"tourism Chief Welcomes Figures"

[lard]

from Manx Radio Report

 

The Island’s tourism chief executive believes there’s much to be encouraged about, despite figures which show a five per cent drop in visitors for the first nine months of the year.

 

Statistics from the Treasury also show a 17 per cent fall in business visitors and a 15 per cent reduction in day visitors.

 

However, the number of leisure visitors from July to September was up by over five per cent, making it the best third quarter since 2002.

 

Carol Glover, says the department is continuing to play to its strengths and focus on specialist attractions

 

I wish the Tourist Industry and the Department all the very best but isn't this just spin and playing with statistics?

[Gladys]

Agreed Lard, I think the time has come to really abandon any kind of separate tourist department, just what industry is it supporting? Its an anachronism from an age which is never going to be revived in the same volume or style.

 

What we do have, however, is a product that could appeal to a niche market, but whether that is deserving of a separate department is a different matter.

 

But that is just one aspect of wider IOM image as I suspect that most people, apart from family, visit the IOM now for business. Perhaps the whole marketing of the IOM for business and leisure should be centralised in one IOM marketing department which would have different areas focussing on different reasons for visiting, but all with the common theme of marketing the IOM as a place to visit and to facilitate those visits.

[haX0red_Account]

Agreed Lard, I think the time has come to really abandon any kind of separate tourist department, just what industry is it supporting? Its an anachronism from an age which is never going to be revived in the same volume or style.

 

What we do have, however, is a product that could appeal to a niche market, but whether that is deserving of a separate department is a different matter.

 

But that is just one aspect of wider IOM image as I suspect that most people, apart from family, visit the IOM now for business. Perhaps the whole marketing of the IOM for business and leisure should be centralised in one IOM marketing department which would have different areas focussing on different reasons for visiting, but all with the common theme of marketing the IOM as a place to visit and to facilitate those visits.

 

WAY TOOOOO PROOOGRESSSSSSIVE

[Mission]

In fairness though, it even struggles in terms of business.

 

We were looking at arranging a conference for 350 delegates - who on the island could put all of them up under one roof? Answer: no-one!

 

Naturally, next year we'll see record numbers (TT Centenary) and then the following year a drop (but that was due to the increase in numbers for the centenary the year before - more spin ).

 

Don't get me wrong, it is a nice island and all but let's face it, who wants to come here for a holiday these days with cheap air travel to so many far flung corners of the world and great last minute deals on offer from all angles?

[Gladys]

That's exactly my point Mish; tourism per se is long gone, but we do have a number of reasons to attract visitors whatever their motivation is for coming over. We have the visiting business bods (not conferences, that is a separate market IMO), we have the niche tourist, we possibly have conferences (but I think that is a dead duck as it is only really a venue choice) we have the film industry, and then we have the larger events like the TT.

 

But to my mind they are all the same really, people who have specific requirements and expectations from their visit rather than just coming here for the annual family holiday. A department set up specifically to market and facilitate those visits would serve the Island better than the disparate responsibilities between a tourism department and the DTI, and who knows what other departments.

 

Sure, the DTI, Treasury, etc. would have to focus on their 'product', but a fully skilled marketing department to handle the people who want to come here for whatever reason, has to be a better idea than the sad, lonely focus on tourists.

[Mission]

Very well put Gladys - I do however think there could be a market for conferences.

 

Put it this way, my two business partners ventured over to Dublin last month for a two day conference - it was attended by (yep, you guessed it - 350 delegates). The group we're a part of like to do something different and it was proposed that we could look into hosting next years event over here but, no-one can cater for that number of people in one hit.

 

Maybe it's a non-starter, maybe it's already been looked into but I think, as an offshore finance location with all that goes with that, it's certainly something that someone in government should be looking into to replace the dwindling tourism industry.

 

I personally don't play golf, but I know it's a popular pursuit of the business classes and the island does have some nice courses - just one of many things that could act as an incentive for people to hold their conferences on the island.

 

The finance sector may well have overtaken the tourism industry in terms of jobs provided but that doesn't mean that tourism needs to die altogether - just that it needs to look at different sectors.

[Gladys]

I agree Mish, there is a market for conferences, but conferences driven from here rather than trying to compete to host conferences against other mainland (sorry, but that does convey the point) conference centres.

 

You say that no-one could cater for 350 visitors in one hit? Why? Surely there are the bed spaces available? Wouldn't that be exactly what the IOM marketing department should do, take the enquiry, source the bed spaces within a reasonable reach of the conference centre, advise when it would be best to hold the conference in terms of available resources? Then the frills (golf theme) are up to you as the conference arranger? Surely, it is that kind of facilitation that we should be putting in place?

[Mission]

I meant under one roof - yes of course the island has more than 350 bed spaces, just not in one venue.

 

Time is obviously of the essance in this case, what with seminars, dinners etc and faffing about with taxi's / coaches to and from the venue wouldn't work in such a short timeframe.

 

I dunno, maybe 350 delegates is large for a conference - I wouldn't consider it to be so personally - maybe I'm wrong though.

 

I really don't see why the island couldn't have at least one venue capable of supporting 500 people though - if this is the market it was going for of course.

[Gladys]

But surely, 350 delegates could be accommodated in several hotels within easy reach of each other (not unusual for accommodation for conferences elsewhere to sprawl around the town, it is usually the reason that conferences are held out of season).

 

But this is getting away from my point which is a different focus would assist many business strands here if there was a government department acting as a facilitator.

 

What about the film industry? Not much different from a conference; how are the logistics for any film over here facilitated? Once a central facilitator 'knows' what is on offer and where, this could be a valuable service offered.

 

Centralising the 'visitor experience' could make the IOM so slick, but someone has to be brave enough to say tourism, of the old style, is dead.

