Tourism Society Journal

The Tourism Society

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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and not necessarily those of theTourism Society.Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neithertransparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned.The Tourism Society cannot be held responsible for any services offeredby advertisers in Tourism.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 1500 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. Britain images © www.britainonview.com

www.tourismsociety.org 1Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

EditorialCapitalising on New MediaopportunitiesNew Media is firmly on the tourism agenda,with every organization, from micro-businessesto large global players, needing to capitalise onthe opportunities presented by New Media.The level of interest in this topic is evidencedby the number of forums, conferences andpublications in both the academic and

practitioner communities. For example the ENTER e-tourism conference(www.ifitt.org/enter) with its academic and applied tracks, the TravelTechnology Initiative’s (www.tti.org) Spring and Autumn conferences andSummer and Winter forums, the European Travel Commission’s NewMediaTrendWatch (www.newmediatrendwatch.com), and the Tourism Society’sTourism and New Media event in September.

The articles in this issue of Tourism illustrate how New Mediaapplications and developments impact on all elements of tourism –employee recruitment, the user’s web site experience, proximity marketingfor destinations, targeted distribution by a niche tour operator, enhancingthe experience of the museum visitor and, from an academic perspective,a useful round-up of e-tourism research over the last 20 years. Thesearticles, all of which have a strong practical edge, demonstrate how theapplication of New Media can help to address the challenges which besetthe tourism “product” – intangibility, perishability, service variability and, notleast, the heterogeneous nature of customer expectations.

During a series of one-day workshops on e-marketing which I deliveredto small rural tourism businesses, what struck me most was the unlimitedenthusiasm among these, generally older, people, and their thirst forknowledge for how New Media can help them gain a competitiveadvantage for their business. New Media and tourism is, however, a fastmoving area and it is essential that the knowledge contained in researchpapers, best practice industry case studies, conference presentations,textbooks, web forums, blogs, etc. is disseminated as widely and asregularly as possible in a format which is digestible and applicable.Thisspecial issue of Tourism is one contribution to that challenge.

Dr Philip Alford MTS | International Centre for Tourism andHospitality Research (ICTHR) | Bournemouth University

Contents

From the President’s DeskThe decision by the parochial DCMS to

pull Britain out of the UNWTO is not onlyshameful, but a direct attack on Britain’sgoal of helping developing nations.Theview from my desk changed radically yes-terday. Like most of us I think of tourism interms of visitors to the UK and more oftento my corner of the North Highlands.Therest of the world is seen as either a marketto be exploited or the competition. Lastnight that view changed when I chaired theSociety’s panel debate on tourism and theG20 goals.We had an outstanding panel.The Secretary General of the UNWTO, aformer Jordanian tourism minister, the cur-rent South African tourism minister, theSamoan Chair of the Pacific Islands Group,together with VisitBritain Chair ChristopherRodrigues and our own Geoffrey Lipman,all provided thoughtful opening remarksand then engaged in a dynamic Q & A ses-sion with the audience. Lelei Lelaulu put it

beautifully: “Tourism is by far the largestvoluntary transfer of resources from thehaves to the have nots”.With clarity andfeeling, the panel underlined the impor-tance of tourism to developing countries,and the power it has to materially improvea lot of poorer nations. In that context theDCMS decision looks, and is, a stain onBritain’s development record. My sugges-tion to a colleague who is a DfIDspokesman is that he should lobby theSecretary of State for InternationalDevelopment to take this on and providethe modest subscription from his budget.

The other comment that struck a cordwas from the South African tourism minis-ter who described the appalling process oftrying to get a VISA for his wife to accom-pany him. He made it plain that in futurehe will avoid the UK whenever he can,pointing out that he can get anywhere inthe world just as easily via Frankfurt or

Paris. Hisdescriptionchimes withrecent cases Ihave dealt with.The UK BorderAgency is out ofcontrol.There isno excuse forthe poor processand stroppy atti-tude that seemsto be their hall-mark.They are areal barrier toinbound tourism.It is time to ditch the tabloid attitude andput in place a reasonable process and areal welcome.

Lord Thurso MP FTS | President |Tourism Society

Top 5 tips for e-marketing in a recession 2-3Justin Reid, Head of Online and CRM,VisitBritain

Twenty years on and 10 years after the internet: thestate of e-tourism research 4-5Dimitrios Buhalis, International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research,Bournemouth University and Rob Law, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Search Engine Optimisation – 10 top tips 6-7Peter Varlow MTS, Senior Associate,TEAM Tourism Consulting

Using Digital Technology at Tate Modern 8Jane Burton, Head of Content and Creative Director,Tate Media

Selecting Online Distribution Channels for a SmallResponsible Tour Operator 9Joanna Owen MTS, Destination Manager,Angkor Experiences

Creating a level playing field for smaller hotels throughtechnology 10-11Mac Smith & Keith Bryant, Directors of Delta Squared PerformanceImprovement

Open all hours – service extension through Canditv® 12Kevin Taylor MTS, Company Director, Data Driven Logistics Ltd

Proximity-based Technology for Destination Marketing 13Ian Rippen MTS, Managing Director, Optima Value Group

Effective Website Design for Tourism Businesses 14-15Andy Nicol MTS, Head of New Media, Sputnik Internet

The Technology Behind Tourism Statistics 16Kevin Millington MTS, Director of Acorn Consulting Partnership Ltd

Wired up to capitalise on industry talent 17Brian Wisdom MTS, Chief Executive of People 1st

Annual Conference and debate with the UNWTO 18Flo Powell MTS, Executive Director, The Tourism Society

Book Reviews 19

Membership News 20

New Members 21

2 [email protected]

E-marketing

Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

When I was first asked by the TourismSociety to write on giving some tipsabout online marketing in a recession, itwas back in March and the country wasgripped by news of the failing bank sys-tem and crippling redundancies across allwalks of life.

The outlook, you could say, was some-what less than rosy. So naturally my start-ing point had to be “what could be donecheaply, effectively and basically imple-mented by just about anyone?”

It wasn’t going to be too useful to any-one to start banging on about imple-menting a new Content ManagementSystem or investing heavily in somestrategic PPC marketing – the focus hadto be on what everyone from a simpleB&B owner or a single rural attractioncould use to help them attract just a littlemore bit more online interest that wouldhopefully turn into a few more bed nightsor clicks through the turnstile in the com-ing months.

The next rule of thumb was that anysuggestions had to be in list form so theycould be easily remembered and if you’regoing to go for a list why not throw insome clichés – hence the “Top 5 ClichesScenario” was born and if you can bearwith me for another 1000 words or so,hopefully some if it will be of some useto you.

So top of the list and cliché #1:

1. If there’s a (free) band wagon drivingpast … jump on it!

In VisitBritain’s case this was utilising the(free) power of Twitter.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still far

from convinced that Twitter provides THEnext big thing in converting passing onlineinterest into actual sales, but what itundoubtedly does do is engage with itsaudience.

Since humble beginnings back in March,where we had a lowly though committed200 followers,VisitBritain is now preach-ing to a solid audience of nearly 4,000.

Key points to remember are to keepthe tweets regular and keep them fresh.When someone asks you a question re-tweet them, after all it’s only polite. Sureit helps to have a witty copywriter at thehelm back in head office but this simpleinvestment in nothing more than a fewminutes a few times a day resulted in anextra 37,000 visits to our website in thepast 3 months.

Were this to be achieved using PPC

we’d be looking at an investment of atleast £5000 – so time well spent. Notthat we’re vain here at VisitBritain but italso garnered this nice little quote fromthe Times Online – “If you follow just onetourist board on Twitter, make it VisitBritain, which publishes a fun, well-informed commentary on events acrossthe country” and was given 9/10 and“won” the Best Tourist Board use ofTwitter gong.

2. A picture tellls a thousand words.If you haven’t got imagery or better yetvideo on your website get some. Nothingholds the attention of the viewer or con-verts interest into action better than ashort well shot video (90 seconds ismore than long enough) or some trulyinspirational imagery.

Surely this costs a lot though? Well itwould to commission your own for sure,but search the (largely) free and inex-haustible supply that is YouTube or Flickr(or indeed www.visitbritain.tv).

Most of the videos will have embedcodes that you can slot neatly into yoursite. As for the imagery, Flickr is awashwith fantastic shots from mostly amateurphotographers.

Many of whom would be only toohappy for you to use their imagery on

Top five tips for e-marketing in a recession

‘If you haven’t got imagery or better yet video on your website get some. Nothing holds the attention of the viewer or converts interest into action better than a short well shot video (90 seconds ismore than long enough) or some truly inspirational imagery’

www.tourismsociety.org

Justin Reid |Head of Onlineand CRM | VisitBritain

3Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

your site with nothing more than anaccreditation and link back to their site inreturn.

