THE MARKETOUR
A MARKETING GUIDE FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
February/March 1999
THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY
By 2020, travel is predicted to be the largest industry in history. That's good news to all of us, but predictors also say we shouldn't be complacent. In fact, now is the time to prepare for this already developing surge. How to begin? Understand the consumer groups who will lead the travel charge, and develop the product to satisfy the nature of their wanderlust. Not surprisingly, today's baby boomers are the next decade's big travelers. The following research will help us understand consumer market trends for the next 10 years and their implications for our business.
The Big Picture: Research divides the population into four life stages:
* young adults, ages 20-29 without children;
* families, composed of adults most often ages 30-44 with children at home;
* empty nesters, ages 45-59 whose children have grown up and left the home; and
* matures, ages 60-79 who are either retired or have a retirement mindset.
The research shows that while the families segment will decrease in size by 14 percent, the number of young adults will increase by 10 percent. The matures category will grow even more, increasing by 21 percent. Yet the most striking change will come among the empty nesters (today's boomers), whose numbers will increase by 25 percent.
Realizing that the growth of the empty nesters category is the most significant change, we'll focus on this population shift.
First, the growth in the number of empty nesters presents significant revenue opportunities for our business. With the average individual's net worth peaking between ages 55 and 64, this consumer segment enjoys a large amount of discretionary income.
Empty Nesters - Who Are They and How Will They Vacation?: To predict what empty nesters in the year 2010 will want out of their vacations, we looked at their values and experiences. Baby boomers are better educated than previous generations, have enjoyed an advantaged life during a time of tremendous economic growth and carry great expectations about the quality of their lives. They consider themselves nonconformists and value their individuality.
A prominent characteristic of baby boomers is their quest for self. Since this generation has been economically privileged and well-educated, they have the time, interest and means to seek personal fulfillment. Vacations that allow them to seek that self-fulfillment while having fun are likely to be in demand. Such travel options include retreats and other self-discovery programs; wellness/spa trips; and holistic, low-impact fitness experiences such as walking vacations. Travel that enables this group to gain new experiences is likely to be popular, as are romantic getaways and trips incorporating cultural opportunities, including theater, music and visual arts.
Another interesting trait of the boomer group is their desire to be "in the know." They want the whole truth, and they want good deals. This may translate into a demand for learning vacations, from outdoor skills programs to heritage tours. This characteristic also points to the need to develop enhanced information delivery systems that provide customized, immediate information, such as Web sites, particularly those that allow consumers to comparison shop and conduct transactions via electronic commerce. Package plans that offer discounts are also a way to please this group.
Rock Climbing, Maybe, but not Rocking Chairs: Boomers want to be forever young. They want to sample new experiences, activities they've always wanted to try but were too busy. They may be drawn to soft adventure, such as motorcycling, sailing, hiking and wildlife viewing; spa retreats that help them to look and feel younger; and travel that allows them to live out a fantasy.
Finally, the future empty nesters see retirement as a "work style" rather than a lifestyle. Many will continue working later in life than previous generations, possibly embarking on a new career path that they've long considered. They don't see retirement as a time to put up their feet and do nothing. This means that they will continue to have time constraints and will look to combine business and leisure trips as well as seek relaxation through minivacations. Making travel as stress-free and convenient as possible for this busy group will be important.
(Source: "Rocking the Ages: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing")
Even Without Snow, Winter is Still a Go: Many areas and businesses have developed creative packages, promotions and events to market winter travel and bring in revenue when the season is short on snow.
Door County's winter promotion, "The Nature of Romance," offers couples great prices on 22 all-inclusive romantic getaway packages. The promotion, Jan. 15 through Feb. 28, features a print and radio campaign, mailing to key media, special 800 number and Web site page.
Kenosha's "Great Winter Getaway," running through March 31, offers discounts at accommodations; guests at participating lodgings also receive a coupon booklet, good at area merchants, attractions and restaurants.
Built-in flexibility is also an advantage. Hurley's Red Light Snowmobile Rally went off as planned with one exception - because there wasn't any snow, participants were invited to use ATVs and cars instead of snowmobiles.
Lakewoods Resort in Cable responded to last year's lack of snow with the El Nino Olympiad. To entice visitors to keep their winter reservations, the resort coordinated fun and unusual activities including a scavenger hunt, a treasure hunt and snowmobile "radar runs" on the lake.
