Carolyn Childs presented her findings of a recent study and analysis of available research at the 2016 Travel and Tourism Research Association International Conference in Vail, Colorado.
In this presentation she talks about the challenges and critical success factors for mobile and pop-up Welcome / Visitor information Centers.
If you are conducting your tourism marketing today, the same way you were last year, it is time to be worried!
You need to change, make no mistake, if you don't you will be seriously left behind.
2016 Hospitality Digital Marketing PredictionsLeonardo
Learn which digital marketing trends will impact the Hospitality industry in 2016, and how they will shape your marketing initiatives - with Tim Peter, Digital Marketing & eCommerce expert, Charlie Osmond, Founder & Ceo of Triptease, and Kinnari Desai, Area General Manager of Desai Hospitality Group.
Website Marketing & Social Media for Business. Simple Tactics for 2011Smartdog digital
A presentation we gave to members of the Federation of Small Businesses in York, UK.
The presentation was aimed at giving small business owners an overview of website marketing and social media helping them to improve their understanding. We give business owners our top 10 tips for 2011.
Ideal for businesses with a basic to medium understanding of online marketing.
Digital Marketing Strategies for TravelPedro Tavares
Travel Business is facing disruptive challenges. New consumer trends, different experiences and expectations demand some industry reinvention. This presentation is about understanding this new traveler and to explore how (digital) communication with new tools and better consumer knowledge can bring the competitive advantage to keep ahead of the competition.
If you are conducting your tourism marketing today, the same way you were last year, it is time to be worried!
You need to change, make no mistake, if you don't you will be seriously left behind.
2016 Hospitality Digital Marketing PredictionsLeonardo
Learn which digital marketing trends will impact the Hospitality industry in 2016, and how they will shape your marketing initiatives - with Tim Peter, Digital Marketing & eCommerce expert, Charlie Osmond, Founder & Ceo of Triptease, and Kinnari Desai, Area General Manager of Desai Hospitality Group.
Website Marketing & Social Media for Business. Simple Tactics for 2011Smartdog digital
A presentation we gave to members of the Federation of Small Businesses in York, UK.
The presentation was aimed at giving small business owners an overview of website marketing and social media helping them to improve their understanding. We give business owners our top 10 tips for 2011.
Ideal for businesses with a basic to medium understanding of online marketing.
Digital Marketing Strategies for TravelPedro Tavares
Travel Business is facing disruptive challenges. New consumer trends, different experiences and expectations demand some industry reinvention. This presentation is about understanding this new traveler and to explore how (digital) communication with new tools and better consumer knowledge can bring the competitive advantage to keep ahead of the competition.
Monetizing Mobile: How A Rich and Engaging Mobile Website Drives BookingsLeonardo
The slides from our July webinar, featuring insights from Robert Cole, founder of RockCheetah, and Assistant General Manager of the JHouse Greenwich, Bernard Augustin.
Check out these slides to learn more about how your property can monetize mobile and engage travelers across all devices!
Learn how to improve your property's website presence and increase conversions with the President of Scott Yankton Consulting, Scott Yankton, and E-Commerce Executive at the Doha Marriott Hotel, Cristobal Galit.
How to Convert Website Visitors into GuestsLeonardo
Our August webinar about increasing website conversions, featuring Daniel Zelling, Digital Marketing Expert and Founder of opensmjle, and Matthew Barton, General Manager of the Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder North.
Fastrack Group - Hotel Marketing Must Do's 2013-14 WebinarKen Jones
Adrian Caruso & James Hacon from Fastrack Group share their must do tactics for Hotel Marketing in 2013 & 2014.
The tactics discussed include:
How to cash in on the increase in mobile & tablet bookings.
Using your website to target Chinese travelers.
The do's & don'ts of hotel distribution.
Attracting more direct bookings with paid advertising.
Pre- and Post-stay contact for marketing & customer service.
Social media marketing.
Where are other hotels spending their marketing dollars?
www.fastrackg.com
In the past 6-8 years, the jewelry industry has seen the biggest fundamental shift in decades in how consumers shop. Brought on by the digital revolution and the proliferation of mobile devices, this shift has drastically changed the business landscape. Adaptation is key for ongoing business success and requires a strategic plan that helps navigate potential customers from an online world to an in-store experience. We’ll take a look at a variety of key digital mediums and outline ways to develop an online strategy and message for todays consumer.
Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct BookingsLeonardo
Tried and true digital marketing strategies you can implement right now to deliver an impactful shopping experience that will drive direct bookings on your property’s website.
How customers search for an insurance broker - Advisr Webinar - 2019.05.30Advisr
Connecting with customers is tough. Insurance Brokers need to stand out, differentiate themselves and go where their customers are. Get great tips on how customers review, find and ultimately select an insurance broker to partner with.
Mastering the Hotel Marketing Ecosystem at the Property LeveleCornell
Today’s hotel visitors have never been more connected. With multiple devices and countless online resources to consult during each phase of the guest lifecycle – from the point they make their booking decisions to well after they check-out – travelers’ hotel expectations have shifted.
Long gone are the days when the hotel marketing tactics were all deployed pre-stay and offline. Today, easier access to guest preference data, past purchase behavior and social media profiles has made the hotel marketing discipline a multi-phase and multi-channel practice that requires involvement from many different key stakeholders at the brand and hotel-property level.
In this webinar, Greg Bodenlos, social media and digital marketing hospitality consultant, walks us through this complex hotel marketing ecosystem. In the process, Greg reveals strategies and tactics for mastering the innumerable amount of hotel marketing priorities. The following are just a few of the questions that will be addressed:
- What are the most important marketing focus areas at the property level?
- How has the definition of hotel marketing evolved in the hospitality industry?
- Where should hotel marketing live in the overall hotel operation ecosystem?
- Who are the various key stakeholders to involve in hotel marketing initiatives?
- What new hotel marketing challenges are on the horizon?
Greg Bodenlos is a passionate hospitality marketing consultant and HSMAI leader based in Boston, Massachusetts. With a passion for digital trends, social media and innovation – and over five years of hotel and technology work experience – Greg possesses a unique perspective on the hospitality digital marketing landscape. Playing digitally-focused marketing roles at the destination resort, luxury independent property, and now city center hotel has allowed Greg to play an active role in shaping hotel marketing best practices at the property-level as well as help bring hoteliers closer to creating more meaningful, personalized travel experiences for their guests. It was in his marketing role at Revinate – a SaaS start-up in Silicon Valley that designs and develops technology to improve the guest experience – where Greg was able to help hoteliers and academics better understand the power of leveraging consumer intelligence to drive better service and maximize revenue streams across the entire guest lifecycle.
Greg is a proud graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and has been featured as a hotel marketing expert on National Public Radio. Greg has been featured as a contributor in Crowdcentric Media’s Social Media Week New York blog, eCornell’s Blog and HotelMarketing.com, as well as played a co-authored role in an award-winning piece for Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research with Chris Anderson entitled Best Practices in Search Engine Marketing and Optimization.
Greg can be reached by phone at +1 781 686 2177, email at gr
Find out what it's like to work with EBWAY Creative, a premier Internet Marketing and Web Design agency located in Fort Collins, Colorado. This slide deck will give you a behind the scenes look at our marketing solutions, web design services and our processes. You'll get a virtual tour from co-founder Jonathan Hinshaw as he takes on a journey to experience what it's like to work with EBWAY Creative.
For information, watch the video tour here on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/ebwaycreativevideos
Check us out online at www.ebwaycreative.com
Moving From Professional Services to Serving Professionals' NeedsMichael Walker
ORM's Strategy and Insight Director Andy Farmer talks about taking a customer need based approach to digital strategy in the professional services sector
Embracing Mobility: How to Build A Mobile Website that ConvertsLeonardo
Discover what makes mobile hotel shoppers make their purchase with the insights and strategies in our August webinar on building a mobile website that converts.
Monetizing Mobile: How A Rich and Engaging Mobile Website Drives BookingsLeonardo
The slides from our July webinar, featuring insights from Robert Cole, founder of RockCheetah, and Assistant General Manager of the JHouse Greenwich, Bernard Augustin.
Check out these slides to learn more about how your property can monetize mobile and engage travelers across all devices!
Learn how to improve your property's website presence and increase conversions with the President of Scott Yankton Consulting, Scott Yankton, and E-Commerce Executive at the Doha Marriott Hotel, Cristobal Galit.
How to Convert Website Visitors into GuestsLeonardo
Our August webinar about increasing website conversions, featuring Daniel Zelling, Digital Marketing Expert and Founder of opensmjle, and Matthew Barton, General Manager of the Hampton Inn & Suites Boulder North.
