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Effective Tourism Marketing and Promotion Strategies in 2024 and beyond

By: Marium Farooq

December 12, 2023

Table of Contents

According to a study by Statistica in February 2023 , global travel is expected to go up in 2023 and 2024. After a big drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, travel started picking up again in 2022. The forecast predicts a 15.5 percent increase in people visiting different countries in 2023 compared to the year before. At the same time, the number of people traveling from one country to another is estimated to go up by nearly 16 percent during this period.

The tourism industry stands out due to its distinctive nature – it involves marketing and selling experiences that include various elements such as destinations, services, and activities. Unlike typical products, the competition in this industry is consistently intense. To effectively compete with others, marketing strategies must be not only creative and unique but also comprehensive. This calls for meticulously crafted approaches that offer a distinct edge over competitors.

To thrive in this expanding and profitable industry, you require a marketing strategy that suits the modern, ever-changing digital landscape. Run promotional campaigns to increase visibility for your brand, and most importantly, attract more customers. Here are some strategies that can give you the competitive edge you’re seeking:

1. It all begins with understanding your Target Market

The first step is to comprehend your ideal customers. Understanding your customers is the initial key to a powerful marketing strategy. The most effective way to do this is by creating an ideal customer profile that addresses key questions: Who are your customers? What is their demographic information? What motivates them? What interests them, and where do they seek information? How do they prefer to book their experiences? If you have successfully answered all these questions, you can start mapping out your communication strategy that highlights what makes you unique. These customer personas will form the foundation of your marketing strategy.

2. Social Strategy 

As we’ve discussed previously, what sets the tourism industry apart is the intense level of competition it faces. In the world of tourism, the saying “seeing is believing” holds significant weight. Nowadays, customers have high expectations, seeking a fully immersive experience and meticulously planning every aspect of their trips – from bookings to sites and experiences. The key? They want to visualize it all before embarking on their adventure. Given these dynamics, social media is an essential part of your digital marketing that emerges as one of the most potent marketing channels for your tourism organization – provided you choose the right platforms. Each platform presents its unique features and challenges. The two most popular social media platforms for travel marketing are:

Instagram: Instagram boasts over 1.5 billion monthly users , and its user base continues to expand. The platform’s remarkable growth positions it as one of the most trending platforms, coupled with the fact that it is entirely visual. This unique characteristic makes Instagram exceptionally effective for tourism marketing.

The platform has witnessed substantial growth in its mobile video content since its launch, with brands increasingly relying on this medium to enhance engagement metrics and conversion rates. As a tour operator, your responsibility is to assist your potential customers in crafting the perfect tour package and ultimately a great vacation experience. On Instagram, you can captivate your audience by sharing pictures of experiences, hotels, meals, and itinerary events to facilitate their planning process for your tourism business.

Facebook: With over 3 billion monthly active users , Facebook stands out as the most populated social media platform, underscoring the importance of establishing a presence on this platform. However, how can you effectively leverage Facebook for your travel marketing? First and foremost, ensure that your business information on Facebook is complete. Often, travellers access such information about the tourist activity or tourism product through your Facebook profile, particularly if you operate a small business or if your official website has a low ranking on search engines. Given Facebook’s status as the most populated platform, it consistently receives high rankings and Domain Authority on search engines making it an essential tool for your social media marketing.

Another way travellers love to interact with a tourist destination is through check-ins, especially beneficial for destination marketing. Ensure that you use location targeting in your ads, as well as other parameters such as language, age, gender, interests, behaviours, etc. for a highly targeted marketing campaign.

Whether employing precise targeted advertising or a tourism promotion, the platform guarantees that your offers reach your intended target audience. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to deepen your understanding of your customers, ultimately boosting sales for your travel brand.

3. Create Immersive Content with Reels

When it comes to visual content, more is better. Reels are one of the most exciting features offered by social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and they are excellent for capturing the attention of diverse audiences. Reels provide a fun and interesting way to connect with your audience. When considering the duration of your video content, ensure it includes all aspects of your experience. You can later break it down and repurpose it on different platforms. Create stories, TikTok reels, visuals for your Facebook creatives, and more.

Depending on your content, you can attract more audiences, increase your brand awareness,inspire your audience, and showcase your services. Focus on what your audience is looking for instead of creating mundane behind-the-scenes videos of your work unless that’s what your audience desires. Otherwise, stick to the fully immersive experience you offer. Your visual content is the key for the successfulness of your content marketing.

One of the key challenges tour operators face is how to distribute content effectively without being too redundant. As mentioned earlier, more is better. Create multiple videos of your offerings, focusing on each aspect of the services you provide. This way, you have plenty of options to choose from and can easily edit and use them on multiple platforms using various online tools.

Another crucial aspect is not to omit important information. If your audience is inspired by the experiences you offer, they will likely be interested in tiny details such as the location, prices, availablilty, customizations, and who they can contact to work out a plan. Make sure you address all these questions.

4. Leverage Social Media Influencers

After creating and effectively distributing your video content, if you find it becoming repetitive, consider engaging Instagram influencers followed by your target audience. Influencer Marketing not only adds credibility to your business but also plays a crucial role in expanding your reach to new audiences.

The key lies in selecting influencers wisely. As a tour marketer, it may be tempting to focus solely on the number of followers each influencer has, but this approach overlooks two crucial pieces of information. Firstly, consider whether there is a match between the influencer’s brand personality and yours. Is your target audience likely to follow this specific influencer? This question harks back to the beginning of our blog, where we emphasized creating an ideal customer profile. If there is a match, the second crucial piece of information is the level of influence the influencer has over their audience. This can be determined by analyzing the engagement of the influencer’s followers. At times, influencers may have a modest follower count but a high level of influence, presenting an opportunity for you to strike a profitable deal with them which might be essential for a successful tourism marketing campaign.  

