A practical guide to help you win more overseas business

SALES CONNECT TOOLKIT

CONTENTS

• Why is the focus on four markets?

• How to get the most out of the toolkit

• The Dos and Don’ts of Targeting Overseas Markets

• Before you get started – key questions to ask yourself

• Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland – Who Does What?

• Selling Through the Traditional Travel Trade and Travel Intermediaries

• Travel Trade Specifi cs in the 4 Key Markets

• Selling Through Online Channels

• How are Irish Product Providers Distributing their Product?

• What Distribution Channels should I use?

• Working with Partners and Packaging your Product

• Advertising

• Co-operative Campaigns with Tourism Ireland

• Getting Publicity and Good PR Practices

• Online Marketing

• Trade and Consumer Promotions

• Preparing an Overseas Sales Action Plan and Setting Targets

• Contacts in Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland

• Supports

Introduction

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6

8

9

10

STEP 1: Researching and Knowing Your Overseas Markets

STEP 2: Understanding the Travel Distribution Channels

STEP 3: Building Relationships and Promoting Your Business Overseas

The Next Steps

101

110

114

119

121

126

139

141

151

163

189

218

222

227

GB Market Profi le

US Market Profi le

German Market Profi le

French Market Profi le

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36

54

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From 2012 an updated version of this sales toolkit will be available on our website.

Intr

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In 2010, visitor numbers fell back to 1998 levels making it the toughest season the Irish tourism industry experienced in over a decade. Looking at prospects for the coming years, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have emphasised that Ireland’s future performance will hinge on achieving success in the overseas markets.

With a static home market set to continue, developing more business in overseas markets should be a key growth strategy for Irish tourism businesses that are suited to overseas visitors.

Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have collaborated to bring you this practical toolkit that provides all the information you need to position your business for securing business from the overseas markets. Success is all about understanding your target customers, knowing how those customers can buy from you, and having a sales action plan to promote your product or service overseas. This toolkit will help you to achieve all of these things.

It is aimed at all tourism businesses who want to grow their overseas business. If you previously attracted some overseas visitors, but they seem to have fallen away, or if you now have good access directly into your region, this guide is for you !

Introduction

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The guide aims to help you better understand:

Why is the focus on just four overseas markets?

• The profi le of your potential customers

in the four key source markets of

Great Britain (GB), the United States

(US), Germany and France. In addition

to presenting information on the

‘numbers’ associated with these

overseas visitors, the customer profi le

for each market will give you a better

fl avour for why they might choose

your tourism product or service.

• How you can most effectively match

your tourism product to the needs

and demands of the four source

markets. The guide also provides

insights about what you need to do

to better service their needs.

• The importance of working with

complementary tourism products in

your area and developing packages

together to make your joint offering

more attractive to customers. Also, the

importance of presenting the product

in a way that makes it ‘easy to buy’.

• Ways to get your product into the

hands of the potential overseas

customer using a range of distribution

channels. This includes tips on

selling to overseas consumers

who want to buy directly from you

(typically via the internet) and

tips on working with the travel

trade (typically a tour operator or

travel agent).

• Promotional activities that you

should undertake so that customers

who are ‘thinking’ of holidaying in

Ireland can fi nd you. These include tips

on advertising, co-operative marketing

activities in association with Tourism

Ireland, online marketing, overseas PR,

participating in trade and consumer

shows and making the most of

overseas sales calls to trade partners.

Between them, GB, the US, Germany

and France account for over 70% of all

holiday visits to the island of Ireland.

Whilst the rate of economic recovery in

each market will be directly related to

demand, it is believed that the potential

for growth exists.

• Great Britain will be central to future

tourism performance as it represents

half of our overseas visitors. The size

of the potential market in Britain,

coupled with a common language and

close proximity to Ireland, dictates the

need to regain market share. There are

growth opportunities in GB, particularly

around London and the Southeast,

where prospects are stronger.

• The US market is also regarded as

offering potential for recovery and

growth based on the current demand

patterns of an upturn in travel

to Europe. Ireland can gain share as

the US economy strengthens and

the high spending American tourist

is critical for many businesses

in Ireland.

If the US market is important

for you, should buy copies of

these popular guide books

to see if you are listed or

featured.

