets. As this article reports, India’s government has set itself the target of 10 million tourists in 2010, which it believes the 2010 Commonwealth Games will help achieve.

India’s total tourist flow was 2.38 million in 2002, 3.92 million in 2005, while in 2006 the figure rose to 4.43 million. Scotland, of course, is a mature market (16 million tourists took overnight trips in 2006), whereas India is starting from a low base, so it is no surprise Scotland’s targets relate to uplifting spend whereas India’s relate to increasing footfall.

Both Scotland and India have a substantial, influential and global Diaspora and both are developing strategies to engage with that Diaspora. Not only that, the Diaspora of similar sizes (20 million for India and by our recent count around 18 million for Scotland) and in some common countries, such as Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Caribbean and of course, England.

India formed its High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora in September 2000 in recognition of the need to develop the significant roles the Diaspora plays as investor, customer, supplier, ambassador and philanthropist. (More on this strategy can be found in this report by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.)

Both countries are implementing strategies to improve standards on the ground. Scotland has Pride and Passion and the 100k Welcomes customer experience training programme, whereas India has the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme, a Social Awareness Campaign aimed at providing the inbound tourist a sense of being welcomed to the country.

As the Minister of State for Tourism states on the official site “‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ is a nationwide campaign aimed at sensitising people about India’s rich cultural heritage, its preservation, cleanliness, hospitality and bringing out an attitudinal shift among the masses towards tourists. It is a symbolic representation of India’s age old hospitality and with this campaign, we are trying to re-install in the stakeholders a sense of pride and responsibility towards tourists, while positioning India as a popular tourist destination worldwide.”

These are sentiments that I think Scotland’s Pride and Passion would absolutely recognise too.

So, given the parallels between the tourism strategies of Scotland and India, despite their different market maturities, perhaps it is no wonder Incredible India is on Judy Torrence’s radar. However, another reason must surely be the innovativeness and success of the Incredible India marketing campaign itself.

Incredible India marketing in action

One of the challenges of the Incredible India campaign (one also familiar to those marketing tourism in Scotland) is that many images associated with the country and brand are rooted in tradition and the past. The Diaspora particularly is likely to have memories and perceptions of India that are dated due to their prolonged absence from the country.

So India has taken a very modern, often online approach in its marketing. Just last month, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Tourism, Mr Shilabhadra Banerjee, launched an India Brand Channel on YouTube to help communicate the wonders of India to a worldwide audience. It is also well ahead of many destinations in its use of online social media. (You can read more about this in this blog post by Jens Thraehart: Tourism India on YouTube or read our newly released report for An Introduction To Online Social Networks).

Given the ambition and success to date of India and the parallels between two these two Diaspora countries, the Incredible India campaign is certainly one to watch – and in terms of Diaspora engagement strategy, India may also be one of the more relevant benchmarks for Scotland’s own endeavours.