5. Create a Seamless Website Experience

Your website serves as the primary tool to enhance your conversion rates, representing a critical component of your customer’s journey where key decisions are made. The first crucial aspect is to ensure all essential information is readily available, creating an easy booking process. Missing information may prompt customers to leave your website to seek details on your social media platforms or, worse, abandon the booking process. Display all relevant pictures, video content, and details where the booking occurs.

Pro Tip: Enhance your website’s efficiency by utilizing advanced booking software like Zaui, which significantly aids in establishing a seamless booking process for your guests.

The second pivotal element is the user experience on your website. If it is cluttered, slow, or difficult to navigate, it can significantly impact your booking numbers. It is important to maintain a well-designed and organized website for a smooth user experience. The third key point is to integrate a booking system directly into your website to initiate online bookings. Consider using Zaui, a popular booking system that enables revenue growth and automates everyday reservation tasks. Book a demo, and our experts will guide you through the platform, addressing all your questions.

6. Google Things to do

Consider the first step in trip planning: a keyword search on a search engine. With Google commanding over 90% of search traffic, securing visibility on this leading platform is crucial. Ensure your presence spans four relevant surfaces: Google Maps, Google Travel, Google Search, and your Google My Business Profile, each with unique attributes.

To learn how to enhance your visibility and outperform popular OTAs on these platforms, download our Google Things to do ebook . Alternatively, reach out to us for a personalized demo to experience our advanced integration with the Google Things to do platform. Over the past year, our Zaui experts have dedicated themselves to providing tour operators with a premium experience on Google Things to do, marked by advancements in integration and exemplary support. Download the ebook now to get started. CTA – Download Ebook

7. Email Marketing

If you currently don’t have an email list, it’s time to start building one. Your email list is among the most crucial marketing assets you possess, offering greater power than many other marketing channels since Email Marketing is the third-highest return on investment (ROI) .

Ideally, incorporate a subscription form on your website to invite visitors into your online community. This allows you to reconnect with them and potentially convert them into paying customers.

Another facet of your Email Marketing strategy involves guest communication . Establish a seamless guest experience with effective pre and post-trip notifications. Utilize this avenue to build credibility through reviews, ensuring the automation of review notifications. If you find this challenging, there’s no need to worry; your booking software can seamlessly handle it. Book a Personalized Demo with Zaui to explore these features further.

8. Tap into The Power of Reviews

Your reviews serve as a window into customer satisfaction, and there has been a consistent increase in reliance on them. Multiple review sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Local, are perfect for building an online presence and reputation. Consider joining one or a couple of notable platforms and be diligent in responding to all reviews, both negative and positive. This demonstrates that you are attentive and value all feedback.

Another crucial aspect is the use of pictures, which provide the highest form of credibility. This is where you can elevate your marketing efforts. Photo marketing tools like Fotaflo and PicThrive can seamlessly integrate with your booking system , assisting you in getting direct referrals and reviews that outshine your competition, thereby enhancing your visibility. In tourism marketing, visual content plays the most important role, and professionally taken pictures shared through photo marketing tools provide control over the quality of visual content, as well as improving the overall guest experience.

Standing out in the tourism industry can be a daunting task. However, by incorporating a few unique and modern marketing tactics, you can create a memorable experience for your customers, ultimately strengthening your tourism marketing strategy. With the right strategy and approach, your marketing efforts can help you build deeper connections with your target audience, allowing you to stand out in a crowded market and achieve long-term success in the tourism industry.

If you are seeking unique ways to outshine your competition, get in touch with Zaui. We offer an All-in-One Booking Solution fully equipped with tools and services to help you attain the marketing success you are seeking for your business.

Book a Demo!

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, the impact of tourism promotion in tourist destinations: a bibliometric study.

International Journal of Tourism Cities

ISSN : 2056-5607

Article publication date: 22 April 2022

Issue publication date: 9 December 2022

This paper aims to provide an assessment of tourism promotion in tourist destinations and airports (TPTDs) and to organize and classify the literature on tourism promotion, with the aim of staging the importance of this topic and encouraging future research in the projection of tourism and marketing sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database to analyze the bibliometric in TPTDs topic from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, the paper also uses the visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer software to map graphically the bibliographic material. The graphical analysis uses bibliographic coupling, co-citation, citation and co-occurrence of keywords.

This study provides an amended new definition of tourism promotion, which is the efficient management of a destination’s resources and strategic plans by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to adapt the tourism supply to market trends and will empower tourists to visit such destinations. Furthermore, results also show a new paradigm applied to TPTDs topic and classified in five first-order research streams. Digital and mobile marketing, infrastructure, branding, quality, accessibility and information factors about a specific destination which are mostly demanded by tourists are considered as an important means of promotion for the tourism industry.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study is important to identify new challenges and opportunities for researchers, DMOs, airport and airlines operators and stakeholders, as disentangling existing contradictions and applying new theoretical framework to make better future decisions by researchers and organizations to provide higher quality to new research in the context of the TPTDs.

• Tourism promotion
• Bibliometric
• Tourist destinations
• Universities

Florido-Benítez, L. (2022), "The impact of tourism promotion in tourist destinations: a bibliometric study", International Journal of Tourism Cities , Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 844-882. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-09-2021-0191

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, International Tourism Studies Association

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2024 Best Tourism Promotion Operations Schools

There was only one school in the United States to review for the 2024 Best Tourism Promotion Operations Schools ranking.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

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Tourism Promotion Operations Rankings by Degree Level

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings , including this Best Tourism Promotion Operations Schools list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state .

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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Best Schools for Tourism Promotion Operations in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of tourism promotion operations degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Schools in Tourism Promotion Operations

Jefferson Community College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in tourism promotion operations. Jefferson Community College is a small public college located in the city of Watertown. More information about a degree in tourism promotion operations from Jefferson Community College

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Tourism Promotion Operations Related Rankings by Major

Tourism Promotion Operations is one of 10 different types of Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing programs to choose from.

