| Special Features |
 Managing Destination Crisis Communications...
Are you ready?
We listened to the news reports, we read the facts and figures and, probably, many of us wondered what it must have been like to experience, at first hand, the brutal force of Hurricanes Emily and Wilma last year.
Would we have been sufficiently prepared? How would we have coped? Don't miss Michael Hallé's insider account of how the Riviera Maya Crisis Communications Center battled to do its job. Then ask yourself the question... are you ready?
Meeting and Convention Planners Rule!
If trends are any indicator, the state of hospitality, despite its recent boom, has a very weak seam. Standards, whether in quality or performance, are low; the product has significant highs, a modest middle ground, and an enormous, disappointing base. Can anything be done to change this gloomy outlook?
DMO World's regular contributor, John R. Hendrie, applauds the courage of the meeting and convention planners who navigate the highs and lows of the hospitality industry.
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| The DMO World e-Business Master Class |
RSS: The Really Simple Solution
Keeping up-to-date with all the latest industry news can be a challenging, if not impossible, task. The internet may have made it easier to locate news quickly, sometimes even as it happens, but it still means trawling through dozens of web pages. Or does it?
The first in a series of e-Business Master Classes reveals a new kind of service that will bring the headlines and stories to you, without the need to search.
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| Key Articles |
World Tourism:
Strong Growth Predicted to Continue Throughout 2006
Global travel and tourism spending in 2005 exceeded US$ 6 trillion and is expected to grow 4.6%, in real terms, to US$ 6.5 trillion this year, according to the 2006 Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research released earlier this month.
 The research, which was prepared by Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF) on behalf of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), reveals industry growth of 5.7% from 2004 to 2005 and a 10 year (2007 to 2016) annualised growth forecast of 4.2% per annum over this period.
The WTTC reports that, although various events, including the December 2004 tsunami and the 2005 bombings in London and Egypt, had local impact, they did not materially affect global tourism. WTTC President, Jean-Claude Baumgarten, commented: 'Travel and tourism offer great opportunity for recovery to places like New Orleans, which suffered the devastation of Hurricane Katrina last summer.'
He continued: 'We are witnessing the power, speed and vitality of travel and tourism and how they can bring economic opportunity and jobs to people and economies seeking sustainable development.'
The WTTC also suggests that increases in international travel will see visitor exports growing by 6.5% to nearly US$ 900 billion in 2006. Globally more than 2.5 million new jobs will be created in the travel and tourism industry, bringing the total to 76.7 million (or 2.8% of the total world employment). If these figures are adjusted to include jobs which have an indirect impact on the industry, the totals rise to nearly 10 million new jobs this year and 234.3 millions jobs overall.
The WTTC's positive outlook is supported by figures released earlier this month at the ITB Berlin by tourism research specialists IPK International. The results of the annual World Travel Monitor, the largest continuous tourism study worldwide on the outbound travel behaviour of more than 50 European and international markets, revealed that, on a global level, outbound trips rose by 5% in 2005.
 This growth was distributed across the five continents, with African destinations leading the way at +10%, followed by Asia (+7%), America (+6%) and Europe (+4%). The report attributes this growth to increasing affluence, the increase in low-cost travel offers and the emergence of new markets in Asia.
Francesco Frangialli, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, commented at the opening of the ITB in Berlin: 'In a span of three years, from 2002 to 2005, annual arrivals have increased by 100 million. All the regions of the world posted gains. And yet, this has not been as easy period: Conflicts in the Middle East, terrorist attacks on tourists and major cities, the SARS epidemic, the tsunami and other natural disasters... there has been no lack of obstacles.
'In these difficult circumstances, tourism has once again demonstrated its extraordinary resilience. Following each crisis, it has been able to bounce back. Over the years we have learned, sadly, that terrorism can kill tourists; but we have also seen that it cannot harm tourism itself.'
Internet:
Evaluating the effectiveness of destination websites
A recent article in the specialist tourism e-newsletter Travel Mole suggested that 'most travel sites are atrocious', accusing them of failing to convert sales and 'driving business directly to their competitors'.