Fastrack Group - Hotel Marketing Must Do's 2013-14 WebinarKen Jones
Adrian Caruso & James Hacon from Fastrack Group share their must do tactics for Hotel Marketing in 2013 & 2014.
The tactics discussed include:
How to cash in on the increase in mobile & tablet bookings.
Using your website to target Chinese travelers.
The do's & don'ts of hotel distribution.
Attracting more direct bookings with paid advertising.
Pre- and Post-stay contact for marketing & customer service.
Social media marketing.
Where are other hotels spending their marketing dollars?
www.fastrackg.com
In the past 6-8 years, the jewelry industry has seen the biggest fundamental shift in decades in how consumers shop. Brought on by the digital revolution and the proliferation of mobile devices, this shift has drastically changed the business landscape. Adaptation is key for ongoing business success and requires a strategic plan that helps navigate potential customers from an online world to an in-store experience. We’ll take a look at a variety of key digital mediums and outline ways to develop an online strategy and message for todays consumer.
Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct BookingsLeonardo
Tried and true digital marketing strategies you can implement right now to deliver an impactful shopping experience that will drive direct bookings on your property’s website.
How customers search for an insurance broker - Advisr Webinar - 2019.05.30Advisr
Connecting with customers is tough. Insurance Brokers need to stand out, differentiate themselves and go where their customers are. Get great tips on how customers review, find and ultimately select an insurance broker to partner with.
Mastering the Hotel Marketing Ecosystem at the Property LeveleCornell
Today’s hotel visitors have never been more connected. With multiple devices and countless online resources to consult during each phase of the guest lifecycle – from the point they make their booking decisions to well after they check-out – travelers’ hotel expectations have shifted.
Long gone are the days when the hotel marketing tactics were all deployed pre-stay and offline. Today, easier access to guest preference data, past purchase behavior and social media profiles has made the hotel marketing discipline a multi-phase and multi-channel practice that requires involvement from many different key stakeholders at the brand and hotel-property level.
In this webinar, Greg Bodenlos, social media and digital marketing hospitality consultant, walks us through this complex hotel marketing ecosystem. In the process, Greg reveals strategies and tactics for mastering the innumerable amount of hotel marketing priorities. The following are just a few of the questions that will be addressed:
- What are the most important marketing focus areas at the property level?
- How has the definition of hotel marketing evolved in the hospitality industry?
- Where should hotel marketing live in the overall hotel operation ecosystem?
- Who are the various key stakeholders to involve in hotel marketing initiatives?
- What new hotel marketing challenges are on the horizon?
Greg Bodenlos is a passionate hospitality marketing consultant and HSMAI leader based in Boston, Massachusetts. With a passion for digital trends, social media and innovation – and over five years of hotel and technology work experience – Greg possesses a unique perspective on the hospitality digital marketing landscape. Playing digitally-focused marketing roles at the destination resort, luxury independent property, and now city center hotel has allowed Greg to play an active role in shaping hotel marketing best practices at the property-level as well as help bring hoteliers closer to creating more meaningful, personalized travel experiences for their guests. It was in his marketing role at Revinate – a SaaS start-up in Silicon Valley that designs and develops technology to improve the guest experience – where Greg was able to help hoteliers and academics better understand the power of leveraging consumer intelligence to drive better service and maximize revenue streams across the entire guest lifecycle.
Greg is a proud graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and has been featured as a hotel marketing expert on National Public Radio. Greg has been featured as a contributor in Crowdcentric Media’s Social Media Week New York blog, eCornell’s Blog and HotelMarketing.com, as well as played a co-authored role in an award-winning piece for Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research with Chris Anderson entitled Best Practices in Search Engine Marketing and Optimization.
Greg can be reached by phone at +1 781 686 2177, email at gr
Find out what it's like to work with EBWAY Creative, a premier Internet Marketing and Web Design agency located in Fort Collins, Colorado. This slide deck will give you a behind the scenes look at our marketing solutions, web design services and our processes. You'll get a virtual tour from co-founder Jonathan Hinshaw as he takes on a journey to experience what it's like to work with EBWAY Creative.
