tourism journal - winter 2012

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The Tourism SocietyQueens House, 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BHT 0207 269 9693 F 0207 404 2465E [email protected] www.tourismsociety.orgRegistered in England No. 01366846. ISSN: 02613700

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www.tourismsociety.org 3Issue 152 Winter 2012

EditorialProspects for theyear ahead ...Welcome to the latest edition of the TourismSociety Journal.The following articles havebeen written along the theme of ‘Prospectsfor the year ahead’; however, I would like tostart by taking a moment to look back at thispast year – and what a year it has been!2012 was an unparalleled year for tourism inEngland, with events such as the Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee, London Festival 2012, the Torch Relay and the London2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games presenting us with the uniqueopportunity to showcase this country as never before.We know that 2012 has made 60% of us more proud to be British and20% more likely to take a holiday at home. It is therefore important thatwe work hard to capitalise on this ‘feel good factor’ and build on thesuccess of this incredible year to grow tourism in 2013.If we are to achieve this growth, it is vital that organisations across thetourism industry work in close partnership. Sarah Stewart highlights thisin her piece on Destination Management, noting the benefits of workingwith the private sector.Partnership marketing in particular will be high on the agenda forVisitEngland next year, as we work more closely with arms-length bodiessuch as the Arts Council, our destination partners and the private sectorto maximise economies of scale and help budgets go further.It has been without a doubt an unforgettable year, but what happensbeyond 2012? Can we ever match such a year? I actually think here inEngland, we couldn’t be luckier!Such is the depth of our heritage, the breadth and reach of our culture,and the calibre of our sporting traditions, that we actually have plenty ofhistorical anniversaries, cultural happenings, and world class sportingevents to keep us all extremely busy over the coming years.Let’s use the momentum of 2012 to make 2013 an equally unforgettableyear for tourism in this country.

James Berresford | Chief Executive,VisitEngland

Contents

From the President’s DeskA new first in British hotel keeping? Ashort while ago I attended with someparliamentary colleagues an “awayday” fora jolly 24 hours of team building andstrategy sessions. Low cost being a priori-ty we were booked into a fairly wellknown chain franchise just off the M25north of London. Heading the dash forthe bar after the last session I orderedScotch only to discover I was in the onlybar in the UK not to stock blendedScotch.They had Irish, American,Canadian and a malt from Scotland butno sign of a blend.The young lady behindthe bar seemed to sense my shock, toldme to wait, and bolted to Tesco to find aremedy returning fifteen minutes laterwith the goods. I am not sure which Ifound more interesting: a managementthat could fail to stock a UK staple, or astaff so willing to go the extra mile for aremedy. On balance good people alwayswin the day!

So it is with Tourism ministers.The good

ones get it and make a difference and theothers just get in the way. Now DCMS isreduced to its smallest size since its cre-ation with the smallest ministerial contentever; and there is no tourism minister. Ihave often argued that as a big grown upbusiness tourism should be in BIS with allthe other businesses and where its eco-nomic potential would be taken seriously.However after nearly 17 years at oneend of parliament or the other I havecome to the conclusion thatGovernments do not get tourism – neverhave and never will – despite all thewarm words of aspirant PMs in opposi-tion. If the Olympic legacy for tourism isto be ignored by government then surelyit is time for tourism to ignore govern-ment and take charge of its own destiny.Like the good lady behind the bar, if man-agement don’t get it – just solve theproblem.

Lord Thurso MP FTS |President,Tourism Society

The Government’s view: Committing to build on the success of 2012 4Hugh Robertson, MP, Minister for Tourism

Social Tourism: Holidays matter 5John McDonald MTS, Director, Family Holiday Association

The European Perspective:What is ahead of us in 2013? 6Julie Russell FTS, National Expert, European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry

International Tourism: One billion tourists : One billion opportunities 7Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation

“It’s beginning to look a lot like...Britain!” 8Martin Evans FTS, Principal,The Tourism Business

Accommodation: Cooperate and thrive 9Iain Stewart, MTS, Director, freetobook

Case Study – India:The prospects for....Global Tourism 10-11Ken Robinson CBE FTS, Independent tourism advisor

Market Trends: Creating your own prospects 12Steve Mills MTS, Director, BDRC Continental

Skills Development in 2013: Exporting the UK model 13Brian Wisdom FTS, Chief Executive, People 1st

Education: Schumpeter, Greece and Tourism Education:A ComplexRelationship 14Dr Andreas Papatheodorou FTS,Associate Professor, University of the Aegean

Education:An international Master’s student’s perspective 15Sofia Gonzalez De Aguinaga, Student, King’s College London

Consultant Case Study:The opportunity for wine tourism 16Susan Parker Johnston MTS,Vinous Development

Destination Management: Delivering a successful tourism sector 17through partnership Sarah Stewart MTS, Chief Executive, NewcastleGateshead Initiative

Membership News 18-21

Hugh Robertson MP | Minister for Tourism

4 [email protected]

Committing to build on the success of 2012

Government View

Issue 152 Winter 2012

I was delighted to be given the tourismbrief to my Ministerial portfolio lastSeptember and am determined to buildon the good work achieved by my pred-ecessor John Penrose in what is an excit-ing time for the sector.

It is against this backdrop of opportunitythat I was a bit dismayed to hear thatLord Thurso questions his ownGovernment’s commitment to the indus-try! His view couldn’t be further from thetruth. My Department for Culture, Mediaand Sport has just overseen hosting anincredible London 2012 Games, whenthe country was in the international spot-light and it makes perfect sense thattourism should remain in thisDepartment as we look to build on thesuccess of the Games and continue tosell Britain to the world.

The Olympics helped generate recordinbound tourism receipts in the month ofAugust – up 9% compared to the samemonth the previous year, and we want tomake sure this continues. Domestictourism also held its own over the sum-mer despite the poor weather, with a 3%increase in the amount spent on domes-tic holidays in Britain, and with more than£1bn million spent on Olympics-relatedday trips.Tourism contributes significantlyto the economy, helps drive investmentand along with the hospitality industrydirectly supports over 1.4 million jobs.

In Britain, the Government recognisesthat tourism is a cornerstone of growth.Currently our fifth biggest industry, itcould become our fastest growing sectorover the next decade.The Government’sgoal is to help the tourism industryachieve its ambitions and, as we did withthe London 2012 Olympics, use vastnumbers of other international sportingand cultural events which the UK is dueto host between now and 2019 to helpdrive growth for the sector.

At the start of last year we launched ourbiggest tourism marketing campaign todate – the GREAT campaign, targetingour highest-value tourist inward invest-ment destinations such as USA, Brazil andJapan.The campaign is innovative andinspiring, showcasing the very best ofwhat Britain has to offer, and demonstrat-

ing why our country is such a fantasticplace to visit, study in and do business.The early forecasts on the financialreturns from our investment in theGREAT campaign are encouraging andanalysis shows that our investment in thecampaign to date is projected to helpgenerate around a quarter of a billionpounds for the British economy over thenext two years.

Already, since the end of the London2012 Games, the Government hasannounced in the Autumn Statement thatthe GREAT campaign will receive anadditional £22 million investment for2013-2014, up from £8 millionannounced earlier last summer.ThisGovernment does and will continue totake the tourism industry seriously.Wehave also announced major reforms tothe visa system to encourage moreChinese visitors.

We also want to create the right environ-ment in which the domestic tourism sec-tor can flourish. 56 per cent of Brits planto take a holiday or break at home inEngland next year, and there is still signifi-

cant scope for growth.

As we look back on the success of lastyear, we should be under no illusionsthough of the challenge ahead - thetourism industry is hugely competitiveand we will need to compete with theemerging markets such as China, Indiaand Brazil. But we must see these asopportunities. By 2030, China alone willhave 1.4 billion middle class consumers –more than America and Western Europecombined – and we will work hard toattract more Chinese visitors to theseshores. As the tourism sector expandsand changes, it is essential for all those inthe sector to work together to make themost of the opportunities that presentthemselves. At the closing ceremony ofthe Paralympic Games last summer LordCoe remarked that we had stamped thewords ‘Made in Britain’ on London 2012. Icouldn’t have put it better myself.Withtourism being a central part of ourgrowth strategy, making a real contribu-tion to both our national and localeconomies, it is important that we buildon the success of an incredible 2012 inthe years to come.

