Targeted tourism campaigns
Marketing campaigns undertaken by the Malta Tourism Authority often get mired in controversy regarding the value-for-money such campaigns are perceived to generate. The most recent decision of the MTA to sponsor the Sheffield United Football Club in...
Marketing campaigns undertaken by the Malta Tourism Authority often get mired in controversy regarding the value-for-money such campaigns are perceived to generate. The most recent decision of the MTA to sponsor the Sheffield United Football Club in the UK has led, as was to be expected, to yet another public controversy.
This is not unusual. Some weeks ago, Tourism Australia decided to bury their very unpopular advertising tagline "So where the b****y hell are you?" which was described by the Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "rolled gold disaster".
The British tourism authorities are not faring any better in convincing the public on the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. The UK government has in fact decided to cut the VisitBritain funding by 18 per cent, much to the annoyance of the tourism authorities who claim this decision will jeopardise the recent success of this industry in the UK.
It is notoriously difficult to gauge the success or otherwise of a marketing campaign. Advertising is the most visible aspect of the marketing effort that every enterprise makes to attract business. It needs hardly be stressed that even the most impressive marketing campaign cannot be a substitute for a sound product that gives value for money to the consumer.
Last year, the Journal of Travel Research conducted an online survey among 1,100 travellers. This survey revealed that by far the largest proportion, 23.5 per cent, of travellers decided on their holidays as a result of TV travel features, while another 22 per cent relied on their own travel experiences when deciding where to spend their holidays.
Recommendations by friends influenced 19.1 per cent of respondents on their travelling destinations, while only 8.4 per cent relied on the internet before deciding where to travel. But, perhaps the most important finding, only 4 per cent of respondents said they relied on travel advertisements.
These results seem to suggest that direct advertising is far less effective than one may think, and this is, perhaps, the reason why so many operators in this industry often challenge the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns carried out by tourism authorities. While tourism will undoubtedly continue to be our main service industry for the foreseeable future, we need to ensure that our marketing campaigns are targeted well to ensure that we get the best value-for-money.
Douglas McNeill, a transport analyst at Blue Oar, a City stock-broking firm predicts that in the next two years low-cost airlines will have to increase their fares by 20 per cent simply to make good for the spiralling cost of fuel. It is estimated that every 10 per cent increase in fares typically leads to a 6.5 per cent fall in passenger numbers. So if Mr McNeill's predictions prove to be true, with 45 million British people travelling every year, more than five million of them will be squeezed out of the overseas tourism market.
These are very sobering predictions, which make it even more important for us to nurture our tourism industry even more effectively. We may have been late in embracing low-cost travel as an effective means to boost the number of tourists that visit us every year. But now that we have done so we must not be complacent and expect everything to fall in place to guarantee us regular flows of tourists.
The economic slowdown in Europe, the strength of the euro, competition from other countries especially those whose currency is not tied to the euro, a tired tourist product which often fails to excite our visitors, and outright neglect of our environment are among the most serious threats that can undermine our tourism industry in the next few years.
While a targeted advertising campaign aimed to project a positive image of Malta among the biggest number of potential tourists will always be indispensable, we have to look at the structural weaknesses that undermine our tourism industry if we are to guarantee a sound future for this important economic activity.
Short-term tactics are no doubt needed, but, in the end, a sound strategic plan is what will guarantee us long-term success.
This is not unusual. Some weeks ago, Tourism Australia decided to bury their very unpopular advertising tagline "So where the b****y hell are you?" which was described by the Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "rolled gold disaster".
The British tourism authorities are not faring any better in convincing the public on the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. The UK government has in fact decided to cut the VisitBritain funding by 18 per cent, much to the annoyance of the tourism authorities who claim this decision will jeopardise the recent success of this industry in the UK.
It is notoriously difficult to gauge the success or otherwise of a marketing campaign. Advertising is the most visible aspect of the marketing effort that every enterprise makes to attract business. It needs hardly be stressed that even the most impressive marketing campaign cannot be a substitute for a sound product that gives value for money to the consumer.
Last year, the Journal of Travel Research conducted an online survey among 1,100 travellers. This survey revealed that by far the largest proportion, 23.5 per cent, of travellers decided on their holidays as a result of TV travel features, while another 22 per cent relied on their own travel experiences when deciding where to spend their holidays.
Recommendations by friends influenced 19.1 per cent of respondents on their travelling destinations, while only 8.4 per cent relied on the internet before deciding where to travel. But, perhaps the most important finding, only 4 per cent of respondents said they relied on travel advertisements.
These results seem to suggest that direct advertising is far less effective than one may think, and this is, perhaps, the reason why so many operators in this industry often challenge the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns carried out by tourism authorities. While tourism will undoubtedly continue to be our main service industry for the foreseeable future, we need to ensure that our marketing campaigns are targeted well to ensure that we get the best value-for-money.
Douglas McNeill, a transport analyst at Blue Oar, a City stock-broking firm predicts that in the next two years low-cost airlines will have to increase their fares by 20 per cent simply to make good for the spiralling cost of fuel. It is estimated that every 10 per cent increase in fares typically leads to a 6.5 per cent fall in passenger numbers. So if Mr McNeill's predictions prove to be true, with 45 million British people travelling every year, more than five million of them will be squeezed out of the overseas tourism market.
These are very sobering predictions, which make it even more important for us to nurture our tourism industry even more effectively. We may have been late in embracing low-cost travel as an effective means to boost the number of tourists that visit us every year. But now that we have done so we must not be complacent and expect everything to fall in place to guarantee us regular flows of tourists.
The economic slowdown in Europe, the strength of the euro, competition from other countries especially those whose currency is not tied to the euro, a tired tourist product which often fails to excite our visitors, and outright neglect of our environment are among the most serious threats that can undermine our tourism industry in the next few years.
While a targeted advertising campaign aimed to project a positive image of Malta among the biggest number of potential tourists will always be indispensable, we have to look at the structural weaknesses that undermine our tourism industry if we are to guarantee a sound future for this important economic activity.
Short-term tactics are no doubt needed, but, in the end, a sound strategic plan is what will guarantee us long-term success.