3. But don’t take my word for itAnd why would you at this stage? But thisparticular cliché refers to the vast arraysof User Generated Content alreadyprevalent on the web.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and tryto create your own UGC site, go to theacknowledged experts – Trip Advisor /WAYN etc. And put in a search for yourparticular attractions or area.

Chances are, people are already havingonline conversations about it, could bejust a handful but could be thousands andthousands of people. Join in these onlineconversations / forums, give recommen-dations, shout about your products; noth-ing has more resonance than some bonafide and honest local input and knowl-edge.

4. You can lead a horse to water … butyou can’t make it drrink.(Already I’m seeing how some of thesetitles worked better online than they doon paper, but then I do consider ours anonline operation so I shouldn’t be tooconcerned).

What I’m referring to now / scrapingthe bottom of the barrel (delete as appli-cable) is that once you’ve got peoplecoming to your site through whatevermeans give them not only something suit-able and readable to look at but a naturalnext path on the journey to help themconvert interest into booking / action.

Hands up we’re guilty too! A year ortwo ago a PPC campaign was run byVisitBritain that generated a large amountof traffic to the site. Great! Low bouncerates and reasonably high dwell time BUTextremely low number of page views pervisits.

A simple check of the actual content onthose landing pages showed that whilstthe written content was well received bythe visitor there was no natural onward

journey forthem to makearound thesite.

No relatedfurther information,no click tobuy, no “if youliked this youmay also likethis” offerings.A relativelysimpleredesign ofthe pageensuringmany moreoptions tonavigatearound thesite quicklysaw a 300%increase in page views for the rest of thecampaign.

5. (The) Internet is a needle in a haystackSo create more needles … for years ourmantra at VisitBritain has been to put ourwebsite at the heart of everything we do.

Don’t get me wrong – that worked.But now we need to put our content at

the heart of everyone else’s websites!Trust me, the big online portals such asYahoo / Wcities etc are all very keen tohave as much destination and product

content as possible in their portfolio ofsites.

A small investment, largely time andresearch, to produce an article or twoabout your local passion or productcould well end up being displayed beforethe eyes of hundreds of thousands ofonline travel seekers all looking for keyinformation to help them determine theirnext holiday destination.

And if they won’t take it, try yourNational Tourist Board ([email protected]) – we can always find a goodonline home for well written content!

‘Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and try to create your own UGC site, go to theacknowledged experts – Trip Advisor / WAYN etc.And put in a search for your particular attractions or area’

4 [email protected]

Tourism and Technology


In the highly respected international jour-nal,Tourism Management[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tour-man.2008.01.005], Professor DimitriosBuhalis of Bournemouth University andDr Rob Law of Hong Kong PolytechnicUniversity have written a paper whichexamines the progress in informationtechnology and tourism management andthe state of e-tourism research.About 20 years since the serious engage-ment of Information CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs) in tourism, and 10years after the internet, the paper exam-ines the body of scientific research on e-tourism by reviewing the published arti-cles on e-tourism in the past 20 years.

The paper also projects future develop-ments in e-tourism and demonstratescritical changes that will influence thetourism industry structure.

A major contribution of the paper is itsoverview of the research and develop-ment efforts that have taken place in thefield, and the challenges that tourismresearchers and industry are, and will be,

facing.These developments and chal-lenges are summarised below.

The paper concludes that since the1980s, ICTs have been transformingtourism globally.

Developments in ICTs have undoubted-ly changed business practices and strate-gies, and also industry structures. If thepast 20 years have seen an emphasis ontechnology per se, then since the year2000 we have been witnessing the trulytransformational effect of ICTs.

This has given scope for the develop-ment of a wide range of new tools andservices that facilitate global interactionbetween players around the world.

Increasingly, ICTs play a critical role forthe competitiveness of tourism organisa-tions and destinations as well as for theentire industry. Developments in searchengines, carrying capacity and speed ofnetworks have influenced the number oftravellers around the world that usetechnologies for planning and experienc-ing their travels. ICTs have also radicallychanged the efficiency and effectiveness

of tourism organisations, the way thatbusinesses are conducted in the market-place, as well as how consumers interactwith organisations.

The ICT-driven business processes re-engineering, observed in the industry,gradually generates a new paradigm-shift.This alters the structure of the entireindustry and develops a whole range ofopportunities and threats for all stake-holders. Not only do ICTs empower con-sumers to identify, customise and pur-chase tourism products but they alsosupport the globalisation of the industryby providing effective tools for suppliersto develop, manage and distribute theirofferings worldwide.

Some of the key issues examinedinclude:� The development of ICTs and particu-larly the internet empowered the “new”tourist who is becoming more internet-savvy and is seeking exceptional value formoney and time.� Information search is a significant partof the purchase decision process and hasbeen revolutionised as a result of theinternet.� Tourists have become more independ-ent and sophisticated on using a widerange of tools to arrange their trips.These include reservation systems and

Twenty years on and ten years after the internet: the state of e-tourism research

‘Developments in ICTs haveundoubtedly changed business practices and strategies, and also industrystructures. If the past 20years have seen an emphasison technology per se, thensince the year 2000 we havebeen witnessing the trulytransformational effect ofICTs’


Dimitrios Buhalis |International Centre for Tourism& Hospitality Research |Bournemouth University 5Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

online travel agencies (such as Expedia),search engines and meta-search engines(such as Google and Kayak respectively),destination management systems (such asvisitbritain.com), social networking andweb 2.0 portals (such as www.wayn.comand www.tripadvisor.com), price compari-son sites (such as kayak) as well as indi-vidual suppliers and intermediaries sites.� Pricing is also a major issue ineTourism as many organizations use ICTsto communicate directly to consumerson web-only fares and rates, passing ondiscounts that are generated from savedcommissions and distribution chargesmade in a short value chain.� Virtual communities are graduallybecoming incredibly influential in tourismas consumers increasingly place moretrust in their peers, rather than marketingmessages.� Rapid technological development para-doxically means that the more powerfuland complex ICTs become, the moreaffordable and user friendly they become,enabling more people and organisationsto take advantage.� ‘Interoperability’ offers a realistic alter-native to standardisation, as many of theinitiatives to establish global standards intourism have not been widely accepted.� Wireless and mobile networks, andWiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access) in particular, areemerging to provide ubiquitous connec-tivity and support location-based services,providing a great number of new oppor-tunities and challenges for tourism.� Website design, both in terms of func-tionality and usability is also becomingcritical. Related to usability is accessibilitywhich addresses the fact that web surfingis still a barrier for people with disabilities.� Finally, Ambient Intelligence (AI) willgradually provide an environment wherehumans will be surrounded by intelligentinterfaces supported by computing andnetworking technology that is embeddedin everyday objects, such as furniture,clothes, vehicles, roads and smart materi-als.

The technological revolution, experi-enced through the development of theinternet, has changed dramatically themarket conditions for tourism organisa-tions.

The web-enabled organizations distrib-ute their products not only throughdirect distribution but also through a verywide range of channels.

Third party intermediaries includedonline travel agencies as well as metasearch engines (e.g. www.kayak.com), allof which could distribute both static anddynamic information such as availabilityand pricing.

Electronic intermediaries are alsoemerging dynamically and increasingly

challenge traditional distributors.ICTs evolve rapidly providing new tools

for tourism marketing and management.They support the interactivity between

tourism enterprises and consumers and,as a result, they reengineer the entireprocess of developing, managing and mar-keting tourism products and destinations.Increasingly the impacts of ICTs arebecoming clearer as networking, dynamicinterfaces with consumers and partners,and the ability to redevelop the tourismproduct proactively and reactively, arecritical for the competitiveness of tourismorganisations.

The literature review undertakendemonstrates that e-tourism research isin its infancy and that a number of issuesare only now starting to be addressed inthe literature.

Despite the aforementioned benefits,the e-tourism ‘virtuality’ is still primitive.This jeopardises the opportunities fortourism corporations to develop credibleinterfaces with other members of thevalue-chain, thereby preventing themfrom developing their virtuality further.

A number of organisations fail to appre-ciate the benefits of ‘co-opetition’ and ‘co-destiny’, when organisations collaboratewith players that they would normallyregard as competitors. A wide range ofissues must therefore be resolved beforethe tourism industry can take full advan-tage of the ICTs and maximise its virtuali-ty.

Increasingly ICTs will provide the “info-structure” for the entire industry and willovertake all mechanistic aspects oftourism transactions.

It is evident, however, that the future ofe-tourism will be focused on consumercentric technologies that will supportorganisations to interact with their cus-

tomers dynamically. Consumers arebecoming incredibly powerful and areincreasingly able to determine elementsof their tourism products.

