Tourism Society Issue 149 Spring 2012

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The Tourism SocietyQueens House, 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BHTT 0207 269 9693 FF 0207 404 2465EE [email protected] www.tourismsociety.orgRegistered in England No. 01366846. ISSN: 02613700

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Tourism is the journal of the Tourism Society.The views expressed inTourism are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of theTourism Society.Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neithertransparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned.The Tourism Society cannot be held responsible for any services offeredby advertisers in Tourism. All correspondence must be addressed to theEditor.Tourism is only available to members of the Tourism Society and onsubscription, it is distributed quarterly to 1800 professionals working innational and regional tourist boards, local government, travel agencies,and tour operators, visitor attractions, accommodation and catering,entertainment, information services, guiding, consultancies and educationand training.

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www.tourismsociety.org 1Issue 149 Spring 2012

EditorialMake sure you arestimulated and have funWe are lucky to be involved in one of themost vibrant, interesting and multi-facetedindustries on the planet.The export trade forchemicals and finance may beat us on sizebut tourism is much more exciting.

This edition is edited by the TourismConsultants Network.We’ve aimed for articles that reflect our industryand some of its many facets.We are looking forward and we have lookedback, and although there is no overall theme, three words come to mind:sustainability, speed and success.

Sustainability - whatever our business we must all ensure that everythingwe do is sustainable and benefits other people and the planet. And no‘greenwashing’ as Fiona Jeffery says.Tourism is perhaps the only industrythat can destroy what it sets out to create. If we don’t build sustainabilityinto everything we do, in fifty years’ time we could end up without anindustry. Are you, for example, ‘binge flying’?

Speed - of change, which seems to be getting faster.Was it only theother day that we hailed this great new thing called the internet? Are wenow seeing the beginning of its death throes? Adapt and adopt tosurvive.

Success - despite an insatiable penchant for organising, re-organising andre-organising again the structure of tourism in this country we haveachieved a great deal, as David Philips points out. Several othercontributors are optimistic that there is more success to come. Butplease let us spend what money we have on improving our offering to allcustomers (hello accessibility) and telling them about it, rather thanpontificating about which part of the country goes with another foradministrative purposes. Follow the customer!

To these three words I would add one more: stimulating.Whatever yourrole, whatever your vision in this great industry, make sure you arestimulated by what you are doing, find it enjoyable and most importantlyhave fun doing it.

Chris Wikeley FTSChairman,Tourism Consultants Network

Contents

From the President’s DeskOne of my jobs as Chair ofthe House of CommonsFinance Committee is to scru-tinise expenditure on, amongstmany other things, overseasvisits by select committees.

Therefore, as the author ofausterity in this area, I tendnot to travel much. However, Imade an exception to this inearly February when I joinedthe visit by the Treasury SelectCommittee to China.

Our main purpose was tomeet with Chinese officials,economists, and centralbankers to discuss tradeimbalances and also to gener-ally make the case for doingbusiness with the UK.We visit-ed both Shanghai and Beijing.In both we met with senior

representatives of our con-sulate and embassy respective-ly as well as the senior repre-sentatives of UKTI. At both Iasked about Chinese tourismto the UK and was equally dis-appointed by the answers.Tourism is not viewed as anexport. It is seen as a relativelyminor contributor that is runby VisitBritain from a separateoffice and therefore in theminds of the BIS and FCOofficials is all taken care ofwithout any further effortrequired from them.The trip was a great eyeopener. Having seen at firsthand the extent and pace ofdevelopment it is clear that itis a much more complex andlayered economy that therather simplistic assertions of

our somewhat Sino phobicpress.They are not very inter-ested in bunging money atEurope to clear a mess thatthey, rightly, view as havingbeen conceived and executedin Europe. However, Europe isa key market and they wantto ensure the return ofgrowth.

They also need to continue todevelop.There is therefore areal opportunity to supplywhat they want in a fairexchange.Tourism to the UKshould be part of that. Butthat needs DCMS to be partof UKTI.

Lord Thurso MP FTS |President,Tourism

Society

Looking Forward:The one billionth passenger:A cause for concernor celebration? 2Christy Hehir MTS, Sales and Marketing Executive,Tourism Society

The Olympics: Hype, reality… and opportunity 3Ken Robinson CBE FTS, Chair, Policy and Advocacy Group,The Tourism Society

How the Future Looks... 4-5...for Events: Fiona Jeffery OBE FTS, Chairman,World Travel Market & Just a Drop...for Attractions: Bernard Donoghue FTS, Director,Association of Leading VisitorAttractions...for Hospitality: Philippe Rossiter FTS, Chief Executive, Institute of Hospitality...for Destinations:Andrew Bateman MTS,Tourism Manager, Hampshire County Council

Economic Development and Town Planning: Riding high? Making the localcase for tourism investment 6-7 Frances Young MTS, Senior Planner and Ciaran Gunne-Jones,Associate Director,Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners

Destination Planning: Making community consultation work for you 8Alison Caffyn MTS,Tourism Consultant

Social Media and Tourism Marketing:The new internet? 9Roger Carter MBE FTS, Managing Director,TEAM Tourism Consulting

Sustainable Destinations: Responsible Skiing shows the way 10-11Veronica Tonge MTS,V R I T Associates Ltd / Responsible Skiing

Sponsorship: Building bridges with ‘proper’ industries 12Robin Barker MTS, Director, Services for Tourism

Tourism Consultants Network: Membership Listing 13-16

Public Sector Procurement:Times, they are a-changing 17Stephen Allott, Crown Representative for SMEs, Cabinet Office

Attracting Visitors: Domestic tourists and overseas visitors: differentmarkets, different expectations 18-19Elizabeth Federighi MTS, Managing Director, LinguaConnect Ltd

The Value of Consultants... 20-21...to Hospitality: Philippe Rossiter FTS, Chief Executive, Institute of Hospitality...to Destinations:Andrew Bateman MTS,Tourism Manager, Hampshire County Council...to Events: Fiona Jeffery OBE FTS, Chairman,World Travel Market & Just a Drop...to Attractions: Bernard Donoghue FTS, Director,Association of Leading VisitorAttractions

Looking Back: Forty years on ... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly! 22-23David Phillips MBE FTS, National Coordinator, British Destinations

Conference Report: ENTER 2012 24Gilbert Archdale FTS,ASW Consulting

Membership News 25-26

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The one billionth passenger:A cause for concern or celebration?

Looking Forward

Issue 149 Spring 2012

2012 is set to see the one billionth pas-senger – and whilst this is a cause for cel-ebration and success in the travel sector,should it also not come with a warning?

We face a dilemma. How can we align adesire to visit other cultures and far awayshores with a conscience that calls for thereduction in our everyday carbon emis-sions? Should we slow down and takestaycations, or continue binge flying to allcorners of the world because we can?

In a fast-paced world of low-cost airlines,tourism has fast become, for many, a raceto tick off trophy experiences andbecome an avid continent collector.Westamp the passport, buy the t-shirt, takethe digital photos and then move on tothe next ‘once in a lifetime’ sight.

Am I one of these people? Yes! At 25 Ihave already visited all seven continentsand set foot on both the Polar regions –yet it is exactly these experiences thathave opened my eyes to the pace ofdevelopment.

In a world of demand, it seems destina-tions no longer have time to evolve.Could the world’s last frontiers be aboutto follow the Western way and spin intoa place of purpose-built hotel com-pounds?

Imagine you are writing a postcard homefrom your holiday in Antarctica in 2020. Aquota exists for the number of touriststhat can visit in any one season, and tripsto Antarctica are now very expensive andexclusive.

Now imagine your postcard if masstourism is allowed and Antarcticabecomes a large cruise ship capital, withluxury hotels and airports. Compare thetwo and think how influential we, thetravel sector, can be on the developmentand character of destinations.

My first book ‘Arctic to Action’ (to bepublished in April 2012) is based on myMSc research into how travelling to thePolar regions can act as an agent of

behavioural transformation.Today, carbonguilt is setting in and we no longer feelentirely comfortable boasting about ourlonghaul holidays. Add to this the increas-ing costs of flying (be it due to tax, fuel oremissions trading) and the industry hasan opening for change.

Yet to achieve behavioural change on awider scale, the future of tourism needs apurpose, with not only our own desiresin mind, but also those of the destination.

We already seek out authenticity – realexperiences rather than fake culturepackaged up for tourists – but futuretravel will, I think, go further, getting underthe skin of a place.

Travel will be about rediscovering theexotic, the tastes and smells of spices inIndia rather than the Taj Mahal, and locallythe appreciation will be in the idiosyn-crasies and the detail, the unique sellingpoints that make a destination special.

The shift will be consumer-led.There willbe further growth in online user-generat-ed peer-to-peer reviews that will spark a'democratisation' of travel.Travellers and

locals alike will gradually be moreempowered to speak on behalf of adiversity of new and interesting places,threatening the current monopoly of themega must-see wonders of the world.

Smart destinations will no longer just pur-sue more tourists per se. Instead, they willfocus more on the types of tourists theyneed and matching these to the mostsuitable areas and communities. It is hap-pening – Rwanda has already set a $500gorilla tax and as a result, its economicbenefits will be maximised, while socialand environmental costs are kept to aminimum.

I am optimistic that the future of tourismcan overcome its hedonistic tradition andbecome both sustainable and responsible.

With a focus on preserving identities andcultures, celebrating the unique, and con-serving what is locally distinctive, destina-tions can create meaningful and lastingrelationships with their tourists, enhancingtheir attitudes and actions towards thebenefits of travel.

Christy Hehir MTS | Sales and MarketingExecutive,Tourism Society

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The Olympics

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The Olympics are the main talking-pointfor Tourism in 2012, but one with theleast certain outcome.Even before we won the bid in 2005, theTourism Society organised seminars andbegan to investigate the true tourismimpact of past Olympics. Facts were thin;the Host Cities Organising Committeesalways disband immediately after eachGames, and Governments have no wishaccurately to analyse the costs and bene-fits of hosting the world’s greatest organ-ised event.The IOC only knows about ticket sales,not about spectators as tourists – theirpatterns of origin, activity, attendance,spend and stay.Our evaluation concluded that theOlympic Games have the potential to bethe most beneficial factor in UK Tourismfor a generation…but actual Olympics-related tourism in Games year is likely toproduce little or no net benefit.Many leisure visitors will stay away, manylocals will go away.The potential for gainis longer term, if adequate promotionalfunds are invested to capitalise on theinternational media focus the Games willbring.The inbound boost to UK tourismcould be substantial;VisitLondon expects£1.5billion extra business over 10 years. Ido not disagree.Official hype and exaggerated expecta-tions flowed from statements such as“the Olympics will bring 1 million extravisitors in 2012”, without registering thatmost Olympic visits are ‘instead of ’ regu-lar tourism, not ‘in addition’.Well over90% of tickets will be sold to UK resi-dents, and most live within day trip dis-tance from the relevant Olympic venues.This day trip activity will be instead ofother leisure spending, and during theGames much other leisure activity will beon hold.The Torch Relay route now passes within10 miles of 95% of the UK population, soit is hard to see how any net tourismbenefit will be derived.And the public sector Cultural Olympiadwill be providing mutually competitivesubsidised events all around the country.It is unwelcome competition for the pri-vate sector and no stimulus for nettourism growth.

