"The number of people who are willing to talk to pollsters, who ring them on the phone, has decreased markedly." 

- Polling expert commenting on National Public Radio (USA), 11 October 2004

Beyond the challenge now posed by the dramatic new levels of competition for people’s leisure time and disposable income, lies a new threat to the tourism industry’s marketing efforts and success in communicating to visitors.

It stems from today’s equally astounding levels of frequently invasive and often unwelcome, 'in your face’ marketing.  More and more, no area of human activity or interest appears immune, no space left sacred, no ‘opportunity’ missed, no means of delivery ignored.

Even people's homes fail to offer a sanctuary from this daily barrage, with traditional door to door marketing now expanded to include telephone and email-based marketing calls and sales ploys ... new laws allowing people to place themselves on 'no call' lists being the only known defence. Derogatory terms such as 'junk mail' and 'spam' were not born out of a love of these particular methods!

There is growing evidence that this relentless onslaught is being increasingly resented by ‘consumers’ to the point of a potential consumer backlash (if this isn’t happening already). A major tipping point cannot be far away

At the same time, market research is constantly finding that visitors are now more discerning, sophisticated and demanding than ever, and that personal ‘values’ and evidence of corporate ethics are starting to really matter.

It is not a coincidence that wanting to relax (and escape from the stresses of the city) has become central to many travelers’ motivations. In effect, these value changes might suggest that what is also being sought is a retreat from the excesses of marketing & commercialism, as well as the demanding pace of business life.

What threats (and potential new opportunities) could these changes possess for your approach to communicating with visitors?

It is widely acknowledged that the information overload originally predicted in Alvin Toffler’s ‘Future Shock’ has long overtaken us. People do feel truly besieged. As a result, standing out in a tidal wave of messages (generated by media of every conceivable type) … let alone having your message acknowledged, absorbed and believed … is going to test the skills of even the best of marketers. 

To compound the problem, on the one hand some regional tourism marketing is still being carried away by the 'big picture' - targeting all and sundry in basically random or scattergun fashion.  While on the other hand, when particular market 'segments' (including those identified by demographics) actually are being targeted by destinations, ‘visitors’ (i.e. you, me and everyone else) are often being too loosely categorized, or otherwise treated too simplistically - as purely ‘one dimensional’ beings.

Supposedly, such market 'segments’ readily conform to a pre-established and narrowly defined set of interests, behaviors, spending patterns and returns.  If so, how readily can we ‘categorize’ visitors who ... by way of example ... when taking a camping trip also include (as a treat) a night of pampered luxury - deluxe accommodation with a spa and fine dining!  (We could also ask ourselves why the rapid growth in demand for healthier foods - organic included – originally came as such a surprise to many fast food chains, farmers and supermarkets?)

Conventional market thinking would have had us regarding those visitors as 'campers' only and offering little in the way of tourism profits!  (Psychographic studies are now thankfully starting to address such issues.)   

When considering such matters, yet another marketing issue of consequence is evident … TRUST (or more accurately people’s need for it) and the high value most humans assign to this when researching travel options.

International market research indicates that where potential commercial 'conflicts of interest' are perceived within the content of tourism brochures and other marketing material ... or some form of 'spin doctoring' is suspected ... a degree of skepticism and distrust is almost certain to arise.  New and older generations of high frequency travelers are far more wary of dubious claims - of constant exaggeration, inaccuracies and excess. Writer James Campbell has summed up the consequent marketing dilemma very well - "Just because you're talking doesn't mean anybody is actually listening".

In terms of marketing communications, these pivotal issues must be addressed for future success.