They are also much more sophisticatedand experienced and therefore are muchmore difficult to please. Innovativetourism enterprises will have the ability todivert resources and expertise to servic-ing consumers and provide higher value-added transactions.

The development of new and morepowerful ICT applications empowersboth suppliers and destinations toenhance their efficiency and re-engineertheir communication strategies. Innovativetechnologies will support interoperability,personalisation and constant networking.

Agile strategies are therefore requiredat both strategic and tactical managementlevels to ensure that the ICT-drivenopportunities and challenges are turnedto the advantage of tourism organisationsenabling them to enhance their innova-tion and competitiveness.

‘Increasingly the impacts ofICTs are becoming clearer asnetworking, dynamic interfaces with consumersand partners, and the abilityto redevelop the tourismproduct proactively andreactively, are critical for thecompetitiveness of tourismorganisations. ’

6 [email protected]

Search Engine Optimisation


Getting to the top of the search resultsmatters – typically, sites get up to 1/3rdof traffic from search engines. Googlesends 87% of that, so these 10 Top Tipsare Google-based:

1.Write text that answersusers’ questionsA search engine wants to make usershappy. So the first essential is text onyour site that’s more useful to users thanyour competitors.

2. Keep at itIt’s never-ending: search engines continueto evolve their methods, so will yourcompetitors, and you’ll be evolving yourown content. Now, some vital detail:

3. Understand the searchengine result page (‘SERP’)Google’s search results show:� The words in the blue bar at the topof your browser.This comes from theHTML your editor puts into the metadata field called Title – an easy, non-tech-nical task. It’s another essential for SEO,tailored for every page; these words formthe clickable link in the heading ofGoogle’s result.� An extract either from the page orfrom the ‘Description’ meta data field.Both are your editor’s handiwork.� The page URL. Here you need your developer to put your keywords in the URL, not a string of gobbledygook.It can help to use the country domain name of each market you have asite for.

4. Know your keywords Your marketers and editors must workclosely to identify and prioritise thesearch words and phrases people use inGoogle. Research them using:� Customer surveys� The words users type into your site’sown search facility if you have one� Staff, agents and partners� Competitors’ keywordsThen check other top ranking sites foreach term: how well are these sites opti-mised? How easy is it to challenge them?

5. Monitor how you’re doingWeekly, preferably daily, check yourGoogle rankings against your competi-tors’. Check your website analyticsreports for keyword performance. Lookat ‘bounces’ from your page back to

Google; Google may notice and down-grade the page. Adjust the meta and/orpage text as searcher and competitorkeywords change.To check if a page isindexed, paste a block of text, withininverted commas, into the search engine.

6. Raise your statusAnother essential: try to get Google to recognise your site as authoritative:� Get sites that themselves already havehigh status and rankings to link to yours.Make sure their link to you includes yourkey search terms, that they link to theright page, and that your receiving pagecontains the same text in the page head-ing and opening text.� Use PR to stimulate inboundlinks – issue expert articles and pressreleases.� Pay for links in general and industry-related directories (but not ‘linkfarms’).� Develop reciprocal inbound links withall your partners.

7. Be easy to navigate� ‘Crawler’-based search engines indexsites using robots that follow linksbetween pages.They cache text andHTML, so the quality of code, links andsite structure are important, not just your

Getting to the top of the search results

‘Weekly, preferably daily, check your Google rankings againstyour competitors’. Check your website analytics reports forkeyword performance. Look at ‘bounces’ from your pageback to Google; Google may notice and downgrade thepage.’


Peter Varlow MTS | Senior Associate | TEAM

Tourism Consulting7Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

text. Essentials include:� Links: use the keywords of the destina-tion page. ‘Click here’ is useless.

Give the destination page the same keywords in its heading, or early in thetext.� A site map page with clickable textlinks helps the crawler.Your content management system should generate this.

8. Optimise your textand meta data� Easy but time-consuming; edit pagesso your search terms appear 2 or 3 timesin the text, as high up the page as possi-ble.Then include the page’s keywords in:� Headings and subheadings (using

HTML code <h1> and <h2>).� HTML Title Tag (about 10-65 characters): start with keyword phrase,followed by a hyphen; finish with what’son the page and/or site name or company.� Description meta tag: start with thesame keyword phrase, followed by ahyphen, then describe the page (max 15-20 words). Be specific and enticing. Don’trepeat the keyword phrase more thantwice.� Keywords meta tag: use the searchterms and words that appear on thepage.� Alternate text (the rollover captionsfor pics and graphics): always have them,and use keywords.� Links: include the search terms in linkwords too. Optimise and define keywordsfor each market version of your site, notjust by language. Don’t make importantheadings graphics, search engines can’tread them.

9. Get everyone using yourContent ManagementSystemUpdating text and meta data frequently iscrucial, so spread the load among staff.

10.Work with your developers

They will aim to avoid barriers to

search engines. Risks include mark-upcode not complying with worldwide rec-ommendations, Flash introductions andnavigation, Javascript (for example indropdown menus), complex databaseURLs, frames construction, redirects andlinking multiple domain names to onesite.

It’s best not to have splash pages.And don’t try dirty tricks – hidden text,

keyword stuffing, and gateway or cloakingpages.

When you upgrade your site don’t lose your SEO work: don’t changeyour domain name, keep page URLs the same where possible, keep important and optimised text, keep welloptimised meta data, and ask your web-master about handling redirects and landing pages.

To end: 3 key to-do’s:Have active editors and e-marketers; findbig-hitter sites to link to you; and put aneffective Title Tag on every page.

Further information: among the mass offree and paid-for tools and forums areGoogle Webmaster, Google Rankings,Search Engine Watch, Keyword Discovery,Word Tracker,Website Grader, BuiltWith,Quarkbase, and Alexa.

For general e-marketing tips,WebMarketing Today has an excellent weeklynewsletter.

‘When you upgrade your sitedon’t lose your SEO work:don’t change your domainname, keep page URLs thesame where possible, keepimportant and optimisedtext, keep well optimisedmeta data, and ask yourwebmaster about handlingredirects and landing pages’

Jane Burton | Head ofContent and Creative Diretor | Tate Media

8 [email protected]

Using digital technology at Tate Modern

Technology for attractions


Only a few years ago, the idea of digitaltechnology in an art gallery was sniffedat.The thought of interactive kiosks clut-tering up the place and getting in the wayof the art made people shudder.

But that didn’t stop visitors wanting richcontextual information about the art-works on display. It was this dilemma –how to give people the context withoutimpacting adversely on the aesthetics ofthe space - that led Tate to pioneer oneof the first ever multimedia tours, back in2002. Walking through the galleries witha small hand-held computer (PDA), visi-tors can see videos and still images, takepart in interactive games and opinionpolls, listen to commentaries, and playart-related music.

The latest iteration of this is the multi-media tours we’ve been producing forvisitors to download to their own devicesAt Tate Liverpool's recent Gustav Klimtexhibition, for example, people couldhire iPods from the museum with thetour installed, or download it to theirown iPod or iPhone via the gallery's WIFInetwork.

The increasing convergence of mobilephones and computers means that in thenext 18 months, a large proportion ofour visitors will be able to access rich dig-ital content on their own device.

This is the world of ‘ubiquitous comput-ing’ where the internet is held in the palmof your hand. Getting wireless networksinto all our galleries is a priority to makethe most of these new advances.

Tate has set up a new department TateMedia, which includes film-makers anddigital producers tasked with creating awide range of content for people toengage with both in the gallery andbeyond.Tate’s online site is fast develop-ing as a broadband arts channel, andyou’ll find Tate Media-produced films allover the Internet as well as on Channel 4and the BBC.

The team also delivers a monthly videopodcast called Tate Shots, launched in2007 and best thought of as micro docu-mentaries about artists – the films can beseen on Tate Online,YouTube and iTunes,

where they reach a hugeaudience.

Tate Modern has been the test bed formost of our in–gallery digital innovations(which are sponsored by Bloomberg).The Interactive Zone is a buzzing multi-media resource on the Level 5 concourseat the gallery. Its vivid red structureshouse computer interactives, a readingarea, hands-on-games and a cinemaspace.

Its location at the heart of the museummeans that it has very high usage fromvisitors of all ages.

The interactives are encountered duringthe natural flow of the visit, rather thanthe traditional model of a separate com-puter room. Open-plan spaces for thiskind of activity, in proximity to the art dis-plays appear to be much better suited tothe needs of the majority of drop-in visi-tors.