 Of all the technologies available today, the internet is clearly one of the most influential in terms of shaping tourism markets. It is used by nearly 1 billion consumers worldwide, providing them with easy access to an almost infinite amount of information on travel and leisure activities.
Access to the internet diminishes barriers such as distance, time and language, enabling tourism's most hidden gems to be discovered and promoted. Opportunities for e-commerce are multiplying rapidly, as new developments such as 3G mobile phones, PDAs and wireless laptops are snapped up by consumers eager to explore the latest technologies.
But how can destinations be sure that their websites are competing effectively in an increasingly crowded marketplace? What tools are available to provide the data needed to properly assess their progress and to benchmark this against other destinations?
A new service, developed for the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) by members of IFITT, the International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism, now provides destination management organisations with specialist assessments of their websites and other online activities.
 The Destination Web Watch service is described by the UNTWO as a way in which the organisation can help to 'ensure that tourism websites worldwide become more efficient and effective - in particular, focussed on meeting customer requirements, easier to read and navigate and more easily found through search engines.'
Destination Web Watch offers a number of evaluation methodologies that can be used alone or to complement each other, including:
- Website audit: A quick tool for examining a site's accessibility, readability, interactivity, navigation, search engine optimisation and technical performance, etc.
- Strategic evaluation: An in-depth website assessment of the critical success factors that a destination site must meet in order to be an effective tool in the total marketing strategy.
- Newsletter audit: A check of issues such as data protection, privacy regulations, good practice of permission-based marketing and editorial techniques.
- Online surveys: A method of providing insight into the needs, opinions, satisfaction levels and behaviour of a website's visitors.
 Laboratory testing: A systematic assessment of consumers' decision-making processes when navigating a site, leading to an identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the site's navigation system.
More information on the Destination Web Watch service is available on the website. A UNWTO publication Evaluating and Improving Websites: The Destination Web Watch is also available at a cost of EUR 47.
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| Research and Reports - What's New |
Marketing professionals must work harder to provide a more meaningful customer experience, according to Epsilon Interactive, an e-mail communication solutions provider. This was one of the key findings in the organisation's latest Annual Survey of Consumer Perceptions of E-mail and Spam, which highlighted fundamental shifts in ISP market share, gains in the battle against internet fraud, and early indications of the promise held by authentication solutions to improve user confidence.
More information and copies of the research results are available from Mary Beth Keelty at Epsilon Interactive.
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It isn't always easy to predict when a public-facing technology will reach its much-discussed tipping point. Some technology trends develop at a steady and predictable pace, while others are hyped to near-extinction before they flourish.
Analysts at PhoCusWright have identified six of the most important technology trends - some visible, some behind-the scenes. Their six page report, Six Travel Tech Trends for 2006, can be downloaded free of charge from the PhoCusWright website, although registration is required.
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 A recent survey of leading tour operators has revealed a general optimism within the industry regarding Inbound Tourism to Europe in 2006. The survey was carried out at the European Tour Operators Association's (ETOA) Hoteliers' Marketplace and the findings suggest that 95% of operators expect business this year to be the same as 2005 or to improve by more than 10%.
The report lists industry opinions on visitor perceptions, main tourism attractions, and the top threats to inbound tourism, which include terrorism, a major bird flu epidemic and the weakness of the US$. The main findings are summarised on the ETOA website.
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The desire to kick off the winter blues has been driving traffic to travel sites, according to comScore Media Metrix in its monthly Analysis of Consumer Activity. Cheap last-minute travel deals and spring offers drew 73.9 million visitors to the online travel sector in a single month, with Travelocity experiencing the biggest gain, jumping 38% to 13 million visitors.
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Internet media and market research company, Nielsen//NetRatings, has produced a new trend report on Australian online display advertising. The findings in the ABVS Online Advertising Expenditure Report reveal a strong commitment by the travel industry to online advertising and gives detailed insights into the country's online display advertising market.
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European consumers, wielding a growing confidence in making online travel purchases, have boosted the leisure and unmanaged business travel online marketplace to € 28.6 billion in 2005, up 49% from 2004, according to the latest research by PhoCusWright.
The report also includes market share data and consumer behaviour trends, with an emphasis on Germany. A summary of findings from the Impact of Tech Trends and Consumer Behaviour on the European Travel Markets is available on the PhoCusWright website.