Everyone welcome

Social Tourism

www.tourismsociety.org

John McDonald MTS | Director,

Family Holiday Association5

In the UK, social tourism is a term that isbarely recognised and even less under-stood. But 2013 will see an ever increas-ing level of debate and discussion aroundthe topic.We may even see moves toestablish programmes with the supportof local tourism organisations.

What is social tourism? It is the inclusionof people living on a low income in holi-day and leisure activities. And increasingrecognition is being given to its potentialto help the domestic tourism economy.

The charity of which I am the director,the Family Holiday Association, has longunderstood that a simple holiday canhave a significant impact on family well-being. And today the charity sees its roleas that of the hands on practitioner, butone that uses the credibility that thatexperience brings to make the message itwants to deliver all the more clear, pow-erful and worthy of a hearing.

And there is no doubt that we need tobe heard.We know, from the Office forNational Statistics, that millions of familiesmiss out on a simple break each year and2.5 million children live in families thatcannot even afford a day at the seaside.

These are the families who, arguably,would be the very ones most likely togain from the benefits a break can deliver.For more detail watch this videowww.bit.ly/Holidays_Matter.

While social tourism is not that wellknown as a term there is a good deal ofactivity in the UK that could be labelledas social tourism. Recent research identi-fied almost 650 organisations involved inthe provision of social tourism; mostwere small charities but a few were quitelarge, spending over £1m per annum ongrants.

What if social tourism was placed on theagenda? If best practice was shared, ifcompanies became involved and sparecapacity put to use? What could it meanfor British families and what could itmean for domestic tourism?

The French scheme, Cheque Vacances,helps over 7 million people and pumps€3bn into French domestic tourism eachyear ; and the Spanish IMSERSO scheme,that last year helped 1.2m Spanish senior

citizens with a shoulder period break,actually makes a profit for the Spanishtreasury.Well, 1.2 million senior citizenscharging towards the coast generates agreat deal of economic activity; it extendsthe season; lengthens contracts; createsemployment.

It is this overt economic case for socialtourism that I believe should make policymakers take notice. But in these strait-ened economic times, I do not expectGeorge Osborn to support a grandEuropean-type scheme.

However, the All-Party ParliamentaryGroup on Social Tourism, publisher lastyear of the ‘Giving Britain a Break’ report,believes progress can still be made.

Following a visit to Brussels for talks inthe summer where he met the FlandersTourism Minister, Paul Maynard, MP forBlackpool North and chairman of theAPPG, returned home convinced that alow cost Flanders-type model could workhere.

Simply by aggregating spare capacity and

offering access to it via social welfareorganisations, local tourist organisationscould emulate the success of Flandersand both help local tourism businessesand provide real social benefit.

In February a number of local touristorganisations have agreed to cometogether at the VisitEngland offices inLondon to discuss with their counter-parts from Flanders just how the Belgianscheme works and the potential for itsbeing copied here.

Getting to the point where such discus-sions can actually take place has taken agreat deal of work over the past sixyears.The groundwork of research andintensive networking should eventuallypay off. And it needs to.

Even the simplest of breaks helps buildhappier, stronger families; that in turn hasimplications for the local community andsociety in general.

Holidays Matter.They matter to thosewho need them and to those who deliv-er them.

Holidays matter


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Mic

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ell

Julie Russell FTS | National Expert, EuropeanCommission, DGEnterprise and Industry6 [email protected]

What is ahead of us in 2013?

The European Perspective


As I write this article, the UNWTO isanticipating the arrival of the world’s onebillionth tourist – somewhere in theworld – on 13th December 2012.Thereis a strong likelihood that this will be inEurope, the world’s number one destina-tion, receiving 51% of international touristarrivals1 (504 million).

However, Europe's lead position shouldnot be taken for granted. As with otherindustry sectors, the European tourismindustry is facing increasing global compe-tition from emerging destinations.We arealso competing against them for newinternational tourists from the BRICeconomies. UNWTO’s "Tourism Towards2030" forecast indicates that by 2015emerging economies will receive moreinternational arrivals than advancedeconomies, surpassing one billion arrivalsby 2030.

The Lisbon Treaty gives the EuropeanUnion new legal competence to support,coordinate and complement actions bythe Member States in the field oftourism. In line with these new powers,the Commission published the 2010Tourism Communication (COM (2010)3522), which provides an EU tourism poli-cy framework and identifies 21 actions tosupport competitive tourism growth witha high European added value to benefitall EU countries.These activities are alsoaligned to the objectives of Europe 2020by supporting smart, sustainable andinclusive tourism development.

Recognising the important role thattourism has in restoring economic growthand employment, the Commission'sefforts are concentrated on EU levelactivities in cooperation with MemberStates and tourism industry stakeholdersto: increase tourism demand, both withinthe EU and from international markets;improve the quality of tourism products,services and professional skills; diversifythe tourism offer, and encourage innova-tion and the take up of new technologies.The Tourism Unit has also been workingwith other Direction Generals to ensurethat tourism and related activities areconsidered in the relevant Commissionpolicy areas3.

Ongoing activities for 2013 include:

� “Destination Europe 2020”, an 18-month programme of coordinated activi-ties (from October 2012) carried out bythe European Travel Commission (ETC,which represents 33 European NationalTourism Organisations) with the supportof the Commission in four key long-haulmarkets (the United States, Canada, Braziland China).This will include a series ofconsultations and communications activi-ties with the travel trade and consumerswith the aim of producing a commonlong term strategy for the promotion ofDestination Europe in major long-haulmarkets.

� Drafting a strategy for the “Challengesand Opportunities for Maritime andCoastal Tourism in the EU” which couldtake the form of a Communication; this isexpected to be adopted by theCommission around mid-2013.

� A voluntary European Tourism QualityLabel for Quality Schemes – theCommission has been working on theprocedural preparations for the proposalof a legislative act in early 2012, includingan open consultation and impact assess-ment4.The legislative proposal is expectedfor adoption by the Commission in early2013.

� The integration of the hospitality sec-tor targeted section in EURES, theEuropean Job Mobility Portal.To helpmatch supply and demand, and facilitatethe mobility of workers from the hoteland restaurant sector.

� Development of the Virtual TourismObservatory, following feasibility studywork in 2012 the first prototype isexpected to be completed during thefirst half of 2013.

� The European Charter for Sustainableand Responsible Tourism, streamliningexisting initiatives into one single docu-ment setting the broad principles of sus-tainable and responsible tourism.

Further information about theCommission's tourism initiatives is avail-able via the Europa website:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/index_en.htm

_____________

1 UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2012Edition (Data as collected by UNWTOJune 2012)2 For further information on theCommission’s 2010 tourism policy see:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/documents/communications/com-mission-communication-2010/index_en.htm3 See: ‘Study on the impact of EU policiesand the measures undertaken in theirframework on tourism’http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/index_en.htm4 See:http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/news-room/cf/_getdocument.cfm?doc_id=7655

International Tourism


Taleb RifaiSecretary-General

of the World TourismOrganization (UNWTO) 7

Just over 60 years ago, in 1950, interna-tional travel was the preserve of the priv-ileged few. Most people lived, worked andholidayed within a relatively small radius.Of the 25 million tourists who did crossinternational borders, most came from,and travelled to, Europe and NorthAmerica.

In 2012, just one generation later, totalinternational tourist arrivals are expectedto ring in at over one billion. Incredibly,between January and December 2012,the equivalent of one seventh of theworld’s population will have crossedinternational borders as tourists. Four bil-lion more will have been on trips withintheir own national borders.

This phenomenal growth, spurred by therise of the middle class, increased leisuretime and the technological revolution, haspositioned tourism as one of the world’sgreat growth engines. Internationaltourism today is a trillion dollar industry,accounting for 6% of global exports andone in every 12 jobs worldwide. In somecountries, particularly small island states,international tourism can account for anastonishing 25% of national GDP.

