Mike Spinelli, MCC
The tourism industry did not come into world prominence until the inauguration of transcontinental jet travel. This was introduced in 1958 and gave birth to world tourism as we know it today. Because tourism is a new business, most legislators who approve government budgets do not fully understand it as it cannot be measured in material terms as can be done with industries such as oil, steel and cargo. This has resulted in shoestring budgets for departments of tourism.
The invisible export, tourism, quickly grew to become the world’s largest industry creating jobs, and facilitating exports worldwide. High international tourism arrivals have become synonymous with prosperity.
However, due to its invisible nature, tourism has escaped the eyes of most legislators throughout the world. Those few countries that have recognized the importance of tourism and budget accordingly, have reaped the benefit to fuel their economy. This opportunity is available for any destination and the rewards are limitless.
This book was written to place the world spotlight upon tourism and to become a manual for any destination wishing to grow their economy. An increase in international arrivals is the shortest route to prosperity.
The content of this book begins with a look at world conditions for tourism following 9/11 and discusses tourism versus terrorism. From there we stress the importance of a healthy tourism budget with emphasis on exactly what world leaders need to know to understand the importance of funding the growth of the international visitor count.
To reach the lucrative U.S. travel market one must understand how their travel industry is structured. Our book describes this and how travel packages are created and marketed within there.
In order to attain sustained tourism your destination must be tourist friendly. What a tourist friendly destination should look like is explained fully, together with many suggestions to build repeat visitors.
We have filled many chapters in the field of marketing tourism. Insights are provided for the use of icons and marquee names to promote your destination plus a complete chapter with general marketing ideas to dramatically increase your arrivals. Another chapter is dedicated to methods on the proper utilization of the Internet with information on optimizing search engines to access your web site.
The chapter on maximizing results from your attendance at travel industry trade shows will show you how to build relationships which will produce rich rewards. Trade shows are not a vacation but a hands on marketing experience. Methods of further increasing your international arrivals are found in our chapter on recognizing and marketing niche groups.
Mike Spinelli is a former President of the American Society of Travel Agents, ASTA, and has presided over chapters in 176 countries. During his tenure (1996-1998) he was active in the international scene, heading two world conferences in Los Angeles, CA and Glasgow, Scotland and numerous regional conferences throughout the world.
Mr. Spinelli founded Merrimac Travel in 1959. In 1976 he founded ACTION 6, the Active Creative Travel Industry of North America, which grew to become a consortium of over 2,200 travel agencies. His company was sold to vacation.com in 2001, which is now the largest consortium in the world with over 8000 travel agency members. He served as Chairman Emeritus of Vacation.com prior to the formation of Mike Spinelli International, which is an international tourism consulting company.
He has served on the advisory board of CTC (Canadian Tourism Commission) and has met with numerous Ministers of Tourism throughout the world during his tenure as the head of ASTA. Mr. Spinelli conducted a seminar on travel industry aggregation of travel resources for the University of Perugia at Assisi, Italy. He recently addressed the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India at their annual conference in New Delhi. This talk, which covers the promotion of tourism post 9/11, is posted on the web site noted below.
His awards and recognition in the travel industry include:
· Travel Industry Noah Award for excellence 1986
· Chosen as one of the 35 most influential travel executives in the world by Tour and Travel Magazine 1995
· Travel Person of the Year Award from Travel Agent Magazine, 1996
· Travel Agent of the Year Award from Travel Trade magazine, 1996
· World Travel Market Global Award, from Travel Weekly USA 1996
· Access to Freedom Award given by the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality; the mentors of travel for the handicapped 1997
· Golden Helmsmen of Tourism Award from the International Association 2001
· He is a graduate of Northeastern University, Boston, MA
His complete biography can be accessed at www.mikespinelli.com
Let us look at how the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, affected tourism throughout the world and how the effects were compounded by other events. We will discuss the extent of the damage done to tourism, not only in the U.S. but in other countries as well. Indeed, many major changes took place in how people travel because of the terrorism attacks. We will look at how some countries reacted to terrorism and other crises that affected their tourism.
Travel Marketing Challenges. Surveys by the World Tourism Organization and the Canadian Tourism Research Institute found some interesting changes in travel patterns in the wake of 9/11. The first big terrorist strike on U.S. soil had the effect of putting the entire country on hold. But the repercussions from the incident resonated around the world with few exceptions. Here is a summary of some of those changes:
· A clear tendency toward shorter stays when going on holidays.
· Higher demand for customized holidays.
· A shift from active holidays to holidays as an experience.
· Increased numbers of senior tourists.
· The advent of emerging destinations perceived as safe.
· An increase in auto versus air travel.
· More late bookings.
· Increased popularity of rural and back-to-basics travel.
· Increased use of the Internet for travel research.
· Increase in family related trips.
Obviously, some of these changes may wear off over time, especially if the fear of terrorism diminishes. But they are important to keep in mind as destinations form crisis plans to respond to future terrorist incidents. Unfortunately, until terrorism is stopped the world will need to adapt to a new atmosphere for tourism created by travelers’ fears.
While the new travel environment will eventually revert to normal, we cannot simply sit back. I often recall one of my college professors stressing that everything will be resolved in the long run. However, he always cautioned that we live in the short run, so it is of the utmost importance to know the facts affecting us today.
To compound the effects of 9/11 on travel from the U.S., some countries were hit with other region-specific problems beyond their control. I refer, for instance, to the Jammu/Kashmir crisis between India and Pakistan, and the SARS problem in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Toronto and other countries in the Pacific Basin. It does not matter whether these problems were real or should have affected tourism to neighboring regions. The fact is that they do have an effect because there was a perception of danger – and perception is reality.
