Putting Out The Welcome Mat

For communities, regions and states, the revenue generated from tourism and travel, both leisure and business, can often be perceived as a marketing “catch 22.” It is a classic example of needing to spend money to make money.

To attract tourists a destination must have activities and amenities. While most of these are funded through private investors and entrepreneurs, municipalities must do their part to provide an infrastructure and environment that makes the traveler feel welcomed.

I first started working with destination marketing back in 1976 and continue to do so today. As a result, when I travel, I pay attention to how regions and destinations present themselves to visitors. With the economic vitality available through tourism, it is puzzling that so few towns, cities, and regions prioritize this type of development and provide the support that private investors need. Tourism is truly a match of public and private funds and development.

I have just returned from vacationing in my home state of Pennsylvania. The most recent statistics show that tourism produced $25.8 billion in annual revenue from visitor spending in Pennsylvania. Since most money spent for tourism is taxable revenue, the industry generates $1.5 billion in taxes for the state budget.

The amount of revenue from tourism in Pennsylvania has been increasing 3%-5% each year. In addition 10.4% of all jobs in the state are directly related to tourism. If more communities and regions want to position themselves as destinations, they’ll need to invest in the key areas of hospitality to attract tourists and keep them coming back. These include:

A Web Site for Visitors. Travelers search online for everything they need to plan a trip. Where to go. Where to stay. What to do. Many communities have just one Web site that is set up to be a municipal site. It talks about taxes, council meeting schedules, ordinances, and other community needs. To reap the financial rewards of being a destination, communities need destination sites.

This can be done as a navigation link from the municipal site that takes the visitor to a special section on the site. Or, the community can set up a separate tourism site. I recommend doing the second site. A great destination site needs graphic appeal. Invest in some professional photography. It is preferable to show people in your photographs and is worth hiring “models” to guarantee a good image. Be sure to publish a phone number people can call if they have questions, with the hours the phone line will be answered.

The site should include sections on lodging, dining, attractions, special events, shopping, history or stories about the destination, directions and a contact us function. If you have a destination brochure make it available in a printable format. If you have a destination package make it available by request from your contact us form. Also use the contact form to build an Email list so you can send information and updates about things that are happening in your community. Building an Email database should be a key part of your online marketing strategy.

Each section on the site should include photos. Provide links to lodging, attractions, etc. so people can make reservations and plan activities from the community site. Have a link to one of the online map sites from your directions page.

Review the analytics from your destination site on a monthly basis. See which pages are generating the most traffic and interest. Continually upgrade and modify to provide a great experience for site visitors. And most of all, keep your site current. When special events are over, take them off the site.

Visitor Amenities. The community needs to be ready to welcome visitors. This starts with good signage that helps them find their destinations within the community. Community banners create a sense of place and identify boundaries. Be sure there are places for people to park and that they are easy to find.

When people have arrived and are walking within the destination they will need places to sit. Communities can take a lesson from malls. Malls provide benches and seating throughout to give people a chance to rest. Communities need to do the same and install benches on their sidewalks. There should be a public information center where visitors also have access to public restrooms. Have an ample supply of trash receptacles to discourage littering. These are available in attractive designs that can blend with the streetscape.

Greenery is an essential part of creating an inviting destination. Trees, planters, flower boxes and grassy areas soften the landscape of urban areas and downtowns. If your destination is a natural area for hiking, water activities, and outdoor events, keep it clean and well maintained.

Package the Experience. Provide visitors with a complete package of everything they can do at your destination. This should be a user-friendly guide that categorizes everything of interest in the community and adjacent areas. This helps visitors plan longer stays, which in turn provides more revenue for the attractions, shops, restaurants and lodging facilities.

In writing and designing your destination package, make it accurate, specific, and easy to use. When listing attractions, be sure to include the hours and admission fees. Instead of writing “advertising” copy, write visitor copy. Destination packages are much more effective when the content follows the journalism standards of answering “who, what, when, where, and why” in as few words as possible. Always include maps. Maps should be designed with clean graphics, readable type, and simple color combinations.

Deliver on Your Promises. Advertising guru Bill Bernbach once said, “A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster.” One of the caveats in destination marketing is to not over-sell your product. To over sell and under deliver is a quick path to failure. Exceed the expectations of the people you attract to your destination. Make the experience better than they expected. Word of mouth advertising will quickly get more and more people to you when you deliver a great experience.

Part of delivering a great experience is getting all the stakeholders to work together. This requires some standardized hours of operation. If you are bringing in visitors for weekends be sure you operate on weekend hours. That includes Sunday. It also requires educating the people who work at places of business where visitors go (stores, restaurants, inns, hotels, attractions) so they can answer questions and help to create exceptional experiences.

Hospitality is a vibrant industry that delivers much needed revenue. Communities that think like brands will be able to cash in. Branding for tourism and economic development will be key to the survival of most towns, cities and regions. Although the financial commitment to reinvent and differentiate a community brand is significant, the return on the investment is many times greater. Put out the welcome mat and you’ll revitalize your community with your very own stimulus package.

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