[Mission]

I think we both agree that change is needed Gladys and yes, I fully support your view that someone needs to be brave enough to say that tourism, of the old style is dead.

 

Let's see if anyone takes heed of this eh?

[Gladys]

Doubtful.

[Grumble]

Oh, book a room you two!

 

This is an internet forum - you're not ALLOWED to agree with each other for this long...

 

Villa could probably accommodate 350 delegates for the event and meeting side, plenty of hotels within walking distance could accommodate the bedrooms - voila. Even allows for corporate heirarchy - the bosses get the good rooms, the plebs get the smelly end of the prom.

[Tempus Fugit]

Oh, book a room you two!

 

 

 

 

tourist chief welcoming depressing figures is like a turkey looking forward to christmas

[Ripsaw]

Don't get me wrong, it is a nice island and all but let's face it, who wants to come here for a holiday these days with cheap air travel to so many far flung corners of the world and great last minute deals on offer from all angles?

We are a beautiful Island centrally located between 2 large Islands with a population of over 60-70m, perhaps the ones who don't fly? The ones who are rethinking plans due to the threat of terrorism, or at least the hassle that it has caused the travelling public? The ones who take 3 or 4 short breaks per year and are looking for inspiration for their next one?

 

What the Island lacks is what techies call the "Killer App", ie a recognisable brand or benefit of focus that grabs the attention with the rest of the facilities and attractions such as the walking, golf and other 'fresh air' persuits as the 'extras' that add to the 'worth' of visiting.

 

It is recognised in tourism circles that if people can be tempted to visit a location for a specific event, they will often return again at a different time *if* there are the reasons to come back... Don't most businesses claim that it is easier to retain existing customers than it is to attract new ones?

 

We have 40,000 visitors every year for the TT, some of them must have interests in addition to bike specifics. 2007 will see more coverage for the Island than it will know what to do with, and what will it have to show for itself for those who ask "What else is there about the Island when the bikes and their specific attractions have packed up and left?".

 

Next year there is the 'Rock on the Rock' festival planned. This will be a new market for the Island. Again... What does the Island offer for those visitors when the stage is packed away?

 

Every alledged rip off price, grumpy shop assistant, shop that closes at 12 on a Wednesday, resturants [sic] that serve reheated, rehashed shite, blah blah blah... They are all cumulative nails in the tourism coffin.

 

The families want a variety of daytime and evening attractions indoors and out, they want somewhere that caters for them with minimum fuss and effort that stimulates the children while enabling the parent to relax and enjoy the experience of the holiday.

 

The bucket and spade days may be over for families (although recent trends suggest that they are enjoying a bit of a revival), the family holiday is still a strong market if there are the right facilities in place.

 

Somebody else said that most short breaks (which is what the Island is supposed to be aiming itself at) are booked at short notice, yet travel costs to the Island increase in cost the later you leave it (exeptions excluded).

 

The ABC1 traveller want to go online on a Tuesday and book a break for the Friday with the least number of mouse clicks possible. Here is one serious area that the Isle of Man falls down compared to other locations in a competitive market place. Have a look at the Tourism website, bring up the list of accomodation providers and compare the numbers that can and can not be booked online there and then when the customer is reading the page.

 

Tourism is a competetive market and it is a big one that generates genuine old fashion cash over the counter inward investment.

 

The Island sells itself as a place with lots of individual niches rather than an all inclusive product, a position that is alledgedly being recognised and addressed (See the Tourism Strategy Document downloadable from Gov.im).

 

No offence to Mr Cretney and my apologies if I am mistaken but I think this is one reason for him expressing the time is right to step aside as Tourism Minister. A new Minister will be sought that has more market based experience, a new 'dynamic' face for tourism.

 

I want to see increased visitor numbers and a better facility/attraction base for the inward investment and for the benefit of us residents. It's a vicious circle, but it has to be broken somewhere by somebody. In the absence of any recent will to tackle it head on, things need to happen now but it isn't just about this year or next year, it's about planting the seeds that will produce a harvest for the long term future.

Centralising the 'visitor experience' could make the IOM so slick, but someone has to be brave enough to say tourism, of the old style, is dead

Agreed. It also needs somebody who is brave enough to challenge the attitudes of the service sector. Why the hell the Tourism Department has to run courses that award certificates for learning how to smile at customers with a Please and Thank You? Jeeez.

 

Let's see if anyone takes heed of this eh?

Indeed.

[Albert Tatlock]

The ABC1 traveller want to go online on a Tuesday and book a break for the Friday with the least number of mouse clicks possible. Here is one serious area that the Isle of Man falls down compared to other locations in a competitive market place. Have a look at the Tourism website, bring up the list of accomodation providers and compare the numbers that can and can not be booked online there and then when the customer is reading the page.

We have to face up to it, but unless the government subsidise tourist travel this isn't going to even begin to happen.

 

You could spend many millions of pounds on a variety of tourist facilities - but if it costs a family of four an absolute fortune to get here, when they can get the same in the UK for £40 of petrol, they will either stay in the UK or spend their IOM travel money going abroad for much better facilities and weather.

 

Single events such as generic Rock concerts are not the answer IMO, as they will in all probability attract droves of teenagers whose main aim will be to enjoy the concert, with a secondary aim to get drunk, cause trouble and wreck the place - just like they do in Blackpool.

 

When you look around you can see that the whole island has moved away from catering for tourists - with many businesses and business people simply building in contingency plans for dealing with the TT. The reality is that en masse IOM tourism finished a complete generation ago, long before computers and Ryan Air etc.

 

I believe the answer lies in niche marketing, which can attract the right sort of visitor if it's marketed correctly. This will allow businesses on the island to expand to meet demand where there is demand, in cooperation with the DTL.