Perspective in action
In the midst of high season might seem an odd time to take inventory. But the truth is that all the activity around us now is just reaping what we sowed months ago. The new cycle is under way, and possibly that’s one reason why so many member budgets begin July 1. It is time to look to the horizon and start plowing straight furrows toward it. Our visitor prospects, our attractions and assets, even the tide of cultural history, are all working in our favor.
A new crop of visitors is ripening
In two focus groups taken last week we noticed that for every person who said they might be vacationing less frequently or for shorter stays, there was another one who said they were travelling more and longer. For every concerned up-and-comer there seemed to be an empty nester who has more time and money than ever before. We wrote here last month about the volatile, reactive, “nascent” travel population that makes up a lot of our first-time visitors. They want what we have and are using the web to research it. Then a week later our colleagues at Ypartnership identified four “tribes” to describe the new dimensions of our market.
They sort themselves a little differently
The new research confirms what we’ve been seeing in practice for the past couple of years. The interests and passions of our visitors are a better way to target them now than demographics ever were. And the web makes reaching them according to their interests not only possible, but also economical. The study summarized the interests and passions of each segment as their “central tendency.” And the central tendencies sound like a description of what STS members have to offer. Adventure, play, family togetherness, love of the outdoors, love of culture, the arts and genuine human experience. Our world is coming round to value even more than ever what the Southeast has to offer.
Why so many Irish experts?
It’s been interesting to note over the past several years how many accomplished consultants in tourism come from Ireland. Getting to know them it’s clear how that came to be. The Irish cracked the code on building a tourism industry based on natural beauty and cultural heritage – without much capital to invest at first. We have that in common with them. When we play to the strengths of the American Southeast we capitalize on what we’ve had all along: beauty and meaning.
Cornering at high speed
Many members report that visitor traffic is on the rise again – and many more will experience that in the year to come. Since 9/11 we’ve succeeded in making vacations an expected part of most American lives and people won’t do without them for long. Their interests and passions are more in line with what the Southeast has to offer than ever before – AND those interests are more predictive of their vacation decisions than age-income-education ever were. They’re investigating and planning online where we can reach them cost-effectively.
So the means are within our reach to turn this corner sprinting – to measure our success, present accountable, credible results to our funding sources and build ever more effective campaigns that boost economic development in our communities.
As we work and pray and give to help our Gulf Coast colleagues in a time of extraordinary challenge, it may be wise to reflect that at least the tide of visitor desire and choice is moving in our favor. Let’s take the actions that usher it in.