Elsewhere on the concourses at TateModern, screens are positioned at inter-vals along the walls. By simply touchingthe screen, visitors can find out what ison display in each room, or can access awealth of information about individualworks in the Collection from Tate’s onlinedatabase. Another popular piece of tech-nology is the ‘send a video message’ sys-tem. Visitors press a button on a wall-mounted screen and a web cam filmstheir message, which can be emailed onto friends (the system also allows data

capture, so visitors can sign up to Tate’semail bulletins).

We’re now looking at how to improveon our ideas and capture the opportuni-ties offered by emerging technology aswe plan the next phase of Tate Modern’sdevelopment – a major new building for2012. As part of the process we’ve creat-ed an interactive blog for people to con-tribute their ideas and images for the kindof interior spaces, ambience and designsthey’d like to find there – technological orotherwise! http://modblog.tate.org.uk

Online Distribution Channels


Joanna Owen MTS |Destination Manager|

Angkor Experiences9

For any given company, choosing effectivedistribution channels is a vast challengeengaging a number of different factors,obstacles and prospects.With the unpar-alleled existing amount of technologicaloptions and ever evolving online oppor-tunities, it is advisable to assess selectioncriteria appropriate to your companyprior to choosing distribution. Selectionprocedures can help small responsibletourism businesses select the right distri-bution channel from a sea of opportuni-ties to promote responsible productsonline.

Appropriate selection criteria will covercompany strategy, ethics, values, aims andobjectives. Risk factors include control,power loss over product, and dependen-cy on one channel. Resources, in terms ofpersonnel, include skills, knowledge andtime. Financial considerations includeprice, return on investment, variable costsand fixed costs. Market factors to thinkabout are compatibility, bearing in mindcustomer needs and demand and theability to factor in yield and seasonalityopportunities.

Like most small companies, angkorho-tels.org has limited budgets, personneland resources to carry out extensivemarketing. By effectively utilising distribu-tion channel options, local companies canultimately reach a wider global audiencewith higher budgets and communicatetheir product, price and promotions.

Direct selling through the internet withonline booking methods, search engineoptimisation and a variety of infomedi-aries has made a huge impact on howtravel and accommodation are sold, espe-cially for Cambodia and other interestingdestinations previously absent from con-ventional travel itineraries.This change hasseen an upsurge in small businesses, simi-lar to angkorhotels.org, and increaseddirect marketing from destination to con-sumer and further reach to niche marketsegments.

Concurrently, travel and social mediasites like TripAdvisor,WAYN, Facebookand Twitter have changed the face of

travel distribution by high-lighting positive or negative customerfeedback and promoting and encouragingUser Generated Content (UGC).

Social media is a powerful distributionchannel that cannot be overlooked.Therecent growth of public opinion is poten-tially more valuable than productsendorsed by famous people or given aseal of approval from the travel press.

To maximise online distribution, it is rec-ommended companies make use ofmediums like YouTube, video blogs andblogging. People like to be transformedfrom their PC or mobile to places faraway. In a matter of seconds you canwhisk your potential guests to a differentworld away from the rain, the economiccrisis and the boss’s demands and whettheir appetite to a serene magical envi-ronment with birds singing and the soundof the green, muddy Mekong splashing atthe side of their boat; or a glimpse oforange robes as a monk, barefoot, walksalongside the river bank. Or envisage thetwists and turns of the Banyan tree’sroots nestled amongst Angkorian ruins.These low cost, albeit labour intensivetools, offer a potentially high return in

investment.They are just the beginning ofa journey that attracts attention andinterest which can, if utilised correctlywith the other recommended distributionchannels, stimulate desire and a motive tobook a trip with you.

Bearing in mind the speed with whichonline channels have opened up in thelast couple of years, companies whichembrace technological change can remainin a strategic position ahead of competi-tors. Mobile technology and messagingtechnology enables a business to reachthe right person at the right time and atthe right place. Mobile strategy shouldnot be overlooked in terms of numbersand distribution, not only in the marketplace, but also the destination and sur-rounding areas.

In conclusion, with today’s many onlineopportunities available, it would be naïveto utilise only one channel; the opportu-nity exisits to develop a distribution strat-egy which optimises a range of availablechannels. Most channels can benefit fromcross over and complementarity, and inte-gration is key from social network sites,to linking and brand building across alldistribution mediums.

Selecting online distribution channelsfor a small responsible tour operator


‘’Market factorsto think aboutare compatibility,bearing in mindcustomer needsand demand andthe ability tofactor in yield andseasonalityopportunities. ‘

10 [email protected]

Technology for hoteliers


Although the hotel industry can appearto be dominated by a relatively smallnumber of large brands, in reality themajority of hotels in the UK are smallindependent businesses with less than 60bedrooms.

These smaller hotels are, by theirnature, less adept at organizing them-selves to use technology effectively. Asthe increasing sophistication and use oftechnology in the larger chains positivelyimpacts hotel operations, then the gap inperformance between chain and inde-pendent hotels widens.

The small independent community isnot well served by technology providers,who historically have found this a frag-mented and expensive market to sell intoand support.

How can the 70% of hotelsin the UK that are not associated with a brandcompete with large brands?

A key example of this is the issue ofhotel distribution.Typically the smaller independent hotelier,knowing that technology is important andwishing to invest will find:� The cost of technology appears to beprohibitive and poor value relative to thebusiness� There appears to be a level of com-plexity that is not appropriate to smallbusinesses� Access to hotel distribution is viaexpensive 3rd party agreements and iscomplex to manage effectively.

Why is Hotel Distributionimportant?Hotel distribution is the process andactivity associated with ensuring roomavailability and prices are easily accessibleboth to existing and potential customers.

The hotelier needs to manage thechannels through which business is cap-tured to maximize rate and occupancy,while taking into account the very differ-ent costs associated with each.The costof these channels can vary between 30%of room revenue for the more expensiveintermediaries, to 3% to 4% for thehotels’ own web sites.

The secret is using these channels tomarket selectively and wisely; the keyattributes needed for this are:� Seamless and real-time connectivity toeach channel with specific channel con-trols (price and availability) where

required� Managed and consistent display ofprice and availability across all channels � Last room available for sale in pre-ferred channels, (particularly the hotel’sown website)

Distribution is an area which reallyshould not be ignored.The diagramopposite illustrates some of the compo-nents and key measures of effective chan-nel management.

What is changing?A few suppliers are now offering integrat-ed solutions, targeted to the smallerhotels.These solutions can be implement-ed on a ‘pay to play’ basis, so calledSoftware as a Service (SaaS).This notonly avoids the capital outlay for equip-ment and licenses but also the need tooperate and manage what can be a com-plicated area.

This is an opportunity to level the play-ing field.The smaller hotel is now able toincrease ‘marketing reach’ into new areaswith appropriate controls, in a way whichcan be effectively managed.The bigbrands should not continue to enjoy amonopoly over distribution channelexpertise, and the revenue advantagethat goes with it.

Creating a level playing field for smaller hotels through technology

‘The hotelier needs to manage the channels through whichbusiness is captured to maximize rate and occupancy, whiletaking into account the very different costs associated witheach.The cost of these channels can vary between 30% ofroom revenue for the more expensive intermediaries, to 3%to 4% for the hotels’ own websites.’


Mac Smith and Keith Bryant |Directors | Delta SquaredPerformance Improvement

11Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

Kevin Taylor MTS | Company Director | Data Driven Logistics Ltd


Open all hours – service extension through CandiTV

Examples of Best Practice


Highlighting the necessity for IT innova-tion to play a key role in delivering signifi-cant service and cost benefits, DavidClarke BCS Chief Executive made thefollowing comment at the BCS ITIndustry Awards held in London onDecember the 5th 2008:

“ Winners and Medallists in this year’sAwards are examples of best practiceand professionalism and reflect the factthat technology is an integral and expect-ed part of everyday life and is at theheart of literally every business. In thecurrent economic situation it is rewardingto see that IT is continuing to leadthrough innovation and deliver real busi-ness benefits.”

More recently the impact of the globaleconomic downturn has caused everybusiness to reflect and, in most cases,make considerable changes to addressthe immediate and anticipated continuedfuture budgetary effects.

Prior to economic events about tounfold, on the 1st of August 2008, abrand new tourism technology was intro-duced in Stratford Upon Avon thatwould go on to receive recognition byThe British Computer Society as anexample of best practice for FlagshipInnovation & Project Excellence, based onthe outcomes of an initial pilot designedto extend service and access for visitorsto Shakespeare Country.

The technology pilot meant thatextended use could be made of the web-site and existing equipment as the objec-tive for the product design had, from thevery first day, been to achieve more with

less and so the implementation budgetwas very small by comparison to tradi-tional alternatives, but as switch-on dayapproached the question of whether theproject would deliver was about to beanswered.

