Tourism in 2023

The Forum for the Future have been doing some scenario planning on the sustainability of tourism. The report Tourism 2023 is available on their web site and the 4 scenarios brought to life through animations by students at Goldsmiths College.

The scenarios - Boom & Burst, Divided Disquiet, Price & Privilege and Carbon Clampdown - give food for thought on how our industry might look in the very near future.

How will our destinations respond?

Any publicity ...

Isn't the new series of The Restaurant brilliant PR for Bristol?

The city looks great - even in the rain. And the very fact that Monsieur Blanc has a brasserie there suggests he won't show the place in a poor light.

Destinations long for broadcast media coverage. Get it right, and it's worth millions.

Yet reality TV can be a dangerous animal. Destination marketers should treat the beast with caution - rather than jumping headlong into bed with programme makers.

Faced with a potentially damaging piece of TV, some marketers don't seem to realise that they do have the option of non-cooperation. It's not an easy decision, but without interesting, behind-the-scenes content, a programme can end up hidden in late-night schedules, and starved of publicity by the broadcasters. I speak from experience.

Whoever said "any publicity is good publicity", was a fool. But the power of publicity is underdeniable. In this case, Bristol: allez-y!

Wrapping Manchester Up

Manchester's 'creative director' and Factory Records designer, Peter Saville has created something uber-hip for the festive shopping list - Manchester Christmas wrapping paper.

The limited edition wrapping paper, commissioned as part of the marketing campaign to attract Christmas shoppers into the city centre, apparently relies on 6-colour printing instead of the usual 4, giving each parcel a unique look. (No, we don't know how this works either).

The 5,000 rolls are on sale at limited outlets in Manchester and at Visit Manchester's on-line shop.

Great PR and absolutely on-brand for Manchester.

Ghost town?

Venetians held a mock funeral today. They say their city is dying because tourism has stolen its heart and soul. The population has dwindled to below 60,000 - a drop of two thirds since the 50s. Residents say it's becoming a ghost town filled only with tourists.

My strongest memory of my first visit to Venice - about 20 years ago - is of arriving during the rush hour, late on a rainy April afternoon. The water buses were crammed with commuters in raincoats - standing room only. It was the sense of being part of a real, working place in such an extraordinary setting that took my breath away.

On this morning's Today programme, a Venetian resident complained that there were plenty of places to buy souvenirs and plastic macs, but it was getting harder and harder to buy bread and vegetables. She said the city is rapidly becoming a monument, rather than a place to live.

I'm sure it's still possible to get off the tourist track and find the 'real' Venice - but today's demonstration is a sad reminder of tourism's potential to diminish the very places that people come to see and experience. Yet visitors can make a huge contribution to a place's vibrancy and economy - improving local people's quality of life. Sustainable place shaping - with its emphasis on local benefit and authenticity - has never been more important.

Day trippers doing it for themselves

Our good friends at Dot Tourism have just launched their very own days out website where tourists, travellers and daytrippers share their views on places which give a great day out.

Starting with the South East and over 600 attractions, plans are in place to roll out to other regions very soon.

Vive La Tour!

Did you catch Blackpool's recent excellent viral campaign with their YouTube video J'aime la Tour? If not check it out. And then view the follow up just released to find out what happened next in Love, From Blackpool.

Brilliantly conceived and brilliantly executed. One of the best uses of You Tube for destination marketing we've seen.

Takes all sorts ...

Just back from a few days' R&R in the Lake District.

I was amused to read through the guest journal left in our self-catering lodge at Langdale and find that previous guests ranged from a family from Yorkshire with their first precious grandchild to four guys who "cruzed up from Essex in our Italian Sportz (sic)" and climbed England's highest mountain with only a Mars Bar each to keep them going.

It struck me as a textbook illustration of why destinations need to segment their communications ... and reminded me what a wealth of customer information accommodation providers and others can have at their figure tips, courtesy of these sorts of visitor books.

The puzzle of promoting sub-regions

We know that sub-regions are often not particularly consumer friendly and destination marketers can find it difficult to communicate what they are and what they offer. VisitWales has found a neat way of telling potential visitors about its sub-regions in its latest interactive e-marketing campaign. Using a jigsaw piece for each sub-region users put together a picture of Wales made up from its sub-regions and in the process learn where each is and what is special about it.