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Spam mail, identity theft, phishing scams, keylogging... it can sometimes feel as though a Wild West level of lawlessness is taking over cyberspace. A new report by eMarketer examines the current proliferation of threats to internet consumer privacy and security, and assesses their adverse impact on online business and e-retail. The report Online Privacy and Security: The Fear Factor can be bought online for US$ 695.
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| Destination Brand Watch |
Campaign watchers have certainly had an interesting time of it lately. Australia's controversial new AUS$ 180 million tourism campaign... 'So where the bloody hell are you?' has been described as the country's biggest ever global ad campaign and it's certainly one that will be talked about for a while yet.
Conceived by M&C Saatchi, the campaign was initially banned in the UK over its use of the word 'bloody'. Protests by Tourism Australia and an advertising blitz, encouraging people to visit the campaign's official website to view the unedited ads, resulted in the Advertising Standards Authority lifting the ban.
The move delighted Tourism Australia's Managing Director, Scott Morrison, who commented: 'This is the most successful global viral campaign we have ever run for tourism to Australia. On the day of the UK ban we had more than 70,000 visits to our campaign website, which is an all time record. And the momentum has just continued to build.'
 Over eighty focus groups were conducted in the country's top seven tourism markets in order to develop and test this campaign. In all, the development process lasted eighteen months, cost more than AUS$ 6 million and included brand tracking, segmentation studies, international visitor studies and in-depth interviews, involving direct contact with more than 47,000 consumers. The Tourism Australia campaign was launched initially in five countries and will now expand to Asia where it will target the key Chinese, Korean and Japanese markets.
Scott Morrison continued: 'The research was firstly all about making sure we knew what we had to achieve - to get them to visit now, not just think we're great. We then had to identify our target market, what we call the Experience Seekers who possess the characteristics best suited to meeting Australia's objective to increase yield and dispersal as they spend twice as much and disperse three times as much as average travellers.'
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The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has launched a new brand in an effort to reposition its image in the international tourism marketplace and to enable the country to compete more effectively.
 The brand's strapline 'Naturally Nepal - Once is not Enough' was unveiled at the ITB Berlin earlier this month. Tek Bahadur Dangi, the NTB's Chief Executive, explained the rationale behind the decision: 'Prior to this campaign, we were solely dependant on individual overseas tour operators to promote Nepal but we will now all be working together in a concerted, focussed and centralised effort to penetrate new segments of the consumer market.
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| Dates for Your Diary |
| The Beijing International Travel and Tourism Market, scheduled for the 3rd to 5th April, is the only dedicated outbound B2B event for China. In 2005, BITTM attracted 120 exhibitors from more than 30 countries and over 2,000 visitors.
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There's just time to book your place at EyeForTravel's Travel Distribution Latin America and the Caribbean event, taking place the in Mexico City between the 4th and 5th April.
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Thailand's coastal resort of Pattaya is the venue for the 55th PATA Annual Conference. The Pacific Asia Travel Association conference will take place from the 23rd to the 27th April.
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The economic benefits of sustainable tourism, and its implications for the social and cultural environment, will be the central focus of the 8th Annual Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference. The event will be held in Puerto Rico from the 25th - 29th April.
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The Arabian Travel Market, held in Dubai between the 2nd and 5th May, is the place to be if you're interested in developing new business in this region. More information is available on the event's website.
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A Southern African showcase is the best way to describe Indaba 2006 which will be held in Durban from the 6th - 9th May. More than 1,500 tourism companies are expected to exhibit at the event.
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.jpg) IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for meetings and incentive travel, will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, between the 30th May and the 1st June. The event is expected to attract more than 3,000 exhibitors from 140 countries.
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AIME 2006, the 14th Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo will be held in Melbourne, Australia, 6th - 7th June.
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The annual BEST Education Network Think Tank will be held in Girona, Spain, from June 13th - 16th. The conference theme this year will address corporate social responsibility for sustainable tourism.
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A new leisure event, focussing on the increasingly profitable city break sector, City Break Expo 2006 will be held 12th - 14th June in Helsinki, Finland, in conjunction with the annual conference of the European Cities Tourism (ECT).