And people aren’t just travelling more,they’re travelling further. Destinations inthe emerging and developing economiesof Asia, Latin America, Africa and theMiddle East currently receive nearly halfof the world’s international touristarrivals, many of which originate fromsource markets in these same regions. By2015, these destinations will be receivingmore tourists than advanced economydestinations.

At a time of great economic strain,tourism is generating income and jobsaround the world and is lifting millionsover the poverty line.What is more,tourism growth is not set to slow downanytime soon. At UNWTO we expectthe sector to increase by 3% to 4% overthe course of 2013, despite continueduncertainty in the global economy, andour long-term forecasts show that inter-national tourists will reach 1.8 billion by2030.

Significant challenges remain, however, forthe tourism sector at one billion.Whilegrowth will surely continue over the

coming years, millions of would-betourists, particularly in emergingeconomies, continue to face unnecessarybarriers to travel.

These barriers include complicated andexpensive visa formalities, which despitethe extraordinary technological advancesof the past decade too often continue totake months to process.

There are cases of tourists travelling fur-ther to process their visa than to theirfinal destination.Throughout 2013 andbeyond, UNWTO will continue to pro-mote a more liberalised and opentourism sector and to call on govern-ments worldwide to devise national poli-cies that support the development oftourism.

At the same time, the extraordinarygrowth of our sector comes with seriousresponsibilities. Unplanned and poorlymanaged tourism development can causeserious harm. Now more than ever, all ofus involved in the sector, from public

authorities, to businesses and touriststhemselves, have a collective responsibilityto place ethics and sustainability at thecore of tourism.

This is no impossible task. Imagine thejobs and prosperity that could be createdin host communities if the world’s hotelssourced their food locally or touristsincreasingly bought native artefacts.Theseactions require no major investment, nordifficult changes, but given the size andreach of the tourism sector even thesmallest changes will have the greatestimpacts.

Tourism can be part of the solution tomeeting existing challenges, namely thoseposed by the global economy, and shouldthus increasingly be prioritised by nationalgovernments.With international tourismat one billion we have one billion oppor-tunities to grow the economy and createjobs; one billion opportunities to bringdevelopment to the world’s poor; andone billion opportunities to contribute toa greener, cleaner future.

One billion tourists : One billion opportunities


Martin Evans FTS | Principal,The Tourism Business8 [email protected]

Attractions and Events will wave the flag for UKtourism in 2013

“It’s beginning to look a lotlike...Britain!”


We go into 2013 with the TV advertisingjingles ringing in our ears like ChristmasCarols, and none more so than “It’sbeginning to look a lot like Aldi” - anambitious attempt by the retailer to com-pare its products to those of Fortnumand Mason, Harvey Nichols and Harrods.If the Mayan Calendar is to be ignored,and the world did not end on 21stDecember, I’d like to name-check Aldi’scatchy and clever slogan and apply it toBritish tourism in 2013.

Despite the march of the Chinese, theallure of the Caribbean, the timeliness ofBrazil’s push for fame and fortune, andthe cohesiveness (finally) of Brand USA,it’s actually beginning to look a lot likeBritain for worldwide tourism success in2013!

The doom mongers might well say thatwe had it all in 2012, with the Olympicsand Paralympics, the Royal Wedding andthe Diamond Jubilee, and that we won’thave it all again until the CommonwealthGames, the Ryder Cup and the GrandDépart of the Tour de France hit ourshores in 2014. But, for the sake of ourGross National Happiness, let alone theTourism Balance of Payments, let’s at leastunderstand why Britain could be best fortourism in 2013. And why UK attractionsand events will be leading the way.

Come March, we’ll be firmly into EnglishTourism Week (16th – 24th), Scottish

Tourism Week (4th – 13th) and WalesTourism Week (Feb 25th – March 1st).Organisers are hoping for the best possi-ble kick-off to ‘the season’ and expect togo further than last year in bringing thecause of domestic tourism and stayca-tions to the masses with these campaign-ing Weeks.

Of course, the staycation bandwagonshould keep up its momentum given theChancellor’s drive to push up AirPassenger Duty, and overseas transportworkers’ willingness to strike at will allover Europe.

But we have high hopes for inboundtourism, too. Frustrated demand fromtour operators worldwide for Londonand provincial honeypot destinations afterthe no-go of Olympics Year should drivethe markets to the UK in 2013, and the£3 billion of publicity generated forBritain during 2011/12 must result inramped-up consumer demand.

And it’s not as if we won’t have events toshout about.The Rugby World Cup inOctober and November will open uptourism backwaters like Rochdale,Wrexham and Workington to the world.Really! Whilst the Champions LeagueFinal at Wembley in May, the WorldRowing Cup in June and The Ashes inAugust will also lead the world to Britain.And these events will hopefully bematched in the international publicity

stakes by the birth of a Royal baby inLondon this summer!

The power of screen tourism has notgone unnoticed in our national touristboards, and, whilst not a bumper year forBritain (New Zealand has already takenthat award with ‘The Hobbit’), there arenevertheless some great opportunitiesfor UK attractions and operators.Chatham Historical Dockyard andBerkshire’s Englefield House are expectedto benefit from the current lavish adapta-tion of Dickens’ Great Expectations. And,during the year, Beachy Head showcasesin the Princess Diana movie ‘Caught inFlight’, River Thames tourism will benefitfrom ‘Banking on Mr Toad’ and Stratford-upon-Avon will undoubtedly capitalise onAl Pacino’s King Lear appearing on thebig screen. As will Norwich (‘AlanPartridge:The Movie’), Cornwall (RichardCurtis’s ‘About Time’) and Hedsor Housein Buckinghamshire (‘Quartet’).

New attractions are also expected tocontribute strongly to British tourism suc-cess in 2013.The highest profile willundoubtedly be the Queen ElizabethOlympic Park, but the View from theShard, the £18.5m Giant’s CausewayVisitor Centre, the new London Dungeonat County Hall, Chester Zoo’s £30mIslands Project and the Mary RoseMuseum at Portsmouth will also happilyplay their part.

The view from the Shard will open in the spring

Accommodation Marketing


Iain Stewart MTS | Director,

freetobook9

We all know that marketing accommoda-tion is increasingly an online activity andthat online marketing is an ever changingproposition. Evidence of this can befound in the way search engines haveevolved into huge advertising platformsand how they continue to find new waysto monetise their online space.

In the past, small independent businessesrelied to a degree on free search, but thatopportunity is continually diminishing,making search engine optimisation lesseffective. Now larger businesses are pay-ing huge amounts to advertise on a PayPer Click (PPC) basis and this advertisingis very effective because the searchengines are significantly reducing the valueof free search on a page.These largebusinesses are also paying to advertiseunder any property name, regardless ofwhether they work with them or not.

All this is leading to customers becomingmore accustomed to using large onlinetravel agents, rather than Google search,as their first port of call – and somebelieve Google's own Hotel Finder is adirect response to this change. Either way,if you are a small independent accommo-dation owner you are going to find it alot harder to generate bookings fromyour own online presence. It is increasing-ly difficult to get found and ‘noticed’, withno real way of competing on Pay PerClick because the offering is limited toone product.

Small businesses have to look to collabo-ration and sharing to increase their visibil-ity and boost the chances of convertingonline visitors to actual customers.This isnothing new, as many groups of like-minded businesses (i.e. accommodationor local tourism associations) currentlyengage in some form of joint digital mar-keting. Usually it is via websites that arerich in content but only offer a ‘brochurestyle’ experience for their customers, andfrom a customer's perspective this isinadequate.

The most successful travel websites pro-vide information, choice and full bookingfunctionality, enabling customers to com-pare and book accommodation by area.These attributes effectively simplify andde-risk the booking experience for cus-

tomers. In the past using technology andsoftware to offer a fuller more engagingcustomer experience would have beentoo expensive for all AccommodationAssociations. However, that is changingand this presents plenty of opportunities.The change has occurred in much thesame way as most technological develop-ments: once ground-breaking technolo-gies are more widely adopted, theybecome cheaper and more accessible.

Small businesses that collaborate havecertain inherent advantages due to theirdeep understanding of their customersand how their area attracts and fulfils theneeds of these customers.They will alsohave access to a good range of accom-modation, covering various local areasand appealing to different tastes.