Almost 2 years in the making prior tothe inaugural UK Tourism launch, can-ditv® (which stands for Call ANDInteract TV) had become the subject ofworldwide patent applications and thesubject of daily discussions by its inven-tors. On Friday the 1st of August thevery first visitor used their mobile tele-phone to dial a local Warwickshire tele-phone number to take control of thescreen just like a TV remote control.

At the time of writing this article thecelebration of the switch-on anniversaryhas yet to take place, however the proj-ect, designed to provide low cost out ofhours service extension to visitors toWarwickshire, has continued to attractvisitors who are interacting with screens.More are planned to roll out across theCounty, helping to extend service and thevisit experience.

Following my invitation, as a very newMTS, to join a panel of respected tech-nology speakers and to take part in a dis-cussion evening event held at the Strand

Palace in London, I took the opportunityto meet with fellow members andproviders to the industry. It was followingthat meeting that I was asked to presentcanditv® to the Yorkshire Tourist Boardwhich has resulted in the implementationin York railway station VIC and the follow-ing comments from Gillian Cruddas ChiefExecutive of Visit York: “Canditv is anexcellent example of how York is leadingthe way in information services for its vis-itors and residents, using the very latesttechnology.This new service will provideround-the-clock access to visitors wantingto search for somewhere to sleep, eat orvisit as they travel around the city, allow-ing us extend the existing informationservices that we provide through ourVisitor Information Centres.”

In summary it is the author’s experienceand opinion that tourism serviceproviders are taking the opportunity toseek out new ways of extending serviceas part of the competitive nature of sec-tor evolution.The influence of the eco-nomic downturn on budgets for TICs andVICs has meant that several are nowfinding new and innovative ways to adaptand extend the future model of servicedelivery for technology driven tourismboth in the UK and Europe.

‘More recently the impact ofthe global economic downturn has caused everybusiness to reflect and, inmost cases, make considerable changes toaddress the immediate andanticipated continued futurebudgetary effects’

®

Destination Marketing


Ian Rippen MTS | Managing Director |Optima Value Group

13

Most of the targeted communicationsdelivered for tourism are aimed at gettingvisitors to your market.You spend time,effort and budget to entice them to yourdestination, you possibly nurture them fora number of years trying to influencetheir behaviour, make them visit the firsttime and then visit again.You try to keepthem visiting and to favour your destina-tion, time and time again.

However, as soon as they reach thedestination, you lose sight of them.Youdon't know where they go, what they do.You are unable to understand if the vaca-tion is going well or not and you can'tpromote a structured programme ofactivities or additional sales opportunities.

It is true, a lack of mobile communica-tion technology has played its part andyou have had to rely on your visitors get-ting in contact with you – either via thelocal TIC operations or by picking up oneof the many un-targeted leaflets. But nowit is possible to continue your long nur-tured communications and measurementwith the database whilst they are on holi-day.

Emerging technology and clever integra-tion of existing technologies means thattravel and tourism organisations can com-municate efficiently and effectively topeople whilst on holiday or vacation.

Location or proximity-based technologyis now allowing organisations to use themobile phone as a sophisticated one-to-one marketing channel.

It is possible to utilise the free-to-receive Bluetooth capabilities available inover 80% of all mobile phones to sendtargeted communications based on a per-son’s location. Bluetooth and GPRSmobile solutions add a further dimensionto your marketing initiatives – that oflocation. It is possible to monitor locationand movement of individuals and use thisinformation in your marketing campaigns.

So now you can continue the dialoguewith your customers, even when theytravel. A number of forward thinking des-tination marketing organisations are mak-ing use of this technology. It's true that it

is still relatively new, but if used as anextension to your current one-to-onemarketing channels, it creates a newdimension in permission-based marketing.

The momentum is just building on usingthese technologies but the possibilities forthe tourism industry are huge.

It is now possible to track and under-stand a person’s movements within adestination.

The mechanisms are now in place toenable exciting ideas of a mobileconcierge service. Book your holiday inEdinburgh or Aviemore, and as part ofthe booking process, you are invited toregister your phone to receive your ownmobile trip advisor. As part of this, thevisitor provides some information abouthis party, their interests, number of chil-dren, etc.

As soon as they reach their destinationthey receive a welcome video sent totheir phone, providing real-time, targetedadvice about a range of relevant productsfor example, romantic dinners, family out-ings or late availability theatre tickets.

The ability to send targeted text,images, video and music to a person’sphone means a better experience for

your visitor. In return, and with the per-son’s permission, you get detailed behav-ioural data on where and when peoplemove and stay around your destination.

As with any communication channel, thekey is to use it responsibly. All channelsare open to abuse if not used withrespect for the customer, and this iswhere we recommend caution.

New technology is great, shiny andexciting but you have to remember thatit is the impact it has on the customerexperience that is the key.

Don't fall into the email trap – justbecause it is a low cost method of com-munication does not mean you use it allof the time.

Use wisely, within customer preferences,and always respect the customers deci-sion to opt-out. It is just another targetedcommunication channel.

There are a number of powerful mar-keting capabilities available now based onproximity marketing. It is true to say thatthe capability far outweighs the solutionsat the moment, but now is the time toseize new opportunities and ways ofcommunicating with your customers.Proximity marketing is only the start.

Proximity-based technology for destination marketing



Website Design


“Effective Website Design for TourismBusinesses” sounds like a fairly specifictitle for an article. Once you’ve beeninvolved in the development of a fewtourism websites, you come to realisethere is no generic answer. From the out-set I’m aware there is no prescriptiveadvice applicable to all.

You are in tourism where every busi-ness has a personality, an experience totalk about.This is a very positive thing, ifever you start to think it isn’t, try andbuild a website for an accountant!

Instead of a “Top 10 Tips” which manyreaders would try to commit to memory,I’m hoping instead to provide less of asupernova (followed by inaction, anddarkness) and more of a general under-standing of what may make a websitemore effective, a gut feeling that will staywith you when you come to revisit yourown.

One of the first things we ask ourclients is what they want a website for. It’ssurprising how many people stare backblankly, not because they think it’s obvi-ous, but because no one has ever askedthat question.

We’re not cruel enough to let themdwell on it too long, so I’ll spare you thatexperience as well, and try and take youthrough the process.

“Fundamentally”, we break the silence,“there are 2 factors critical to a successfulwebsite – traffic and conversion”.Thetraffic generation is for another day, and

covered in part by the Search EngineOptimisation article in this issue of theTourism Society Journal. I’ll also leave youto consider the rewards of off line web-site promotion in situations where yourdesired search terms are highly competi-tive; or people simply don’t know yourproduct exists, so how could they searchfor it?

In any case, we now assume your web-site gets visits, and we want to get asmuch bang for our buck by making surewe convert as much of that traffic into“something useful”.

The role of a website is much moresophisticated than it was 10 years ago.

When asked to consider the role of yourwebsite some of you may exclaim: “morebusiness, of course!”, and rightly so. Someof it we can, and will, convert now.

This leads us to define some objectivesas:� Provide information on products orservices� Provide contact details andenquiry/booking forms� Include frequent “Calls To Action”.We must also remember the customer isin control of their experience, so somewe will have to bait for the future.Thishelps us to build on our objectives;� Answering a customer query� Facilitate an online booking� Encouraging newsletter sign-ups

So from a standing start, we have 6hooks to build our website, all focussedon achieving “something useful” for boththe visitor and ourselves.We now needto consider what make us different.Thisreally is nothing new, and is just a revisitof old school marketing principles. It’stime to crack open a bottle of wine andreacquaint yourself with old friends likeDemographics and Unique SalesProposition.

Within half an hour you’ll have someflesh on the bones of your objectives, I

Effective website design for tourism businesses

‘So from a standing start, we have 6 hooks to build ourwebsite, all focussed on achieving “something useful”for both the visitor and ourselves.We now need to consider what make us different.This really is nothing new,and is just a revisit of old school marketing principles.It’s time to crack open a bottle of wine and reacquaintyourself with old friends like Demographics and UniqueSales Proposition’


Andy Nicol MTS | Head of New Media |

Sputnik Internet15Quarter 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

promise.Now you know what you’re trying to

achieve, try and see things from the cus-tomer’s perspective.You both want thesame thing, that’s why they’re visiting yourwebsite, but first you need to show themwhat you’re selling.The tourism industryis already well versed in selling “the expe-rience”. It’s often worth considering theexperience in the widest context.Whatelse would a customer want to know inorder to feel comfortable about buyingfrom you? Are you easy to find? Is parkingavailable? What else can I do in the area?Do you offer package deals? Have youbeen useful in helping them plan theirwider experience?

