Marketing and

communication of

sustainable tourism

Dr Xavier Font

Leeds Beckett University

Missed business opportunity

Standardised, homogeneous

Easy to find and book

Convenient

Risk adverse

Loss of identity

Cities at most danger

Democratisation

of quality

Peers more trusted than

authorities

Top rankings due to host

personalised care

Not large or 5* hotels

Quality of facilities expected

Value co-creation

Capture value

• Tourism

businesses

Regulation

• Tourism taxes

Value co-creation

Create value

• Attractions

Attractiveness

Sense of place

Auto-regulation

– Airbnb

– Home exchange

– Tripbod

Localised experiences in a

globalised world

• Food and drink

• Quality and premium

associations.

• Reasons for buying: – freshness, taste and quality

of the produce;

– support for local producers,

retailers & community;

– perceived sustainability

benefits;

– and known provenance of

the produce

(DEFRA, 2008)

Staycation:

rediscovery of your home city “Communications around the ideas

of rediscovery and enjoyment are well-placed to make this happen.”

VisitEngland

The vast majority

of staycaytioners

finding their

holidays

engaging,

involving and

more emotionally

profound than

holidays abroad

(VisitEngland

data)

Changing demographics

• Ageing

• Accessible

• Non-standard

families

• Foreign born

“2 in 3 people looking for

access information say

they are much less likely

to visit a destination if

they can’t find the

information they need…

3 in 4 say they would be

‘a lot more likely to

choose the destination

offering the best

information.’”

VisitEngland, Winning

More Visitors

• Use it to make small

incremental changes in

your occupancy by

providing seasonal,

interesting offers

1. Altruistic reasons

2. Better product reasons

3. Expect it already

happens

4. Don’t want to know, but

don’t mind if you do it

5. Will avoid your product

1:30

I’d like to visit an unspoilt paradise, stay in eco-friendly

accommodation and contribute to the well-being of the local people.

I want to bag a cheap flight to Marrakech, be wowed by the flat screen TV in my hotel suite,

be pampered in a double jacuzzi bath, and steal a few bargains at the bazaar.

Wanderlust survey How far would you fly for a weekend break?

• 15% 0 hours

• 47% 1-3 hours

• 27% 3-5 hours

• 11% >6 hours

• “If I’ve only got a few days I don’t want to be jet-lagged”

• “I know flying five hours for a short break isn’t the most environmentally friendly thing to do. However, those extra couple of hours could be the difference between going to an ‘obvious’ short break destination and somewhere altogether more interesting”

VisitEngland data on English consumers

says:

• 58% would want to stay in accommodation with green awards/environmentally friendly practices

• 51% say that if two hotels were the same, they would choose the one with a green award

• 46% don’t want to think about being green - they want to relax

• 33% believe sustainability claims are often ways to save money and/or reduce service

• 15% think a hotel run sustainably will be less comfortable than one without green credentials.

A bed is a bed is a bed

• What makes my bed more interesting than

yours?

• In crowded markets, profile consumers,

speak to your target market.

Task 1.

Segment your database What do you want them to do How do you use your

sustainability efforts

Group A. More than

once a year

Group B. Once a year.

Check for patterns

Group C. One booking

only

Group D. Enquired,

never booked

• Be clear what response or change that you are hoping for from your customers

1. To make customers feel

good

2. To raise awareness and

change behaviour

3. To offer something extra

4. To get more customers

2:15

1. To make customers feel

good • Show them how they are “doing their bit”- by you

doing it for them

• Customers feel good (or less guilty) facing easy choices. Charitable donations, public transport or recycling information… none of these get in the way of what the customer came for.

• Tell about your local suppliers, origin of produce…

Tell us about your suppliers!

• A map of where your different suppliers are might tell the story that they are local- good.

• Photos will show a human side to who they are- better.

• Explaining how they take good care of the produce they sell to you will show that you also care about what you share with your customers- best.

2. To raise awareness and change

behaviour

• Be specific. Vague messages frustrate

• Show the difference you make

• Give something in return

Why charitable donations

• Bedruthan Steps Hotel

(Cornwall) explains to

customers at the point of

booking that they

encourage guest

donations to responsible

causes (while highlighting

that the hotel also does

their bit).

