University of Surrey, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Conference 2016

Theme: Making An Impact - Creating Constructive Conversations

Keynote: Key challenges facing the tourism sector and the role that research plays in helping us advocate the industry.

Conference papers: Sustainability and ecological development; Industry workforce and education.

- Dimensions of Sustainable Food: Ecology, Economy, Society, Health, Culture.

Workshops: Tourism in a digital world: Challenges and solutions; A new vision for sustainable tourism.

- Sustainable tourism: Measurement reporting and disclosure, Transiting to a low carbon economy, Valuing natural and social capital, Travel & tourism as a system, Resilient companies and destinations.

Watch WTTC’s “I Am Travel” video here. 

 

An Interview With Omo & Eulanda, HDYTI Founders, HDYTI

1.       How did you get started in this business?

O: I am originally from Nigeria, and I came to London ten years ago on a consulting job.

M: I came to London for graduate school five years ago, met Omo, and have been here since.

O&M: We started HDYTI (Hey! Dip Your Toes In) in February 2015.  We are very honoured to have won the 2016 UK Blog Awards for Best Food & Drink blog, and Highly Commended in the travel category.

2.       How do you differentiate your business from the many travel bloggers out there?  How do you see the business growing?

We do not follow trends blindly or intentionally try to stand out. Instead we find our own niche, we love connecting with people. We are sincere, we don’t sell false impressions, and we make it feel real with real stories. We each have our own jobs with real responsibilities but we prioritise travel in our lives.  As you can see, we both have our own unique personalities, and we bring two different perspectives of the world to every new place that we go to.

We see this blog as a travel platform with unique content. We are currently working on a Euro Food campaign where we go to 24 European restaurants and write about it. It is about food, community and football; about connections and sharing content. We are thinking of starting an e-book after this.

We see this blog business as a media platform. Eventually we want to involve other writers with their expertise areas, include video content, and become a community of resources. We have been working as a team, and we see this working with other writers as teamwork.  We also want to continue the relationship with clients, using data and technology to analyse performance and to share reports with them. The relationship does not end with just a written piece of work.

3.       How do you think we can enhance the awareness of Singapore as a tourist destination?

Definitely showcase the unique food culture, through the food sharing economy. This can be e.g. going to a local’s home or market, and connecting with the community.  

It is a combination of experiences.  You can capitalise on e.g. a sports event, but focus on food, history, and participate in the local culture.

You can also include a component to contribute to the local community. We try to include such aspects of ethical tourism in our travels.

Stopover deals are useful to encourage transit passengers to spend some time in the city, and twitter chats can be used consistently to engage people and influencers from all over the world.

Thank you, Omo & Eulanda. 

An Interview With Pat Boadu-Darko, Principal Tour Organiser, PBD Travel International

1.       How did you get started in this business?

I am originally from Ghana and I have lived in London for thirteen years now.  I have a BBA in English and also a Diploma in Education. I obtained my Masters in Tourism Marketing from the University of Surrey in 1993. 

In Ghana we have national service which is not military in nature, and I spent one year teaching English in the country.  I have worked in the Ministry of Culture & Tourism in Ghana doing PR work, and also in a Ghana development company.  I then spent four years teaching in Papua New Guinea in 1996, and about eight months in Saudi Arabia in 2014.

Now that my children are grown up, I want to be involved in a tourism business, which is my passion. So I started this business PBD Travel International in October 2011 to bring residents around the country they live in because I realise that even though we live in this city, many of us have not visited the many attractions here. I am also involved in the mentoring programme with the University of Surrey and I have mentored a student from the university, whose project was to help me revamp my business including its website and propose new marketing strategies.

2.       What is your perception of Singapore?

I have not visited Singapore yet, but I have passed through its airport during a transit from Papua New Guinea. I feel that Singapore is known for its banking and finance service sectors, but many people here do not know it as a tourist destination. My impression of Singapore is that it is a beautiful city with friendly people.   

I have seen advertisements of Malaysia in UK, but none on Singapore. There are also flights to Ghana via Dubai which makes Dubai a good stopover destination for us.

3.       How do you think we can enhance the awareness of Singapore as a tourist destination?

You can perhaps organise events such as a travel quiz to get people together, create some excitement, provide a nice reception with food and cocktail, and get word out to people about the place. You can also leverage on key days such as National Day to get people in the community together to celebrate the destination, and indirectly creating awareness of the destination.

My company runs such events regularly, about twice a year.  It also provided us with a platform to connect with our potential customers to understand their concerns why they are not coming on-board with us. These events were hugely successful for us.

Thank you, Pat. 

A Case Study Of UNESCO Maritime Greenwich

The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site comprises the historic town centre, Royal Park and related institutional buildings, and was inscribed by the World Heritage Convention in 1997.

Read the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site Management Plan 2014.

Visit Greenwich is the Royal Borough of Greenwich Destination Management Company, a partnership based, not for profit, Community Interest Company.  It is a public/private partnership, led by a board of tourism professionals, representing different sectors of the industry, with an independent chair. They work with partners e.g. visitor attractions, accommodation providers, transport operators, meetings and events venues, the hospitality and retail sectors and the travel trade and media.

There is also a Business Plan, Business Plan Launch, Annual Report, Destination Management Plan; read them here. 

The Greenwich London Food Tour by the Greenwich Royal Tours in the quaint little urban village:

A Conversation With Jonathan Loh, Area Director, Northern & Western Europe, Singapore Tourism Board

1.       So, how long have you been in London?

I’ve been working here for three years now, and I will soon be de-posted to Singapore end of July to join the Admin and Estate Department in STB. Prior to this posting, I spent three years in Tianjian, China with Keppel Land working on commercial and industry property doing business development work in the Tianjin Eco City.

