Sustainable Tourism Post Covid-19

Reading through this Guardian article on Barcelona without the tourists, it’s crazy to think of the new reality we all find ourselves in, post the outbreak of Covid-19.

This is especially true for the tourism industry, in Spain, here in the UK and Ireland, and just about everywhere else around the world.

Hit Pause

I’ve been lucky enough to work in, and then with, the tourism industry and various tourism businesses and projects, since 2014 up until now. It’s an exciting industry, and an enjoyable one for a marketeer.

Every year felt the same. The drive for growth is/was insatiable, and it was a common catchphrase at annual Tourism Ireland conferences that the dial reverts to zero every year on January 1st, with the aim being more visitors and tourists than ever before.

Now everyone, from top to bottom has had to hit pause.

Cities like Barcelona, with 2 million residents, have witnessed approximately 30 million annual visitors disappear in a flash.

Belfast, Dublin, Galway, the Causeway Coast, and the Wild Atlantic Way have all seen exactly the same, and just as the new season was due to start.

Tourism Post Covid-19

For the most part, nobody has questioned the various lockdowns. Everybody has understood what is required.

Despite that, from a tourism perspective, it has been devastating and the ramifications will most likely ripple for many years to come. It’s hard to envisage pre-Coronavirus travelling on the same scale, at least in the short to mid-term.

However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.

Both Barcelona and Amsterdam, two major European tourism hubs, are said to be reevaluating their cities, with a greater focus on the wellbeing and experiences of local people and local tourists, after all of this has begun to pass.

One local Amsterdam resident took his children to the historic Wallen district (also known as the red light district), now minus stag parties and hyped-up tourists, and called it a “memory of a lifetime”.

The same could happen here.

Local tourists could experience the Ring of Kerry in all its glory, without massive unsustainable numbers of visitors around every corner. The same can be said of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, Dublin’s Temple Bar district and more.

Obviously every visitor is welcomed, and they are the lifeblood of the tourism industry, of jobs, and livelihoods. This isn’t about them, it’s about making it more sustainable in future when they’re welcomed back.

Post Covid-19 Tourism in Ireland

Locally, we don’t have to look too far to see the negative impact of tourism.

Countless reports charting the destruction of the world famous Dark Hedges (featured in HBO’s Game of Thrones) have appeared throughout the last half-decade, with tourism speeding up a natural process beyond repair. That’s just one attraction in one corner of the island.

Things won’t be the same for a long time, at the very least, but hopefully this forced pause will allow us to rejig the local tourism industry with a greater emphasis on sustainable experiences and memories, both for local visitors, and those who will eventually be welcomed back to our shores.

In amongst the relentless wave of bad news, it’s positive to see that the “memory of a lifetime” can still happen in 2020, and beyond.

Northern Ireland Tourism Workshops

Tourism is projected to become a billion pound industry in Northern Ireland by 2020.

Whilst that might be the case, there is still plenty of work yet to be done and recently myself and my colleague Jason Powell, of Powell Destination Marketing, had the pleasure of teaming up to host a tourism marketing workshop in Portrush on the north coast.

We set-up shop in the Magherabuoy House Hotel, just off the incredible Causeway Coastal Route, and started our workshop designed specifically for local bed & breakfast and self-catering traders.

Focus on Tourism

Jason started the day with a focus set firmly on the principles of tourism marketing.

With so much support now readily available via Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland it’s important to utilise what’s already out there including the regular opportunities e-zines and in-depth market research.

These two massive organisations have undertaken all of the research needed so we don’t have to. 

Instead, we have to focus on creating engaging products and messages for our target customer profiles like the Culturally Curious or Great Escapers.

A Great Escaper wants a holiday linked back to nature in someway so why not package your bed and breakfast rooms with a local walking or hiking trail?

The research tells us this is exactly what they want so now we have to get the message out there!

Focus on Digital

The next step is all about getting these specific messages and products in front of potential travellers.

Nowadays it is essential to do this is via digital channels online and the second half of the workshop allowed me to focus on all things digital whilst also relating back to Jason’s talk earlier in the day.

We focused on using digital signposts to drive people back to your website where direct bookings or enquiries are most likely to happen.

These digital signposts include, but aren’t limited to, popular social media channels, search engines and email marketing.

Puzzle Pieces

It was a great day and the feedback has been very positive.

At Counter Digital and Powell Destination Marketing we try to keep things simple when it comes to tourism marketing.

Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland hand us the puzzle pieces; it’s just about us putting them together in the right order and getting out there online!

For more information on tourism workshops click here.

Learning at the Focus on Food 2016 Conference

Sometimes we’re so focused on the day-to-day that we forget to take time to ask ourselves questions about our businesses:

Where are we going?

What should we do next?

How do we get there?

If you work within the food, hospitality or tourism sectors of Northern Ireland the Focus on Food 2016 conference in Belfast was a great opportunity to ask those questions and think about the future.

Lessons

Although the conference was centered on a specific set of industries it’s easy to use the lessons learned when working in other sectors as well.

Lynsey Holywood of Ulster University noted that successful “food tourism” is achieved by creating “authentic, memorable and engaging experiences”.

Holywood also highlighted that a food industry disrupter, like AirBnB in the hospitality sector, is not far away. It is predicted that soon, amongst other things, we will be able to hire incredible chefs and cooks for the night or even eat in their own homes!

These two points can easily be expanded onto other industries and it’s clear that in 2016 we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to constantly ask ourselves questions, challenge our businesses and strive to move forward because disrupters are everywhere.

Likewise, we also have to create something authentic, engaging and valuable for our customers. Ewan Venters, Fortnum & Mason CEO, continued with this theme as he highlighted two key points to consider when marketing any brand, service or product:

Creating a shift in perception takes time

Creating memories leave a lasting impression and creates (social) content

Another interesting point came via Damien Donnelly as he highlighted that one third of all restaurant bookings now come directly from Google alone!

Digital Point of View

The above are just a small number of the many valuable points raised on the day and from a digital marketing point of view, in any industry, this means really striving to create incredible content and campaigns.

It also means businesses have to get themselves on Google in the correct way because if they aren’t doing it, one of their competitors is.

Finally, in todays saturated marketplace experience really is everything but that memorable experience could be a simple video on Facebook with a friendly face and a local voice behind it.

It could also be as simple as monitoring customer reviews and searching for new ways to improve.

As Ewan Venters noted, improving and shifting perceptions takes time but taking a moment to think is the start everyone needs.