• £5 opt-out donation per

booking:

– Option 1: co2balance

– Option 2: Surfers Against

Sewage

– Option 3: St Mawgan in

Pydar Community Fund

Effectiveness

• Humorous timely

communication

improves

action at Innovat

Hotels

3. To offer something extra

• Design sustainable packages for your low

occupancy or usage periods, or think of

services that can generate more money in

high season.

4. To get more customers

• Increased occupancy or

higher prices?

• We all like a bargain…

• cafes giving a discount

(and others putting 10p in

a charity pot) for regulars

that bring their own

commuter mug - saving

on disposable cups while

gaining a loyal customer.

To increase occupancy

• James Hiley-Jones. At Carey’s Manor and Senspa in Hampshire car-free visits get:

– 10% off standard tariff rate

– 2 for 1 tickets at Beaulieu

– free steam train ride at Exbury Gardens

– 10% off cycle hire at Cycle Experience in Brockenhurst.

• 10-15% of our leisure weekend customers and 30 to 40% of our mid week conference market now arrive car free.

• We’ve realised how corporate social responsibility has become a much bigger issue and we now provide a green travel plan for conference organisers.

Task 2. Set your target

What you want What do you plan to do

(Product or Communication)

To make customers

feel good

To raise awareness

and change

behaviour

To offer something

extra

To get more

customers

• Be clear about the impression you want to create –

• with your sustainability policy, photos, text...

1. Fun

2. Cultural immersion

3. Better service

4. Empathy

5. Trust/risk

3:00

1. Fun/participation

• What can I do?

• People want the option

of being active

• People choose a hotel

based on what they

can do nearby (or in

the hotel)

• Wheelbarrow picnic

• Pick your own lunch

• Learn to do something

• Children’s quiz

• Town trail

• Books for walks

• Bike hire

The Twiggles

say: be green • BeWILDerwood is a family

adventure park in Norfolk.

• 70 local jobs, 87% waste recycled from 160,000 annual visitors, planted >14,000 trees.

• Bright colours and child friendly signage make recycling, non smoking, and caring for your environment fun.

• There’s none of the goodie-goodie speak here, it’s about enjoying a day out

Things to do for children

Temping without words

2. Cultural immersion

• Get to know the real, authentic side of your destination

• Reinforce the image of the person I want to be – Adventurous, independent, learned, inquisitive,

understanding of other cultures…

“We invite locals to dance in our hotel - but this is not a tacky show for tourists”

3. Better service

Make me feel special! • We buy local whenever

possible

• Food: what will sell

more?

– Sustainable, low

carbon footprint,

ecological

– Fresh, unadulterated,

honest

• Putting the client at

the centre of the

experience works for

all messages

– Roof insulation

– Solar panels

– Kitchen waste

Why don’t you go by bike?

Create experiences

• Children workshops

based on recycling

(converting cardboard

boxes into masks,

turning bed linen into

dressing up outfits,

• Adult cooking classes

from traditional local

products

Possibly one of the best

experiences of your life

4. Trust/risk

• We are here for you

• We are a serious business

• Peace of mind

• You are not wasting your money and holiday time

• You have done the searching for the customer, and picked the best

• “We hire bikes- and also tell you about cycling etiquette and how to be safe”

5. Empathy

• We are people like you

• We think alike

• We have the same values

• That’s why you’ll enjoy your holiday here

• “we would like to share the beauty of our island/city with you in the knowledge you’ll want to keep it that way”

• “we welcome travellers, not tourists”

• “by skiers for skiers”

Primrose Valley Hotel’s website

(Cornwall) communicates environmental

values differently

• “We tried to pretend, but it just didn't work. We pretended that all the water, energy and fuel we use replenishes itself by magic. We also tried pretending that all the carbon we kick out rises skywards then miraculously turns into refreshing, life-giving showers. Obviously we were wrong, so now we don't pretend any more...”

Family Worldwide shows we share the

same values…

• “What I’m finding more and more as I travel and talk to parents, is the overwhelming number of you who are becoming desperate to help their children to engage with the real world and leave behind the screen of a computer, phone, Playstation, Nindendo DS, X-Box, Wii...”

Task 3. Get the message right What you want

sustainability to say

How will you say it in your

business

Fun/

participation

Cultural

immersion

Better

service

Trust/ risk/

Empathy

• Integrate sustainability

as part of quality

through the channels

you already use.

1. Certification

2. Awards

3. Press

4. Website

5. Social media

3:30

1. Certification

• Independent guarantee of your

credentials.