A good example is the Ayrshire Bed &Breakfast Association which launchedtheir own new website(www.ayrshireBandB.com) earlier thisyear. It provides online booking andshowcases all its members’ properties,with a unique profile for each one. Everyproperty owner has control of their own

details, allowing them to set rates, manageavailability, update photos etc.The sitealso promotes Ayrshire's attractions,including its castles, beaches, historicbuildings and Burns landmarks, offeringplentiful information on each one.

It is an impressive feat for 50-odd B&Bsand – as far as I know – the only fullybookable Accommodation Associationwebsite anywhere in the world.The ben-efits are wide ranging:

� providing a platform and focus for allfuture marketing efforts.

� encouraging more collaboration acrossother sectors within the local community.

� bringing the association closer togetherand enabling them to attract more mem-bers.

� generating a measurable and trackablerevenue for the membership.

� creating best practice in digital market-ing within the association.

The clever bit with any collaboration is touse technology to make it easier andmore successful for all involved.

Collaborating to compete online


10 [email protected]

Case Study: India


Global Tourism keeps on growing, despiteeconomic crises, revolutions, war, terror-ism and health scares. It is true thattourists only visit “safe and healthyplaces”, but most of the world remainsattractive to tourists, and tourism is anaspirational activity: when people canafford to, have the time to, and are per-mitted to travel, they will.

My time in tourism since the late 1960shas tracked this amazing and inexorablegrowth.

I love the life-enhancing opportunitiesthat tourism brings – but now I worryabout the future. It is clear that thedynamic marketing of countries, destina-tions and tourism businesses, and thesales activities of travel firms, to stimulateand win more tourism visits, simply can-not continue in an unco-ordinated way.The time is coming when the operationalfocus must move from marketing to man-agement to control demand, and thephysical, environmental and social impactsof tourists at destinations and amonghost communities.

Not just the superficial ‘management inname alone’ as now by so-calledDestination Management Organisations,but real comprehensive management ofwho visits when, where to, and doingwhat, where, when and how? And thiscannot be achieved simply by pricing andmarket forces; tourism is necessary forsocial as well as economic reasons. Futuretourism also requires a real and compre-hensive commitment to sustainability,going way beyond the lip-service that isnow commonplace, but inadequate.

Earlier this year, while travelling with mywife Jo on a genuine holiday (somethingwe tourism professionals so rarely do) inKerala, in south west India, we encoun-tered outstandingly good examples oftourism at its best – although sadly near-by, evidence of what can so easily happenwhen demand is unregulated.

The examples of the very best were atthe exceptional properties owned byCGH Earth Hotels.This is a local compa-ny, owned by Kerala families, whose visionhas been to create atmospheric places

that are at one with their surroundingsand their host communities.This camenot from recently advocated standards ofsustainability, or manuals, but from theirintrinsic beliefs.They say:

“Ever since we opened the doors of our firsthotel in 1957, we’ve discovered ourselvesthrough nature. And in our quest to createnew environments where the world can dis-cover life anew, we discovered that less ismore.That luxury lies in simplicity.That reali-ty is more enchanting than fantasy. And thatthe best of the world lies in the smallest,the most inconspicuous and the everydaywonders around you.This realisation mani-fests itself in the spaces we construct, in ourcuisine, our service, our ayurvedic therapies.Which is why, instead of just another holi-day, we offer you experiences that are pure,unexpected and inspiring.”

In our experience, that’s not hype, it istrue.

This was our first visit to India and wehad expected to be sunburned, get bittenby mosquitos and have an unsettled

The Prospects for….Global Tourism

Anil overseeing the rice harvest


Ken Robinson CBE FTS |

Independent tourism advisor 11Issue 152 Winter 2012

stomach – yet none of these things hap-pened.

After two days in Cochin we went a fewhours south and stepped aboard one ofCGH Earth’s traditional kettuvalloms.These are rice barges that have beenconverted for guests to cruise the back-waters between the rice paddy fields, andthrough the small canals that flowthrough natural surroundings and simplevillages in this unexpected water-land.

The boats look like rustic armadillos, as alltheir infrastructure is made from bambooand palm leaves, tied with coir.This was awonderful experience, but we were soonshocked to discover further south a busymess of hundreds of similar but muchmore contemporary craft, apparentlyunregulated, hosting lively parties ofdomestic tourists totally destroying thequiet harmony and ambience of thebackwaters.The friendly local people liv-ing along the banks have started puttingplastic sheeting up to screen them fromthe masses of prying eyes.This wasshocking – crying out for positive man-agement before the golden opportunitiesare lost.

But our lovely boat took us right to ourmain destination – Coconut Lagoon, in anidyllic location, further north on the bankof the massive Vembanad Lake.The ket-tuvallom came alongside under the palms.We were greeted with smiles, flowers,flute music and a fresh whole coconutdrink, before being shown to our lakesidevilla. All of the buildings are in indigenousmaterials and styles, with most of theaccommodation being in local 100 – 150

year old, two storey traditional housesthat have been reconstructed here.Canals run through the site. Every vista isquite magical.

The staff are unfailingly charming and gra-cious.The atmosphere embraces youwithin minutes – and you just do notwant to leave.The whole estate is 25acres, with walks, a fish sanctuary, naturalstreams, and an area specially planted toattract the local butterflies.There areearly morning bird watching walks withthe resident naturalist, instruction in localcrafts, and cultural features with musicand dance every day.We had one of theparticularly comfortable villas, located justto the north of the main area, at theedge of the lake. Behind the villa we hadour own pool and a shaded balcony thatoverlooked a traditionally planted paddyfield.The hospitality standards were trulyworld class.

Being involved in Tourism, I simply had tolook behind the scenes. I met Anil Kumarthe General Manger who was very happyto show me round and explain the phi-losophy of CGH Earth.What I saw wasan integrated commitment to the placeand the people. Organic farming pro-duces fresh food for guests. Raw anduncooked waste food is fed into a bio-gasplant, mixed with cow dung from theendangered species of local cows thatgraze among the palms, producingmethane gas.This is used in the kitchen,and powers a bulk rice cooker savingalmost 3000kg of LPG each year and theslurry goes to the kitchen garden. Allsewage is treated on-site, producingwater which after filtering, is used on the

gardens. Biomass digesters make goodgrowing medium, eliminating fertilizers.

Solid waste is separated, the use of plas-tics is minimised but any they have isflaked for re-use, and plastic bottles havebeen used to build village walls. Most sur-prisingly, all rainwater from the buildings ispiped underground to two lagoons near-by, then drawn off and put through amulti-stage filtering plant, where itemerges very much more pure than thebottled water so beloved by guests.Thecomprehensive and integrated sustainabil-ity of their systems and respect for theirplace, is exemplary. (After this, we spenttwo more days in CGH Earth’s nearbyMarari Beach, where the same ethos isapplied).

Will our most abiding memory of thiswonderful place be the ambience, thewarm welcome, the delicious and variedlocal food, the giant monitor lizard thatappeared ambling across our path, thebeautiful butterflies that danced in the airaround us, or the sunset across the lake,viewed from our verandah?

No, it will be the sight of local peopleharvesting by hand the paddy field behindour villa, in the traditional way.We lis-tened to their singing and their chatter, asthey gathered the bunches of rice whichwould later end up being prepared in thekitchens for the staff and guests to enjoy.

And the first person to get his feetmuddy, leading the locals into the paddyfield, was Anil. Leading by example, in theembodiment of CGH Earth’s mission.Everyone is committed.The world needsevery tourism business to be this way.

Coconut Lagoon resort

Steve Mills MTS | Director,BDRC Continental12 [email protected]

Creating your own prospects

Market Trends


Debates on tourism market prospectsinevitably leave us with a feeling some-where between dancing in the streetsand jumping from the nearest high rise,but the truth is that the majority of fac-tors involved are largely out of our con-trol, driven by exchange rates, economicgrowth, legislation and of course, theweather. It is more beneficial to recognisethat in any prevailing market there arewinners and losers and the winners arebusinesses that create their ownprospects.