You probably have enough by now tobuild a decent website, or at least createa decent brief, but here are a few morethings to ponder if you want to makeyour site stand out.

There are still far too many websitesout there with a “welcome to our web-site” message on their homepage. I sus-pect this is a legacy from when nerdsruled the web with their personal home-pages, and had little to say while theyplayed with the technology.

We like to prioritise a series of “advertpanels” – at least that’s what we’ve cometo call them at Sputnik.The idea is thatthe user can see, often with the aid ofimagery, they key areas of the site, cur-rent offers, or even a snapshot of contentsuch as the last few news articles, all onthe homepage.

With a little thought based on our find-ings earlier, we can signpost the user towhere they want to go, which is, after all,where we want them to go.The brainhas an excellent ability to filter out theirrelevant, and focus on the useful.

Implementing advert panels is simpleenough, but is greatly enhanced if you can

enlist the skills of someone with an artis-tic bent to add a splash of personalityand relevance to each box.

Remember your space is limited too, soyou can’t have an advert panel for every-thing. Put the important ones in the partof the browser where you don’t have toscroll down, or “above the fold” as it’sknown.That normally means in the top600 pixels or so.

There are lots of ways of deliveringyour content to make it more engaging,but there’s a risk that this becomes anarticle on technology. For those of youwith a web designer to hand, this isanother good area to ask for their advice.For those that want to get more handson, try Googling “AJAX examples”.Applied well, AJAX can make a userexperience much more engaging, butdone badly it can be a little tacky. It’s agood idea to restrict it to improvingusability – the better experience will

wow the customer a lot more than thetechnology itself.

Be sure to guide the customer throughthe process with relevant “Calls ToAction”. Again, precious space can besaved here by relying on Google to pro-vide information for those that want tofind out more.

‘There are lots of ways ofdelivering your content tomake it more engaging, butthere’s a risk that thisbecomes an article on tech-nology. For those of you witha web designer to hand, thisis another good area to askfor their advice’

Kevin Millington MTS |Director | Acorn Consulting Partnership Ltd


The technology behind tourism statistics

Tourism Statistics


Just like any industry, tourism needs to bemeasured. The trouble with tourism, isthat unlike most other industries, it ismore complex to gauge. Leaving asidethe logistics of measuring visitors, tourismhas so many facets that keeping track ofit is a challenge.

When we talk about measuring tourismor developing tourism statistics, we mayspeak about accommodation occupancydata, the number of visitor arrivals, per-haps the economic impact of a festival, orthe number of coaches parking in a citycentre. We may be measuring the aver-age spend per visitor, or their experiencesat a destination, or maybe the levels ofconfidence of hotels, restaurants andattractions regarding the year ahead.

There is so much to consider whenbuilding up a picture of tourism, whetherit is for marketing, promotion, monitoring,planning or policy making, or any otherpurpose; that an organised structureneeds to be in place to manage all theinformation. All too often, this informationis thrown into a big pile, and not utilisedproperly. It needs to be carefully sortedand stored appropriately, so that linkagesbetween all the different types ofresearch commonly undertaken bytourism administrations (accommodationsurveys, business performance monitors,visitor surveys, economic impact assess-ments, etc) can be identified and exploit-ed.

It is not uncommon in the tourismindustry to find considerable data havingbeen collected, but so poorly exploited.Equally, there are often opportunities tocollect and utilise data without consider-able cost that are being missed.

Over the last 10 years, we have beenworking with the UNWTO and variousother international agencies on tourismstatistics databases in countries aroundthe world, developing systems to helpthem to collect, compile and disseminatetheir tourism statistics in an effectivemanner.

Over this period, we found that therewere common elements to such a sys-tem that each administration wanted;these included monthly accommodationstatistics, data on visitor arrivals, businessperformance information, and visitorexpenditure data. Most users also want-ed to keep track of their supply, in theform of an inventory of tourism services(accommodation, restaurants, attractions,etc).

Consequently, we developed a coredatabase system that offered these fea-tures, and a host of other “bolt-on”options to track other elements of thetourism sector, such as licensing, footfall inshops and tourism information centres,conference and convention data, visitorarrivals and spend in national parks.

The database (which we have named T-STATS) is programmed in MS Access, andis completely bespoke, in so far as we tai-lor it individually to each country, regionor city that uses it.

Even with relatively standard data, such

as monthly accommodation statistics,there are variances in what is collected ineach location. This is the only way itwould be possible to develop a usefuldatabase for tourism statistics: off-the-shelf packages would not work.

In most overseas destinations, the inter-est in T-STATS is driven by the desire todevelop a Tourism Satellite Account(TSA). A TSA requires a well-organisedsystem of tourism statistics, and T-STATSprovides a system that enables tourismadministrations to organise their existingdata, and collect and compile additionaldata. The system enables the user tocapture data electronically or manually,and produce reports at the touch of abutton, that are specifically formatted toprovide the information as required.Botswana used T-STATS to develop itsfirst TSA in 2008, and the Falkland Islandsare currently doing the same, with a sys-tem of tourism statistics now sufficient toattempt a first TSA later this year.

Interest in T-STATS is now growing at aregional level in the UK, having been usedto develop regional tourism statistics inEurope. Whilst its powerful ability toassist with the collection and dissemina-tion of data has been its greatest strengthoverseas, here in the UK, the facility toorganise disparate data all in one place isproving to be an equally important asset.

‘There is so much to consider when building up apicture of tourism, whetherit is for marketing,promotion, monitoring,planning or policy making, orany other purpose’

Technology and Education


Brian Wisdom MTS | Chief Executive |

People 1st 17

Technology is rapidly transforming theway in which the travel and tourismindustry operates. It’s expected to play agreater role as businesses seek to inno-vate their way out of the recent econom-ic turmoil.

Some of them will take this opportunityto ‘spring-clean’ and reassess their busi-ness practices, others will streamlineresources holding onto highly skilled staffthat can add value to the customer expe-rience and generate revenue.

Yet, given that the industry has reliedheavily on a transient and cheap labourforce, the challenge now for those busi-nesses is to find multi-skilled individualswho can easily juggle superb customerservice skills with astute commercial acu-men. Specialist skills too, continue to bein great demand and 28% of travel con-sultant vacancies are deemed particularlyhard to fill.

So where can employers find highly-skilled talented staff? The web is a greatresource – an immediate and cost-effec-tive channel for tapping into a new poolof fresh talent. Yet it’s vastly under-utilised. A recent People 1st report‘State of the Nation 2009’ found that only41% of industry employers used technol-ogy to recruit staff and monitor potentialemployees - a missed opportunity. Onein seven employers questioned said thatthey preferred to recruit through ‘wordof mouth’ or through an agency.However, the annual cost of recruitingand developing staff within our industryeach year is £414 million, with an averagecost of £673 per person.

People 1st soon realised the enormousbenefit of bringing together qualityemployers with skilled staff, as well asnew entrants into the industry, through adedicated online communications channeloffering a wealth of information oncareers, job opportunities, qualifications,training providers and funding. Launchedlast year, www.uksp.co.uk has gone fromstrength to strength and has proved tobe an invaluable asset and resource for allthose in the industry.

Over 600 businesses (over 15% of our

sector) including Merlin Entertainments,The Tourism Society and Lancashire andBlackpool Tourist Board have signed up as‘Good Employers’, giving them access to40,000 individuals, of which 45% areindustry apprentices and students takingindustry qualifications. Businesses whohave signed up to be Good Employersdemonstrate their commitment to devel-oping and training their staff.

Whilst UKSP enables registered compa-nies to check job applications on the ‘GetSpotted’ section of the site, it’s more thanjust an online job shop service. Smartemployers know that it’s a great opportu-nity for them to showcase their organisa-tion and wealth of career developmentopportunities available, and to positionthemselves as a company that values andgrows its staff, as ‘the company of choice’to work for.

UKSP is also a great source for industryinformation. It can really help employersmake sense of the training landscape andfind funded training that will benefit theirbusiness. Last year, People 1st negotiated

a deal with the Government worth £112million to fund training in crucial areassuch as customer service, and manage-ment and leadership. By registering as aGood Employer on UKSP, businesses canfind out how to make the most of thatdeal.

As the 2012 London Olympics fastapproaches with more job creation andopportunities, employers need to serious-ly think about preparing for a recovery.By 2017, it’s projected that an additional1,846,700 jobs in the hospitality, leisure,travel and tourism industry will be creat-ed over and above the 716,000 replace-ment posts envisaged.

The race will be on to fill those postswith capable professionals who can hitthe ground running and provide a world-class service and customer care.Employers will need to have a dedicatedand sound pool of talent to tap into forrecruiting staff.The websitewww.uksp.co.uk is an example of howtechnology offers a viable solution to thatchallenge.

