Experience It 1

A Plan with a vision,

“Experience it!”Without emotion, there is no

experience!

Sustainable Cultural Tourism For Palau

Continuous flow of visitorsRepeat visitorsMore money spent per visitMore jobs createdCommunity acceptance of

roles

What is meant by “Sustainable Tourism?”

Special interest travelers who rank the arts, heritage and/or other cultural activities as one of the top five reasons for traveling.Travelers who engage in cultural tourism visit the following:

Art galleries, theatres and museumsHistoric sitesCultural events, festivals and fairsArchitectural and archaeological

treasures

What is meant by the Cultural Tourist?

Collaboration is essential between the community and tourism to ensure that tourism efforts are sustainable for the long term.

Today’s cultural travelers are not only better traveled but better educated than any previous generation of travelers. They expect more from their travel experiences – making quality and authenticity more important than ever before.

Things to know

The cultural tourist is younger, wealthier, more educated, and more technologically savvy than those of 10 years earlier.

Are more likely to have graduate degreesAre more likely to travel longer

Ages 18 to 34 are more apt than “Matures” aged 55 + to want trips where they can “learn” something (75% vs. 63%)Baby Boomers (ages 35 to 55) are most likely to participate in culturally related activities.

Things to think about

Getting involved does not mean publishing a brochure or launching a new website i.e. “promotion” is actually the final step!

It is important to know what you have and what you want to share with visitors. Then match it up.

More things to know

Challenge

How to make tourism growth not imply the destruction of cultural values and qualities.

Assessing,

Planning,

Preparing

Marketing

Steps to “success!”

Assessing,

Planning,

Preparing

Marketing

Step 1

Museums

Villages

Galleries

Ethnic Restaurants

Special Events andCraft Fairs

Fishing

Assessing Assests

Artists and Craftspeople Exhibit Works of Master

Artists like Charlie Gibbons and Sbal FranciscoStory boards and story telling

Legends: Uwab a story about a legendary giant

Surech ma Tulei is the story about two

loversMelechotech-a-chau is a

legend about a giant with…

Assessing Assests

Traditional lifestyles (dance, music)Omengat

Rock Paintings

Monoliths (a whole quest by itself)

Terraces

Assessing (Cont.)

Battlefields and Japanese occupation - Peleliu is probably the most preserved battlefield in the

Pacific occupation

Natural Resources

Rock Islands

Undersea life (diving, snorkeling)Birding (great special interest)KayakingHiking trails (stone paths)

Assessing (Cont.)

Visitor Services:LodgingRestaurantsShops (indigenous or locally

made story boards, etc.)Infrastructure:

Information center open every dayPublic restroomsSignageCollege

Assessing (Cont.)

While the missions of the various organizations are different, can all agree on common ground for developing a cultural heritage tourism partnership?

What can and will each organization contribute?

Are the financial resources required available?

Challenge

Assessing,

Planning,

Preparing

Marketing

Step 2

Who?

How?

Plan & Organize

Articulate specific steps to accomplish measurable goals and

objectives

Outline the budget and the allocation of funds

Identify responsible individuals or groups

Calendar of benchmarks

The Plan should…

Who do you want to target?

General group tours (scuba, and special interest groups like birders, rock

paintings, etc.)Families

Adult couples

From where? When?

Who?

First Step – Database

Learn as much as possible about visitors

“The Market”Learn as much as possible about asset resources

“The Product”

The Plan

How to capture?What information should be collected?

How to keep it updated?Identify resources – Inventory of assetsSources: local historian, arts council, newspaper editor, chamber of commerce, TV station, etc.Artists – studio toursStory telling – settlement, legends (story boards) HistoryMuseum archives: photos, videos, artifacts, legends

Database Information

Special wholesale tour rates

Who is target customer?

Asset mapping – a way to see if attractions and visitor services can be combined into a cultural

itinerary

When would visitors not be welcome at events?