VisitEngland’s Tourism Business Monitor,for example, consistently reports signifi-cantly better performance among busi-nesses which invest – in product, serviceor marketing.These aren’t the oneswhose reaction in tough times is to bat-ten down the hatches.

They see now as the perfect time toinvest and secure their place several stepsahead when economic recovery finallymaterialises. Availability of finance clearlyhelps and RBS, hosts to VisitEngland’srecent Visitor Economy Forum, werekeen to stress their enthusiasm for lend-ing to those with sound business plans.But investment is not all about access tofinance, it’s just as much about inspiration,innovation and commitment.

That said, the most successful businessesare those which take the time to under-stand the market environment and condi-tions within which they work and plantheir investments accordingly, thoroughlyresearching their own target markets anddeveloping product and marketing invest-ment plans around those segments likelyto generate the greatest growth.

Others rely on broader market trends toguide them.Three such broader trendsperhaps most relevant for 2013 are:1. Day Trip Growth

Unlike inbound, outbound and domesticovernight trips, growth in day trips hasforged ahead.The first nine months of2012 saw GB day visits increase by +12%on the previous year, to 1,303 milliontrips. As purse strings continue to tighten,we are seeing a trading down of ourovernight stays to last minute day tripdecisions. Good news for our local towns,

visitor attractions and events and perhapsinstructive as to where the focus of com-munications activity should lie.2. Olympic and Jubilee Impact

Anecdotal evidence that these megaevents were monumental successeswhich will deliver a positive medium termimpact on tourism are backed up byresearch by both VisitBritain andVisitEngland.The Games were possiblythe single biggest boost to the Britainbrand ever overseas, whilst the eventsalso appear to have galvanised us here –41% of Brits claimed that the 2012events made them want to get out andexplore the UK more.

Perhaps one fly in the ointment for theinbound market is the continued crisiswithin the Eurozone, whose memberstates account for well over half of ourinbound trips.Whilst the dip in the long-haul inbound market observed in sum-mer 2012 may well be reversed in 2013,the outlook for the EU15 feels distinctlyless rosy. Our continued perception as anexpensive destination may be a furtherbarrier – VisitBritain’s review of theimpact of the Games on perceptions

abroad revealed that the only significantworsening of perceptions lay in the areaof value for money.3. Investment in People

We are firmly entrenched in an experi-ence economy where successful tourismbusinesses offer ‘things to do’, not just‘things to see’. And the best experiencesare brought to life by people – your staff.Staff are continually revealed as the mostinfluential driver of the overall visit expe-rience.They can provide the welcome,the value of which we all came to appre-ciate during the Olympics.

They can make visitors privy to the sto-ries and factoids that make a visit moreenriching than an afternoon searching theinternet. And crucially, they can help bringan experience to life.

Perhaps the most important message isthat we use the insights, whether positiveor negative, to stay a few steps ahead ofour competition rather than as a defenceof indifferent performance. In otherwords, beware of using these insights theway a drunk uses a lamppost – more forsupport than illumination.

Skills Development in 2013


Brian Wisdom FTS | Chief Executive,

People 1st

13

In the past year, the UK has experienceda number of large scale events that havehelped bring the tourism industry intothe spotlight. But with 2012 nearly over,what is next for the sector?

The success of the London 2012Olympic and Paralympic Games, theBelfast Titanic celebrations, and theQueen’s Jubilee was in no small part dueto the contribution the tourism industrymade in preparing and training their peo-ple for the influx of visitors. As the indus-try continues through what is commonlyreferred to as the golden decade ofsport, there are plenty of further oppor-tunities for it to be recognised for thevalue it adds to the UK’s economy andreputation.

Being at the front of the visitor experi-ence means the industry will howeverneed to continue to build on its cam-paign to raise customer service standardsthroughout the UK.

Programmes such as WorldHost havealready been used to train more than amillion people worldwide, including thou-sands of volunteers and local ambassa-dors at the London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games.

These programmes provide a consistentstandard for the industry, and as the UKbuilds on the success of the 2012 eventsand tourists head to our shores to takepart in further activities an ongoing com-mitment to customer service improve-ments is needed. Moreover, if we are tosupport and embed a customer serviceculture tourism businesses must continueto ensure line managers are alsoequipped with the skills to ensure servic-es run smoothly.

This forms part of a wider need toincrease leadership training in the indus-try, particularly as employers still believethat management skills are lacking.Increased investment in managementtraining will therefore help businessesaddress this shortage and at the sametime improve staff retention rates.

While work still needs to be done in theUK, the tourism sector is already reapingthe benefit from its increased investmentin skills. Not only has the sector gained

international recognition following theLondon 2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames, but this positive feedback alsoextends beyond our own shores. In fact,Panama’s hotel and tourism industry hasbeen looking to the UK for advice andguidance on how to address its own skillsneeds and for help to establish itself as aworld class international destination.

The Central American country’s desire towork with and learn from the UK’stourism and hotel industry has culminat-ed in the signing of an agreement to setup a sector skills council that is based onthe UK model.The new body in Panamawill focus on addressing a number ofrequirements highlighted in the ‘Skills2020: world class skills in Panama's hoteland tourism sector’ research report,which People 1st produced early in 2012.This includes the need to provide suitableEnglish language training for hospitalityand tourism staff and introducing aworld-class customer service training

programme.The Panama skills organisa-tion will also offer a platform for the gov-ernment, businesses and industry associa-tions to discuss and help align the skills ofthe workforce with the needs of employ-ers.

The commitment to help with the estab-lishment of a skills body in Panama willsee People 1st provide a full time staffmember, based in Panama, who will over-see the project in its entirety and act as alink between the UK and Panamanianbodies.

This agreement presents a significantopportunity for both the UK and thePanamanian hotel and tourism industries.While People 1st’s work in the UK isinforming the way it will address skillsshortages in Panama there is little doubtthat there will be a great exchange ofknowledge and learning that can beapplied in the UK too to continue grow-ing the reputation of its tourism sector inthe next few years.

Exporting the UK model


Signing of the agreement in Panama. L-to-r: Herman Bern, president ofEmpresas Bern, David Fairhurst, chairman of People 1st, Jose PabloRamos, director of INADEH, Michael John Holloway OBE, Her Majesty’sAmbassador in Panama.

Dr Andreas PapatheodorouFTS | Associate Professor,University of the Aegean14 [email protected]

Schumpeter, Greece and Tourism Education:A Complex Relationship

Education


Schumpeter was undoubtedly one of themost prominent economists of all times.

Among others, the Austrian father ofevolutionary economics highlighted theimportance of creative destruction in theinnovation process and the endogenouscharacter of business cycles: a boomingeconomy carries the seeds of its owndestruction as entrepreneurs becomeless preoccupied about strategic issuesand longer term sustainability as they lust-fully enjoy short-term prosperity.

Likewise, a recessionary period sets thefundamentals of future resurgence as lowopportunity costs enable radical improve-ments in their production process.

Tourism destination managers can drawparallels with the above mentioneddynamics in the context of the resort lifecycle: popular destinations can becomevictims of their own success, while resortsfacing a period of crisis can successfullyfocus on rejuvenation strategies.

Nonetheless, the Schumpeterian businesscycle process is only half the truth. It islikely to hold in the longer term, but thekey issue is what happens in the mean-time; after all, and as argued by Keynes,“in the long run, we are all dead”. In fact,self-reinforcing mechanisms are alsoactive in the economy, as things may turnfrom good to better or alternatively frombad to worse…

Since 2008, Greece has been paying theprice of a previous prosperity era largelybased on accumulated public debt.Thecountry is currently experiencing itsworst recession since WWII as a result ofthe imposition of extremely harsh auster-ity measures.These, in conjunction with aseries of structural reforms, aim at trans-forming the Greek economy, putting itback into the right track of sustainablegrowth. Nonetheless, the short and medi-um run remains highly challenging.Unemployment is around 25% and over50% among young people; about a thirdof Greeks are currently below the pover-ty line and the society is experiencinggreat difficulties in absorbing furtherbudget cuts.