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Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System ( IPEDS ) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s ( College Scorecard ).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Qfamily .

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Tourism Marketing and Promotion

General overview.

Marketing and promotion are essentially figuring out what message(s) you need to sell a product and how to communicate to potential buyers. To use the famous quote from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams “if you build it they will come” is NOT how tourism works, marketing and promoting is essential to be successful. But, marketing and promoting tourism is very different than other tangible products and services. Destination CVBs are marketing and promoting an entire destination with numerous “products” and services.

Tourism Marketing

The American Marketing Association (2022) indicates “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (https://www.ama.org/the-definition-of-marketing-what-is-marketing/). There are common elements of marketing used for all products, but tourism marketing is unique. In marketing in general there are the common 4-Ps:

• Product – Whatever is being sold (in tourism it is the experience).
• Price – Cost of the product (in tourism it includes everything you purchase for the experience).
• Place – Where you purchase the product. Also known as how the product is distributed.
• Promotion – How the company or organization communicates the product to the consumer(s).

Marketing tourism is very unique compared to other products. Shoemaker and Shaw (2008) provide four primary ways marketing tourism is different than other products:

• Intangibility – Tourism is an experience, not a physical product (e.g., computer). Tourists will have memories of the experience they may share with others (e.g., family, friends).
• Perishability – The supplier cannot stockpile the product and resell it. For example, an empty seat on an airplane cannot be resold on a different flight. Each plane has a limited number of seats. An airline cannot add a seat unsold on the first plane to the second plane.
• Heterogeneity – The experience is not likely to be the same for consumers. Unlike physical products (e.g., computer), tourism experiences cannot be mass produced.
• Inseparability of production and consumption – Tourism experiences are consumed as they are produced. Other products can be produced in one city, state, etc. and sold in another. In tourism, the consumer (tourist) has to go to the product (i.e., destination). With tangible goods they can be purchased in a store and taken home or shipped to the consumer.

For tourism marketing there are an additional 4-Ps (Morrison et al., 2018):

• Packaging – A way to purchase some, many, all of the tourism product together (often through intermediaries such as Travelocity, Expedia, etc.).
• Programming – Ability of the destination to change themes, delivery of the product, and when the programs are available (e.g., destinations may have a special program around certain holidays).
• People – Tourism focuses on people. Destinations strive to provide a good experience and people are needed who can provide the experience. Although technology is changing some aspects of tourism, people will likely always be required.
• Partnerships – When businesses, organizations, etc. work together or collaborate deliver the tourism experience.

Marketing Orientation

Marketing orientation is essentially a guide for marketers. Morrison et al. (2018) suggest the following orientations

• Production – Focuses on what the product is and how it might fulfill needs and expectations of tourists.
• Sales – Focuses on selling more. So, increasing the volume of travelers, getting day-trip tourists to stay overnight are two examples of selling more.
• Marketing – First the needs and expectations of tourists are identified. Then, marketing tries to find a way to fulfill those needs and expectations.
• Societal – This orientation considers the society and local community and finds sustainable and/or responsible ways to market. This is a perspective or orientation that can minimize the negative social/cultural impacts.

In addition and similar to other topics covered (e.g., planning, development), marketing needs to be adaptable. Remember, tourism is season in many destinations, which might mean different target markets, different programming and events, and other issues to consider. As discussed from several perspectives, marketing needs to be adaptable because of challenges such as the economy, natural disasters, and other challenges.

Market Segmentation

Market segmentation in tourism is a way to group tourists according to characteristics they have in common since they are not exactly alike (Morrison, 2010). Some of the simple ways to segment the tourism market includes by demographics (e.g., age, household income, education, marital status). However, by combining such variables and looking at life cycle tourism marketers can be much more targeted and strategic. Another important consideration is geographic, or where actual and/or potential tourists reside. Another option is purpose of trip (e.g., business or leisure; group, family, individual). Behaviors of travelers can also be used to segment tourists. For example, marketers might segment based on travelers’ motivation or benefit they seek from taking a leisure trip/vacation. Psychographics (e.g., attitudes, interests, opinions) is a valuable segmentation tool which Strategic Business Insights (2009-2023) uses to group travelers into lifestyles (there is a survey you can complete to find out what type of VALS traveler you are) .

An example of segmenting a group of travelers is Shoemaker’s (1989) study that segments based on senior travelers reasons for traveling using cluster analysis, which is a statistical technique to segment a sample into groups based on a set of survey questions (Brochado, 2021). Shoemaker (1989) segmented based on reasons seniors traveled, including rest/relaxation, festivals/special events, experience new things, visit new places, escape daily routine, intellectual, and a number of other items. This study identified that there are sub-markets of the broader senior travel market. For example, Shoemaker (1989) identified three clusters: “Family Travelers” who enjoy spending time with immediate family; “Active Resters” travel to escape daily routine, intellectual enrichment such as visit historical sights, and participate in physical activities; and “Older Set” whose main differentiating characteristics is they are older then the other two groups and enjoy staying at all inclusive resorts, and participating in activities such as visiting historical sites.

When selecting target markets there are several criteria to consider according to Morrison et al. (2018). First, the need to be measurable, meaning you can estimate how many exist in the target market. This is essential because you want your broad or mass marketing to reach a sizable number of potential visitors. Next, the target market(s) need to be accessible, meaning you can reach them with your message. The next criteria is they need to substantial enough to justify the time and money that will be spent. Fourth, the target market(s) need to be defensible or make sense that they are likely to visit. The defensible criteria includes recognizing if they are a separate target market than other target markets or are they enough alike another that they are not truly distinct. Durability of a target market implies they will continue to exist over time and not just be a short-term or one occurrence. The destination also needs to ensure they can compete with other destinations for the target market. Homogeneity of the target market is the criteria that there are enough similarities with the target market. Finally, each target market needs to be compatible with the other target markets, as well or residents or locals to minimize negative social/cultural impacts.