Our analysis of past Games has howeverenabled us to be the first host nation toplan activities to counter the displace-ment and deterrence effects of theGames. ETOA has reported the massivedrop in regular tour group inboundbookings around Games time.The UK is now so costly with APD,Visacharges and much higher VAT than ourcompetitor destinations, that oncedropped from a tour itinerary it could bedifficult to reinstate. DCMS are now real-ising that extra efforts must be made tobolster UK demand.Despite cutting the Tourist Boards fundingand repeatedly saying “there is no moremoney”, they have found £3million for a‘stay at home’TV campaign byVisitEngland and VisitBritain is beingallowed to use much of theGovernment’s international image-building‘Great’ campaign, for tourism messages.Before the Games we have the DiamondJubilee to divert us, while gearing up tothe Olympic excitement.We must anticipate more hype, and keep

our fingers crossed that the massive secu-rity, organisational and administrativepreparations will perform to gold medalstandard.We will be exemplary tourism hosts,because most of industry is professional,but inevitably the greedy actions of a fewand minor shortcomings will fuel exag-gerated media criticism.London hotels will probably have abumper year but elsewhere the netimpact of the Olympic Games on thevolume and value of tourism will be neg-ative. For the future, there is all to playfor.The nation will demand Legacy, theGovernment will belatedly provide morefunds to build on the UK’s raised profile.In future the IOC needs to treat the hostnation’s Tourism Board and industry aspartners, not as competitors, so the hostnation can better ensure the guests’experiences, and so that the potentialtourism industry benefits can be opti-mised.Meanwhile, focus on the day job; theGames will be over in a flash.

Hype, reality ... and opportunity


Ken Robinson CBE FTS | Chair, Policy and

Advocacy Group,The Tourism Society

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... for Events – Genuinesustainability please, no greenwashMy wish for the next five years is a sim-ple one, but crucial. It’s that we continueto increase the number of companies anddestinations prepared to actively embracethe challenges of the future.Responsible tourism which, in a modestway,World Travel Market has helped topioneer over the past 18 years, isabsolutely essential in my view, for thesustainability of the planet – and theindustry.The industry’s stock in trade are thegreat wonders of the world. But we haveto take collective responsibility for ensur-ing that they are protected and con-served; that we play our part in a moresustainable world, reducing carbon foot-print, saving water, energy and lives; andhelping communities to benefit from thepower of travel and tourism.It’s the United Nations’ ‘Rio plus 20’Summit this summer and it’s importantthat we also take stock. Is the industryreally contributing or merely paying lipservice because it’s good for someaspects of business, appealing to theyounger generation and is currently invogue?I know from experience there is muchgood work out there, but I cannot helpwondering to what extent this is just so-called ‘greenwashing’.Having spoken about my passion andbelief, I am now free to let my mind won-der about what the next 50 years willbring.

When you talk about space travel tomost industry-wearied executives, aninscrutable glaze passes across their face.They’ve heard it all before; and they don’tbelieve it. But wind back 50 years to theearly 60s and there would have been asimilar response from the great and thegood then about the net, instant bookingsand super-charged connectivity.Undoubtedly space travel has always fas-cinated mankind and the time is

approaching when the industry can makemoney out of this hunger for exploration,danger and new frontiers.The real challenge, though, will be to offerpassengers cheap space travel.

4 [email protected]

How the Future Looks...


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... for Attractions – Quality, quality,qualityEven in a time of austerity ‘Leonardo’ atthe National Gallery was sold out, withqueues snaking around the block.‘Hockney’ at the Royal Academy looks likeit will be a similarly huge hit and we canconfidently predict that ‘Damian Hirst’ atThe Tate this summer will draw recordaudiences.The blockbuster exhibition flies in the faceof austerity because quality will out andpeople will pay and queue for the ‘mustsee’ in the same way that they save forthe ‘must visit’ destination.And now that the world’s best museumsand galleries are sharing their treasuresmore readily and more often - with UKmuseums and galleries being a principaldestination for much of this inbound arts

tourism - we can confidently predict thatthe ‘blockbuster’ will be a permanent andvery successful part of the attractionsscene.Brilliant technology: the high qualityaudio/video/app guide will become thenorm.The same technology will provide a highlypersonalised guide around an attractionor destination which fits to the visitor’sinterest.A family will tour the Houses ofParliament, for example, with the childhaving the Palace brought alive by the‘Horrible Histories’ team, another mem-ber of the family listening to an explana-tion of the architecture of Barry andPugin, another listening to the recollec-tions of an MP about their favouriterooms, memories and stories.

But more excitingly, augmented realitytechnology will enable you to place your-self in rooms, landscapes, in historicalrecreations of events as though you werea participant, not a visitor.The future, as well as the current, visitorwants to experience an attraction notgaze on it, reverently. Attractions will bemore innovative and creative in present-ing their collections and breaking downthe ‘hands-off ’ mentality.The importance of retail and catering willincrease and the quality, authenticity and,in the case of food and drink, localism ofthe offer will improve.

Bernard Donoghue FTS |Director,Association of

Leading Visitor Attractions

Fiona Jeffery OBE FTS |Chairman,World Travel

Market & Just a Drop

Bernard Donoghue Fiona Jeffery

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... for Destinations – Cooperate andcompete Over the next five years we are likely tosee an even greater reliance on partner-ships between the public and private sec-tor.Pressures on public finances are not likelyto diminish, with the Chancellor extendinghis four years of austerity to six years inthe Autumn budget statement.This will mean that the industry will haveto contribute more if investment is to bemaintained.We would also anticipate that at leastone destination may well have made anattempt to develop a Tourism BusinessImprovement District (TBID) or a BIDthat had a very strong tourism flavour toit.The shift to digital and on-line is also likely

to continue to have a dramatic impactwith many more visitors making use ofhand-held mobile devices and increasinglyusing these to navigate themselves arounddestinations once they’ve arrived, findingplaces to visit, eat and drink, meet oneanother etc.This will increasingly question the rolethat TICs and other fixed informationpoints have to play, as well as the tradi-tional printed visitor guide.Competition is also likely to be morefierce, with customers increasingly lookingfor value and being able to use newmedia to find it.However, hopefully the economy will betrending upwards by then and we’ll all feelbetter about things!In fifty years’ time, we will hopefully seetourism playing a much greater role in our

national economy than it currently does.This country is a wonderful place to holi-day and it would not surprise us if therest of the world recognises this moreand more.We are an incredibly compact countrywith a huge variety of destinations andexperiences on tap, from stunning historiccities and countryside to top-flight cultureand sport.These will be particularly attractive to thedeveloping nations in Asia and SouthAmerica, who will increasingly be lookingfor rich and authentic offerings that theUK can provide in spades.

How the Future Looks...

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... for Hospitality – Look east andwest and loosen the reinsMajor economic and demographicchanges are underway with far-reachingconsequences for tourism and hospitality.In 2014 emerging markets will overtakedeveloped economies in terms of theirshare of total GDP, according to Ernst &Young’s Tracking Global Trends report(2011).While none of the BRIC countries cur-rently feature in the UK’s top teninbound sources, visitor numbers aresteadily growing – and the size of thecake is vast.China and India, both with over a billioncitizens, account for over a third of theworld’s population, and all four BRICs arepivotal in the creation of a new globalmiddle class.Critics argue the UK has already lostground to France and Germany inattracting these new travellers, partly dueto Government policies that have put theUK at a competitive disadvantage.In a few months, the Olympics will putLondon and Britain into the living roomsof millions globally. For the growing num-bers of well-off citizens in the world’smost populous countries, it may push avisit to Britain further up their wish lists.Politicians need to recognise now that amore accessible visa application processwill do much to facilitate the desiredlong-term legacy of the Games: to con-vert aspirations into holidays in the UK.Looking further into the future, demo-

graphic change will pose challenges forgovernments and businesses.The work-ing-age population of Western economieswill decline and skills shortages will beexacerbated.That’s why the Institute of Hospitality hasbeen raising awareness of the benefits ofgreater age diversity in the workplaceand has fully supported the publication ofa knowledge pack on this subject.The case for recruiting and retainingolder workers: a business imperative forthe Hospitality sector, produced byCapita Consulting on behalf of the

Department for Work and Pensions, willbe of interest to students, lecturers, andHR departments.The knowledge packcan be used to update ageing workforceissues on-line and in reports, policy,guides, and training materials.To receive acopy, email:[email protected]


Andrew Bateman FTS |Tourism Manager,

Hampshire County Council

Philippe Rossiter FTS |Chief Executive,

Institute of Hospitality

Philippe Rossiter Andrew Bateman

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6 [email protected]

Economic Developmentand Town Planning


The tourism sector is a significant con-tributor to the UK economy. It representsthe UK’s third highest export earner afterchemicals and financial services, and regu-larly features within the top six largestsectors of the economy, behind manufac-turing and retail but ahead of construc-tion.

It generates £90bn of direct business forthe economy each year, contributes£115bn to GDP directly and throughsupply chains – and provides 1.36 millionjobs (4.4% of total employment).

Although tourism is already an importantpart of our economy, it also has significantuntapped potential.VisitBritain forecastthat the UK visitor economy will be oneof the best performing sectors up to2020, with above average growth of 3.5%Gross Value Added per year (afterfinance, business services and construc-tion). It therefore offers one of the bestopportunities to deliver rapid economicgrowth in areas with tourism potential.

Competitive challenges

The Government’s Tourism Policy, pub-lished in March 2011, highlights the sectorneeding to become more competitive if itis to deliver upon this growth.

The pressures facing the sector will befamiliar : the increasing and lower-costoverseas competition; the impact of theglobal recession; and the seasonality ofthe UK industry.

The wider trend is that the traditionalmodel of tourism has evolved consider-ably over recent years. Consumer expec-tations have increased dramatically due totechnology, income and lifestyle choices.

The once-a-year, two-week holiday(domestic or overseas) continues to beaugmented by new concepts such aseco-tourism, spa breaks, weekend Citybreaks and fractional ownership, and theincreasing proportion of UK residents

who choose to ‘staycation’ in the UK.

The Tourism Policy highlights that:

“It will be impossible to maintain orimprove Britain’s ranking as an attractivedestination for people to visit if ourtourism industry is becoming less capableof providing the right kinds of facilitiesand services.”

Many operators already recognise theneed to diversify and modernise theirfacilities to meet the changing expecta-tions of users and site neighbours, toretain higher-spending visitors and devel-op all-year-round attractions.

But local authorities that depend ontourism employment will also be consid-ering how well they are positioned tocapture future growth and expand intonew markets, thereby protecting andenhancing the benefits of tourism fortheir areas.

Going local: reforms to planning

The Government’s Tourism Policy specifi-cally identifies the difficulty of obtaining

planning permission as one of the mostfrequently-cited restrictions on the UKvisitor economy.

It suggests that the planning system is toocomplex, slow, expensive and hard topredict, making business investmentsharder and creating a drag on nationaleconomic performance.