If you are, then keep in touch

with the editor / publisher

if you have news on any

product developments,

new services you offer US

visitors etc. If you’re not

mentioned and you feel you

have an interesting product

that really appeals to US

holidaymakers, then contact

them to provide information

for possible inclusion in the

guide when they are next

updating it or invite the

editor to visit you when

they are next in Ireland

doing research for their

next edition.

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Source Market 2009

(000s)

2010

(000s)

% of total

visitors in

2010

Total overseas visitors 7,636 6,593

Great Britain 3,955 3,378 52%

US 842 766 12%

Canada 95 87

Germany 422 379 6%

France 399 331 5%

Italy 276 213

Netherlands 143 123

Spain 264 231

Nordics 175 158

Australia 132 133

Other Asia 29 38

East Asia 23 26

Middle East 30 31

Provisional visitor numbers to Ireland 2010

Source: Tourism Ireland provisional fi gures for 2010 (as at March 2011)

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• Germany is also viewed as offering

strong potential for growth as

it drives the faltering European

economic recovery. The industry view

is that Ireland is well positioned in

Germany and can build on the already

established trade links in this market

where the travel trade still plays a

very important role.

• The French have a higher annual leave

entitlement than any other nation

in the world, and, among the main

factors infl uencing destination choice

for French people are beautiful scenery,

heritage and culture. Ireland is a highly

aspirational destination for the French

and it is believed that France offers

potential for a return to growth through

increased market share.

Sales Toolkit

While this guide outlines the process for

growing your overseas business from the

four key source markets, the process is

broadly the same if you wish to target

other overseas markets. It is recognised

that there are business opportunities in

other markets as well i.e. other European

markets and Australia and Developing

Markets. If you feel your tourism product

or service is better suited to another

market, you can still follow most of the

tips and advice that you will read in this

guide. The contact details for all Tourism

Ireland overseas offi ces are listed in the

“Contacts and Resources” section at the

end of this guide where you will also fi nd

links to research and information about

all other source markets.

What if I want to target a different market?

How to get the most out of this toolkit

6

The guide is written in a style that

allows you to “dip in and out” of the

sections that are most relevant to you.

If, for example, you are only interested in

the French market, you should read the

chapters on France, Travel Distribution

Channels and Building Relationships

and Promoting your Business Overseas.

If you want to grow business in both

Germany and France, you should

read both market chapters as well as

the chapters on Travel Distribution

Channels and Building Relationships

and Promoting your Business Overseas.

Targeting the overseas markets is very

different to driving business from the

domestic market and may appear

daunting. However, when you break

the process down you will see that

there are just 3 steps to follow:

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Step 1: Researching and knowing your overseas market

• Knowing the profi les of the GB, US, German and French travel markets

• Identifying the main target markets for Irish holidays

• Understanding how tourists plan and purchase their holiday

• Identifying air and sea access from the target markets to Ireland

• Knowing who are the main tour operators that programme Ireland

Step 2: Understanding the distribution channels

• Demystifying the jargon of travel distribution

• Getting up to speed on how travel is distributed by other Irish product providers

• Developing a distribution strategy for my business

• Knowing how to sell through a mix of travel intermediaries

• Working with local partners to package my product

• Learning how to promote my product overseas through in-market and

in-Ireland workshops, fam trips, media visits etc

• Making the most of trade and consumer fairs and making effective sales calls

• Getting involved in cooperative activity with Tourism Ireland

Intr

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Step 3: Building Relationships and Promoting Your Business Overseas

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1. Assume overseas customers are the

same as domestic visitors and don’t

underestimate the power of the Irish

welcome for overseas visitors.

2. Attempt to sell in overseas markets

without prior planning or preparation

and don’t contact overseas tour

operators if you are not committed to

servicing them properly.

3. Be afraid to ask Tour Operators for the

business!

4. Invest money in overseas promotional

activities without having a

measurement technique in place.

5. Ignore the importance of Trip Advisor

and other review sites or bury your head

in the sand if you get a negative review.

The Dos and Don’ts of Targeting Overseas Markets

DON’T

DO

1. Do your research – know as much as

possible about the end consumer and

your overseas trade partner.