Morrison et al. (2018) also identifies concerns the destination needs to consider when identifying target markets. First, do they have enough income to travel now and in the future and will they potentially spend enough money at the destination to make they a worthwhile target market. The destination also needs to be confident they can be competitive with other destinations marketing to the same or similar target markets. Another important concern is to ensure the investment needed to offer the product(s)/service(s) to attract the target market and to market/promote to them is worthwhile. Finally, does the destination have sufficient financial and other services to design and promote at necessary levels.

Destinations should also consider internal marketing within the destination. This includes to members of a CVB and/or other businesses within the destination system. Other internal stakeholders should be included such as politicians and community leaders, service providers (e.g., police, fire, EMT/healthcare) who are included in the important infrastructure component of a destination system. External marketing should not only done for visitors, but also intermediaries, suppliers, media, and other potential groups who can help with a destination’s efforts.

Branding and Positioning

Branding is applied quite a bit for products and services. However, in tourism it is more complex to brand a destination. Until relatively recently, CVBs would use the full phrase and/or acronym in the name of the organization (e.g., Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau). These long and often similar names for the organizations could make it difficult to differentiate from other destinations. Many CVBs began developing shorter, more attractive names such as Visit Houston and have various logos and other branding to differentiate themselves from competitors.

A key element of branding, logos “can facilitate many DMO marketing activities to establish brand image and identity, particularly relevant before the actual visitor experience” (Blain et al., 2005). Branding is critical for developing a destination’s image because of increased competition among destinations (Jetter & Chen, 2011). Branding and brand identity help a destination position themselves or establish an image as a travel destination.

All brands have a value generated by the name, icon, or other identification, which represent brand equity. Williams (2021) the brand equity concept is complex. For tourism with so many stakeholders involved it is way more complex than single brands. So, destinations need to figure out what represents the overall  tourism product of their destination. Kim and Lee (2018) found that characteristics such as price and work of mouth influence perceptions of perceived quality, brand awareness and image, which then help a destination’s brand equity.

Marketing Plan

Within a destination’s marketing plan should be both strategic and tactical elements (Morrison et al., 2018). Strategic activities are more related to long-term goals, which might include developing relationships and or partnerships with and between tourism related organizations (e.g., CVB, sports commission, hotel association, etc.). These types of strategies help a destination be cohesive and develop long-term value, which can lead to repeat visitation. The relationships and partnerships can help a destination manage the impacts (i.e., economic, environmental, social) as well. The tactical elements are shorter term, but help the destination with long-term goals. Examples include public relations campaigns, social media efforts, and the foci of convention and meeting sales, which can include booking short-term meetings to fill in the gaps for the destination around larger conventions, trade shows, and other large events that are booked and confirmed much further in advance.

The marketing planning process as explained by Morrison et al. (2018) should address the following questions:

• Use situation and or SWOT analysis (i.e., strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). This analysis(es) should consider who current visitors are, what the destination offers. To reflect how all of the modules for this class interact, a destination might identify an opportunity to develop a new attraction. Also consider environmental scanning, which assesses legal (e.g., travel restrictions), technological (e.g., smartphones), accessibility to and within the destination, economic, and macro-level competition for consumers discretionary income.
• Evaluate the entire tourism system components (i.e., attractions, facilities, infrastructure, transportation, hospitality)
• Assess visitor market, including current target markets, as well as potential target markets.
• Compare and contrast the destination with competitor destinations, which can include but not limited to their image and their marketing plan.
• Through out all this process strengths and weaknesses should be clearly identified. Through weaknesses a destination might identify opportunities or things that can be done better.
• Vision and mission statement. The vision statement is very much future oriented. The mission statement is essentially what the organization does and its’ values.
• Establish marketing goals to get to where the destination would like to be, which might include number of visitors, economic impact, visitor satisfaction, and/or various other possible ways to measure if the destination gets there. Remember, most or all CVBs are at least partially funded by the hotel occupancy tax, so hotel tax might be a goal to set.
• Using the segmentation ideas and criteria (e.g., measurable, accessible, etc.) above, the destination needs to identify target markets.
• Create – if destination does not have a positioning approach.
• Change – if positioning has not resulted in the desired image the approach likely needs to be changed.
• Reinforce – perhaps target markets have forgotten or the image they have of the destination is not as strong as it used to be. In this case finding a way to reinforce or remind visitors is needed.
• Establish objectives that the destination can measure, including within target markets. These should be very specific and result from all the analysis performed throughout the marketing planning process.
• By implementing the marketing plan. Typically have sub-marketing plans for each target market because of various potential differences between them. The differences would include the marketing mix or 4-Ps of marketing (i.e., product, place, price, promotion).
• Monitor along the way so the destination can adapt if needed. Remember the objectives are stepping stones toward the longer term goals. So, if objectives are not being achieved something(s) likely need to be adapted.
• Research and statistics. It depends on what the measurable goals (and objectives) are as to how to measure.

Tourism Promotion

Promotion is essentially communicating or making consumers aware of a product, which can be verbal, written, and/or visual. Walker and Walker (2018) provide sequential steps of how promotion affects the buying process labeling each with one word descriptions:

• Provider creates awareness of the product to consumers (awareness).
• Consumer needs to become aware of how the product will fulfill or affect their needs (knowledge)
• Hopefully this knowledge creates a positive disposition for the product (liking).
• Hopefully the positive disposition lead to the consumer preferring the product over those of the competitors (preference).
• Finally, this should increase the probability of the consumer purchasing the product (probability).

Remember, the tourism product is very different and more complex than other products. One, the product is intangible and two it is derived of many aspects (i.e., attractions, accommodations, built facilities, transportation, infrastructure, hospitality).