Not surprisingly, things are not different inthe context of education. University pro-fessors have lost about 50% of theirincome in purchasing power terms since2009 as a result of severe nominal wagecuts, a rise in taxation and inflation.Theyfeel demoralised and uncertain abouttheir future; consequently, inspiring stu-dents (which is the most important taskof an educator) becomes very difficult.After all, how can you inspire a youngperson who faces a 50% unemploymentrate?

Solutions, of course, do exist and emigra-tion of young Greek graduates abroad isone of them.This may prove good newsfor them and for developed countries inNorthern Europe, America and the GulfStates, but it is definitely an unwelcomedevelopment for Greece, which currentlysuffers from a major human capital drain.

Having the above in mind, it seems obvi-ous (at least to me) that unless the cur-rently adverse climate is somehowreversed, Greece and the other countriesof the Eurozone periphery (such asSpain, Portugal, Ireland, Cyprus, etc.) willnot return to a growth path at least in

the short term.

Greece and the other Mediterraneancountries have a major comparativeadvantage in tourism.What matters is toconvert this comparative into a competi-tive advantage, i.e. to use the rich assetendowment to achieve efficient assetdeployment. Raising the competitivenessprofile of Greece requires active invest-ment initiatives not only in terms of phys-ical but also in terms of human capital.Therefore, a change of mentality isrequired as entrepreneurs should seeeducation and training as an investmentand not a liability.

This is a particularly challenging task forthe tourism sector, where the traditionalcost cutting practices have favoured theuse of low-skilled, cheap labour. Such apractice, however, will only accentuate thevicious circle experienced by Greece.

Ironically perhaps, the Schumpeterian wayof thinking re-emerges: the current crisisshould be seen as an opportunity for thecreative destruction of the pathologicalentrepreneurial practices of the past andnot for the destruction of the potentiallycreative forces of the future!

More visitors would stimulate Tourism employment

Education


Sofia Gonzalez De Aguinaga |

Student,King’s College London 15

London has been my new home sinceSeptember 2012 when I first arrived herefeeling nervous and afraid, but also withbig expectations and a goal to fulfil.Thisgreat city opened its opportunities andmulticultural environment to me; beinghere as an international student is still aneveryday challenge, though. It meanschanges, and involves great efforts, sincestudying a Master’s degree in King'sCollege London, one of the best universi-ties in the world, demands being one ofthe best students in the world as well. AsI am writing the last essay of the firstterm, I realise how quickly time haspassed since my first day of lectures, and Itake a break from writing it to share withyou my personal experience and myfuture intentions.

My main reason to be doing a Master’sdegree in Tourism, Environment andDevelopment is that I am concernedabout the development of Mexico and Iam eager to participate in the improve-ment of the life quality in my country.TheMaster’s programme studies tourism froman integrated point of view, consideringthe complex relationships that existbetween tourism, the environment andthe development of a country and, forthis reason, I am certain that this uniqueapproach will prepare me to contributeto the growth of my state.

I am from Nayarit, a beautiful state locat-ed in western Mexico, with a significantshare of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.Its core economic growth comes mostlyfrom tourism due to different qualitiesthat make it a very attractive place.Nayarit, as well as Mexico overall, has alot to offer, such as a number of differentbeaches, diverse natural environments,great weather, and unique culture.Theseall combine to make tourism a key factorcontributing towards development.

Tourism is a growing industry which gen-erates job opportunities and training forthe local people, and it has become avery important source of income forMexico.

The tourism industry currently repre-sents 7.8% of the GDP of the country(INEGI,Tourism Satellite Account 2006-2010). Moreover, ex-president Felipe

Calderón promoted Mexico's participa-tion in different activities to introducetourism as a significant tool for develop-ment. Mexico chaired the G20 grouppromoting sustainable development, host-ed the T20 meeting to discuss the topic“Tourism, an alternative for job creation”,and in 2011 signed the National TourismAgreement, which seeks to rank Mexicoone of the first places to visit by 2018.

With this purpose in mind, the govern-ment of Nayarit, through its currentDevelopment Plan 2011-2017, has setregional development as its main objec-tive in order to improve the competitive-ness of the state nationally and interna-tionally, with sustainable tourism as thekey driver. In was in this context thatRivera Nayarit was created – this is themost important tourism project in thestate, and one of the most outstanding inMexico, aiming to develop high qualityand sustainable tourism products andservices.

Rivera Nayarit, known as `Mexico’s PacificTreasure´, comprises beaches like Nuevo

Vallarta, Punta de Mita and San Blasamong others, offering tourists a memo-rable experience through its beautifullandscapes, gastronomy, and a variety ofactivities.

It is my goal to analyse the advantagesand disadvantages of tourism as a form ofdevelopment – its environmental, culturaland social impacts, and its capacity toreduce poverty. My purpose after finishingmy degree is to return to Mexico andwork for the government or an NGO,carrying out research in order to developa deeper understanding of tourism.

Additionally, to contribute to the devel-opment of appropriate policies and proj-ects required to address the real needsof the poor, and establish internationalnetworks to promote them. I have nodoubt that an international experiencelike this one in London, focused accurate-ly on the needs of my country, will allowme to provide invaluable research andstrategies that will be reflected on theimprovement of the life quality of its peo-ple.

An international Master’s students’ perspective


Riviera Nayarit: Hotel Imanta

Susan Parker Johnston MTS | Vinous Development


The opportunity for wine tourism

Consultant Case Study


The fruits of the Diamond Jubilee andOlympics harvested (an abundant if sin-gular crop), UK tourism might now turnto consider an evergreen with compan-ion planting benefits – English WineTourism.

Not necessarily something that springs tomind.Yet vineyard numbers here havedoubled since 2004 (my local supermar-ket stocks over 40 English wines) andwith internationally coveted wine acco-lades atop English mantelpieces (2012IWSC - Gold Outstanding and Gold toBolney Wine Estate and Nyetimberrespectively, to name but two) there canbe no question about the quality of theproduct.

Building vineyards, their produce andassociated opportunities into the tourismoffering is in its early stages in England. Bycontrast, South African (SA) tourism hasbenefited from the wine industry to cre-ate its benchmark wine tourism valued inexcess of US$590 million pa with indus-try attractions a major growth factor forCape Town tourism.

Much of SA’s success can be attributedto putting the natural and cultural land-scape first, something that is at the heartof the industry’s ‘Variety is in our Nature’brand, and to its distinct scenic wineroutes.The wine industry is also workingin partnership with conservation bodieson the Bio-Diversity Initiative. For exam-ple, six Elim (Southern Cape)Winegrowers have created a WetlandSpecial Management Area to preserveendangered flora and fauna. SimilarEnglish sustainability initiatives are in theirinfancy.

Both countries’ wine industries boastmarketing associations:Wines of SouthAfrica (WOSA) and English WineProducers (EWP).WOSA is well estab-lished and includes wine tourism as anintegral part of a wine producing area'smarketing strategy. Here, a handful ofproducers do already enjoy the successof wine tourism, and EWP is well awareof the benefits and is determined todevelop the organic growth.There is evi-dence of a collective approach to winetourism as well as an industry message –Think Drink English – and with English

wine regions set among beautifullydiverse areas which already attract visi-tors for other reasons, marketing is begin-ning to take off.The recent appearance oftwo Hampshire vineyards on the BBC’sCountryfile also helps.

In addition to the obvious catering, mer-chandise and visitor facility attractionsfound in tourism-oriented English vine-yards, SA destinations also include art gal-leries, museums, cookery schools andperforming arts. South Africa, with ayounger winemaking heritage, is alsoahead of England in terms of formalisedwine tours, offering diverse experiencesas part of a general touring itinerary,combined with other attractions, or spe-cific such as wine tasting on horseback!Both countries have producers that offertastings, cellar and vineyard experiencesplus accommodation. In SA a regulatedtourist guiding structure accredits wineguiding whereas currently the UK doesnot, nor is guiding formally regulated.

SA regional and local tourism officesorganise events, for example theFranschhoek Festival of Bubbles whereCap Classique producers and FrenchChampagne houses come together.Similarly, EWP is developing a calendar of

wine events including English Wine Week,and food and drink related festivals con-tinue to flourish throughout the country.