2. Put yourself in your customer’s

shoes and know how your product

matches their needs and how you

can give them a unique Irish holiday

experience.

3. Inform yourself about access by air,

sea, road and rail. Know what new

fl ights are scheduled for your nearest

airports and remember to inform

your customers of journey times.

4. Create packages with complementary

tourism businesses in your local area

to add value and make it easy for

your customer to buy. Be innovative,

creative and different. Identify your

Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

and design your packages around the

unique experiences you can offer.

5. Create a mix of distribution channels.

Develop relationships with Irish

Incoming Tour Operators, overseas

Tour Operators and Travel Agents,

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) etc.

6. Make sure your website and social

media activities are tailored to your

overseas target markets to drive

direct sales.

7. Tell your customers everything that

they need to know in their own

language.

8. Engage fully with Fáilte Ireland and

Tourism Ireland to make the most of

advertising, co-operative marketing,

publicity and PR opportunities.

9. Treat your relationships with your

trade partners professionally and

always think of the life-time value

of those relationships.

10. Give your overseas customers a

unique Irish holiday experience.

They will tell their friends who may

come back to you next year!

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Before you get started – key questions to ask yourself:

1

2

3

4

5

6

If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then it’s a good time for you to reassess your overseas market potential!

Intr

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Have I become too reliant on the domestic leisure market?

Has my share of business from GB, the US, Germany or France fallen by more than the market performance generally?

Do I fi nd myself saying “I used to get a lot of overseas business, and they really liked my product, but that business has fallen away”

Do you think to yourself “although I have never sold into the overseas markets, I want to position myself for the upturn and better manage my mix of domestic and overseas business”?

Has access to your tourism business improved in recent years through a combination of new routes into your nearest airports, road improvements and additional or enhanced rail services?

If you joined forces with a number of other tourism providers in your area do you feel that, together, you can offer overseas tourists a truly unique and memorable Irish holiday experience?

Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland

work together in strategic partnership

for the development and promotion

of the Irish tourism industry. Each

agency has a distinct role and remit,

and each complements the work of

the other to expand Ireland’s valuable

tourism market.

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism

Development Authority was established

to guide and promote tourism as a

leading indigenous component of the

Irish economy. The organisation provides

strategic and practical support to develop

and sustain Ireland as a high quality and

competitive tourist destination. Fáilte

Ireland works in strategic partnership with

tourism interests to support the industry

in its efforts to be more competitive and

more profi table and to help individual

enterprises to enhance their performance.

Tourism Ireland is the agency responsible

for marketing the island of Ireland as a

holiday destination overseas. They devise

and implement world-class marketing

programmes and provide industry

partners with opportunities to market

their own products and services working

closely with the Tourism Ireland teams

in over 20 markets overseas. In addition,

they are a source of information

on overseas market trends and

consumer needs, which they make

available to Fáilte Ireland, the NITB

and to other industry partners.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is the

strategic leader for tourism in Northern

Ireland and works in partnership with

stakeholders to market Northern Ireland

within the island of Ireland and improve

the visitor experience.

Practical SupportsThroughout the guide, you will fi nd

templates and checklists to help you

devise your overseas sales strategy in a

focused and measurable way. In addition,

the guide features several links to sources

of additional information if you feel you

want to know even more about your

target markets.

You will also see successful case studies

of Irish tourism providers who have

already cracked the overseas markets

dotted throughout the guide.

Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland - Who Does What?

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Most of the information presented in

the guide has been sourced from the

research departments of Fáilte Ireland

and Tourism Ireland. The corporate

websites, www.failteireland.ie and

www.tourismireland.com, feature

additional information on the four

main markets as well as research on all

other markets for Ireland.

Information was also sourced from

the Irish Tourist Industry

Confederation (ITIC) and a special

word of thanks is extended to them,

in particular for use of information

from their reports A Changed World

for Irish Tourism, published in July

2010 and Tourism and Travel

Distribution in a Changed World,

published in September 2010.

Every effort has been made to ensure

the details contained in this guide are

accurate and up-to-date as at time

of print (March 2011). However, given

the nature of tourism, many details

are subject to change. It is therefore

recommended that you validate all

facts and fi gures before fi nalising any

business decisions.

Sources of information

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