Since promotion is a communication tool, there is a sender and a receiver. The sender for destinations as a whole are typically the CVB or DMO and the receivers are potential travelers/consumers. Messages/promotions can be sent through a variety of channels (e.g., billboards, television, newspaper, magazines, internet, email newsletters, etc.). However, not all promotions reach the intended recipient(s). Morrison et al. (2018) explains the following issues related to promotions and reaching the intended recipient(s):

• Barriers – ways consumers can block messages, such as Do Not Call Registry and recording television shows to be able to fast forward through commercials.
• Filters – deleting emails from companies and people not known to the recipient.
• Noise – any distraction keeping the recipient(s) from the promotional message.
• Permission – can be explicitly or implicitly. An example of explicitly is subscribing to a CVB e-newsletter. An example of implicitly is the organization pays for a message, such as on Facebook or a television commercial.

Morrison et al. (2018) also suggest even if the intended recipient(s) receives the promotion, it does not mean they hear, understand, and/or believe the message. It is important to send a message that people can understand and is realistic or believable. Ideally, the sender of messages will be able to receive feedback from the recipient(s). For example, number of recipients who click a link to get more information, number of sales of the product, a follow up survey to find out what the recipient(s) thought of the promotion to name a few.

Promotion Goals and Types

There might be various goals a CVB or DMO has for their promotions. One very obvious goal is to get consumers to purchase or book a trip. Other potential goals would be to entice travelers to upgrade to more expensive packages, stay longer, convert day visitors to overnight tourists, and be repeat visitors. In order to potentially achieve these goals it is important to understand the visitor buying process in order to establish goals and to influence purchasing behaviors. Inherently, consumers need information to consider any purchase, including travel. The general consumer decision-making process according to The Sales Optimization Company. (2009-2022) includes the following stages:

• Awareness – consumer becomes aware they need a product, in the case of leisure tourism it could be a weekend getaway, family vacation, a day trip to a community event or other activity in another destination than where they reside, and many other possibilities.
• Research – the consumer will search for information about possible options. A destination should have their promotional materials in multiple sources to be as visible as possible.
• Consideration – the consumer through the research stage may have numerous possibilities to consider.
• Conversion – the purchase decision is made. This could include deciding not the take the trip, perhaps for various reasons (e.g., do not have enough money for the desired trip).
• Re-purchase – consideration if the trip or product fulfilled their need and would buy again, or take a trip to the same destination again.

Morrison et al. (2018) suggest thee are three goals of promotions. You might also consider these strategies to try to modify consumers’ behaviors. The first is inform, which is relevant for the awareness and research stages of the consumer decision-making process. Next is persuade, which is relevant to the consideration and conversion stages of the consumer decision-making process. Last, remind is a strategy to use as consumers contemplate the potential re-purchase stage of the consumer decision-making process.

Promotional Tools

The ‘place’ component of the 4-Ps of marketing provide what Morrison et al. (2018) refer to as ‘the promotional toolbox’. Many references (e.g., Morrison, et al., 2018; Walker & Walker, 2018) regarding promotional tools highlight and explain the following

• Advertising -primary source for promoting to the mass market for leisure travel (e.g., television, magazines, newspapers, billboards, internet (banner ads).
• Personal selling – primarily used to promote a destination for the meetings and events sector where a small number of people decide on the destination and venue, but the event brings many people.
• Merchandising – travelers may purchase souvenirs when they travel. This is a good promotional tool where the traveler pays for it and is a reminder of the trip later one. For example, someone might use a coffee cup from a trip and be reminded of their experience. If it was a good experience it might influence them to consider visiting again. Another example, someone might wear a shirt or hat they purchase from a destination. A friend or even someone they do not know might ask them about their experience. This is free word-of-mouth promotion that a business or organization benefited financially since the tourist paid for it.
• Digital marketing – websites, social media, e-mail, e-newsletters.
• Sales promotion – a form of promotion that is typically separate from the broader advertising that takes place pretty much all of the time. Sales promotion offers an extra incentive to purchase and is more likely for a limited time.
• Public relations – this promotional tool is important because they deal with the media. Think about when large events have been announced for a city, like the Super Bowl or FIFA World Cup. The local news channels might interview someone from the planning committee. A public relations person would handle arranging that and any inquiry from the media.

Planning Promotions

Morrison et al. (2018) suggest there is a “big P” and “little p(s)”. The big P is the overarching promotional plan for the organization, which is derived of the little ps. Examples of little ps will be the convention sales team’s plan, the leisure sales plan, sporting events, any other categories a destination provides or focuses on. Convention sales might be trying to promote a period of time where they currently do not have conventions or meetings and need to fill in the gap. Sporting events might focus on a specific sport.

Promotions Planning Process

Tourism promotions planning process asks the same questions as marketing planning process. Essentially at this stage, you are implementing the marketing plan:

• Where are we now? – this question is guided by identifying target markets and the promotional tools a destination will use to promote to specific target markets. The target markets should include not only different visitor groups, but also travel trade intermediaries, local community, and media/press.
• Where would we like to be? – this question is used to identify or establish measurable objectives (e.g., number of people to click on the promotion icon, number of overnight stays generated). These objectives are specific to the little ps and include goals of the promotion (i.e., inform, persuade, remind).
• This question also identifies the budget for the specific promotion and potential partnerships to pool resources (e.g., funding, talent and knowledge of people).
• This question also helps determine the message idea, which may require research, focus groups, and other forms if feedback to assess consumers’ interest and refine the promotion.
• The message format needs to be created to ensure it is understandable, distinct from competitors, and believable (i.e., destination really can provide what it is promoting).
• In terms of financial resources, there are various measures that help to determine the promotional reach (e.g., cost per contact, cost per inquiry, geographic – how many people in a designated market area you might reach). (There are various others in the PowerPoint we will discuss in more detail, including tradeoffs with specific promotional tools.)