Developing further, wine tourism is notonly the choice of wine enthusiasts. Itappeals to those who enjoy othertourism activities such as heritage, out-door, agriculture and the arts. Combinewine with England’s other home-grownproduce, real ale and cheese etc, andthere is a food and drink culture to culti-vate, too. Integrating home-grown indus-tries into the tourism mix brings localbenefits and national competitivenessagainst the food and drink pull of ourEuropean neighbours.

Although growing, one recognises thatthe English Wine Industry is small. In 2011it had around a quarter of SA’s winerieswith approximately 1,210 and 100,000hectares in production respectively.TheSouth Africa example shows what can bedone when vineyards bring the public into do more than simply buy their wine.To realise the potential and promoteinvestment, sensitive support and encour-agement from the UK’s tourism consult-ants and experts is invaluable.

Here’s to the perennial harvest – Englishwine. Cheers!

Denbies Wine Estate offers B&B, weddings and tours

Destination Management


Sarah Stewart MTS | Chief Executive,

NewcastleGatesheadInitiative 17

Destination Marketing Organisations(DMOs) have faced numerous challengesin recent years – economic uncertaintiesand a shift in organisational structures, toname just two, have affected the wholetourism sector nationally.

The demise of Regional DevelopmentAgencies, which in some areas of thecountry – including the North East – hadsignificant responsibility for developing thevisitor economy, meant many DMOs hadto scale back their activity severely, whilstothers closed completely. Despite this,there are others who have not just sur-vived but are now thriving; having identi-fied and secured new sources of fundingthey continue to attract visitors year-round.

One potential new funding model underconsideration nationally is TourismBusiness Improvement Districts (TBIDS).The idea is that tourism businesses con-tribute towards a fund that could bemanaged by the local DMO, to help sup-port the on-going development of localvisitor economies.We are likely to seethe first TBIDs come into operation from2014 onwards.

At NewcastleGateshead Initiative wehave always invested significant time andenergy in building productive partner-ships with businesses locally, regionallyand nationally.We are a true public-pri-vate partnership working closely withGateshead and Newcastle City Councilsand alongside 170 private-sector part-ners, who all help fund our activity.

We also work hard to secure commercialsponsorship and advertising revenues, andthis approach has allowed us to remainstrong during a period of economicuncertainty and organisational change.The work we deliver to attract leisurevisitors, conferences & events, and inwardinvestment – alongside the delivery ofour award-winning cultural programme –is critical to the ongoing success of thevisitor economy in NewcastleGateshead.

As a member of the VisitEngland board, Iam well placed to see the impact of anychanges in the national political and eco-nomic landscape whilst also helping to

ensure VisitEngland is aware of andresponsive to the challenges facing desti-nations, such as NewcastleGateshead,around the country.

Likewise the formation of the DestinationManagement Forum by VisitEnglandbrings together senior executives fromleading DMOs; the forum allows DMOsto share their experiences and goodpractice and by signing-up to the strategicframework led by VisitEngland encour-ages growth of the national tourist econ-omy.

Our relationship with the nationaltourism body has never been stronger. InAugust, we secured funding through theRegional Growth Fund via VisitEnglandresulting in an additional £500,000towards our city-break marketing cam-paign until 2015.

VisitEngland’s successful application to theGovernment’s Regional Growth Fundmeans the national tourism body hasreceived £19.8 million to deliver a three-year partner marketing project entitled‘Growing Tourism Locally’.This projectaims to stimulate the domestic visitormarket to grow local economies throughincreased tourism activity by UK residentsand enables VisitEngland to work in part-nership with DMOs across the country.

The project has the potential to createthe equivalent of 9,100 full time jobs

across England and is fantastic example ofhow partnership working can generatepositive results.

Regionally, NewcastleGateshead Initiativeis part of the Northern Tourism Alliance,together with Northumberland Tourism,Visit County Durham, Hadrian’s Wall Trustand the North East Hotels Association.We’re also part of the Northern DMOsGroup and the Core Cities DMO Group.Each of these groups meet regularly andare committed to collaborating whereverwe can.

In 2013 our city-breaks marketing cam-paign will be delivered with some of ourkey partners including East Coast Trains;our award-winning cultural programmewill animate the city’s streets and ourConvention Bureau will attend key con-ference trade shows with some of ourbiggest venues.

Meanwhile, our newly formed inwardinvestment department will grow part-nerships in key sectors to attract compa-nies to the region, and the visitor infor-mation team will be on the ground atconferences, the Port of Tyne and eventsto bring information direct to visitors.

As we face the future, it is clear that acreative and open approach to partner-ship is critical to the on-going economicgrowth of NewcastleGateshead.

Delivering a successful tourism sectorthrough partnership


The Sage Gateshead


Membership News


2012 has been the Tourism Society’s bestyear for recruitment of new memberssince at least 2005, with 262 signed up.

Considering the squeeze on people’sspending this number is extremelyencouraging and shows how importantthe Society is. Collaboration and coopera-tion are words I hear more and more,and the Society provides an excellent net-work of tourism professionals that helpsdevelop links across businesses and allowsgreater collaboration.

The Board had to look closely at financesthis year and reluctantly agreed to a smallincrease in membership fees, starting fromJanuary1st – but it has also introducedmore ways to join, such as through groupmemberships for businesses or blockmemberships for students that allowexcellent value for money. Please seeoverleaf and contact me for full details.

Ticket prices for Society events remainunchanged and on January 15th we willbe meeting in London for Prospects2013. Speakers from TRI Hospitality

Consulting,VisitBritain, umiDigital and theEuropean Travel Commission will considerwhat trends and developments we canlook forward to.

This is always a busy event so make sureyou reserve your place through our newwebsite.

Gregory Yeoman MTS | Executive Director

[email protected]

From the Chairman’s DeskWhere would you put a new runway? It’san important issue and we’re told that ifwe don’t decide soon Schiphol and oth-ers will profit from our indecision.

So why take so long – remembering thatonce we have a location, the planning,appeals and demonstrations from eco-warriors and those protecting the HazelDormouse will delay the first flight until2030, if then?

Targets have been set for an increase inthe number of visitors to Britain by 2020.Sorry, but not unreasonably the vastmajority of these visitors will want to flyinto London. But without extra capacityhow will this happen?

Heathrow is already pushing the enve-lope and a planning agreement meansGatwick cannot have a second runwayuntil after 2020.There are even alterna-tives to Boris Island – Kent Internationalhas a new KLM service, why not more? Itcan be as quick to get from BirminghamInternational into central London as it isfrom Stansted and Luton so rebrandBrumInt as London Bickenhill (whichsounds okay) or London Arden Airportand it’s job done.

So why will it take Sir Howard Daviesuntil after the 2015 election...?

David Curtis-Brignell FTS |Chairman,

The Tourism Society

Events CalendarCalendar of Events 2013

January15th

Prospects for 2013MacIntyre Hudson Offices, London

22ndTourism Business and CareerOpportunitiesLeeds Metropolitan University

February27thPresident’s DebateCentral Hall Westminster, London

March13th-14thBest of Britain and IrelandNEC Birmingham

21stYorkshire Tourism ChallengeYorkT.H.E Careers DayUniversity of Surrey, Guildford

April25thAnnual DinnerHouse of CommonsEarly Bird ticket prices available until Jan31st 2013 (see over)

26th Fellows' Day

July2nd & 3rdAnnual ConferenceCardiffTourism Society WalesSummer Lunch

OctoberMedia MasterclassLondon

DecemberPresident’s DebateLondonTourism Society WalesChristmas Lunch

Watch out for our regular e-mails giving updates about events, venues and speakers.More information can be found on the Society’s website at

www.tourismsociety.org/page/12/tourism-society-events.htm

Universities today need to demonstrate good connections withindustry, show employability of graduates and offer students goodvalue for money.

With this in mind we have introduced a way for universities andcolleges to offer Society memberships to their students.

The Block Membership scheme is managed centrally by theuniversity or college, in liaison with the Tourism SocietySecretariat, and each student member has their own membershipaccount in the usual way.

The membership rate varies from £30 to £25 per studentdepending on the number joining.