Partly this reflects the unique planningconstraints facing tourism developments.Visitor attractions are often in attractiverural areas, possibly within designatedareas with inherent restrictions on devel-opment. Some are poorly served by pub-lic transport, with a high reliance on theprivate car. Others may be at risk offlooding or coastal erosion, or locatedwithin a sensitive heritage asset or con-servation area.

However, significant pro-growth changesto how the planning system operates inEngland are now emerging.

Current protections still apply, but thereis now a clear expectation fromGovernment that planning reformsshould allow development to come for-

Riding high? Making the local case for tourism investment

Frances Young MTS Ciaran Gunne-Jones

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ward quickly, unlock investment and helprestore economic growth.

Key changes include:

1. Introduction of a National PlanningPolicy Framework (NPPF) for England –intended to simplify and streamline thecurrent system of planning policy guid-ance into a single overarching nationaldocument.

From April 2012 or sooner, this willreplace national leisure development andtourism policies currently included inPPS4 (Planning for Sustainable EconomicGrowth) and PPS7 (SustainableDevelopment in Rural Areas), and intro-duce a new ‘presumption in favour of sus-tainable development’;

2. Revocation of Regional Strategies –some contain policies on tourism, butthese will no longer apply as regionalplanning is abolished with powersreturned to the local level.This providesgreater scope (and responsibility) forlocal authorities working with LocalEnterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to shapestrategies for tourism;

3. Introduction of Neighbourhood Plans –the Localism Act 2011 encourages localcommunities and businesses to createneighbourhood forums and devise avision of how their local area shoulddevelop.Tourism operators wanting todevelop can take the lead in devisingneighbourhood plans, or at least ensurethat their proposals are consistent with anew plan;

4. Pre-application consultation – itbecomes an automatic requirement afterApril 2012 on major schemes – develop-ers embracing consultation, co-operationand collaboration with the local commu-nity will have a stronger platform forsecuring planning permission. Operatorswill need to work more closely with localcommunities, perhaps from an even earli-er stage;

5. Local financial considerations – localauthorities now have to take account of“any local financial considerations, so faras material to the application”.This mightinclude relevant s106 contributions andthe Community Infrastructure Levy pay-ments that would accrue from a pro-posed development.

The answer to development shouldbe ‘yes’

What does this new regime mean forthose promoting tourism development orformulating tourism strategies? TheGovernment’s planning reforms heraldsignificant opportunities for developmentin the right locations, where environmen-tal, economic and social benefits aredemonstrated. Ministers say that there isa clear expectation that ‘the answer to

development and growth should wherev-er possible be ‘yes’’.

Given this pro-growth policy imperative,tourism operators will need to assess theassociated economic and social benefitsof the sector and any specific proposalsthey are promoting.This will include jobcreation, income generation and localexpenditure – all typically recognised asplanning considerations. But benefitsmight also include contributions to thelocal community, investment in infrastruc-ture and public services at a time of aus-terity, sustaining the long term viability ofthe tourism sector, and supporting widereconomic competitiveness.These consid-erations will also be important for localauthorities when developing tourismstrategies for their areas, for exampleconsidering what types of developmentcan help widen and diversify marketappeal, attract higher-spending visitorsand extend the traditional holiday season.

These are complex issues but a simpleway of unpacking them for decision-mak-ers is required.The analytical frameworkshown provides an example of how thismight be achieved.

Alongside this, the Localism Act meansthat tourism operators will need to workmore closely with local communities.Those promoting new developments will

need an engagement strategy at a veryearly stage to explain the rationale forthe new investment and build support,often based on the economic value thefacility will deliver for the local area.

These impacts need to be presentedcarefully to councils and communitiesalike, showing how they will benefit localpeople, perhaps through employment andsustaining local businesses, but alsothrough providing a critical mass of facili-ties accessible to the wider community, orhelping to fund vital new infrastructure,public realm or services.

Game-changing?

Planning for tourism development hasoften been difficult. But the system isundergoing major change, designed tosupport economic growth after therecession. Although the harsh economicclimate presents real challenges for thetourism sector, the new planning regimeand drive for job creation generatesopportunities too.

Many locations should look afresh atwhat tourism has to offer their economy.Policy-makers and tourism operatorsshould come together to shape andimplement strategies that identify andcapture the growth potential the sectorcan deliver.

www.tourismsociety.org

Frances Young MTS | Senior Planner and

Ciaran Gunne-Jones | Associate Director

Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners7Issue 149 Spring 2012

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Alison Caffyn MTS |Tourism Consultant,specialising in sustainablerural destinations8 [email protected]

Making community consultation work for you

Destination Planning


Community consultation is an essentialelement in preparing many tourism plansand strategies. Often the client destina-tion needs to be seen to be taking onboard community views. Sometimes it isa requirement from funders. But even ifit’s not a requirement there are manyreasons why it’s a good idea to consultwidely and speak to people in the localcommunity.Local knowledge is invaluable. Ensuring aplan reflects local views and aspirationswill make it far more likely to be accept-ed and successful. Understanding thelocal context and concerns will make aplan more realistic, usable and sustainable.At its best community consultationbecomes more of an engagementprocess through a bottom up approach.The plan becomes the community’s ownand they help implement it.However, how often have you heard thatthe local community has ‘consultationfatigue’ or has ‘been consulted to death’?Some local authorities have gone intoconsultation overdrive and local peoplemay be fed up with attending workshopsand meetings and ‘having their say’.For the consultant it’s difficult to balancethese two factors – it’s essential that youconsult but it’s also essential you don’toverdo it and annoy or even alienate thecommunity. Also consultation takes timeand money. So what tips can be offered?An independent consultant is in a goodposition.They have no axe to grind, nopolitical message, a fresh perspective andexperience from elsewhere. A good con-sultant can help tease out local issues andtry to address sensitive topics.

ConsulteesThe most important question is ‘Who isthe community you need to consult?’ Itwill depend on what the plan or strategyis and what area it covers.When workingin rural areas it may be important toinvolve as many people in the local com-munity as possible; the vicar, landowner,publican, youth group; everyone. In morepopulous destinations that’s never goingto be possible but it’s important to try to

involve representatives of key groupingsand organisations - public, private andvoluntary. It’s better to work with thelocal civic society or residents’ associationand find out their concerns early on, thanhave them shouting from the sidelinesafter the event. Most important is to havea good cross-section of tourism relatedbusinesses involved.

MethodsGetting a good response depends onmany factors – most importantly theconsultation methods you choose.Options include one to one meetingswith key individuals, workshops, drop-insessions, planning exercises, online orwritten surveys and interactive onlineforums.Things to check include otherrecent consultations – acknowledge theseand supplement, don’t duplicate.Thinkabout timing – how long a period isrequired for a survey or what time of daysuits tourism businesses for a workshop?(Answer: there’s no best time of day –you may have to hold more than one).Also locations – is it best to go out to a

number of local places or ask people tocome to one central event to shareviews? (Answer: it depends.)It’s then important to promote the con-sultation. Make sure people can’t say theydidn’t know. Put details in local papers, e-newsletters, parish magazines, businessgroups and maybe offer incentives –lunch after a workshop, bolt a consulta-tion exercise onto another event orprizes for responding to a survey.On the day prepare for contentiousissues, but don’t suppress dissent; oftenit’s more effective to let the audience putthe counter arguments for you. Have afew techniques to ‘park’ less relevantissues.Whatever the consultation method, usesimple and direct language, avoid ‘consult-ant speak’ and jargon and try to capturesomething of the personality of the peo-ple and place. Afterwards make surethere’s some follow up – and sight of thedraft plan. Show how input has beentaken on board and list participants.It’ll never work perfectly but consultationis a powerful tool when done well.

Get the local view of the plans

08 2/3/12 15:41 Page 2

Social Media andTourism Marketing


Roger Carter MBE FTS | Managing Director,

TEAM Tourism Consulting9

The explosion of engagement in socialmedia over the past five or six years hasbeen truly extraordinary, with huge impli-cations for the ways in which peopleinterrelate and organise their social lives;and the ways in which businesses andorganisations interrelate with existing andpotential customers, staff and stakehold-ers - potentially requiring a substantialchange in corporate culture.

Anyone involved in the marketing oftourism destinations and businesses nowfaces the question of how to handle thisphenomenon.

The situation is similar to the time 15-17years ago, when use of the Internet wasincreasing exponentially. Clearly it was ofhuge potential significance for tourismmarketing, but there was little under-standing of the medium and how it couldbe used cost-effectively.

Then, as now with social media, innova-tive technology and applications appearedalmost daily.

It was difficult to keep up with it all, sofor many it was easier to ignore it all andhope it would go away.

Like the Internet, social media will evolverapidly, but they will not go away, sotourism marketers will need to develop areal understanding of the dramatic newlandscape of multiple digital channels anddevices, and how it can be of value.

Starting with the latter point first, socialmedia (SM) can potentially help variousaspects of your promotions, performanceand service:

Your brand: SM can drive conversa-tions that reference your brand, product,or service.

The online experience you offer:Content such as online video, podcasts,mapping and mash-ups of your contentand user-generated content offer you theopportunity to enhance the online expe-rience.

Your reach: RSS and sharing increaseyour media reach without spending hugebudgets.

Your search rankings: Intricately con-nected and keyword-rich social mediacan help raise your visibility.Votes, book-

marks, tags, references, links make yourcontent appear more authoritative insearch engines.

Your product: Monitoring what is saidmay result in valuable insights and ideasfor product development or serviceimprovement.

Your market intelligence: SM allowyou to collect (free) information, thatmay help you better target your mes-sages and paid media.

Your acquisition costs: SM offer acombination of large reach, precise tar-geting and high levels of engagement.

Your traffic and sales: SM allow youto communicate with consumers at allstages of the ‘customer journey’.

Relating to the final bullet, there are manydifferent types of social media, somemuch more important than others forinfluencing or assisting people at differentstages in the ‘customer journey’, as theabove chart from PhoCusWright (relatingto the US) shows.

Reviews by fellow travellers were clearlythe most influential type of social medi-um, followed by traveller generated pho-tography.Two key points to note here:

� Reviews on online travel agency (OTA)sites are now more influential than thoseon traveller review sites (notably

TripAdvisor) - perhaps because the OTAsites are closer to the point of booking

� Reviews and photographs by fellowtravellers are more influential than thoseby professionals.

Comments by “people in my online socialnetwork, such as Facebook or Twitter”were markedly less influential, perhapsnot surprising, as such media are notfocused on the needs of travellers.

Company information/promotions onsocial networks were the least influentialof all, suggesting that companies are notyet good at using these media or thatsocial networkers have a low level oftrust in company sites.

However, paradoxically, referrals (click-throughs) from Facebook have a muchhigher conversion rate to a booking thanreferrals from traveller reviews sites.

Where should travel marketers look forinspiration in the use of new media? TryVisitBritain,Tourism New Zealand,Tourism Ireland, Switzerland Tourism,TripAdvisor, Gidsy and Hilton.

Note: My thanks are due to PhoCusWrightfor permission to use the chart and my col-league, Karin Elgin Nijhuis, a real expert insocial media, who originated the list of waysin which SM can help travel marketers.

The new internet?


09 1/3/12 11:55 Page 1

10 [email protected]

Sustainable Destinations


Once again, we are experiencing somestrange winter weather.The media areconstantly reminding us that it is the‘coldest since...’, ‘wettest since...’ and so itgoes on.