For information, watch the video tour here on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/ebwaycreativevideos
Check us out online at www.ebwaycreative.com
Moving From Professional Services to Serving Professionals' NeedsMichael Walker
ORM's Strategy and Insight Director Andy Farmer talks about taking a customer need based approach to digital strategy in the professional services sector
Embracing Mobility: How to Build A Mobile Website that ConvertsLeonardo
Discover what makes mobile hotel shoppers make their purchase with the insights and strategies in our August webinar on building a mobile website that converts.
The Death of Lorem Ipsum & Pixel Perfect ContentDave Olsen
A designer has been asked to mock up a student profile page in Photoshop. It’s beautiful. The student’s name fits perfectly under the profile image. Their bio is split into two columns that perfectly line up. Unfortunately, all of this perfectly laid-out content is an unrealistic best-case scenario. Our content never fits this perfectly. Names are longer than the eleven characters used in the mock-up. Bios naturally vary in length from person to person. The reality is that we will have large variation in our content.
Rather than addressing these variations after we’ve received approvals and started building a website, we should stress-test our designs with real content from the start of our process. To deliver the best possible product, we need to design for the best-case, worst-case, and every-case-in-between when it comes to possible content.
* Learn how systems and patterns can help us build reusable and shareable components for our websites
* Discover the benefits of taking the design process out of Photoshop and moving it to the browser.
* Learn how content specialists can engage with the design process from the beginning and be advocates for realistic content.
* Explore how real and varied content, not lorem ipsum, can be used to test a design and how it might work.
* Discover how developers can also be involved in this process to ease integration of a design with a CMS or a custom solution.
With consumer preferences changing as quickly as technology, it's a challenge for financial institutions to keep up. Digital Insight and Cornerstone Advisors shared valuable takeaways aimed at guiding CEOs, CFOs and CIOs in approaching new channels and optimizing existing strategies to provide increased returns now and into the future.
Presentation on UK retailers' innovation plans given at multichannel strategy consultancy Practicology's 2016 client conference in London on July 6th 2016.
Transformation Toolkit: Themes to support successful transformationsBirgitte Yttri
The Transformation Toolkit is developed in the Norwegian Project CUSTOMER CARE 2015. It is a cooperation project with the following partners: Telenor ASA, DNB BANK ASA, Norway Post, SINTEF, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), Bekk Management Consulting, The Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA) and Copenhagen Business School.
The Project is financed by the Norwegian Research Council.
The ambition of Customer Care 2015 is how to deliver excellent service experience to customers in the future. The transformation to digital touchpoints has been hampered by the silo-organisation. Corporate culture, incentive- and KPI-systems are Barriers for delivering the experience that customers expect.
To oblige this ambition, we present the Transformation Toolkit - that will contribute to successful transformations in the future.
Building a business case for online engagementMark Pivon
How do we garner support for a public participation project - or any project for that matter? Here we look at the essential aspects of a business case, built for a government entity (in this case it's a Federal Government Agency, but easily edited) and discover how to be prepared for the really difficult questions.
TechFuGees Australia occurred on the 28th & 29th of November 2015 at Liverpool city Library with the Goal of bringing out the Sydney Tech community to help develop tech solutions to allow new migrants to quickly and easily settle into the Australian community.
For more information: check out our event report on DevPost:
http://bit.ly/1OjZJCv
Digital Transformation - How to Deliver Meaningful ResultsBizagi
Stop right there, here is the inescapable truth: Every large business, everywhere needs to transform in order to survive – and transformation is beyond difficult. So let’s get beyond the aspiration and talk about the practicalities of this journey for real businesses. This presentation is intended for all business and technology leaders tasked with delivering digital change in 2017 and beyond.
Read MWD Advisors’ Research Director Neil Ward-Dutton as he shares his analyst insights into how you can deliver meaningful results from your digital transformation initiatives this year.
Neil shares his views on one of the most common mistakes that businesses make when trying to digitally transform – which is to think only about the front-end, marketing driven side of the customer experience.
Find advice on how to:
• Manage change more collaboratively, quickly and cost-effectively
• Improve the customer experience through operational change
• Select the right technology to enable strategic digital innovation
Under Pressure - Government services under transformationNikamae
Annika Naschitzki gave this presentation at UX Australia, Sydney, 2014.
In order to transform government services, New Zealand government established the Better Public Services programme. In this Result 10 looks at improving the way that New Zealanders can deal with government digitally.