One-to-One Customer Service: Conde Nast Traveler readers ranked The American Club No. 1 for service in the "Top 25 North American Resorts" category. What underlies the resort's sterling reputation? Director of Lodging Jim Beley says it all: "The hotel is only a structure. It's the great people we have on staff who make it a place of unparalleled hospitality." The way that the staff works together as a team to provide total satisfaction for guests is the heart of their success. Staff training is ongoing and focuses on delivering the personalized service that the resort's guests have come to expect. As Beley says, "Our staff understands the importance of a first impression and a high degree of guest recognition. They are confident and genuine. Providing guests with a memorable experience means yielding to what a guest wants. It is truly an art."
QUICK TIPS
Summertime, and the Traveling's Easy: A survey indicates a 3 percent increase in travel for this summer over last summer's actual travel figure - which was up 9 percent from 1996. Three-quarters of Americans said they plan to travel as much or more as last year. Other survey highlights:
* Kids are expected to be companions of half of those planning a pleasure trip.
* Favorite destinations are beaches or lakes (cited by 77 percent) and visits to family and friends or cities (each 69 percent).
* A quarter of all families plan on a family reunion.
* Travelers plan to spend as much time away from home on their longest vacation trip as they did in 1997.
(Sources: Travel Industry Association and AAA Travelometer)
Promoting Promotions: Publicity is a goal of any promotion. Here are several key points to help attract media attention and increase participation:
* Include a public relations person in the planning stage to advise whether the promotion idea is likely to get media pickup;
* Develop a component that is quirky or unusual;
* Build in strong visuals for photo opportunities;
* Offer a novel or noteworthy prize;
* Award the prize in an interesting way so that the delivery warrants media attention;
* Get a celebrity involved;
* Persuade a radio personality to talk about it;
* Tie in with a charity;
* Award something free to everyone who participates;
* Always have more than one winner; and
* Secure a media or corporate partner.
Tie Into Travel-related Celebrations: When planning upcoming events or promotions, couple your ideas with a related special day, week or month for an added news hook. For example, if your area has a new biking trail, kick off promotions during National Bike Month in May. Here are a few other ideas:
March 22: International Goof-Off Day
May 1-31: National Senior Travel Month
May 1-31: National Bike Month
May 2-8: National Tourism Week
May 30-June 7: National Fishing Week
June 5: National Family Day
June 24: Celebration of the Senses
July 1-31: Anti-Boredom Month
Sept. 1-30: Shameless Promotion Month
Sept. 8: Do It Day (AKA Fight Procrastination Day)
To find other dates, check out Chase's 1999 Calendar of Events at your local library.
Media Lead
Parenting Travel focuses on making vacationing easier for budget-conscious families. Highlights include kid-friendly restaurants, hotels, adventure travel, quick getaways, theme parks and museums. To capture the attention of Parenting Travel's Editor Bruce Raskin, mail or fax your one-page release to Two Embarcadero, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94111. Phone: 415/434-5274. Fax: 415/434-5280.
Looking to Increase Customers During Spring? Well then, we have an opportunity for you. This spring, the Department of Tourism will run three half-page newspaper ads in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Chicago Tribune and Minneapolis Star Tribune as part of our spring advertising campaign. Each ad will highlight one of the following activities: golfing, fishing or antiquing. These ads will run in sections related to the featured activity - the golfing ad will run in special golf preview sections, the fishing ad will run on outdoor pages of sports sections and the antiquing ad will run in sections targeting women readers. You have the opportunity to run your ad in conjunction with the Department's half-page ad. Together, we'll have a full-page ad that will not only build awareness of Wisconsin as a spring destination, but allow readers to contact you directly for information about your business or area. By working together, we'll have a stronger, more unified presence and reach many new potential customers. If you would like to get involved, contact Diane Liebe at Laughlin/Constable, 414/270-7109.
10-Second Writing Clinic
Writing E-mails: Your first and most important way of gaining the recipient's attention is with the subject line. A good one simply tells what the message is regarding.
PR'S GREATEST HITS
The Associated Press included Wisconsin in both its holiday and winter roundups. The holiday piece featured Eagle River's Ice Palace (with photo), the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee, Old World Wisconsin and the 800 number. The state was in good company - Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco and San Antonio were also mentioned in the feature. The winter section included a description of Wisconsin outdoor recreation options, with an emphasis on snowmobiling, and the 800 number.
AP packages are distributed to 1,550 daily AP member newspapers around the country, representing 98.8 percent of all U.S. dailies.