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A key trade event for the Latin American and Caribbean international meetings and incentive industries, the LACIME Expo will be held in São Paulo, Brazil between the 20th and 22nd June.
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America's longest running interdisciplinary seminar series in the arts, will this year focus on the topic of Cultural Tourism. The 44th Annual Professional Arts Management Institute programme will be held in Chicago, USA, between the 23rd and 25th June.
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 And, looking ahead to a couple of the other major events on the travel and tourism calendar... The World Travel Market 2006 will be held between the 6th and 9th November in London. More information is available on the WTM website. And the dates for the ITB Berlin 2007 are March 7th - 11th 2007. More details are available on the ITB website. |
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| In This Edition...
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E-BUSINESS MASTER CLASS
RESEARCH AND REPORTS
DESTINATION BRAND WATCH
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Mexico recovery role model
Australian tourism rebounds
PATA takes over PROFIT
Malaysia's spiritual tourism
Indonesia finds new partner
Meeting venues to be graded
Digital signage takes off
Mekong tourism investment
Gay tourism market booms
India's branding blitz
Islamic tourism centre plans
China's Olympic preparations
European portal launched
Travelocity links families
Decipher upgrades site
UNWTO tackles digital divide
Travelzoo search hits 1m
Holiday homes via satellite
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| International News |
Mexico:
Recovery role model
The recovery programme carried out in Mexico after Hurricane Wilma should be used as a blueprint for other tourism regions, according to Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), following a visit to some of the worst-affected areas. Read our special feature on the work of the Riviera Maya Crisis Center in this issue.
Australia:
Tourism industry rebounds
Confidence in Australia's inbound tourism industry has grown in the last 12 months, according to the Australian Tourism Export Council. Managing Director of ATEC, Matthew Hingerty, said tourism operators were more positive about the industry's future than they had been since before 11 September 2001, a fact evidenced by record visitor numbers and support for industry events.
He commented: 'The level of confidence in the Australian tourism industry is positive at present, but as competition for the international tourism dollar grows ever-fiercer, it is important that both the industry and governments continue this impetus.'
See Destination Brand Watch for news of the controversy surrounding TA's latest marketing campaign.
Pacific Region:
PATA takes over PROFIT
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has taken over the organisation and management of PROFIT in the Pacific 2006, a tourism partnership meeting which will be held in Vanuatu in Nov/Dec. PROFIT is 'partnership, roles and opportunities for investment in tourism'.
The event will feature one-to-one meetings between tourism operators and those interested in exploring opportunities in the Pacific region, as well a conference programme addressing the most significant issues affecting tourism growth, including co-operation, branding, sustainability, access and competitiveness.
Malaysia:
Spiritual tourism campaign
Malaysia's newly appointed tourism minister has launched a campaign to promote the country's spirituality to overseas visitors. Tengku Adnan Mansor said: 'We have different faiths, celebrations and places of worship which we can proudly show as a fabric of Malaysian life.'
The move is seen as a response to the increasingly large numbers of foreign tourists that attend the country's many religious festivals. The Malaysian Tourist Board already arranges family home visits for tourists during special celebrations.
Indonesia:
Joint promotion with Malaysia
A recent travel trade event in Indonesia's Batam Islands has prompted moves towards a joint tourism promotion with southern Malaysia's Johor state. The two states share a history dating back more than 200 years and are expecting this new campaign to boost arrivals by around 5%.
Meetings Industry:
New grading scheme proposed
VisitBritain, Britain's national tourism agency, is consulting with conference and meetings industry representatives over proposals to introduce a new business venue grading scheme. Working in consultation with organisations such as the Meetings Industry Association (MIA), the research will help to identify the type of quality assurance scheme needed and how it could be marketed to buyers.
If the scheme goes ahead, conference venues could be added to the total of over 25,000 properties in England currently graded by VisitBritain.
Australia:
Signage leads the way
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) has launched new building and venue names and installed one of Australia's largest digital screen display systems. Now, more than 150 LCD display screens are located throughout the centre, along with new fixed signage designed to make it easy for visitors to navigate the venue.