Annika's presentation describes the Result 10 strategy, all-of-government discussions and first lessons' learned in the aim to improve the user-friendlyness of government online services.
Similar to Rethinking Welcome (Visitor Information) Centers - New Guidelines (20)
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With so many hot trends around, in this presentation we help you prioritise the travel and tourism trends that you need to need to take notice of and action.
How the travel industry can help us detechBronwyn White
We are so addicted to our devices, phones and 'being on' at all times that now, travel and tourism operators are coming up with packages and ideas to help us switch off.
The ultimate tactical marketing toolkit for tourism professionals Bronwyn White
When it comes to tourism marketing, many of us are suffering from information and technology overwhelm. And some of us just cannot afford in the immediate term to commission a SEO company to help out. But believe it or not, it IS possible to achieve a robust online presence yourself and within your own team without spending a cent.
As a travel researcher and marketer, I have been experimenting with various methodologies over the last few years since Google switched its algorithm over to semantic search. As a result, we have enjoyed great success as a small boutique agency in ranking for our own site.
Snapchat for tourism marketing made easy Bronwyn White
Many of our travel research and marketing clients are starting to ask if they should be on Snapchat We are seeing a rapid rise in Snapchat usage and, not just in the youth sectors. With the rise, comes unique marketing opportunities to engage with yes, mostly Gen Z and Gen Y travellers, but an increasing number of 'older' travellers who are showing signs of taking up Snapchat.
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Many tourism businesses don’t enjoy marketing preferring to focus on delivering the experience – But to the potential customer the FIRST touchpoint is actually a key part of the experience.
If you get this wrong, many of them will NEVER get to the bit you think of as your offer.
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The methodology involves the distribution of a structured questionnaire, ensuring a representative sample and facilitating a comprehensive analysis of the gathered data.
Key findings include the nuanced perceptions of transportation infrastructure adequacy, safety and security concerns, financial influences on travel decisions, and the cultural and ecological impacts of transportation choices. These findings culminate in a comprehensive set of recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in the Nigerian tourism industry. The findings contribute to the existing literature by providing actionable insights for policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers in the Nigerian tourism sector.
The recommendations encompass gender-sensitive planning, infrastructure enhancements, safety measures, and strategic interventions to address financial constraints, ensuring a holistic and sustainable development of the tourism industry in Nigeria.
Author: Imafidon Osademwingie Martins
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In "Hidden Gems of Europe," we embark on a journey to uncover these secret spots, exploring the heart and soul of Europe through its quaint villages, charming towns, and secluded natural wonders. This book aims to inspire travelers to look beyond the obvious and venture into the lesser-explored corners of the continent, where true adventure and discovery await.
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BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. BTW UK Visa Application Process, Uk Visa complete guide, Uk Visa fees, requirements and application process. Know all about uk visa and best way to apply for the uk visa. Get to know about the requirements that allows you for the faster visa appliaction. Get information in this PDF and simplyfy your visa process.
How To Talk To a Live Person at American Airlinesflyn goo
This page by FlynGoo can become your ultimate guide to connecting with a live person at American Airlines. Have you ever felt lost in the automated maze of customer service menus? FlynGoo is here to rescue you from endless phone trees and automated responses. With just a click or a call to a specific number, we ensure you get the human touch you deserve. No more frustration, no more waiting on hold - we simplify the process, making your travel experience smoother and more enjoyable.
2. Page 2
Outline
1 The challenge
2 The process
3 The building blocks: critical success factors for VICs overall
4 Critical success factors for Mobiles and Pop Ups
5 The solution and learnings
3. Page 3
The challenge
• Based on projects we did for 2 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Australia
(similar to counties)
Source: Eurobodalla VIC Service Review Report
Challenge 1:
Between 5-14% of
Eurobodalla’s visitors use the
VIC
A poor ROI on the two thirds
of council budget required to
service them
Opportunity cost of investing
in digital which is growing
Challenge 2:
An LGA facing cost pressures
and under-utilised assets
wishes to co-locate its
Entertainment Centre box
office and main VIC
Currently only 5% of visitors
use any of the VICs
Set against the background
of a major state government
funding review
4. Page 4
The process
Project 1 Project 2
Desk Research ✔ ✔
Customer/stakeholder survey ✔
Expert consultation ✔
Staff workshops ✔
Immersion ✔
Industry workshops ✔
Some key facts
• 1,200+ pages of evidence reviewed from around the
world – including both qualitative and quantitative
• Looked beyond VICs to Retail, Financial Services,
Government, Aviation
• Input from TTRA LISTSERV – Thank you!!