As scientists and politicians wrangle overthe statistics and semantics – safe to saywe need to plan for erratic seasons andweather patterns in future.

Nowhere is this more pertinent than inthe ski industry.There really isn’t anotherarea of tourism 100% dependent on cli-mate, temperature and weather.

Climate gives the overall trend withpotential impacts such as rising snow-lines, temperature governs snowfall –both natural and artificial – and weathercan affect day-to-day operations.

But what does it actually mean in practice– to plan for erratic seasons and weath-er?

Well, it’s all about creating balance. Putsimply, it’s not putting all your eggs in onebasket, whether this is the product offer-ing, income streams, customer segmentor season.

Ski tourism makes a really good example.On the face of it, it could be the ultimateexample of putting all your eggs in onebasket – ie, skiers, snow and one shortseason.

Add to that the assumption that manypeople have that skiing is a fairly negative,energy intensive, high-impact form oftourism and you would think it wasdoomed.

However, it's important to rememberthat skiing is critical to many mountaincommunities that rely on it completely,both for the income and their very sur-

vival. Many places were suffering emigra-tion or were left with only older peopleor becoming commuter villages. Skiingcan help that local school to stay openand enables young people to remain inthe place they were brought up, withaspirations for the future and viable workopportunities.

Responsible Skiing takes the principles ofResponsible Tourism and makes them rel-evant to ski resorts and skiers.

It sets about addressing how to makemountain communities and their tourismeconomy commercially sustainable for thelong term – no matter the weather orclimate or conditions – through minimis-ing the negative impacts and maximisingthe benefits.

Also, Responsible Skiing considers theskier and their needs since, without them,there is no tourism.

As with any business, it is important tounderstand your customer and skiers area unique kind of tourist for two reasons:

� They are ‘skilled consumers’ meaningthat every time they return to the slopesthey want to master new skills or take onmore challenge – this can create tremen-dous pressure on resorts to get bigger.

� They get addicted to skiing! Skiers lovethe escape, the exhilaration, the fresh airand natural landscape and having ashared experience with friends and family.

This is increasingly the converse of ourdaily lives and if resorts over-manage orover-mechanise, for example, thatescapism is lost.

This is already being exemplified by largernumbers of people leaving the confinesof a resort to go ski-touring and off-pisteskiing.

So here are some reasons why it makesgood business sense for resorts to

Responsible Skiing shows the way

Pristine Austrian mountains

‘Responsible Skiing is about engaging with the mountaindestination, enjoying a range of winter activities in beautifulsurroundings, and having a fun and memorable stay, but notat the cost of the environment or the local population. Andwe all want that.’

10&11 1/3/12 11:56 Page 2


Veronica Tonge MTS | V R I T Associates Ltd /

Responsible Skiing 11Issue 149 Spring 2012

engage in Responsible Skiing and startensuring those eggs are not in the onebasket!

� Managing activities carefully, using lessenergy and reducing resource use,whether in snowmaking or accommoda-tions, can give rise to significant cost sav-ings. Even if the motivation is only thebottom line – research has proven thatthe benefits can be great.

� No matter whether high winds haveclosed all the lifts or conditions are poor,if skiers always have a choice of activitiesthey will leave happy and forget the factthat they didn’t downhill ski every day –in fact they tried something new!

� If a village stays beautiful and uniquewith a wide variety of activities – bothsporting and cultural – the destinationcan appeal to the much larger andincreasing winter holiday market and notjust skiers.

� Snow can hide a lot – it is in summerwhen you really see the impact of skiing.Ensuring that ski operations are designedand managed to protect the environmentwill keep the mountains pristine for sum-mer, offering more tourism opportunitiesand less seasonality.

� If a resort only competes on price andhas nothing unique or local, then cus-tomers can substitute a destination easilywhen something else becomes cheaper.Resorts need to celebrate local cultureto keep holidays memorable and distinc-tive.

� When people select their ski destina-tion, second only to the ski features arethe reputation of the resort and thebeauty of the scenery and village.

� We have seen in many other industrieshow a company’s approach to lookingafter the environment and local peoplecan positively enhance people’s views ofthe company thus promoting customerloyalty.

� Finally climate change - all tourist activ-ity needs to look to reduce its ownimpact. It’s not in the interest of the skiindustry to contribute to the thing thatthreatens it most.

So, getting back to what all this means inpractice; these can be addressed throughenergy policies, planning, transport, archi-tecture, shops, activities, crafts, culturalattractions - equally applicable to alltourist destinations.

However, continuing our skiing example,let’s talk about pistes.These are areaswhere the snow has been groomed tocreate a flat surface for skiing where peo-ple learn to ski and where the majority ofskiers will stay.

When a piste is created, sometimes themachine grading / bulldozing can irrevo-cably damage the vegetation and reseed-

ing is often unsuccessful or creates a dif-ferent less diverse habitat.

Trees are often felled and pistes canchange drainage patterns causing excessrun-off and pollution of watercourses.

This doesn’t sound good but it doesn’thave to be this way. All new pistes (orlifts) should undergo a thorough environ-mental impact assessment and if a piste isgiven permission, the ‘soil push’ methodshould be used. Instead of just bulldozingthe land, the ‘turf ’ is lifted, the machine-grading done underneath and then the‘turf ’ re-laid - keeping the biodiversityintact (also useful for burying the pipesfor artificial snow, too).

A seed-mix local to the specific areashould be prepared for any reseedingrequirements. I have seen pistes createdthis way and I was unable to identifythem in summer since they looked sonatural.

But consider this – will another pistemake the resort distinctive or memo-rable? Remember our skiers are skilledconsumers wanting more challenge.Itinerary runs or freeride areas are routesthat are avalanche protected but wherenothing else is done – no piste prepara-tion or grooming. Conditions are alwaysdifferent and good skiers love the chal-lenge, but they are much lower impact.

Let’s be innovative too.Wooden jumpsand rails in a thinned out piece of forestcan amuse people for hours, as canspeed-guns and slalom tracks – greatways to give challenge without carving upmore mountain.

And what do these solutions address?The mountains are kept beautiful forsummer walking, skiers are kept happy,the resort creates both competitiveadvantage and distinctiveness and theoverall environmental impact of skiing isreduced.Win-win-win-win.

Often, tourism businesses and resorts seethe environment and sustainability as sep-arate to the commercial business oftourism planning, not appreciating howthey are intertwined.

Ski tourism, like any, can have negativeimpacts – but this example has shownhow they can be mitigated and, impor-tantly, how innovation and sound businessplanning can result in a better, more sus-tainable tourism offering.

By catering for a number of customersegments with a wide product-mix andby keeping destinations distinctive withvibrant communities in a beautiful envi-ronment, we can create better places forpeople to live in and better places forpeople to visit.

And that is the ultimate win-win.

Low impact jumps, Avoriaz, France

10&11 1/3/12 11:57 Page 3

Robin Barker MTS |Director, Services forTourism12 [email protected]

Building bridges with ‘proper’ industries

Sponsorship


Around 15 years ago a hotelier fromCornwall stood up at an industry meet-ing with a Yellow Pages and challengedanyone to find a business listed that didn’tbenefit from tourism.

There probably were some, but notmany, and it was a great illustration ofhow the ‘visitor pound’ impacted onother sectors – financial, professional,retail, construction, trades, services, etc.

That was in an era when the regionaldailies were full of letters slagging offthose tourists who ‘clogged up our roadsand beaches’.

In many ways we’ve since moved on. Notonly have I not opened a Yellow Pages foryears, but those angry letters have disap-peared and with the exception of thosepoliticians who still don’t get it, ourtourism industry is appreciated for itseconomic impact as well as export earn-ings and cultural diversity.

It has come about through an industrythat has communicated better, in whichoperators have linked more closely withtheir local community, through local pur-chasing initiatives and the whole sustain-able tourism movement.

But tourism links with other industrieshave not yet developed nearly as far asthey can and should.

Many former tourist boards were makinginroads, but the RDA interlude held linksback, often distorting the market and cre-ating dependencies on a public purse thatis now spent.

Now, more than ever, is the time fortourism to build those bridges with othersectors and create commercial and mutu-ally beneficial arrangements that will ben-efit us all.

‘Sponsorship is the key’ I hear some say.Well be careful! A public sector clientrecently ‘told me off ’ for seeking theviews of a sponsor, pointing out that theywere the client and the sponsor was ‘onlya sponsor’! I would suggest they are bothclients, and in a marketplace in which

multiple stakeholders are often requiredto achieve viability, the needs of all mustbe taken into account.This is especiallytrue in an environment where sponsor-ship budgets have been slashed, andinvestment decisions are made followinga detailed evaluation of likely return.

A challenge, and one that is not alwaysmet, is to do this in a manner that does-n’t compromise the integrity of the coreproject. My business works with destina-tions across the UK and further afield, butour public sector income is small and weinstead enjoy working with numerouscommercial enterprises.These includebanks, accountants, solicitors, transportcompanies, design companies, food sup-pliers – you name it!

They all recognise the importance oftourism to their own business, but theirmotivation is wide ranging, including:

� Media coverage.

� Direct client contact.

� Access to new prospects.

� Association with a project.

� Access to expertise.

� The creation of new partnerships orbusiness initiatives.

� Influence (tread carefully here, especial-ly if public policy is involved).

� Corporate Social Responsibility / CSR.

� A good night out (but beware of thenew Bribery Act!).

This list bears little resemblance to thesimple ‘Sponsorship’ package, but the real-ity is that it includes a range of benefitsthat commercial sponsors will seek inreturn for their investment, and each willoften have to be individually negotiated.

My ‘top tip’ is that sponsors are no longer‘cash cows’, but clients, and need to beregarded as such, meaning that theyrequire client management and service intune with anyone who is investing theirmoney with you. As with any client, theirneeds must be anticipated, understood,and met, otherwise they won’t be back.So make sure of your own investment inclient management skills and resources.

The forthcoming 2012 games havesecured major investments from interna-tional and domestic sponsors, keen to beassociated with sport and the associatedtourism benefits.

I just hope their expectations are realistic,that the integrity of the health and sportmessages are maintained, and they arebeing looked after as clients. As an indus-try, we’d like them back!

Line your sponsors up.

12 1/3/12 11:57 Page 2

TOURISMCONSULTANTS NETWORK

When you commission a consultancyproject, it is vital to find a consultant orteam of consultants with the appropriateknowledge, skills and expertise – one thatcan deliver a high quality, creative andcost effective service to meet your needs.

Using a member of the TourismConsultants Network can help to ensurethat your commission is undertaken byone or more consultants with directly rel-evant knowledge and a commitment todelivering an excellent, professional serv-ice to clients.

The Tourism Consultants Networkincludes consultants with extensive expe-rience of undertaking successful projectsin all sectors of the tourism industryincluding those related to culture/her-itage, hospitality, leisure, entertainment,sport, travel and tourism.

Many consultants have expertise in oneor more of a wide range of specialismsincluding:

� Business development

� Design

� e-commerce

� Feasibility studies

� Human resources

� Interpretation

� Marketing and sales

� Market research

� Operations

� Policy development

� Public relations

� Quality Assurance

� Strategic Planning

� Tourism vision and development

� Training.