Wired up to capitalise on industry talent


Flo Powell MTS | Executive Director | The Tourism Society


Annual conference and debate with the UNWTO

Tourism Society Events


The Tourism Society recently hosted itsmost successful Annual Conference todate, on 25th June 2009 in York, whichlooked at tourism’s role as a potentialsaviour of the UK economy.

This was followed by a high-profiledebate in London with the UN WorldTourism Organisation (UNWTO) on14th July, which sought to highlighttourism as an economic stimulator forthe G20 economies.

2009’s tourism headlines have beendominated by gloomy reports of thecredit crunch, budget cuts from UK gov-ernment, tourism companies failing andincreased rises in taxes such as APD (AirPassenger Duty) coupled with a weakerpound and stronger Euro and US dollar.The conference programme thereforeaimed to increase understanding of theeconomic value of tourism to differentparts of the UK, how these regions werecoping under the recession and whatmarketing activity was being undertaken.

The conference programme included aheavyweight line-up of speakers headedby Nigel Leacock MTS, Director, LloydsTSB Cardnet, who warned the recessionin the UK could carry on into 2010 butthat the value of tourism as an economiccontributor should not be underestimat-ed. Nigel commented that tourism is theUK’s fifth biggest industry, generating£19bn of foreign exchange earnings andaround £86 billion of revenue in the UKin 2007. The other speakers went furtherto state the value of tourism as an invest-ment opportunity; Deborah Evans MTS

from the London Development Agencyannounced that a 3-month New Yearcampaign to market London to Europehad cost £600,000 but generated aproven £11 million economic impact. SirThomas Ingilby FTS from Ripley Castlestated that the £30 million investment intourism promotion in Yorkshire hadresulted in the largest rise for attractionvisits of any region in the UK. Sir Thomascommented that this was “proof that if itwere so minded, the government couldprovide a considerable boost to thenational and regional economies andshorten the recession by investing moremoney promoting the country fortourism.”

The debate on 14th July was the firstco-hosted event between the TourismSociety and the UNWTO.The pro-gramme boasted the most internationaland high-profile panel the Society hadever had including the first UK appear-ance by Taleb Rifai in his new role asSecretary General for the UNWTO,Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, the newMinister for Tourism for the Republic ofSouth Africa and Christopher RodriguesFTS, Chairman of VisitBritain. The debatekicked off almost immediately with anidea from the UNWTO that the UKtourism industry should change its lobby-ing approach from trying to get the gov-ernment to appreciate the value oftourism to the UK economy to tourism’srole in helping developing economies.

Prof. Geoffrey Lipman FTS, spokesmanfor the UNWTO, commented that during

the G20 summit "Gordon Brown hastaken as one of his issues the need tohelp developing countries.Tourism is anindustry that creates jobs, improves infra-structure, helps the poorest, and is chang-ing towards a green economy." LeleiLeLaulu, Chairman, Foundation of thePeoples of the South Pacific International,reinforced this message by stating:‘Tourism is the largest voluntary transferof resources from the haves to the havenots in history.’

The issues of Air Passenger Duty andobtaining a UK VISA were raised by manypanellists.Taleb Rifai criticised the UK gov-ernment’s tax policy: “how can a govern-ment like the UK deprive the poorestcountries by deterring people from visit-ing them? We need to make it easier forpeople to travel, more affordable, and weneed to maximise the opportunities forpolicy makers to communicate with oneanother."

The Society’s Autumn/Winter calendaris set to increase communicationbetween key industry players and provideprofessional development opportunitiesfor members. See page 20 for the calen-dar or go online towww.tourismsociety.org to book yourtickets today and login to view the pre-sentations, photos, notes and film clipsfrom these events.Thanks to conferencesponsors Yorkshire Forward, and debatesponsors Christel DeHaan Tourism &Travel Research Institute, University ofNottingham, Smiles for Britain and theUNWTO.

Photography by CarlPearson Photography.L-R: Deborah EvansMTS, DevelopmentAgency,Andy TordoffFTS,YorkshireForward, PenelopeViscountess CobhamFTS,VisitEngland,Iain Herbert, ScottishTourism Forum,Nigel Leacock MTS,Lloyds TSB Cardnetand Alison CryerFTS,Tourism Society.

Book reviews


International Tourism: Cultures and BehaviourYvette ReisingerElsevier, 2009ISBN: 978-0-7506-7897-1429 pagesThis book iswritten specifi-cally for theundergraduatemarket, and Ionly wish thatsuch well-con-structed study-aids existed inmy own day.Thereferences foreach subject areexhaustive, thesuggested web-sites useful, andthe objectiveslisted before each chapter well structured.Theauthor’s tabulations of diverse qualitative dataare invaluable.Even better, as the author herself points out, itsusefulness is not confined to internationaltourism as an academic discipline: it raids themines of social anthropology (well over half thebook), plus marketing and international trade.It is thus a useful handbook for anyoneattempting to do business of any sort in a mar-ket place which is increasingly globalised whileremaining stubbornly immured in a large num-ber of mutually uncomprehending cultures.I lived and worked for many years in several ofthese cultures, where I thrived.This bookexplains to me how I managed it, and I find lit-tle to disagree with. It is, in short, an immenselyuseful work of reference for anyone involved –especially for the first time – in interculturalcommerce.Are there no negatives? Well, I found many ofthe Case Studies bland and perhaps contrived(granted, they’re included to make points tospecific students); and the ‘Discussion Pointsand Questions’ at the end of each chapterseem undemanding.I’d prefer the occasional: “In 2050, how will US hospitality accommodate Chinese hegemony?”It seems to me that the nub of the book lies ina sentence embedded about halfway through:“Real and authentic communication is notabout sharing meanings; it is about the ability tosee, acknowledge and respect the differenceand uniqueness of other people ...” (p191).If this book enables just a few graduates a yearto understand their chosen discipline and tosucceed in international commerce, it will bevaluable indeed.

Tom Burnham MTS | Principal | CTB Associates

Disaster Communicationsin a Changing WorldGeorge D Haddow and Kim S HaddowElsevier, 2009-07-11 ISBN: 978-1-85617-554--8218 pagesThe front coverof this book fea-tures a picturethat perhapssums up howfar we havecome in com-municating andmanaging newsof disasters suchas HurricaneKatrina, NewOrleans andaccidents andterrorist incidents. It's a screen shot ofthe Twitter web site. The advent of theinternet, blogging, social networking,YouTube etc means "first informers" orwitnesses have the ability to leapfrog tra-ditional news channels and those whowant to manage news. As the authors say,governments' role as gatekeepers ofnews is now an anachronism.This booklooks at the key elements of disastercommunications and how to managenews and information in the context ofnew media.Much of the material covers the planningthat organisations should have in placeanyway – like a Crisis PR plan and provid-ing front line staff with media training.However, it looks in detail at integratingnew media and imbedding it into plan-ning and implementation before disasterstrikes. It is not just a dry analysis butvery much a book to be picked up andused as a reference with lots of practicalsuggestions such as dealing with inter-views; and it uses case studies to illus-trate dos and don'ts.There are descrip-tions of other resources to consult suchas websites and a short bibliography ofother books to read but, given its subject,most of the references are to other websites.If the book has a fault, it is its NorthAmerican bias. However, that is a smallcriticism in the context of the insight thatthe authors (both experts with practicalexperience) provide for dealing withcommunications management whetherTV or text messaging. It should be on thebookshelf of anyone likely to have to han-dle communications in a crisis either inthe public or private sectors.

Nick Booker MTS | Director |

Attract Marketing Ltd

etourism case studiesRoman Egger and Dimitrios BuhalisButterworth Heinemann, 2008978-0-7506-8667-9463 PagesThis excellentvolume doesexactly what itsays on the tin.42 interestingcase studiesare covered in463 pages ofintense con-tent. Eachbegins with a panel giving specific“Learning Objectives” and concludeswith a set of “Review and DiscussionQuestions” together with references for“Further Reading”.The well-structured format means thatthe book is broken into bite size chunks.It is easy to chew if not necessarily todigest, such is the detail within each casestudy. The book is well structured withsix sections covering Hospitality,Intermediaries, Destinations,Transportation, Information Systems andMobile Systems.The case studies themselves follow aconsistent pattern, moving from a basicscene setting through an analysis of themain products offered, where value isadded to the specific business modelsapplied, and an interesting “KeyChallenges for the Future”. Inevitablyevents rapidly overtake the printedword, especially so in the course of thelast twelve months. Some of the ‘chal-lenges’ are now by no means consistentwith today’s realities. But this shouldprovide no problems for students whoshould be able to think on their feet andeffectively engage their critical faculties.This well-specified and carefully assem-bled volume should provide real value toany student of this important aspect ofthe industry. A hyper-critical reviewermight suggest that some of the casestudies are too close for comfort tobeing a sales pitch but that is a smallprice to pay for such a wide ranging setof studies. Similarly some of the studiesthemselves lack critical edge. For exam-ple the case study on VisitBritain andEnglandNet praises the development asa whole but fails to mention that fewerthan 200 bookings a month are affectedthrough it, despite a multi-million poundinvestment. Overall, for less than £30,this deserves to be a well-thumbed vol-ume.