Everyone was encouraged
to participate – with
flexibility on how
5. Page 5
5 critical success factors for a VIC
Location
Stakeholder
Mix
ExperienceBranding
Integration
6. Page 6
More on the success factors
Location
Fish where
the fish are
A destination
in its own
right
Strong retail
offer
Absence of
digital
alternatives
Don’t think
this means you
shouldn’t do
wifi
7. Page 7
More on the success factors
Stakeholder
Mix
Supportive
locals
Supportive
industry
Visitor Profile
Match of
opening
hours to
visitor mix
Quoted in the WA
Haeberlin study
8. Page 8
More on the success factors
Quality of
experience
“Stories you
can’t get
anywhere
else”
The
Bestpertise
Multi-modal
and flexible
Get the
basics right
Somewhere
you want to
be
(destination)
9. Page 9
Getting the basics right
Source: Roger Brooks International
“We got so fed up of people only
popping in to use the toilet that we
put the information we wanted them
to see in the restrooms. It works”
Tracey Overgard, Calgary in
conversation on VICs
10. Page 10
More on the success factors
Branding &
Integration
Know what
it is
What i am
i?
Warm and
welcoming
language
Consistent
branding at
all
touchpoints
The
touchpoints
work
together
Beyond
jurisdictions
11. Page 11
Key takeouts on overall success factors
• Users of VICs continue to spend more
• Know correlation, but no evidence of causation
means risk to close
• Evidence you can reach new audiences
Evidence of value,
no evidence to
support losing
• No one size fits all and the precise solution you
adopt is particular to your circumstances
• Need to take time to consider all the details – be
granular
Although the
principles are
common, you’re
unique
• We used the model developed by Haeberlin
Consulting for Western Australia
Identified the very
specific one which
met clients needs
12. Page 12
East of England did an examination of different
models.
Is it the case
that “All
happy VICs
are happy in
the same
way, but
unhappy ones
are unhappy
in different
ways”?
Need to follow the rules but
reflect them through our own
circumstances
Service diversification e.g. Co-
locate with disability services
Opening up more of a VICs historic
house location to visitors
increased footfall, created new
product opportunities and enabled
better staff utilisation on fun stuff
(ghost tours)
Downsizing within property and
subletting reduced overheads and
created a revenue stream to use
the small space more innovatively
Close existing visitor centre and
relocating to an iconic attraction (a
racing circuit) improved the
efficiency of its asset utilisation
and provided visitors a reason to
detour
Outsourcing to another tourism
body to run the service reduces
overheads and creates an incentive
to drive up revenues – but only
over time
13. Page 13
Most people continue to do a mix of offline and online – North
Carolina, US is well recognised and has an imaginative mix
http://partners.visitnc.com/partner-opportunities/visitor-services.html
Warm and
friendly
wording
Work with
other
agencies
for greater
benefit
Tell stories
Build
commitment
to the Visitor
Economy
14. Page 14
Case studies of new models in action
Wollongong’s Mobile Visitor
Centre reaches out to a new
audience
Melton reoriented its visitor
strategy to co-location and pop
ups – saving money and
reaching more people
Sources: Wollongong Tourism
Tenille Bradley, Visitor Servicing presentation, ARTN 2014
15. Page 15
Case studies of new models in action
Minstead, Hampshire (UK) enables a small
village to have a VIC by outsourcing to a
combined post office and tea rooms
Footfall is further driven by participation in the
Community Toilet scheme and a water top up
point – in our view a genius idea for driving
footfall
16. Page 16
We looked at experiments in bold new ways to engage and inform customers –
the bar is lifting all the time.
http://www.futuretravelexperien
ce.com/passenger-services-and-
wayfinding/page/3/
18. Page 18
We looked at what sort of model we should be moving to
Source : Future of Visitor Centres in WA – Full Report, Haeberlin Consulting 2014
Destination NSW
19. Page 19
Our proposed solution – an ecosystem to attract,
engage and inform visitors
Council provides Council enables
Visitor
Contact
Centre
1800 Phone
numberLive Chat
Ideally these would operate after 5pm at least Thu-Sat
perhaps via use of volunteer staff
Training &
accreditation
support
Product racking,
wifi and digital
access at Moruya
Library
Outsourced Visitor
Engagement Centre New
Batemans Bay site
Outsourced Visitor
Engagement Centre
Current Narooma
Digital
Engagement
and contact
centre
Mobile
web
Main
website
Social
media
White label
booking
service
Performance metrics to amend and improve
Mobile or pop up VIC
Note dotted lines
denote options
If budgets do not permit council to
do both can opt for EITHER mobile
option OR the outsourced centres.