Members of the Network undertakecommissions for both public and privatesector organisations both in the UK andthroughout the world, truly meeting ourstatement of having WWoorrllddwwiiddee eexxppeerrii--eennccee aanndd WWoorrlldd--ccllaassss eexxppeerrttiissee..

In the next three pages are listed themembers of the Tourism ConsultantsNetwork. For any of your projects andprogrammes you can chose with confi-dence from this list as all are experts intheir field and have agreed to abide bythe Declaration of Good Practice.

You may also find more details about theindividuals listed by looking on the data-base of members which can be found atwww.tourismsociety.org/consultants.

THE TOURISM SOCIETY

13 1/3/12 11:58 Page 1

14 [email protected] 149 Spring 2012

Stan Abbott MTSGravity Consulting [email protected] 383 2838www.gravity-consulting.com

David Andrews FTSAndrews [email protected] 466 974www.andrewsassociates.co.uk

Judith Annett MTSCountryside Consultancycountryside.consultancy@ btinternet.com028 4176 3262

Gilbert Archdale FTSASW [email protected] 853 459

Linda Astbury FTSLinda Astbury [email protected] 795 521www.astburyassociates.com

Robert Bailey MTSFive Lines Consultingrob.bailey@fivelinesconsulting.co.ukwww.fivelinesconsulting.co.uk

Robin Barker MTSServices for [email protected] 397 438www.services4tourism.co.uk

Tony Barnfield FTSHotel, Restaurant and Wine [email protected] 385 350

Jennifer Barrow MTSJVB Global [email protected]+246 420 3413www.jvbglobalconsulting.com

Tim Bartlett FTSTourism, Hotels and Translations [email protected]+34 91 636 84 97

Richard Batchelor [email protected] 226 8982

Peter Beasley MTSTourism Research [email protected]

Lionel Becherel FTSInternational Tourism [email protected]

Steve Beioley FTSThe Tourism [email protected] 328 3580www.thetourismcompany.com

Oliver Bennett FTSIndependent [email protected] 944 2870www.oliverbennetttourism.com

Peter Birnie FTSHotel and Restaurant [email protected]

Moira Birtwistle MTSScottish Agricultural [email protected] 886 184 www.sac.ac.uk

David Bloy MTSThe Tourism [email protected] 635 451www.thetourismcompany.com

Nick Booker MTSAttract Marketing [email protected] 864 900www.attractmarketing.co.uk

Nicola Bowen Rees MTSSulis Projects [email protected] 030 258www.sulisprojects.com

Catherine Bowie [email protected] 657 4161www.catherinebowietrainingservices.com

Jill Britton MTSBritton McGrath [email protected] 416 5012www.brittonmcgrath.co.uk

Chris Brown FTSTurpin Smale Foodservice [email protected] 620 0011www.turpinsmale.com

Kevin Brown MTSPlanning Solutions Consulting [email protected] 481 999www.pslplan.co.uk

Robert Brown FTSRobert Brown [email protected] 735 666

Paul Buchanan FTSHall [email protected] 225 5517www.hallaitken.co.uk

Kathryn Bullock MTSFace [email protected] 274 6302www.face-marketing.com

Tom Buncle FTSYellow [email protected] 447 1721www.yellowrailroad.com

Alison Burgh MTSAcorn Tourism Consulting [email protected] 879 978www.acorntourism.co.uk

Tom Burnham MTSCTB [email protected] 848 159www.ctbglobal.co.uk

Alison Caffyn [email protected] 611 575www.alisoncaffyn.co.uk

Benjamin Carey FTSDunira [email protected] 370 8076www.dunira.com

Roger Carter MBE FTSTEAM Tourism [email protected] 552 2548www.team-tourism.com

Gerry Carver FTSL & R [email protected] 779 933www.lrinternational.co.uk

Padraig Cleary MTSMayDay Management [email protected]+353 87 258 3325

Phil Coates MTSWales Tour Guides [email protected] 774 796www.walestourguides.com

Jay Commins MTSFootprint Impression [email protected] 2515 698www.fim.org.uk

Malcolm Connor MTSConnor & [email protected] 642 157www.connorandco.co.uk

Ann Crome MTSRevenue [email protected]

Chris Cross FTSCVC [email protected] 709 820

14&15 1/3/12 11:59 Page 2


Susan Cross [email protected] 70376

Stuart Crouch [email protected] 610 6991

Alison Cryer FTSRepresentation [email protected] 877 4507www.representationplus.co.uk

Carolyn Custerson MTSClose Focus Tourism Consultancy [email protected] 261 845www.carolyncusterson.co.uk

Michael Dean [email protected] 840 839

Philip Deighton FTSDeighton [email protected] 570 289www.deighton-international.com

Richard Denman FTSThe Tourism [email protected] 635 451

Crispian Emberson MTSHeritage Destination Consulting [email protected] 218 0817www.heritagedestination.com

Chris Evans FTSThe Tourism [email protected] 328 3580www.thetourismcompany.com

Martin Evans FTSThe Tourism [email protected] 438 100

Elizabeth Federighi MTSLinguaConnect [email protected]

Jim Fletcher FTSFletcher Associates, Int.Tourism [email protected] 940 9837

John Gallery FTSGreat [email protected] 607 530www.greatpotential.co.uk

Max Gaunt FTSRGA [email protected] 434 1115

Malcolm George FTSScott [email protected] 849 710www.scottwilson.com

Christopher Gledhill MTSFuture [email protected] 638 979www.futuredirections.org.uk

Michael Glen FTSTouchstone Heritage [email protected]

Roger Goodacre FTSRoger Goodacre [email protected] 785 7211

Michele Grant MTSBlue [email protected] 752 997www.bluesail.com

Brian Gurnett FTSEco International [email protected] 245 457

Cathy Guthrie [email protected] 620 769

Habeeb Habash FTSYamamah [email protected]

Eleanor Harris MTSI-Xperience [email protected] 585 0800

Roger Heape FTSInsight [email protected] 680 202

Ray Heath MTSRay Heath Associates [email protected] 360 554www.rayheathassoc.co.uk

Ian Henderson FTSTTC [email protected] 9147 4080www.ttcinternational.com

David Howell FTSDHA [email protected] 421 347www.dhaconsultancy.co.uk

Daniel Humphreys MTSDaniel [email protected] 067 022

Arwel Jones MTSArwel Jones [email protected] 722 632

Kevin Kaley FTSTourism UK [email protected] 806 837www.tourismukltd.com

Andrew Keeling MTSACK [email protected] 789 702

Steve Kitt MTSKMP [email protected] 429 1497www.kmp.co.uk

Mandy Lane [email protected] 624 948www.live-tourism.co.uk

Jonathan Langston FTSTRI Hospitality [email protected] 892 2201www.trihospitality.com

Polly Larner FTSPolly Larner [email protected] 469 809www.plp.uk.com

Andrew Lloyd Hughes [email protected]

Alan Love FTSBDRC [email protected] 400 0380www.bdrc-continental.com

Mary Lynch FTSMary Lynch [email protected] 100 7730www.lynchassociates.co.uk

Marc Mallam FTSMallam & [email protected] 878 416www.mallam-co.com

Alexandra Marr MTSAlexandra Marr & [email protected] 737 130

Michael McCormick MTSAzure [email protected]

Nancy McGrath MTSBritton McGrath [email protected] 416 5012www.brittonmcgrath.co.uk

14&15 1/3/12 11:59 Page 3

16 [email protected] 149 Spring 2012

Jennifer Medcalf MTSTall Poppies Scotland [email protected] 449 7377www.tallpoppies-scotland.co.uk

Andrew Meredith MTSA Meredith [email protected] 575 842

Kevin Millington MTSAcorn Tourism Consulting [email protected] 879 970www.acorntourism.co.uk

Sean Morgan MTSLynn Jones Research [email protected] 623 6238www.ljresearch.co.uk

Jasmijn Muller MTSWhitebridge [email protected] 195 1480www.whitebridgeh.com

Aylin Orbasli [email protected] 431 4454www.aylinorbasli.com

Andrew Palmer MTSPalmer [email protected]

Susan Parker Johnston MTSVinous Development (previously BusinessDevelopment Associates)[email protected] 770 596

Geoff Parkinson FTSHospitality Consulting [email protected]

Roger Platt FTSJoanne Platt [email protected] 342 2181

Paul Ridoutt FTSEurofield International [email protected]+64 (0)21 190 7398

Wyn Roberts MTSMarchnata AQUA Marketing [email protected] 812 7181www.aqua-marketing.co.uk

John Robinson [email protected]+971 509 962 854www.johnrobinson.co.uk

Peter Robinson MTSLPR Associatesenquiries@leisureandtourism.co.ukwww.leisureandtourism.co.uk

Ken Robinson CBE [email protected] 898 980

Stephen Sambrook MTSGenua Madrigal [email protected] 286 6589www.gemextra.co.uk

Mark Sandberg MTSSandberg [email protected] 808 785www.sandberg-consulting.com

Amy Scarth MTSBig [email protected] 712 155

Lynn Scrivener FTSLSM – Lynn Scrivener [email protected] 579 5381

Amanda Shepherd MTSBlue [email protected] 382 168www.bluesail.com

Carole Sherlock MTSC S [email protected] 529 340

W Iain Skewis [email protected] 668 276

Colin Smith MTSThe Glamis [email protected] 840 343www.glamisconsultancy.com

Nikki Smith MTSFlamingo Marketing [email protected] 510 489www.flamingo-marketing.co.uk

Bogda Smreczak [email protected] 952 613idwales.com

Hugh Somerville [email protected] 850 694

Alistair Somerville Ford FTSInstitute of Commercial Management

(ICM)[email protected] 490 555www.icm.ac.uk

Sandy Steven FTSTourism Resources Company [email protected] 353 1143www.tourism-resources.co.uk

Alastair Stevenson FTSMarketing Planning [email protected] 780 699www.mpaconsultimg.co.uk

Michael Stickland FTSPlanning Solutions [email protected] 9248 1999www.pslplan.co.uk

Martin Taylor MTSHumberts Leisure [email protected] 820 998

Lynn Thomason MTSTourism [email protected] 811 255

Veronica Tonge MTSV R I T Associates [email protected]

Helene von Magius Mogelhoj [email protected] 424 511

John Walsh-Heron FTSTourism Quality Services [email protected] 755 974

Graham Wason FTSAll Being Well/Tourism [email protected]

Ian Watson MTSCMF [email protected] 675 269

Chris Wikeley FTSQuality Counts [email protected] 335 188

Fiona Wilton FTSTravel Training [email protected] 860 341www.traveltrainingservices.com

Simon Woodward FTSLeeds Metropolitan [email protected] 812 8516www.icrtourism.org

Zheng Xie MTSLondon Metropolitan [email protected] 133 3812

Gregory Yeoman MTSThe Tourism [email protected] 269 9693

Frances Young MTSNathaniel Lichfield and Partners [email protected] 837 4477www.nlpplanning.com

16 1/3/12 12:00 Page 2

Public Sector Procurement


Stephen Allott |Crown Representative

for SMEs,Cabinet Office 17

A year ago Francis Maude MP, Ministerfor the Cabinet Office and PaymasterGeneral, announced a broad package ofreforms designed significantly to open-upthe public sector marketplace to Smalland Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

These announcements highlighted theGovernment’s commitment to drivinggrowth in the economy, and removingunnecessary obstacles that make govern-ment procurement difficult for small busi-nesses.