Specific themes

Develop tour Itineraries

Build a “consensus” in the community that supports cultural tourism

Bring in all the “movers and shakers”

Local government involvement– Additional leadership and funding

Outside organizations and people who can supply additional expertise and resources

Human Resources

Newspaper – write guest editorials TV – interviews and news coverage Surveys – send out to local residents

asking for opinionsBrainstorm cultural tourism

strategiesOrganize visits to other regions that have

cultural programsBring in speakers who have been successful in how to achieve results

Building a “consensus”

Create a cultural tourism “mission”

Don’t underestimate how long it will take to achieve financial viability and reach new

markets

Self surveyWhat are the greatest cultural opportunities?What are the greatest challenges?Note: lack of internet access in hotels a severe limitation,signage – needs improvement

Five year goal, 18 month goal with measurable results

Mission

Financial Resources - Long term goal is stable funding

From where?Public fundsGrants and loansDuesAccess fees to databasesOther

Economics

Assessing,

Planning,

Preparing

Marketing

Step 3

How to make Palau hospitable to visitors?REMEMBER: Visitors take home memories. Much of the pleasure of a trip comes from how the visitor is treated.

How to make Palau’s history, culture and natural resources EMOTIONAL

to visitors?How to make Palau’s physical resources

physically available to visitors?Pilot ProgramWalk ThruEvaluation

Prepare, Protect and Manage

Cannot be purchased individually or locally

Be able to accommodate 10 to 20 individuals, who are:Well traveled, highly educatedInterested in “specific” themes (diving, art, birding, eco, etc.)

Note: “the Special Interest” may not have anything necessarily common to Palau (e.g. a quilting group)

Wide range of agesLow cancellation ratesNot rate sensitiveHigh value on sustainable tourismSold directly through tour operatorsGuide Book for tour operators

“TA DA”, Something “Special”

Assessing,

Planning,

Preparing

Marketing

Step 4

Develop a multi-year, many tiered marketing plan

Goal: Reach specific target markets

Marketing

Gather information

Create database and restricted access to it

Create Image Library

Interface with infrastructure in Palau

Create “Package” Plan elements

Market to tour operators and special interest groups

The “Experience it!” Plan

Baby BoomersBorn between 1944 – 1963

Note: this group likely still employed!Generate highest travel volumeSpend more on trips than other age

groupsBest travel packages:

Special Interest, Family travel, Cultural,

easy to purchase packages

Specific market targets

Cultural Heritage TravelerOlderMore affluentBetter educatedSpend moreStay longerNot always motivated primarily by cultural

heritage activitiesVisit museumsEngage in more activitiesSold through tour operators either as group

or independent package

Market targets (cont.)

Mature TravelerAge 55 or olderStay away from home longerHigh discretionary incomeHigh potential for growth (baby boomer

market)Sold as “group”, “soft adventure”, or

“special interest tours”

Market targets (cont.)

Solo Travelers – Not a primary target!

One fourth of US travelers vacationed by themselves in the past three years

Explore at own paceSold thru independent tour

itineraries

Market targets (cont.)

Public RelationsPress kitEducational tours for travel

writersImage library

AdvertisingCompelling message and

supporting visualsAppropriate media

Components of Marketing Plan

Graphic MaterialsImage package that can easily be

transferred to graphic materialsLogoWebsitePrint brochures (who is the audience?)Develop and print “special” itinerariesPromotionsTravel industry showsConsumer trade shows

Components (cont.)

Possible “Experiences”Village visit to Anguar withMealDancingStory telling ( and cultural sharingOmengat is different, how?)

Overnight on PeleliuBattlefield tour following day

When they get here…

Home stay

Fishing day with local fisherman

Museum behind the scenes visit with artifacts and story telling

Turtle hatching visit on Kayangle

More possible "Experiences"

“Much more can be accomplished by working together than by working alone.

Successful cultural heritage tourism programs bring together partners who may not have worked together in the past.”

Experience it!

  Much of this presentation has been drawn from materials

supplied from “Cultural Heritage Tourism” by Heritage Tourism Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation - Used with permission.

Special thanks to the family of Megan for inviting me to her Omengat and Motol’s family for the Omengat photograph of her sister.

Peleliu photographs from WWII Multimedia Databasehttp://www.worldwar2database.com/ with permission

Aerial photographs by Vanessa Overton

Storyboards and bird stamp photos from the web

All other photography by Mick Hutchins

Acknowledgements