But it MUST offer one of them
20. Page 20
The ideal co-located centre – the staff perspective
Should evoke a sense of
place
Appeal to ALL the senses
Instant acknowledgement
and clear wayfinding (both
before and inside)
Supports staff in being
EXPERTS: facilities, systems
and other services
Extra facilities like ATMS,
phone chargers to
encourage footfall
Mix of materials both
paper and digital including
WIFI
Somewhere I feel proud
and happy to work
Clear and uncluttered/easy
to find things when I need
them
Things to sell – bookable
content, tours
Link front office and back
All the basics taken care of
– toilets, parking etc
Ability to grow the
experience over time (not
necessarily physical space)
There is a strong overlap between these and the success factors noted earlier
21. Page 21
We also looked at other evidence for good co-
location practices – to build a checklist of success
factors for VICs (1) Key takeouts:
• Needs:
– Have we understood the needs of our different target
audiences (VIC and Box Office)? Do we have a plan to satisfy
these?
• Branding and Recognition:
– How will our two separate audiences recognise the new
service?
– What cues like uniforms/titles will there be?
• Roles and responsibilities?
– Is it clear who is leading what elements?
– Who is the lead agency for set up?
– Who is the lead agency for on-going management? Who will
staff report to?
– Will roles and responsibilities be managed jointly? Do we have
clear job descriptions for this?
– Whose job is it to promote?
– Do staff work together or alongside one another?
– Who is responsible for engagement and promotion?
– Who owns success or failure?
We found this guide had lots
of great tips – despite being
about co-location of local
services
22. Page 22
We also looked at other evidence for good co-
location practices – to build a checklist of success
factors for VICs (2) Key takeouts:
• Engagement and Promotion:
– What steps are being taken to engage key stakeholders and local
customers (VFR Hosts and Entertainment Centre visitors)?
– What is being done to drive footfall (e.g. Signposting, promotion of the
centre)?
• Funding and financing:
– Who owns this?
– How are costs and revenues allocated between the parties?
– What are start up costs? [Not to be underestimated]
• Operations, Logistics and Practicalities:
– Have we managed transport access? (in our case parking)
– Have we planned for the different opening hours services may need?
– How have we managed OH&S issues?
– Are we confident are changes meet planning regulations?
– What are legal arrangements e.g. Tenancies, ownership etc.,?
• Future-proofing
– What flexibility is built into the design to change or adapt?
– What flexibility is built into staff roles and responsibilities?
– What flexibility is built into management structures?
• Other
– How will success be monitored?
– Are we managing the set up and operational phases separately?
We found this guide had lots
of great tips – despite being
about co-location of local
services
23. Page 23
Critical success factors for Mobiles and Pop Ups
Great design
•Shouldn’t just be a
mobile brochure rack
– should catch the
eye/be different
•Ensure the design is
‘on brand’
Give reasons to
visit
•Must provide new
news (again not just a
brochure rack)
•Perception may be
that people at events
already know – so tell
them hidden secrets
•Co-locate it with
something like a
coffee stand or
merchandising
Staff engagement
•Management need to
believe in the
concept to provide
leadership
•Staff must also
believe in it – be
motivated to make it
a success. Change
management may be
important
•Staff can’t just stand
there – need to
engage. Think abut
which staff to use
Location
•As with any VIC
choice of location is
vital.
•Events and markets
are popular
•But also places
people naturally go.
Often visitors may
just go to the beach –
so a mobile or pop
up close to lunch or
ice creams could be
an opportunity to
upsell them
•Don’t just think
about being part of it
– think where in the
venue is best
24. Page 24
My other learning
Start by asking the right question...
Not
‘Do we need a visitor centre or not?’
BUT
What is the best way to maximise the benefits to our
community AND visitors from tourism with the
resources we have?