Stephen Allott is the CrownRepresentative for SMEs. ‘He has beenappointed to build a more strategic dia-logue between Government and smallersuppliers – giving those suppliers a strongvoice at the top table’ – Francis Maude,Minister for the Cabinet Office. Stephenhas two key roles, understanding the con-cerns of SME suppliers and opening upgovernment procurement to SMEs.

Understanding the concerns ofSMEsMystery Shopper - If you’re from an SMEand would like to give us feedback aboutyour experiences (good or bad) with aspecific public sector procurement exer-cise you can act as a Mystery Shopperthrough our Supplier Feedback Service.

Mystery Shopper is for you to tell usabout tenders that you don’t understandor instances of what you believe to bepoor procurement practice.We willinvestigate all your submissions and pub-lish the results.To contact the MysteryShopper team please email [email protected]

Through Mystery Shopper, we have inves-tigated 150 cases of poor procurementpractice. In 80% of cases a live procure-ment has been impacted or there hasbeen an agreed commitment to changefuture practice.

Opening up the governmentmarketContracts Finder – this is a single sourceof information on all new procurementopportunities, tender documents andcontracts for central government over£10,000. Contracts Finder receives

90,000 viewings perweek.

Of 5,768 contractsthat have been post-ed, 2,025 have beenawarded to SMEs.Tofind opportunities onContracts Finder,please see www.busi-nesslink.gov.uk/con-tractsfinder

Dynamic Marketplace- this has been estab-lished for procure-ments below£100,000 and wherethe complexity is low.It gives Governmentorganisations immedi-ate, online access to asimple Request forQuote tool and pre-registered suppliers.

By registering on theDynamic Marketplace,suppliers will be ableto bid for opportuni-ties that fit with theircapability and their delivery locations.

Once registered, suppliers can respondelectronically to invitations to quote andprocess any successful bids through orderto invoice. Registration to the DynamicMarketplace is free, please register athttps://buyers.procserveonline.com/otis/preregistration/splash_page.html

Product Surgeries - Product Surgeries aredesigned to enable selected SMEs to'pitch' innovative products and servicesto a panel of senior decision makers ingovernment departments.

The surgeries are not usually linked tospecific procurements but are intendedto improve government awareness ofinnovative SME offerings that could deliv-er better value for money. So far, five sur-geries have been held in governmentdepartments.We have also removedbureaucratic pre-qualification question-naires in 15 out of 17 governmentdepartments for procurements for goodsand services below £100,000. It is nowonly used when security is an issue.

SMEs are winning in government

In November 2011, an SME calledRedfern Travel was successful in winningthe civil service domestic travel contract.

This was a result of the GovernmentProcurement Service breaking a largerequirement down to enable Redfern tocompete by offering their innovative serv-ice model.This will lead to £20m beingsaved from the Civil Service travel billover the next four years.

Maxxim Consulting, a company with 27employees, beat larger rivals to win aCabinet Office contract through theDynamic Marketplace process.TheGovernment Procurement Service ‘GCloud’ IT procurement has attractedinterest from over 500 companies, 40%are SMEs.

To find out more about Stephen Allottand the work of the CrownRepresentative for SMEs, please see hisweb page –http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/crown-representative-smes-stephen-allott

Times, they are a-changing


17 1/3/12 12:00 Page 1


Attracting Visitors


As people in most countries around theworld still struggle to recover from thepost-2008 economic downturn, the ques-tion ‘what future for tourism?’ springs nat-urally to the mind of anyone involved inthe tourism sector.

Going on holiday can hardly be seen as a‘necessity’ (after all, until a few decadesago it was a privilege enjoyed by only thevery wealthy) so we could be tempted toconclude that the prospects for this busi-ness sector are very bleak indeed, at leastin the short and medium-term.

The return of the ‘staycation’

However, if we take a closer look, wecome to realise that not all is gloom anddoom: in fact the squeeze on householdbudgets could even have a positive effecton domestic tourism in countries such asthe UK.

For a start, if we are to believe the resultsof polls and interviews carried out bypopular newspapers and magazines inthis country, taking at least one holiday ayear is now considered by most peoplepart and parcel of their normal lifestyle,on a par with dining out or going to thecinema.

In other words, travelling somewhere tohave a break is no longer seen as a spe-cial treat but as an integral part of one’slife.

This psychological shift has importantpractical consequences. If going away onholiday is perceived almost as a ‘right’even in straitened times, we can safelyassume that money is still being set aside

for this purpose in most household budg-ets.

On the other hand, there is no doubtthat many household budgets have alsobeen hard hit by the economic downturn– although (reassuringly!) the majority ofpeople will not give up on theirholiday(s), they are unlikely to be willing(and able) to ‘splash out’ on expensivetrips and exotic destinations.

In this context, could the ‘staycation’become an enduringly appealing alterna-tive? Yes, we are all familiar with thoseimages of holidaymakers huddled togeth-er under their umbrellas on a rain-sweptBrighton beach in August, but we also allknow that the traditional ‘bucket andspade’, ‘sun and sea’ holiday is but one ofthe many options available on a stayca-tion.

I believe there is scope for domestictourism to capitalise on some key trendsemerging in society at large.

An obvious example is the increasingawareness among the population of theimportance of a healthy and activelifestyle; well-being and activity tourism(such as health farms, horse-riding andcycling holidays) can plug straight into thisdrive for health and fitness, with theOlympics providing a timely marketingplatform.

Undoubtedly, the cost of accommodationcan be a major deterrent when it comesto taking a holiday in the UK.

Hotels are expensive here in comparisonto mainland Europe but self-catering pro-vides a cheap alternative and is arguably amore convenient option for families with

children and for tourists choosing ruralsettings (as it is likely to be the case foractivity tourism).

Past the ‘London barrier’

The situation is rather different (andarguably more complex) when it comesto attracting those high-spending over-seas visitors past the ‘London barrier’. Iam sure everybody would agree thattravelling for leisure outside one’s owncountry requires a considerable invest-ment of time, money and effort - and thisis particularly true for independentand/or long-haul travellers.

Therefore it is hardly surprising that mostinternational tourists are mainly attractedto high-profile places with a perceivedunique selling proposition, be that a capi-tal city with a wealth of history, cultureand ethnic mix like London or a spectac-ular natural setting like the Niagara Fallsor a heritage landmark like the Egyptianpyramids.

In the specific case of the UK, the irony isthat many (if not most) foreign visitorsconsider visiting London as virtuallyequivalent to visiting the UK while in factLondon is arguably the least ‘English’ (letalone British) destination in this country!

So how can these visitors be enticed toventure further afield and experiencemore authentic aspects of English andBritish life?

A stronger emphasis on heritage tourismis one of the possible answers. ‘Typical’heritage tourist attractions such as statelyhomes are truly unique and have theadded advantage of being located in idyl-lic countryside settings.

Lack of easy accessibility by public trans-port – the most serious downside of thistype of attraction – is not normally a bigobstacle for international tourists, as theytravel mostly in hired coaches (if they aregroups) or are happy to go sightseeing in

‘In the specific case of the UK, the irony is that many (if notmost) foreign visitors consider visiting London as virtuallyequivalent to visiting the UK while in fact London isarguably the least ‘English’ (let alone British) destination inthis country!’

Domestic tourists and overseas visitors:different markets, different expectations

18&19 1/3/12 12:01 Page 2


Elizabeth Federighi MTS | Managing Director,LinguaConnect Ltd 19Issue 149 Spring 2012

hired cars (if they travel independently).In fact tourist itineraries could bedesigned to make a visit to a statelyhome in the countryside the highlight ofa ‘trail’ that includes partaking in someBritish traditions such as having afternoontea in a tea room or staying overnight ina B&B.

The attraction of the ‘dark satanicmills’

At the same time, identifying ‘heritage’with just a few buildings of historical andarchitectural significance or with culturalbeacons such as Oxford, Cambridge andStratford-upon-Avon is far too restrictive.

In my opinion heritage tourism has thepotential to significantly increase its con-tribution to both domestic and interna-tional tourism but the concept of ‘her-itage’ needs to be widened to includemore unconventional attractions.

Just to mention an obvious example, whyshouldn’t industrial heritage be consid-ered part of the heritage tourism prod-uct and be promoted as such? The UK isthe birthplace of the industrial revolution,without which our modern world simplywouldn’t exist.

Surely there is no shortage of ‘dark satan-ic mills’ that could (if they haven’t already)be turned into tourist attractions, prefer-

ably including an active and interactivedimension along the lines of the JorvikViking Centre.

This type of multi-faceted tourism prod-uct offers several advantages: it is unique,appeals to a wide range of age groupsand is of interest both to domestictourists (giving them the opportunity oflearning more about their own heritage)and to international tourists.

Last but not least, it can be enjoyedindoors (quite a strong selling point, giventhe notoriously whimsical British weath-er).

Building and maintaining this type of com-plex and technologically-demandingtourism product certainly doesn’t comecheap. However, if the potential long-termbenefits are taken into account, theinvestment needed to turn disused facto-ries into tourist attractions wouldn’t betoo arduous to justify.

Old industrial buildings are often locatedin areas of social deprivation with highunemployment and a general climate ofhopelessness; turning them into touristattractions would help give these areas anew lease of life and offer new jobopportunities to the local population.

Entrance fees could be set at the higherend of the spectrum for this type ofattraction.

Price is not normally an issue if a productis targeted at the right market.

We are all prepared to pay more forsomething with a special appeal: per-ceived value for money (rather than sim-ply good value) is what wins consumers’hearts and minds… and makes themreach for their wallets!

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‘Why shouldn’t industrial heritage be considered part of theheritage tourism product and be promoted as such? The UKis the birthplace of the industrial revolution, without whichour modern world simply wouldn’t exist.’

Wrest Park – a great attraction outside London

Industrial heritage at Ironbridge

18&19 1/3/12 12:02 Page 3


The Value of Consultants...


... to Hospitality – See the woodand the trees

Robert Townsend’s 1970 book ‘Up theOrganisation’ described managementconsultants as: “People who borrow yourwatch to tell you what time it is and thenwalk off with it”. As the businessmancredited with transforming Avis into a carrental giant,Townsend clearly had no timefor consultants.

It is a cliché that consultants are expen-sive and do not actually do much. Ratherlike music producers, to the outsider theirrole may seem mysterious.The musiciansplay the songs and the engineer recordsthem, so what exactly does the producerdo? As little as identifying the best take ofa song, or as much as creating an entiresound for the music. In either case, theproducer’s role is crucial to the quality ofthe finished product.

As well as providing objectivity, consult-ants also bring experience and can high-light details that might not have occurredto us.The following example comes tomind.The plans for a well-known hotelchain’s new hotel included a number ofrooms with disabled access, but animportant detail had been omitted. Theconsultant working on the project point-ed out that it is usual for a disabled per-son to travel with a friend or a carer, butthey do not necessarily want to share a

room.Therefore, the best solution is forthem to occupy two adjacent roomswhich have an internal, connecting door.The consultant was able to point this out.