Chief executive, Ton van Amerongen, said the state-of-the-art Sony LCD screens were an integral part of the system: 'The new display screens improve the visibility of events and offer scope for additional branding and promotional opportunities.'
Mekong:
Debate on tourism investment
The first tourism investment summit for the Mekong sub-region is currently underway in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. The event has brought together the public and private sectors to network, review best practice, identify areas for investment and to chart a course for sustainable tourism development.
The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) comprises Cambodia, China's Guanxi and Yunnan provinces, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Last month, Mekong Tourism, the body responsible for co-ordinating tourism marketing and development, opened an office in Bangkok.
Gay Tourism:
Market is booming
The competition to win a slice of the fast-growing gay tourism market is heating up, with a new campaign from Britain's national tourism agency, VisitBritain: Isn't it time you came out... to Britain!
The campaign describes Britain as the 'must-visit' gay and lesbian destination of 2006. A website provides more information about the country's 'welcoming gay community', listing gay hotels, bars and nightlife as well as details of the main specialist events and festivals, such as EuroPride.
India:
Branding campaign blitz
A specially designed campaign, aimed at highlighting India's position as the fastest growing free market democracy, has been gaining momentum since its launch earlier this year at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
India Everywhere has been designed as a brand building exercise that will demonstrate the country's growing economic robustness, promote the global appeal of its culture and cuisine, and highlight its diverse but unified democracy.
Malaysia:
Plans Islamic tourism centre
Plans for Malaysia to become a focus for Islamic tourism and culture are being considered, following the decision by members of the Iran-based Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to provide more tourism marketing support to its fifty-seven member states. A new tourism and culture centre is planned which will act as an exhibition showcase and conference venue for OIC members.
China:
Olympic preparations
China's preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing continue to gather speed, with improvements to the transport infrastructure already underway. Major roads are being signposted in English and a massive programme of English language tuition has been launched by the Foreign Affairs Office in an effort to ensure that at least 35% (5.5 million) Beijing residents have basic language skills.
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| E-Business News |
Europe:
Internet portal launched
After more than 3 years of planning, the new European travel portal has been launched. This is the first time that all European destinations have been integrated into a single internet platform, making the portal a unique platform for marketing Europe as a single tourism destination.
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has been closely involved in the development of the EC funded project. ETC President, Arthur Oberascher, said: 'This will raise the collaboration between European tourism destinations to a completely new level. This is an important step for European tourism. But it is also an important step for a united Europe.'
Travelocity:
Linking friends and family
Travelocity has launched an innovative new feature as part of its online booking service, aimed at making it easier for family and friends to connect when travelling. The Meet Me In feature allows up to four people from two different cities to select itineraries that will maximise their time together, helping to simplify the co-ordination of complex travel arrangements.
Decipher:
New site launched
Australia's Decipher website was re-launched earlier this month, with expanded content and enhanced functionality. Users of the site will now find it easier to collect, organise and edit a wide range of tourism facts and figures and use the functionality of the site to convert these data into personalised reports. The site also offers a range of case studies, industry news and online tools.
UNWTO:
Reducing digital divide
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has linked up with the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) in an effort to standardise the common language used for electronic travel interactions.
UNWTO will provide a global forum for adoption of OTA specifications and the OTA will act as the technical arm of the UNWTO in the creation of travel related technology and specifications. Together they are aiming to involve an increasing number of stakeholders and to extend the scope of existing XML standards.
Online Search:
Travelzoo reaches 1million
Travelzoo, which provides web users with a simplified way to search multiple sites for travel deals and offers, has collected more than one million user ratings for its intelligent SuperSearch tool. These user ratings are logged and used to provide other users with valuable feedback on the most popular and recommended sites.
Satellite Mapping:
Zoom in on holiday homes
Microsoft's Virtual Earth technology is being harnessed to provide tourists with details of holiday homes, nearby attractions and key transport links in one easy-to-use mapping system. The service is provided by the online travel shop, Boekingsservice via their website, Vakantie Globe. The site already contains details of the first 6,000 holiday homes onto the website with an extra 19,000 being added over the next few weeks. The maps offer zoom-in facilities and search options across fifteen European countries.
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