| Research and Reports... What's New? |
Just one year after being hit by the tsunami, affected countries are optimistic that a strong winter season marked by high occupancy rates will finally put an end to the lingering crisis that has dragged down arrivals and tourism revenues over the past 11 months.
 But a WTO assessment of the post-tsunami recovery indicates that hotel room and air seat capacity to Thailand's Andaman coast, Sri Lanka and the Maldives is still substantially lower than before the tragedy. It concludes that a full recovery will not be possible until capacity is fully restored in 2006.
The study - Tsunami Recovery: One Year On - is part of the Phuket Action Plan and can be downloaded free of charge from the WTO website.
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There is both good news and bad to report on the status of Asia Pacific travel and tourism, according to the latest issue of PATA's monthly newsletter, Issues and Trends.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association takes a look back over the past year and forward to 2006 and suggests that, while new growth from India, China (PRC), Russia and the Middle East looks certain to boost the number of international visitor arrivals, this can bring its own sets of problems.
Predictions for travel flows to and from the region over the next couple of years have been published in the recently updated Pacific Asia Forecasts 2005 - 2007. The document, which costs US$350 for PATA members and US$499 for non-members, can be ordered online.
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 Low-cost airlines have had a dramatic impact on the travel and tourism industry and are now one of the major factors dictating how European countries perform as tourism destinations, according to a new report commissioned by the World Travel Market (WTM) and compiled by IPK International.
The research reveals that airports with no-frills airline services are expanding their catchment areas, as low-fare travellers are prepared to travel longer distances to save costs. The report, available free of charge from the IPK International website suggests that countries which don't have any low-cost carriers risk looking less attractive to both travellers and investors.
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| Destination Brand Watch |
 In 2006, Visit Florida, the state's official tourism body, will be celebrating its tenth anniversary with a fresh new look. An updated logo was launched last month and, it is hoped, will provide travellers with an important call-to-action and a unique brand identifier.
'We're confident that the updated logo strengthens our brand and makes us more meaningful to consumers,' said Dale Brill, chief marketing officer for Visit Florida. 'The clear message of all our marketing can now be consistent with what we want our target audiences to remember.'
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The first phase of a new creative campaign has been unveiled by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). Entitled Brand Canada, the campaign is part of the CTC's global business strategy and has been designed to give the country's image a fresh new look, promoting it as a destination to be experienced as a whole, rather than simply for its picturesque scenery.
 'Our new path to selling Canadian tourism focusses on creating an emotional bond between Canada and the rewards of travel by offering emotional explanations of experiences,' says Michele McKenzie, President and CEO of the CTC. 'We found that our tourism performance in the world was not where it needed to be. With a vastly different landscape and increased competition, we had to give people more reasons to travel to Canada.'
Industry led, market driven and research based, the Canadian Tourism Commission is a Crown corporation that works in partnership with the private and public tourism sectors to market Canada as a four-season destination.
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| E-Business News |
Online Marketing:
Guide to B2C customer acquisition
If your New Year resolution is to find more customers who are interested in your products or services, then a free white paper, produced by eMarketer and sponsored by Prospectiv, might be just what you need.
The document - B-to-C Online Customer Acquisition: Ten Steps to Success - aims to provide a 'roadmap' for finding new customers online, creating a strong relationship with them, and then converting them into satisfied repeat customers. The white paper is available for free download.
Destination Websites:
Evaluation and benchmarking scheme launched
Want to make sure your website is ready to fight for its place in a competitive marketplace over the coming months? A new state-of-the-art web evaluation scheme for destinations, endorsed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism (IFITT), is now available to help you do just that.
Destination Web Watch uses a range of evaluation methodologies, supported by best practice criteria and consumer research, to help destinations benchmark the quality and effectiveness of their websites. Methods include audits, online user surveys and laboratory testing.
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| VisitBritain Article |
Our article 'E-Commerce: UK launches new system' in DMO World Issue 7 contained some inaccuracies, which we are pleased now to correct.
VisitBritain is launching an innovative polling service, developed with Agilisys, which polls live pricing and availability data from tourism partners' booking systems. Users of VisitBritain's websites can search for available product and get accurate pricing before being deep linked to the appropriate partner site to complete the transaction.
The polling service is designed to work with any compliant system and is currently being integrated into all the major Destination Management Systems which provide online booking functionality in England, together with the systems used by national accommodation chains and other product consolidators.
We have been asked to point out that there is no direct link between VisitBritain's polling service and Agilysis' EVIIVO frontdesk which will provide consumers with the ability to check availability and book accommodation or tourist activities online. The frontdesk application is a separate development by Agilisys. Like other systems, it has the capability to integrate with VisitBritain's polling service, but it does not drive the service and it is not specifically recommended or endorsed by VisitBritain over other proprietary systems on the market.
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| International News
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Travel and Tourism:
Experts discuss future
What does the future hold for travel and tourism? This was the question debated by a panel of industry professionals recently as part of the World Travel and Tourism Council's 15th anniversary celebrations.
The panel discussed changes in the industry over the past 15 years, public-private sector communication, future trends in travel and tourism, and the role of the WTTC. Among the many issues raised during the debate was the massive growth of new markets in Russia, China and India.
The debate was a precursor to 'Open Mind, Open World', the Global Travel and Tourism Summit to be held in Washington DC next April. The WTTC works with governments to raise awareness of the travel and tourism industry, the world's largest generator of wealth and jobs.
VisitBritain:
Wins awards hat-trick
One organisation that will be celebrating its successes in 2005 is VisitBritain which, last month, was named the World's Leading Tourist and Convention Bureau by more than 200,000 travel and tourism professionals.
Tourism ministers in more than 200 countries also voted for the Destination and Convention Bureau Travel Personality of the Year, which was presented to VisitBritain's chairman, Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge.
Completing its hat-trick of awards, Britain's tourism agency won the title of World's Leading Tourism Authority Internet Site for its international consumer website.
This is the second year in a row that the site has won and follows stiff competition from Australia, Germany and Thailand.
Avian Flu:
Preparations continue
Fears of a possible outbreak of avian flu in the coming months are prompting high levels of preparation and cooperation around the world.
ACMECS, an economic cooperation network comprising Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, has drawn up a declaration of partnership which outlines its joint plans for fighting the virus.
The agreement will see the five member countries working together to develop vaccines and launch public awareness campaigns. The network is also working towards streamlining border and visa controls.
Eurasia:
Silk Road opens up
The Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, which follows the route of the historic Silk Road between China and Europe, is to become more accessible to tourists from next year.
A new agreement, initiated by UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme (Silk Road Regional Programme), has been signed by many of the countries along the route and is expected to increase cooperation and provide a more open service to travellers.
World Tourism:
WTO changes title
A new year... and a new abbreviation for the world's leading tourism body. The frequent confusion between the World Tourism Organization and the World Trade Organization is now official over. From this month, the World Tourism Organization will add the letters UN (for United Nations), making it the UNWTO.
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As 2005 draws to a close and a new year arrives, we thought it would be good to provide a quick round up of some of the most useful news and views, publications and trends in this mini edition of DMO World.