Student Block Membership has already received a great deal ofpositive interest.

It helps students engage with the industry and helps establishcontacts that are useful for dissertations, projects and, ultimately,jobs.

The proposed launch of the Tourism Society Student Network in2013 will provide greater opportunities for involvement.

If you would like to go ahead with Block Membership, or wouldlike more information, please contact Gregory Yeoman on0207 269 9693 or [email protected].

Student BlockMembershipScheme

Booking form – Annual Dinner 2013Thursday April 25th

House of Commons, LondonEarly Bird rates apply until the end of January 2013

Name: MTS / FTS / non-member (please circle)

Please reserve:

________ tickets @ Members and guests rate £80ea. (£99 from Feb 1st) = £

________ tickets @ Non-members rate £99ea. (£119 from Feb 1st) = £

________ table/s of 10 @ £800ea. (£950 from Feb 1st) = £

Total: £

( ) I enclose a cheque (payable to The Tourism Society) for £

( ) I would like to pay by Debit / Credit Card. Fill in the box below. *Please note we cannot accept AMEX.

Cardholder name

Billing address

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Start / Expiry dates Start: Expiry:

*Issue number

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Signature

( ) Please INVOICE me/my company: Purchase order number: ……………………………………

( ) Please send me a receipt.

Please return with payment to: The Tourism Society, Queen’s House, 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BH

20 [email protected] 152 Winter 2012

Membership NewsCongratulations to Charlie Thornton, David Friesner and Robin Barker who have been upgraded to Fellow of theTourism Society (FTS).Welcome New CorporatePartnerFusion Office AutomationLtd01206 821 360www.fusionsales.co.uk

Yasmin Brodrick MTS01206 821 [email protected]

Hayley Hobbs MTS01206 821 [email protected]

Daniel Johnson MTS01206 821 [email protected]

Danny Faulkner MTS01206 821 [email protected]

Graham MacKenzie MTS01206 821 [email protected]

David Wilkin MTS01206 821 [email protected]

Welcome New CorporateMembers European TravelCommission+32 2 548 9000www.visiteurope.comwww.etc-corporate.org

Eduardo Santander [email protected]

Valeria Croce [email protected]

Annelies Waegeman [email protected]

Miguel Gallego [email protected]

Stefanie Gallob [email protected]

Jean-Francois Serpieter [email protected]

Teodora Marinska [email protected]

ZSL London Zoowww.zsl.org

Claire Griffin MTS0207 449 [email protected]

Paz Salcedo Lopez MTS0207 449 [email protected]

Oman Ministry of Tourism0208 877 4505www.omantourism.gov.om

Razan Darwish [email protected]

Asma Al-Hajry [email protected]

Made0207 831 8105www.made2010.com

John Bridge [email protected]

BDRC Groupwww.bdrc-continental.com0207 400 1000

Katie Vosper MTS0207 400 [email protected]

Max Clapham MTS0207 400 [email protected]

South African Tourism0208 971 9350www.southafrica.net

Juan Herrada [email protected]

The National Trust0844 800 1895www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Sally Airey [email protected]

Welcome New GroupMembers World Travel & TourismCouncil0207 481 8007www.wttc.org

Evelyne Freiermuth [email protected]

Rochelle Turner [email protected]

Luca De Giuseppe [email protected]

Anja Echervogt [email protected]

Natasha Mytton-Mills [email protected]

Welcome New MembersCaron Porritt MTSImplement Marketing Limitedcaron@implementmarketing.co.ukwww.implementmarketing.co.uk

Annie Litmanen MTSLitmanen [email protected]

Joe Bickerton MTSWrexham County [email protected]

Mike Marsh MTSMike Marsh Associates [email protected]

Ian Ashton MTSWorld of James Herriot [email protected]

Lisa Davies [email protected]

Nicholas Hall MTSSE1 Media [email protected]

Romy Cwyie MTSSE1 Media [email protected]

Sean Young MTSColliers [email protected]

Ray Hoerty MTSManchester Tour [email protected]

Julia Feuell MTSNew [email protected]

Ginette Goulston-LincolnMTSGoulston Lincoln [email protected]

Trevor Poole MTSSquare [email protected]

Anya Chapman MTSLiverpool Hope [email protected]

Edith Szivas [email protected]

Sophie Maulevrier MTSTourism & Leisure – [email protected]

Abiodun Seriki MTSAcumen Travels and Tours [email protected]

Welcome New StudentsKerry OdendaalBournemouth [email protected]

Viktorija Justina ValanciuteBournemouth [email protected]

Nurymbayeva AsselBournemouth [email protected]

Amy Louise RogersBournemouth [email protected]

Jurgita LionginaviaciuteBournemouth [email protected]

Alexandra LoveridgeBournemouth [email protected]

Jessica MountfordBournemouth [email protected]

Rimgaile KniukstaiteBournemouth [email protected]

Megan MitchellBournemouth [email protected]

Grzegorz ZajaczkowskiBournemouth [email protected]

Niina OnnilaBournemouth [email protected]

Michael NeavesBournemouth [email protected]

Lewis DixonBournemouth [email protected]

Aidan NoadBournemouth [email protected]

Rebecca Rowe-LeeteBournemouth [email protected]

Emily SmithBournemouth [email protected]

Laura McKendrickBournemouth [email protected]

Amy Hannah ColesBournemouth [email protected]

www.tourismsociety.org 21Issue 152 Winter 2012

Membership NewsRebecca KingBournemouth [email protected]

Lauren MackBournemouth [email protected]

Ella WilliamsBournemouth [email protected]

Miyuki KawamotoBournemouth [email protected]

Stilian PavlovBournemouth [email protected]

Denitse DimitrovaGlavinovaBournemouth [email protected]

Ema TsvetanovaBournemouth [email protected]

Sophie BristowBournemouth [email protected]

Liliya Vihar SimovaBournemouth [email protected]

Monique SmithBournemouth [email protected]

Vishnu DattBournemouth [email protected]

Ariana AngelovaChorbadzhiyskaBournemouth [email protected]

Charlotte CandyBournemouth [email protected]

Louis LovelessBournemouth [email protected]

Mark EastonBournemouth [email protected]

Megan AlgarBournemouth [email protected]

Koo HolderBournemouth [email protected]

Anita RummelsCardiff Metropolitan [email protected]

Binod ShresthaOpen University Milton [email protected]

Oliver KocanOxford Brookes [email protected]

Nicole RossRobert Gordon [email protected]

Stephanie PlumbRobert Gordon [email protected]

Kamila GrabarczykSheffield Hallam University

Emily BoxallSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Eleanor DawsonSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Molly HughesSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Robert LupuSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Petrica BobocSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Radu NitaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Daniel CoppSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Laura AnsteeSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Cao (Mary) Jun HuaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Lisa DouglasSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Karys BrowningSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Mengqi TaoSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Lottie CaieSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Jing Jing ZhouSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Ramal NaghiyeuSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Wu ZhikaiSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Olivia BrownSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Jessica DameSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Amy WoodhallSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Jennifer GalletSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Adi DelaneySheffield Hallam [email protected]

Emma CockerillSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Peggy ByrneSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Xue LiSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Bogdana TsankovaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Ma JiaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Harriet JohnsonSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Kate RileySheffield Hallam [email protected]

Sophie MilroySheffield Hallam University

Natalie MorrisSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Ijaz LatifSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Teuta BakolliSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Maria KostadinovaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Sophie Louise PickeringSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Laura MoxonSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Emma SmithSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Sohel ArguesoSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Luke TiernanSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Olivia CousinsSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Lucy HendersonSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Karolina BoryckaSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Paulina GluszekSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Zoe HorswillSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Keeley FawcettSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Amelia MakisonSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Suha AliSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Iulia-Mihaela StafieSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Charlotte WadeSheffield Hallam [email protected]

Claudia BaileySheffield Hallam [email protected]

Christopher FreemanUniversity College [email protected]

Stilyana StoyanovaUniversity of [email protected]

Antonia GeorgiadouUniversity of [email protected]

Maria Francesca AldeaUniversity of [email protected]

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tourism journal - winter 2012

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