Sometimes people are too wrapped upin their business to have the emotionalability to improve it. Much like therecord producer, the consultant comes tothe table without history and baggage. Hecan provide objectivity, experience, analyt-ical skills and give his attention to thebusiness free from other distractions.

Does this all come at a price? Of course,but a consultant is only going to be con-sidered expensive if used unwisely.Selecting a consultant appropriate to yourbusiness is therefore vital if you wish tomaximize the value of the investment.

... to Destinations – Design ANDDeliverConsultants play an important part inhelping destination managers do whatthey do.Having staff on the pay-roll is expensiveand as most destination tourism servicesare small-scale there is rarely an opportu-nity for more than a generalist head ofservice and a small marketing team.It can therefore be extremely cost-effec-tive to get external expertise in to helpprovide short bursts of input in areasthat may well stretch the capabilities ofthe in-house team.Many tourism consultants are ‘old hands’that have developed a considerableamount of expertise in local authoritiesand tourist boards, and are able easily tounderstand what might be required ofthe client and provide timely and cost-effective solutions.

Consultants are widely used to helpdevelop tourism strategies and policydocuments, but also marketing strategiesand on development projects.Large scale funding bids often requiresubstantial effort over a short space oftime and a particular language to beused, which often lend themselves toexternal experts.And there are regularly occasions whereconsultants can provide a ‘hand-holding’role when a re-organization or re-struc-ture is required and an external andimpartial view is required.The role of the external tourism expertcan also be important in winning planningappeals, especially when a developmentisn’t particularly welcomed by a hostcommunity.However, whilst consultants have tradi-tionally been used for strategy develop-ment, we may well be seeing more of a

shift from not only just advising but alsodelivering – so a ‘design - build’ approachthat is common in the constructionindustry.Local authorities, for example, are beingencouraged to ‘commission’ more andmore of their services.This can be achieved by either creatingnew public private tourism bodies (egDMOs) or potentially contracting thedesign and delivery of various bits oftheir tourism service out to consultants,whilst retaining a smaller in-house ‘com-missioning’ team.The latter could well provide moreopportunities for enterprising consultantsover time.

Philippe Rossiter Andrew Bateman

Philippe Rossiter FTS | Chief Executive,

Institute of Hospitality

Andrew Bateman FTS |Tourism Manager,

Hampshire County Council

20 1/3/12 12:02 Page 2

The Value of Consultants...


... to Events – Off the wall not offthe pegYou know the sort of thing…we’ve allbeen there! A consultant stands beforeyou, oozing charm, fulsome with impossi-ble promises and offering an engaging,enigmatic smile.An unfair caricature, you might think andyes, you are probably right. Consultants atvarying levels and with differing years ofexperience offer a huge range of specialistskills and knowledge but it’s a perceptionthat justifiably crops up, especially in thesestraitened times, when every pound spentmust yield a healthy return.I guess it’s generally because of one ‘badapple’.That one time when you wereeither completely taken in or left bewil-dered by the proposal - and delivery orshould I say, failure to deliver.

World Travel Market has used a numberof consultants very successfully over theyears. It’s a complex multi-layered eventand it makes sense to bring in people tofocus on specific areas.Consultants in, for example, research, pub-lic relations and various travel and tourismsectors have been able to bring a freshdimension, contacts and new ideas to anevent which is constantly changing to mir-ror the moods and immense challenges ofthe industry.In fact I would say it can be essential, notonly in providing extra resource at a timewhen a team may be over stretched, butalso giving an independent outside viewwith a mind that’s not been constrictedby internal pressures.But you must be prepared to put in asmuch as you take out of such a relation-

ship. Comprehensive briefing, measurabletargets and good chemistry help give theconsultant a head start.Crucially, the injection of outside thinkingcan often stimulate the internal team inunexpected ways, bringing other benefits.Consultants are keenly aware that if theyare to protect their fees, they need todemonstrate value.Promises are not enough. Criteria for suc-cess needs to be agreed up front, takinginto account both long and short termobjectives.

... to Attractions – The interestedoutsider, an invaluable assetALVA’s members are some of the mostimportant, popular and iconic museums,galleries, palaces, castles, cathedrals, her-itage sites, houses, gardens, zoos andleisure attractions in the UK.They are unique, a number are UNESCOlisted, the majority comprise Grade I andII listed buildings and, collectively, theiroffering is cited by overseas visitors asthe number one reason to visit the UK.Quite apart from the commonly sharedexperiences of curatorial work, presenta-tion of collections, maintenance of thefabric of institutions and buildings are theshared experiences of managing morethan 1 million visitors per year and thecontinued requirement to refine the mar-keting message and improve the visitorexperience.This is where consultants arean invaluable asset.The attractions sector is good at net-working, good at promoting dialoguebetween attractions and within the sec-tor and, for the large part, good at shar-ing experiences and insights. But whilstthe attractions sector is characterised byinnovation and creativity (new audioguides, embracing new technology, newretail products, new catering offers, newways of exhibiting, presenting and inter-preting stories and collections etc.) it isoften slow to learn from outwith the sec-tor and, indeed, from outside tourism andhospitality.The greatest competitor to amuseum, gallery or historic house for the

disposable leisure pound is not the near-est museum but the nearest out-of-townshopping centre. It’s not the nearesttheme park but the nearest B&Q; notanother attraction, but IKEA.There is so much for the attractions sec-tor to learn from the successful retail sec-tor ; how to develop and use a CRM sys-tem that Boden would be proud of; toperfect a welcome that John Lewis imple-ments, and signposting and visitor man-agement that IKEA gets right.This is

where consultants can add particularvalue, shining a mirror to the attractionwhich reveals strengths and flaws, oppor-tunities for improvement and growth andtranslatable examples and experiencesfrom beyond tourism.

Competition for your local museum?

Fiona Jeffery OBE FTS | Chairman,World Travel

Market & Just a Drop

Bernard Donoghue FTS | Director,Association of

Leading Visitor Attractions

BBeerrnnaarrdd DDoonnoogghhuuee FFiioonnaa JJeeffffeerryy

21 1/3/12 12:03 Page 1


Looking Back


After a career of some 42 years intourism I have been asked by youresteemed Society to pen my thoughts onwhat I feel has been achieved and whatremains a source of regret in our industrysince I joined BTA as a graduate traineein 1970.

In doing so, I can grind my axes from avariety of perspectives, having worked attourist boards, corporate communicationsconsultancies, the charity Holiday Care,and currently British Destinations.

So, dear reader, I have the luxury ofindulging in a brief, unstructured and Ishould state strictly personal tour d’hori-zon, aware that space constraints mean Iwill no doubt be guilty of some glaringomissions. So in brief the good, the badand the ugly of British tourism…

Despite a fairly desperate economic cli-mate at present, our industry is I feel infundamentally good shape. Britain remainsa top-flight, international visitor destina-tion, comprising a multi-faceted andenduring product range.

Fashions may come and go but we canoffer a winning combination of stunningscenery, vibrant cities, culture, history,pomp and pageantry, sporting events andactivities that few can match.

That the quality of our accommodation,attractions and cuisine has improved over40 years is indubitable and there havebeen considerable advances in terms ofaccessibility for disabled travellers.

But contrary to the oft-expressedmantra, market forces have not forcedout the tat. And tourism’s private sectoris bedevilled with far more intrusive regu-lations than was the case in the closing

decades of the last century.

But if the product is overall in goodshape, what about the means to promoteit? Having worked abroad for the BTA inthe 70s, I was able to see first hand justhow effective their overseas operationswere, particularly in liaising with themedia and the trade.

It has therefore pained me to see theerosion of VisitBritain’s overseas officenetwork and indeed the drastic ongoingcuts to its budget on the spuriousgrounds that the Internet can replicatemany of its functions.

Just because one particular tourism minis-ter was able to buy opera tickets inFlorence online hardly invalidates the vital

contribution of VB’s overseas staff!

I fully acknowledge that social media mar-keting can influence decision-taking andthat the World Wide Web is a highly effi-cient means of disseminating information,but I do not subscribe to the view thatthe Internet is effective in creating the ini-tial interest – a potential traveller must bemotivated to visit a destination’s websitein the first place.

You only have to consider the size andpotency of weekend newspaper travelsupplements to appreciate the ongoingrole of the press in image building.

And what of domestic marketing? I makeno comment here about the role andefficacy of the tourist board functions inWales, Scotland and Northern Ireland –they do an excellent job albeit with fairlychunky budgets – but over the last 25years or so the inconsistency of approachwith regard to the validity of marketingEngland to the British has been quiteremarkable.

Forty years on ...The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Leeds Castle, Kent

‘Fashions may come and go but we can offer a winningcombination of stunning scenery, vibrant cities, culture,history, pomp and pageantry, sporting events and activitiesthat few can match.’

22&23 1/3/12 12:04 Page 2


David Phillips MBE FTS |National Coordinator,

British Destinations 23Issue 149 Spring 2012

Do I think it’s necessary – is the Pope aCatholic? Post-Christmas, British residentsneed an annual reminder of all the posi-tives about holiday-taking in their owncountry – the image job if you like – andthis then needs to be followed up in sub-sequent months with more specific pro-motion of products/brands.

And yet in a masterpiece of post-hocrationalisation to justify cuts, one formertourism minister opined ‘British peopleknow all they need to know about holi-daying in England’.Yes, Minister! In the 70sthe old ETB had proper budgets and pro-duced some heavyweight, innovative cam-paigns but VisitEngland’s current budget –despite the likely and welcome boostfrom the Regional Growth Fund – isfrankly pretty derisory.

Politicians have always paid lip service totourism’s positive economic impact butapart arguably from the 70s they havenever backed their words with the levelof financial support that the touristboards merit.

Would it be too much to ask for theGovernment to grant say £100millionannually to VisitBritain and £30million toVisitEngland – a combined investment toboost the economy and create jobswhich in 2012 would represent 0.12 percent of projected expenditure on welfare,0.57 per cent on transport or if you pre-fer 0.02 per cent of total public spending!

But then as one Secretary of State said inan unguarded moment ‘The problem withtourism is there are no votes in it’.

None of these comments in any waydecry the ability and industry of currenttourist board staff – some of the current

research output for example is outstand-ing – but they work in constrained timesand deserve better.

What of tourism structures? Well, Englandonce had a coherent network of regionaltourist boards, providing cohesion fortheir sub-regional and local partners andacting as a valued conduit to the nationalboards.

Now we’ve got a fragmented patchworkbased on one or two regional boards andan assortment of destination manage-ment organisations, which may or maynot manage tourism in their area andmay or may not promote it.

Small wonder that many parts of thecountry feel left out in the cold.Worsethan that, there is a risk that some LAsmight disengage from tourism altogether,in the belief that DMOs – or indeed theloomingly seductive TBIDs – can do it forthem. And, of course, tourism has alwaysbeen a soft target for cash-strapped LAs!