2.       What is 1 thing you like most about London/ Europe?

I would say it is the cultural diversity in Europe with its different cultures.  Every country in Europe is so rich in culture and history.

3.       What is 1 thing you think Singapore can learn from Europe?

London is a hub for Europe, and similarly Singapore can be a hub for South-east Asia.  Tourists who come to Europe must visit London and from here, they will go to Paris etc.  In the same way, SEA is made up of different countries with their own unique cultures such as Thailand or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  Singapore can be this hub in Asia so that tourists who want to come to Asia must visit Singapore, and from here, venture out to explore other cities. It helps that our Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport are well-renowned, so tourists want to fly Singapore Airlines and land in Changi Airport, visit Singapore, and the other cities in Asia.

We have seen some success in our partnerships with the travel industry here and were hoping to hit or even exceed the half million mark for visitor arrivals from UK. Unfortunately with Brexit now the economy is unstable so Britons may be more cautious when deciding to travel overseas. However, we will continue what we have been doing, to build mindshare in the market so that Singapore will be the destination they think of when they think of travelling.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Brands And Social Purpose: Engaging Singapore's Millennials

Flamingo Group recently hosted a Culture Breakfast series, SG51: Who cares? in June 2016 and shared their research findings which showed that over half of 16-25 year olds wanted a career that can make a social difference, and not just for making money.  

Elly Chiu, associate director of insight and strategy consultancy Flamingo Group said that, "From having material possessions, they are moving towards valuing people and relationships. They also value personal satisfaction and happiness." Other speakers included her fellow Flamingo associate director Regina Tan, The Thought Collective co-founder and director Tong Yee and Logue founder Jean Qingwen Loo.

There are three types of brand purpose behaviour when it comes to social purpose:

• The Cheerleader: Brands that fall into this category motivate and encourage a particular way of living.
• The Community Worker: These brands work with on-ground facilitation with the community, translating tangible actions into visible and immediate impact.
• The Change Maker: Brands that play this role challenge the status quo and provoke societal debates.

There are three do’s and don'ts for brands in social purpose among Singapore's youth:

Don't –

• Use the rhetoric of change or resort to lazy sloganism;
• Expect people to willingly explore new paths;
• Put up symbolic acts that present no enrichment value, or are simply dull and not interesting.

Do –

• Link brand purpose clearly to tangible and visible outcomes;
• Provide a springboard and safety net to guide young Singaporean millennials and aid them in getting started;
• Offer a variety of valuable experiences that can help them gain new skills to add to their resume of life.

Check out the Flamingo Group’s Lens on London.

Also, How to Market Effectively to Millennials lists the potential for success strategies:

1.       Communicate a higher brand purpose

2.       Be authentic and transparent

3.       Leverage digital content smartly

4.       Recognize loyalty with experiences and exclusive access

5.       Reflect diversity beyond traditional multicultural casting

Success Principle # 3 – Leverage digital content and social media smartly. 

1.       Give the consumers a degree of control. To operate effectively, brands must relinquish some of the control they have held for so many years. They have to let the consumer set the terms for ongoing conversation – how often, how deep, etc.

2.       Let them find you / come to you. Millennial consumers want to ensure that nothing alters their social media experience or turns it into something its' not "supposed to be", and they want to preserve the sense of discovery that makes social media fun.

3.       Be interesting. Companies need to move away from the traditional content model and use the consumer as the content creator. Ultimately, content that entertains – or information that is presented in a unique way – works best.

4.       Listen first, then talk – create a dialogue. Millennials want dialogue – a conversation – where brands listen to what they have to say rather than just pushing their messages without taking into account what consumers think, feel and want.

5.       Be relevant. Millennial consumers want to see content that relates to their lives, their interests, their desires, and their needs. It means making every post, link or article, personally relevant and meaning to each individual.

6.       Be open and honest. Millennials want brands to be candid. They don't trust and respect brands that do not post "the good and the bad" on their fan pages. They expect an "open book" approach where brands tell consumers who they are, what they expect/want from them, and what exactly they're offering.

7.       Be accountable and humanize. Brands often suffer in social media because they don't have anyone that answers to the consumer. It is so important for brands to find ways to humanize themselves – and the best way is to have real people who speak on behalf of the brand in social media.

8.       Talk like a friend, not a corporate entity. Millennials want brands to communicate in simple, casual language that is conversational. Don't try to sell, but rather talk in a friendly, casual way about finding ways to meet the needs of the consumer.

9.       Let the consumer talk for you. The best-case scenario for brands is that Millennial consumers take the initiative and advocate for a brand. For this to happen, brands must create the opportunity for consumers to spread the word.

10.     Offer something of value. Millennials are far more likely to respond to brands that offer them something real and tangible, preferably without something in return.

Source: WARC

The Eden Project – The Inspiration Behind Gardens By The Bay

A chat with Ms Wong Yoon Fong, Assistant Director Sales & Marketing from Gardens by the Bay at the STB Trade Engagement Session in London revealed that Gardens was inspired by the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK.

The Eden Project is an educational charity, connecting one another with the living world and exploring how we can work towards a better tomorrow.  A full price adult ticket costs £25 with a 10% discount for booking online, as well as a green travel 16% discount if you walk, cycle or take public transport to Eden.

There are resources, courses and learning opportunities, you can even take an Eden degree (in Horticulture, Event Management or Contemporary Storytelling and Performance) awarded by Plymouth University, or a MSc in Sustainability with Anglia Ruskin University.  You can also get involved by becoming a community champion.

Watch the Eden Story on ‘why we built this place’.

picture from Eden Project

Source: http://www.edenproject.com/