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GHL 2365 - Tourism Copyright © 2024 by Jason Draper is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Tourism Promotion Operations

In 2021, the locations with the highest concentration of Tourism Promotion Operations degree recipients are Viola, NY , Watertown, NY , and Warwick, RI . In 2021, the locations with a relatively high number of Tourism Promotion Operations degree recipients are Viola, NY , Watertown, NY , and Manatí, PR . The most common degree awarded to students studying Tourism Promotion Operations is a associates degree.

learning Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Tourism Promotion Operations and the types of students that study this field. Rockland Community College awards the most degrees in Tourism Promotion Operations in the US, having also the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Tourism Promotion Operations programs are Public, 2-year institutions (7 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 2-year (17 completions).

Institutions

• Rockland Community College
• Jefferson Community College
• Palau Community College

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations, is Public, 2-year (17 completions in 2021).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Tourism Promotion Operations programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

Rockland Community College has the most Tourism Promotion Operations degree recipients, with 9 degrees awarded in 2021.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations.

Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Tourism Promotion Operations programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Rockland Community College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations, with 1.04%.

Degrees Awarded by County

• Rockland County, NY
• Jefferson County, NY
• Manatee County, FL

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Tourism Promotion Operations.

briefcase Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Business graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Business majors is $98,335 and the most common occupations are Accountants & auditors , Other managers , and Financial managers .

The industry that employs the most Business majors is Elementary & secondary schools , though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments .

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Business majors.

Highest Paying Locations

• Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY
• Fairfield, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston & Easton Towns PUMA, CT
• Westchester County (Southeast) PUMA, NY

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Business majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Business majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Most Common

The most common occupations Business majors, by number of employees, are Accountants & auditors , Other managers , and Financial managers .

Most Specialized

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Business majors working as Accountants & auditors , Financial analysts , and Financial examiners .

Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for Business majors are Surgeons , Physicians , and Chief executives & legislators .

Occupations by Share

The number of Business graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.28%, from 11.2M in 2020 to 11.5M in 2021.

The largest single share of Business graduates go on to work as Accountants & auditors (9.56%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Business by share of the total number of graduates.

The most common industries that employ Business majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools , Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services , and Banking & related activities .

The highest paying industries of Business majors, by average wage, are Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments , Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals , and Oil & gas extraction .

Industries by Share

The industry which employs the most Business graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools , followed by Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping & payroll services . This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Business .

Specialty Locations

• Carr 2-Carr 111 PUMA, PR
• Carr 2 (Noroeste) PUMA, PR
• Carr 2-Carr 100 PUMA, PR

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Business majors.

geosearch Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Business in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Business is 43.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Associates Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Business degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Business (7 students).

Workforce Age

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Business . The most common ages of employees with this major are 36 and 40 years old, which represent 2.63% and 2.62% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Tourism Promotion Operations are Associates Degree and 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate.

Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in Business are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Tourism Promotion Operations.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

• White 7 degrees awarded
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders 3 degrees awarded
• Hispanic or Latino 3 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Tourism Promotion Operations for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Associates Degree recipients in Tourism Promotion Operations.

Global Diversity

• India 169,218 degree recipients
• Philippines 141,318 degree recipients
• Mexico 139,522 degree recipients
• Mongolia 2.88 times more than expected
• Zimbabwe 2.63 times more than expected
• Indonesia 2.49 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Mongolia that hold Business degrees (2.88 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (169,218 degree recipients).

predictive-analysis Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Tourism Promotion Operations field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tourism Promotion Operations majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Tourism Promotion Operations majors need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Systems Analysis, Mathematics, Judgment and Decision Making, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Programming, Persuasion, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, Management of Financial Resources, Science, Management of Personnel Resources, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Negotiation, Time Management, Coordination, Learning Strategies, Management of Material Resources, Instructing, Operation Monitoring, Technology Design, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Selection, Installation, Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repairing.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Tourism Promotion Operations majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Operations Analysis is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Monitoring, Mathematics, Social Perceptiveness, Persuasion, Coordination, Time Management, Learning Strategies, Operations Analysis, Service Orientation, Instructing, Management of Personnel Resources, Negotiation, Science, Programming, Management of Financial Resources, Operation Monitoring, Management of Material Resources, Quality Control Analysis, Technology Design, Equipment Selection, Installation, Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repairing are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

Keep exploring.

Best Tourism Promotion Operations colleges in the U.S. 2024

Best tourism promotion operations colleges in the u.s. for 2024.

Manatee Technical College offers 1 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a small, public, two-year college in a large suburb.

Jefferson Community College offers 3 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a small, public, two-year college in a small city. In 2022, 8 Tourism Promotion Operations students graduated with students earning 7 Associate's degrees, and 1 Certificate.

Niagara County Community College offers 2 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a small, public, two-year college in a outlying rural area.

Rockland Community College offers 1 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a medium sized, public, two-year college in a large suburb. In 2022, 14 Tourism Promotion Operations students graduated with students earning 14 Associate's degrees.

Community College of Rhode Island offers 1 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a large, public, two-year college in a small city. In 2022, 2 Tourism Promotion Operations students graduated with students earning 2 Certificates.

Palau Community College offers 1 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a very small, public, two-year college in a unknown area. In 2022, 16 Tourism Promotion Operations students graduated with students earning 16 Associate's degrees.

ICPR Junior College offers 1 Tourism Promotion Operations degree programs. It's a very small, private for-profit, two-year college in a large suburb.

Find local colleges with Tourism Promotion Operations majors in the U.S.

List of all tourism promotion operations colleges in the u.s..