• Confidence and credibility

• Not sufficient in itself, you have to

communicate what it is and what it means

you do better

2. Awards

• Only a few companies win awards. You

could spend much time on it without any

results, and you will need to show

something unique and extraordinary.

Angela proudly won…

She can’t wait to serve it…

3. Press

• What makes you different, in a way that

my customers will want to read about you?

• Links from your website to previous

articles, quotes

Meet your public relations manager

• The Mill at Gordleton

(Hampshire).

• Crispie the Duck, an orphan

they adopted is now the hotel’s

mascot.

• Photo calendar, children’s

book and doorstops inspired

on Crispie- with profits from the

book, for example, going to a

local children’s cancer ward.

Piggy weekends!

4. Website

• Your website’s sustainability policy page is boring

• “minimise waste by evaluating operations and ensuring they are fit for purpose”

278 National Trust properties

350.000 albums

39.969 registered users

13% campaign awareness in the UK

The seasonality of your

website • When do photos say I

should come next?

• Blog/social media-

what to look forward to

• Get better photos.

Seriously

• Be your own tourist

information centre.

• Things to do

– per season

– for free

– real treats

– when it rains

– from our doorstep

Other websites

• Control the message!

• “All of us are very proud of the fact that we make everything here ourselves, from jams and honey to bread and soups…”

• is telling us something about your values and it’s speaking to the customer - without having to say “hey, I am sustainable” in that many words. Talking in terms of “you” and “we” rather than the third person also helps.

How not to do it

• “Hotel X will take environmental considerations into account in all its activities. Although ultimate responsibility rests with management, all staff have a part to play in minimising adverse effects on the environment. To that end Hotel X will promote the best use of environmental practices. Hotel X will develop and resource programmes for the implementation of its Environmental Policy and will monitor and audit them through an environmental management system."

Put the photo of the cake on

social media, every time

Task 4. Location, location, location

Medium What will you say

Certification

Awards

Press

Your website

Other websites

Facebook

Twitter

Newsletter

• You market your

company all the

time

• Help customers

make informed

decisions

1. Pre booking/purchase

2. After booking and confirmation

1. Food preorder

3. On arrival/ start of the tour

4. During the tour/ stay 1. Placemats

2. Menus

3. Maps

5. After the stay/visit

3:35

Yes, show me what to expect

at each stage

1. Prior to booking/purchase

• Sell yourself, sell your surroundings

• Things to do

• Sustainable transport but nowhere to go?

Camden food co

Show me what I can look

forward to • How far in advance do your clients book?

Promoting the local events is very

interesting. But what will it bring me to

know what is happening now if I am

coming in three weeks’ time? Your

website today should be telling us what to

look forward at the time we will be arriving.

2. After booking and

confirmation • How to prepare for their visit - what to

bring, what is acceptable behaviour, dress

code (if relevant), how to respect other

users that will be there.

• Pre-booking of local food

3. On arrival/ start of the tour

• There are no second chances to make a

first impression

• Live your policy

• Tell your customers

4. During the stay/tour

• Now you communicate by making visible

the things you do. Here you decide how

much you want the communication to

affect the customer experience, or just be

in the background.

• Towel agreements

• Bird menu

Communicate with your packaging

Use one thing to tell another…

• London Lancaster Hotel sustainability is behind the scenes

• Concierge info:

– limo & taxi companies using hybrid vehicles (geo fuel)

– display and promote cycle hire,

– Jogging map

– Green London attraction brochures

• This becomes a route to communicate our much wider and deeper policies and practices.

Communicating

sensitive messages

Taxi Ecològic:

Modern, clean, efficient

5. After the stay/visit

• Stay in touch with your customers.

Speaking about sustainability will be more

welcomed than a direct promotional

message saying “book with us”.

• From trees to the staff family picture

Don´t be a spammer

• Does your newsletter say “I am desperate for

business, please visit me”?

• Your sustainability actions help you

communicate something unique to your

customers, rather than sending spam that gets

ignored, or even worse, creates a negative

image about your company.

Say it with flowers

Task 5. Match needs and messages

What does the customer

need to know

Sustainability message

that helps take that

decision

Before booking

At the point of purchase

Between booking and

travel

At departure point

During transport

On arrival

During their stay

After travel

What will you do differently

after today?

Thank you

GET MORE HELP AT WWW.RESPONSIBLETOURISMCOMMUNICATION.COM

@xavierfont

/xavierfont