Let’s consider transport. On the plus sidewe have a fast rail link from the Tunneland from London to Heathrow, we cantravel in high(er)-speed trains, we’ve gotmore motorways (can you imagine travel-ling round London now without the M25,despite its being dubbed the largest carpark in Europe?) and of course visitorscan fly in on budget airlines (despite iniq-uitous rates of APD). But do we have a

coherent transport policy? Do we ever!More/larger regional airports, a newLondon Airport on the Thames estuaryor perhaps an additional runway atHeathrow or Gatwick; a fast rail link toBirmingham and possibly further north;toll roads – take your pick.

And God help any visitor to our shorestrying to unpick the labyrinthine farestructures on our railways – at certaintimes it’s cheaper to travel first-class fromLondon to Newcastle than it is to buy areturn on the Heathrow Express, whichcosts a staggering £34.

But overall, despite the gripes, I believewe’re well placed to develop our tourismindustry and build on our status as aworld-leading destination, particularly ifwe get the Government support weneed in terms of funding, the reduction ofred tape and a more enlightened viewabout visa controls and APD.

And let’s face it tourism is one of the fewsectors that offers real growth prospectsfor our ailing economy.

Finally, as I look back on my career forthe most part with considerable pleasure,I’m mindful of the words of one BTAguru who many years ago remarked‘Remember that above all tourism is a funbusiness’.

And so it is, so if you work in it, be thank-ful!

‘Politicians have always paid lip service to tourism’s positiveeconomic impact but apart arguably from the 70s they havenever backed their words with the level of financial supportthat the tourist boards merit.’

22&23 1/3/12 12:05 Page 3


Tourism moves ahead with new platforms

Conference Report:ENTER 2012


Helsingborg – the historic port onSweden’s south west coast which lies amere 4km from Hamlet’s Castle inDenmark – was this year’s host city inJanuary for nearly 300 delegates from 34countries at what is now the world’sleading Tourism and IT conference –ENTER.

First held in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1994,ENTER performs a unique function bybringing attendees from academia, indus-try, government and suppliers together ina highly congenial forum to discuss, shareand challenge state-of-the-art researchand real applications of advanced infor-mation and communications technologiesrelating to travel and tourism – now uni-versally referred to as eTourism.

The 2012 conference theme was“eTourism - Present and Future Servicesand Applications”. As one who was aspeaker in the inaugural 1994 event, I canhonestly say that the Internet was noteven mentioned!

How times have changed, for the focusthis year, rather than on the Internet itself,was almost entirely on social mediadevelopments and ever-more sophisticat-ed mobile applications.

One exception was the German NationalTourist Board’s new website www.ger-many.travel which seeks to be a compre-hensive single platform for all Germantravel and tourism-related information.Described as state of the art by one del-egate and undeniably technologicallyimpressive, your correspondent suspectssuch all things to all men platforms maywell be a bridge too far.

According to Justin Reid, the formerHead of Digital at VisitBritain, the statisti-cal evidence generally is that visitors tobrand websites across all sectors aredeclining whilst social media continues torise. It is also obvious to all of us thatownership and usage of smart mobilesand tablets is increasing exponentially.

In line with this, social media and mobileapplications effectively ruled the roost atENTER 2012, not only in the

Destinations and Industry tracks but alsoin the extensive Research Tracks withsome dozen papers on each subject.

The explosion of social media, of whichFacebook is only just one example, hashowever not been matched by the devel-opment of usable metrics by which theeffectiveness of industry or tourist officesocial media initiatives can be measured.

Round table discussion in an interestingsession on how academia and the indus-try could work more closely togetherhighlighted the differing timescales thatapplied to academic and commercialresearch – the one frustratingly slow andthe latter sometimes too rapid for itsown good! Key issues include interoper-ability of mobile platforms and the emer-gence of so-called Near FieldCommunications (NFC), a set of stan-dards for smartphones and similardevices to establish communication witheach other by touching them together orbringing them into close proximity, usuallyno more than a few centimetres. NFC islikely to be the ‘next big thing’ with pres-ent and anticipated applications includingcontactless transactions and dataexchange.

National Tourist Office inventiveness was

however comprehensively showcased byNick Hall of the European TravelCommission whose entertaining andinformative presentation demonstratedsome innovative online campaigns by theSwiss and Icelandic NTOs, inter alia.

The parent body of the ENTER confer-ences is IFITT, the InternationalFederation of Information Technology inTourism (www.ifitt.org). UK membershave always had a prominent role withinboth IFITT itself and the ENTER confer-ences themselves.This year was noexception with not only the irrepressibleDimitrios Buhalis leading the ceremoniesas IFITT President and ENTERConference Co-Chairman but also ashead of social arrangements (excellent asalways).

Kevin May of TNooz was not only aprominent platform performer but alsogenerously hosted pre-dinner drinks forthe Gala Night which featured extremelyhigh quality modern Swedish cuisine.

For 2013 ENTER celebrates its 20thanniversary and the conference is return-ing to its spiritual home, Innsbruck in theAustrian Tirol - where it all started thanksto the Tirol Tourist Board. For full detailssee www.ifitt.org.

Gilbert Archdale FTS | ASW Consulting

24 1/3/12 12:05 Page 2

Membership News


Discussion between the panel and audi-ence at January’s Prospects 2012 eventwas lively and naturally homed in on theOlympics.At the end of March we will be holdingan event looking specifically at the effecton businesses that holding the Games inLondon will have – do join us in personor via the live webinar. On Thursday 26thApril we will be at the House ofCommons for our annual dinner; to book

a place, or reserve a table of 10, pleasecontact Christy on 0207 269 9693 [email protected]. Informationabout all our events is athttp://bit.ly/wI8K0b.I am pleased to welcome Nicole Bobb tothe Secretariat team. Nicole brings plentyof marketing experience after three yearsat Dubai Tourism and joins us as Eventsand Administration Assistant, providingsupport for Christy on events and also

managing the membership.The Society has settled into life in centralLondon following the move from Suttonlast December and we have already hadmembers dropping in.If you are in the area do come and sayhello.

Gregory Yeoman MTS | Executive Director

[email protected]

From the Executive CommitteeOur Society comprises individuals whohave a professional approach to tourism,and who care enough to join to share inthe expertise of others.Tourism being international, we havebecome used to gaining new friends andcolleagues, and inevitably, with the passingof time, to losing colleagues whom werespect greatly.We were all shocked and deeply sad-dened to hear of the death of our ViceChairman, Dave Hughes, just beforeChristmas.Dave had done so much to bring profes-sionals together, and as TMI President tohelp steer the integration of the TMImembership into the Tourism Society.Now, early in the New Year, we havelearned that our Chairwoman, AvivaPearson, has decided that she must resignher position as she is moving to a newjob that will require her to be out of theUK for much of the time.

It has lately been announced by TMI thatAndrew Bateman, their Vice President,who would have assumed the President’srole at the end of Dave Hughes’ term,will take on the Presidency with immedi-ate effect.Accordingly he joins the ExecutiveCommittee of the Tourism Society, tohelp guide our progress.The other members of the Society’sExecutive Committee are Alison Cryer,David Curtis-Brignell, and Ken Robinson(all past Chairs) and Mike Jones, ourHonorary Treasurer.The Executive Committee met in Januaryto decide what action to take in respectof the loss of our Chair and Vice Chair.The appointment of Chairman is theresponsibility of the Board.We concluded, however, that for theinterim period from now until our AGMin mid year, we would recommend to theBoard that the Executive Committee

should ‘hold the fort’, with each of usbeing available all the time for Greg torefer to if needed, and that we wouldmeet formally each month to reviewprogress and future plans.In due course we will as usual be callingfor members to stand for election to theBoard to help the Tourism Society betterserve our members and to help broadenour influence in all areas of tourism andthe benefits it can bring.Wherever you are and whatever yourrole, please do all you can to play yourpart in our team.

Andrew Bateman FTS

Alison Cryer FTS

David Curtis-Brignell FTS

Ken Robinson CBE FTS

and Mike Jones FTS

MARCH14thMinister’s Question Time, Bestof Britain and Ireland,NEC Birmingham

15thCutting the Legal Red Tape,Best of Britain and Ireland,NEC Birmingham

15thTBIDs: Your questionsanswered, Best of Britain andIreland, NEC Birmingham

26thBusiness Law and Tourism:Thelegal essentials, London

28thT.H.E. Careers Day, Universityof Surrey, Guildford

28thThe current impact of theOlympics on trade, StrandPalace Hotel, London

APRIL12thDoes recession mean the endof responsibility in tourism?,London

26thTourism Society AnnualDinner, House of Commons,London

MAY10thMICE & Business Travel: theUK v. emerging markets,Strand Palace Hotel, London

17thWill there be high streetagents in five years’ time?,London

22ndThe Green Economy – IsTourism maximizing its poten-tial?, UCLAN,Whitehaven,Cumbria

29thUK Crisis Management: Howto prepare and react, London

JUNE21stAre all-inclusives good orbad?, London

27thTourism,Technology andSocial Media, London

JULY12thTourism Society AGM,London

Calendar of Events 2012

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Membership News


Welcome New MembersAvital Biran MTSBen-Gurion University of theNegev+972 (0)8 6472 [email protected]

Eleri Jones MTSCardiff Metropolitan University02910 416 [email protected].

Sue Chater MTSLilfords Nexus Ltd0845 190 [email protected]

Christopher NjokeTangwing MTSHeritage Tours Cameroon, Inc.+237 331 [email protected]

Ginny Lancaster MTSMillennium and Copthorne0207 872 2444ginny.lancaster@millenni-umhotels.co.ukwww.millenniumhotels.com

Paul Follows MTSRed Carpet Concepts Ltd.01892 661 [email protected]

Maria Boundy MTSRosebery School01372 720 [email protected]

David Webb MTSStratford on Avon DistrictCouncil01789 260 [email protected]

Nancy Singleton MTSStratford-on-Avon DistrictCouncil01789 260 [email protected]

Saheed Adeniyi SanusiMTSStreams International ServicesLimited+234 803 573 [email protected]

Katy Hack MTSThe National Trust01793 817 [email protected]

Cat Weaver MTSThe National Trust01793 817 [email protected]

Claire Dinan MTSUniversity of Exeter01392 722 [email protected]

Joanne Connell MTSUniversity of Exeter01392 722 [email protected]

Michelle Gorman MTSVisit County Durham03000 [email protected]

Adrian Greason-WalkerMTSWales Tourism Alliance01597 823 [email protected].

Welcome New StudentsJoanne SmithScottish Agricultural [email protected]

Michelle Cruz RosaUniveristy of [email protected]

Pamela GrantLondon [email protected]

John AtsuUniversity of [email protected]

Ila WrightsonUniversity of [email protected]

Johannes SreterUniversity of [email protected]

Julia SadokUniversity of [email protected]

Congratulations to ... Fiona Jeffery,Tom Nutley, Mary Rance and AndrewBateman who have been upgraded to Fellow of the Tourism Society (FTS),and to Jonathan Jones FTS, Director,Tourism and Marketing,WelshGovernment on his CBE and Fiona Jeffery FTS, Chair,World Travel Marketand Just a Drop on her OBE in the New Year Honours List.

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Back Cover 1/3/12 12:11 Page 1

Tourism Society Issue 149 Spring 2012

Documents

structure of tourism

tourism societytourism

sizebut tourism

thetourism society

great deal

great industry

reorganising andre

great new thing