Tourism Promotional Materials

• First Online: 06 March 2019

Cite this chapter

• M. Zain Sulaiman 3 &
• Rita Wilson 4  

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This chapter defines tourism promotion materials and describes the various media of tourism promotion, particularly the Internet. The discussion then narrows down to the language of tourism promotion which is used by these media to achieve the ultimate objective of persuading potential tourists. Beginning with the general features of the language, the chapter discusses the textual functions of the language of tourism promotion, and how it is influenced by three sociological perspectives of tourism (strangerhood, authenticity and play) resulting in a language of differentiation, authentication and recreation. The notions of time, magic and euphoria are also discussed as key features. This is followed by a discussion of the main techniques used by copywriters in the creation of the language of tourism promotion.

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Buck’s ‘The Ubiquitous Tourist Brochure ’ ( 1977 ) is one of the pioneering studies which analyse the content of tourist brochures. Following MacCannell’s work ( 1976 ), he concluded that the language of tourist brochures is constructed as tautologies with ‘authenticity ’ being the ‘lead message’ (Buck, 1977 , pp. 200, 206).

Urry ( 1990 ) points out that language is used by the professional opinion formers to direct the tourist’s gaze , telling him or her how, when and where to gaze .

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Sulaiman, M.Z., Wilson, R. (2019). Tourism Promotional Materials. In: Translation and Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6343-6_2

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Tips for Finding Time for Hobbies as a Busy Medical Student

What is a interrogative pronoun examples, teaching students about the tallest basketball player: a lesson in inspiration, what are adaptive skills for special needs, what are adaptive goals for iep, what are adaptive skills on an iep, what are 4 examples of adaptive behavior, what is an adaptive behavior classroom, is adaptive teaching the same as differentiation, is adaptive learning artificial intelligence, best colleges and universities in the world for tourism promotion operations.

Tourism Promotion Operations is a crucial aspect of the tourism industry, and with the growing number of travelers and tourists visiting different parts of the world, the need for qualified professionals in this field is on the rise. As a result, there are numerous colleges and universities across the globe offering various programs to meet the needs of the tourism industry.

Here are some of the best colleges and universities in the world for Tourism Promotion Operations:

1. Glion Institute of Higher Education – Switzerland

Glion Institute of Higher Education is a leading institution offering world-class programs in hospitality, events, sports, and tourism management. The school has campuses in Switzerland and London, and it is renowned for its experiential-based learning approach, which allows students to acquire practical skills and knowledge needed to excel in the tourism industry.

2. Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne – Switzerland

Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne is one of the oldest and most prestigious hospitality schools in the world. With over a century of experience in training and educating professionals in the hospitality and tourism industry, the school offers programs in hospitality management, tourism management, and events management.

3. Cornell University – USA

Cornell University is a world-renowned institution that offers top-notch programs in hospitality management, tourism, and attractions. The school is famous for its world-class faculty, excellent facilities, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

4. Les Roches International School of Hotel Management – Switzerland

Les Roches International School of Hotel Management is another leading institution in Switzerland that offers exceptional programs in hospitality and tourism management. The school has campuses in Switzerland, Spain, and China, and it implements a hands-on approach to learning that equips students with practical skills and knowledge required in the tourism industry.

5. Oxford Brookes University – UK

Oxford Brookes University is a top-ranked institution that offers various programs in the tourism and hospitality industry. The school has a strong focus on research and innovation, and it is renowned for its practical approach to teaching that prepares students for real-world experiences.

In conclusion, these are just a few of the best colleges and universities in the world for Tourism Promotion Operations. Each of these institutions has a unique style of teaching and learning, and it is up to students to choose the best fit for their academic and professional goals. However, one thing is clear – all these schools are committed to providing excellent training and education to equip graduates with the skills and knowledge required to succeed in the tourism industry.

Best Colleges and Universities in the World ...

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author, best colleges and universities in the world for agricultural business technology, best colleges and universities in sudan, best colleges and universities in bhutan, best colleges and universities in libya, best colleges and universities in the world for accounting.

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10 Promotion Strategies for the Travel and Tourism Industry that Actually Work

Almost every industry is (still!) going through tough times since the pandemic outbreak back in 2020. Some of them, though, have been affected by coronavirus far more than the others – and the travel industry is definitely one of them. Canceled trips, canceled flights, confused guests and hosts alike, countless restrictions, and the overall uncertainty of what’s coming next – all this have brought the industry to the brink of collapse.

Thankfully, most travel and tourism businesses decided to fight against the odds, and work their way through the pandemic. As of summer 2022, there are signs of coming back to (normal) life. Nobody knows, though, what autumn will bring and convincing consumers to plan their trips is far more difficult now than it ever was. That’s why clever marketing and promotion strategies seem to be the keys for the industry to get back on its feet.

Marketing for the travel and tourism industries in 2022

The pandemic isn’t the only problem the travel and tourism industry has faced lately. The economy (for example in Europe) forces people to think twice before going on costly vacations abroad. The competition is stiff as ever, and there’s still a need to maintain a healthy balance between costs and earnings. There’s no point in pumping thousands of dollars into marketing strategies if they won’t bring enough ROI. That’s why it’s crucial to select the next promotion strategy for your business carefully.

Here are some notable travel marketing trends are worth mentioning:

• TikTok marketing – this social video platform became a powerful marketing tool for those skilful enough to unlock its potential. Often referred to as a platform for children and youth (and dismissed for being such), TikTok hosts 1 billion active users. It’s a value that shouldn’t be ignored.
• Social media marketing – the dominance of TikTok does not mean that other social media platforms are doomed in marketing. Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn – all those media have their place and are still valid marketing platforms. The key is – as always – targeting the right audience.
• Influencer marketing – staying in the social media area: engaging celebrities and influencers in your marketing activities is an idea worth thinking of. Of course, the influencer with a 250K Instagram profile won’t bring thousands of customers directly to your company, but the recognizability should definitely help.

What about some travel marketing trends for 2022?

