Understanding visitors

Last week I went on a ‘Learning Journey’ trip to Sicily. Together with around 25 representatives of other tourism and food businesses from the UK, we were given an incredible opportunity to get an insight into food heritage and tourism on this surprisingly lush island.

We visited food producers, restaurants, hotels and had some really interesting discussions among ourselves. The idea of these Erasmus+ funded trips is that tourism professionals have an opportunity to gain new ideas and consider …

Have you tried letting your visitors do your marketing for you? 

The 'normal' ways to do this is through word of mouth recommendations. I'm suggesting going a step further with four different ways to encourage your visitors to help promote your business - without being pushy.

First of all, you can encourage word of mouth recommendations through social media, simply by suggesting people follow you or asking happy customers to post photos of their visit. 

The second way is to think about offeri…

You've probably noticed one of the biggest trends that developed during lockdown and is likely to stay: a massive increased in dog ownership. Whether you love dogs or don't want them anywhere near you, this could be an opportunity for your business. 

Visitors are going crazy for dog friendly pubs, accommodation, and even places to take their dogs for entertainment. Don't stop reading if you really don't want to cater for dog-lovers. There's an opportunity for people who can offer pet-free servi…

Good marketing is often said to be 'promoting the right product to the right people in the right place at the right price'. It is but there's another essential element most never think about.

Timing is everything

Try selling flip-flops in Winter. Or serving hot stew on a hot Summer's day. It just feels wrong. 

But... we don't always use that knowledge. 

We post on social media first thing in the morning because it suits us to make it part of our morning routine. Porridge and a quick facebook…

Imagine if I tried to get you to pay money for something you'd never heard of? Would you pay? For your sake, I hope not!

Would you buy something you knew about, but didn't see how you could benefit from it? I doubt it.

Imagine now that your friend has recommended something to you. They're full of praise and you can see how great it would be for you too. You're thinking about when you can buy it, how you can get it. Your mind isn't even focusing on how much it costs - you're ready to pay what is ne…

Do you know what your visitors will want in a couple of years' time? What their expectations will be? Have you got some ideas for how you might be able to adapt what you do to make your business more profitable? Or maybe just how to theme a room or create an activity to stimulate more demand? 

Tourism is full of trends. Over time it's possible to spot opportunities and to adapt products and services to appeal to changing markets. A little tweak to how you describe something could make a differe…

Pre-Covid, celebrations were a major trend. There was a significant increase in visitors meeting up with friends and relatives for a celebration of some kind, often a big birthday or anniversary. Celebrations are a great market. They often take place outside the main season. One person invites others to come along, so you can attract new visitors, and people are generally in a good mood and ready to spend!

There's now even greater demand as people try to catch up on all the celebrations they mi…

There's a growing trend that you may have missed. You might even say it arrived by cover of the night...

It's a trend that could be valuable to accommodation businesses, food and drink outlets, activity providers and attractions. 

After dark activities

Visitors are increasingly interested in what they can do after dark. They're ready to have new and different experiences after dark. This could be nature-spotting or enjoying the dark skies. It could be sitting outside with a rug over their lap…