Gilbert Archdale FTS | ASW Consulting

20 [email protected] 3 Issue 141 Autumn 2009

The Society recentlyachieved its most successfulAnnual Conference with 120delegates attending theprogramme in York on 25thJune, followed by a lively andinformative debate with theUNWTO on 14th July inLondon.

You can view the film clipsfrom these events on themembers-only section of theSociety website.

Our special thanks go tothe attendees and sponsorsof these events and also tothe three new corporatemembers; the HolidayCottages Group,The TourismCompany and Welcome toYorkshire, taking the total to12 which is the highest inSociety history.

The Society strives toembrace new media and thisjournal is now available asonline; please visitwww.tourismsociety.org/journal to view it.You can alsofollow the Society onwww.twitter.com, and joinour groups onwww.linkedin.com andwww.facebook.com.

This will be my last columnas Executive Director of theTourism Society; it has beenan absolute pleasureworking with you all overthe last three years.

I hope to see you at afuture Society event!

Flo Powell MTS |Executive Director |

[email protected]

Events calendar

My thanks go to Dr Alfordfor editing the journal and all of the contributors for their informative articles.

At the July AGM membersvoted unanimously for theintegration of the Society andthe Tourism ManagementInstitute in January 2010which will bring an excitingCPD program to the Society.

Members expressed theirsupport in developing over-seas chapters which I havebeen working on.Volunteersas Overseas ChapterChairmen would be very welcome.

Finally, on behalf of themembers, board andPresident I would like tothank Flo for her hard work,support and enthusiasm inmoving the Tourism Societyforward.

She will be a hard act to follow and I sincerely hopethat we can keep herinvolved in The Society in adifferent guise.

Alison Cryer FTS |Chairman |

The Tourism Society

SEPTEMBER7 Marketing Masterclass, Copthorne Tara Hotel, London22 Tourism & Climate Change, Royal GeographicalSociety, London24 Tourism & New Media, Bournemouth University, Poole

OCTOBER13 Tourism & the Public Realm, Leeds MetropolitanUniversity, Leeds22 Annual Dinner, House of Commons, London28 Tourism & Farming: what can the future hold? CastleGreen Hotel, Kendal

NOVEMBER4 Annual Media Masterclass with TravMedia, ChurchillMuseum & Cabinet War Rooms, London

12 Careers Forum with the ITT ,World Travel Market,Excel Centre, London

From the Chairman’s Desk

Membership News

The Tourism Society wasextremely saddened to learnthat one of its board mem-bers, Stephen John Price FTS,passed away peacefully after ashort illness on 16 July 2009aged 58 years.

Born 21 April 1951 in WestBromwich. Much loved hus-band of Margaret married for27 years and dearest father todaughters Rachel andStephanie. Beloved son, ofDilwyn and the late MarjoriePrice. A dear friend to manyand will be sadly missed by allwho knew him.

Steve was a well-known fig-ure in the tourism industryand his background includes14 years running SMP, his owntourism consultancy withMargaret, latterly working withAU Marketing; prior to start-ing SMP he was managingdirector of Rainbow Holidaysand previously was with ThistleHotels and GrandMetropolitan. Steve wasinvolved in many industrybodies and initiatives, a mem-

ber of the Tourism SocietyBoard,Yorkshire Tourist Boardmembers group and others.Steve had been a member ofthe Society since 1983, wasinvolved as a board memberfrom 1987-1991, then again in2003-2009 when he waselected as Chairman of theSociety's Yorkshire chapter.

Obituary


Membership News

Welcome New CorporateMembersHoliday Cottages GroupT: 01282 84428W: www.holidaycottagesgroup.co.uk

Garry Adam MTSHoliday Cottages Group LtdE:[email protected]

Geoffrey Cowley MTSHoliday Cottages Group LtdE:[email protected]

Simon Law MTSHoliday Cottages Group LtdE: [email protected]

Nicholas Rudge MTSHoliday Cottages Group LtdE: [email protected]

John Rogers MTSHilton Hotels CorporationT: 020 7856 8151E: [email protected]

Welcome New MembersMoira Alberts MTST: [email protected]

Philip Alford MTSBournemouth UniversityT: 01202 961646E: [email protected]: www.bournemouth.ac.uk

Andrew Ball MTShaysmacintyreT: 0207 969 5530E: [email protected]: www.haysmacintyre.com

Andrew Burnham MTSMacIntyre Hudson LLPT: 0207 429 4100E: [email protected]: www.macintyrehudson.co.uk

Peter Beasley MTS

Tourism Research Solutions –An Independent ConsultancyE: [email protected]: www.tourismsolutions.net

John Carmichael MTSVisitBrightonT: 01273 292605E: [email protected]

Donna Chambers MTSUniversity of SurreyT: 01483686360E: [email protected]

Nicola Daley MTSLotus UKT: 02079537429E: [email protected]: www.lotus-uk.co.uk

Tom Evans MTSBarnstaple Tourist InformationCentreT: 01271 375000E: [email protected]: www.staynorthdevon.co.uk

Jason Freezer MTSVisitEnglandT: 0208 563 3180E: [email protected]: www.enjoyengland.com

Marion Green MTSScott WilsonT: 01235 468700E: [email protected]: www.scottwilson.com

Nick How MTSQA ResearchT: 01904 632039E: [email protected]: www.qaresearch.co.uk

Angela Ivey MTSLondon Borough of RichmondE:[email protected]

Shina Li MTSUniversity of NottinghamT: 0115 846 8178

E: [email protected]: www.nottingham.ac.uk/ttri/

Catherine Lucas MTSGuildford College of Furtherand Higher EducationT: 01483 448 500 x8493E: [email protected]: www.guildford.ac.uk

John McEwan MTSAdvantage Travel CentresT: 0207 324 3940E: [email protected]: www.advantage4travel.com

Glen Melia MTST: 07983558021E: [email protected]

Rachael Merrifield MTSiknow-UK LtdT: 01772 521166E: [email protected]: www.iknow-uk.com

Sean Morgan MTSLynn Jones Research LtdE: [email protected]

Nikki Nichol MTSThe Caravan ClubT: 01342 336797E: [email protected]: www.caravanclub.co.uk

Carmen Niemeyer MTSGrant Thornton UK LLPT: 020 77282759E: [email protected]: www.grant-thornton.co.uk

Abiodun Odusanwo MTSTourism DevelopmentFoundation LtdT: 07932649106E: [email protected]

Maggy Sainsbury MTSTIN Travel IntelligenceNetworkT: 01784 471009E: [email protected]: www.the-tin.com

Eve Saint-Simmons MTSiknow-UK LtdT: 01772 521166E: [email protected]: www.iknow-uk.com

Gary Smith MTSAnthony Vobe TravelT: 01508 493321E:[email protected]

Mark Smith MTSHeritage Railway AssociationE: [email protected]: www.heritagerailways.com

Thomas Wallentin MTSByNovationT: +39.347.4503220E: [email protected]: www.bynovation.biz

Lucy Whittington MTSInspired Business MarketingLtdT: 07789 997756E: [email protected]: www.inspiredbusinessmarketing.com

Barry Woodfin MTSScott WilsonT: 01235 468700E: [email protected]: www.scottwilson.com

StudentsBath Spa UniversitySamantha HorsburghCanterbury Christ ChurchUniversityTommy BroughtonEdinburgh Napier UniversityAndrew GrantUniversity College BirminghamHelen JoynerUniversity of SalfordWilma BlydenUniversity of WestminsterGareth Jones

Congratulations to...Donald Pelekayomo FTS and Russell Bowman FTS on their upgrades to Fellowship, to David Steele FTS, Headof Sales & Marketing for City Cruises plc, for winning `Best Inland Canal/Riverboat Operator' for the eighthtime, at the 2009 Group Travel Awards on the 12 June 2009 and to Rob Davidson FTS, Senior Lecturer inBusiness Travel & Tourism at the University of Westminster, who has been decorated by the Polish Governmentfor 'outstanding services to the business tourism industry in Poland'.

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Documents

Tourism Society Journal