Posts Tagged ‘conversation’
open letter: tourism bureaus »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
I know what you’re thinking: Another open letter? Really? Yes. Really. I had a couple conversations this morning along these lines.
Dear Most of You,
There you are. You’re the be-all, end-all for your destination. You’re where people turn to book their trips, learn about your locale and plan their travel. Except for one thing: you’re not.
Don’t get me wrong, your sites are pretty, filled to brimming with helpful. Some find a lot of value in that but more find value in TripAdvisor (and ilk) with hands-on visitor feedback. Many travelers are going to Travelocity, Priceline, etc. to book their trips.
You’re letting your expertise be siphoned off. There are thousands of sites more specifically pertinent and millions of travelers looking for more.
We’re in an age of conversation, not broadcast. If you’re not talking with us you’re talking at us. We’re ignoring you. Your audience will dwindle as more become internet-savvy.
How large is your staff? 20? 40? 200? Even a small destination’s site could have hundreds of visitors per month. Put them to use; who doesn’t like talking about their travel?
Use Twitter, Facebook, etc. to relay useful tips and articles about your destination to followers. Ask visitors where they like to shop, eat and be entertained. Allow for comments and discussions.
Soon, creating a blog, loading Flickr images and sending tweets to both won’t be enough.
There are political obstacles. Keep your booking engines and link exchanges. If you’re funded through membership, even partially, have your users to mention your name when out and about. (Deals? Incentives?)
Your voice, while important, is not what travelers want to hear. They want to hear the voices of others or to be able to share theirs. Facilitate that conversation, adding your wisdom where appropriate, and your credibility will rise.
Or, you could keep on keepin’ on. You’ll weather the downturn only to be overshadowed. With so many free or cheap options out there to increase your status as a premium source of information, it’s on you.
Good luck.
Draynd
Sidenote: How many of you knew tourism bureaus existed or that you could book travel through many of them? Yeah… exactly my point.