• Flexibility is a key – though low prices are still important, customers are eager to find offers that enable them to get a full refund or change bookings if necessary.
• Long-term rentals – in times of remote work, more people want to try living in new places for a more extended period. So-called workations have become more popular than ever, and people expect special deals for long-term rentals.
• Geofencing – looking for attractions near the place of living has become a thing during the pandemic. People are forced to put off their travel plans until somewhere in the future, turned to what their area has to offer. With geofencing , local attractions, such as restaurants, museums, go-karting tracks, escape rooms or laser tag places, became open for people searching for “[something] near me” which, apparently, grew popular in recent years.

Enough of those trends – you’re here for the list, so here it is! 10 promotional strategies for the travel and tourism industry that actually work – they have been launched and tested by companies we know. There’s no room for hypotheses. Below you’ll find nothing but real-life examples – get ready to get inspired!

Gamecity Zoetermeer

Promotion types used: discount coupons, gift cards, giveaways.

Gamecity GoKarting Zoetermeer is a place of fun games and entertainment for people looking to do something more active and demanding than watching VOD at home or going to the cinema. Gamecity offers go-karting, laser tag, minigolf and an innovative, competitive escape room-like experience called Prison Island.

1. Social media giveaways

Pursuing the newest trends, Gamecity launched a few social media profiles, such as Instagram or TikTok (their most popular video has been watched more than 40K times!). They use TikTok not only for sharing funny, short videos but also to run giveaways for their engaged followers, thus increasing company recognizability and gaining new followers (as well as potential customers):

Online contests are usually a very effective way to raise awareness of newly-created brands. Still, nothing stands in your way if you want to organize a sweepstake every now and then to promote your already established brand.

‍ In short: a well-performed online giveaway should not only bring some attention to your company but it might also result in a significant followers increase. Each of them can become your next valuable customer!

2. Discount coupons

People who don’t order any service without typing “[name of the company] discount coupon” in Google Search won’t be disappointed, as Gamecity Gokarting issues discount coupons every once in a while. A nice 20% discount for go-karting should be enough to convince the unconvinced and create the opportunity for them to try new things while traveling or just hanging out with friends.

Discount coupons are the salt of promotion strategies for the tourism and travel industry – it’s always nice knowing that the attraction you were already willing to experience is a bit cheaper than expected. However, from a business perspective, too big of a discount can be deceptive, as people could try it once and then never come back due to the feeling that the service should be cheaper than it is. That’s why companies usually launch 10-20% discounts.

‍ In short: The most significant advantage of the discount coupon promotional strategy is that it’s not very demanding to launch and maintain such a promotion. And with a proper tool, such as the Voucherify, issuing coupons is approachable and developer-friendly.

Promotion types used: gift cards, partnerships, giveaways.

Sportihome has created its unique business model that combines two things you can find in the company name – sports and housing rentals. To make their offer attractive for sports enthusiasts and travelers alike, Sportihome runs numerous giveaways with strongly-thematic rewards, such as entries for sports events and so on:

3. Partnerships

A popular marketing strategy is partnering up with well-known brands to provide discounts, equipment and other gifts. Sportihome decided to follow this path by teaming up with Decathlon , the most prominent sports gear brand in France. Each host, who joins the Sportihome family, gets an exclusive 10% discount for equipping the lodgings they share with Sportihome customers.

In short: partnerships may strengthen your brand as showing up in the right company to a business meeting does. And if the partnership comes with benefits for the customers, you can be sure that it will positively impact your marketing efforts.

4. Gift cards

One of the ultimate travel and tourism promotion types is gift cards. However, buying holidays as a gift can cause unintended trouble – it isn’t easy to be a hundred percent sure that the gifted person won’t have any plans in a given period. Also, choosing the location and lodgings for them might not be the best idea (who knows if they’d like it?). In such a case, the best way would be to present someone with a gift card for holidays of their choice. And that’s exactly what you can do via Sportihome – choose the price (from €50 to €1,000) and choose whether Sportihome should send the card to the recipient or if you want to do this personally.

Each gift card is valid for 24 months, and the gifted person can use the code from the gift card during the payment – after choosing the most suitable location.

In short: Gift cards are present in almost any industry, but they became especially popular when the pandemic began – if all the travel companies ensured full refunds for everyone who wanted to cancel their flights, trips and vacations, they would already be out of business. One of the ways to stay above the surface while encouraging customers to return was to offer them gift cards instead of a cashback.

This is precisely the way easyJet decided to deal with the coronavirus crisis – read more about it in our case study!

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Al Ali Yachts

Promotion types used: BOGO, discount coupons, giveaways.

Al Ali Yachts is a luxury yacht-rental company based in Dubai, UAE. In a demanding market, rental companies have to try different marketing strategies to get to the right audience. One of the most effective promotions used by Al Ali Yachts is BOGO – buy one, get one free – promotion.

How does it work? BOGO promotions add an item whenever a customer orders a required number of items. For example, during the "Enjoy the Summer" promotion, Al Ali Yachts offers their customers 1 hour of yacht rental for free for every 3 hours booked. It’s easy to calculate that the offer equals a 25% discount. The difference lies in the incentive.

If a group of friends would like to rent a yacht for two hours, they might get incentivized by the promotion – they’d rather pay for 3 hours and have a boat for 4 hours.

6. Holiday giveaways

There’s always an occasion to celebrate – should it be International Women’s Day, Independence Day or National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day, brands have learnt to incorporate them into their marketing efforts. A contest where the winner gets 1 hour of free cruising? Why not? If it brings people interested in the product, it’s probably a good idea (though there’s a million dollars for whoever creates a campaign combining National Pizza Day with yacht rental).

Dertouristik

Promotion types used: discount coupons.

Visiting the Dertouristik website for the first time is one of those unforgettable moments, when a pop-up ad doesn’t get on the nerves – why so? Because of an exclusive, time-limited offer (also the fact that it doesn’t cover the whole screen)!

7. Time-limited offers

Though setting a time limit for the offer is old as the world, it’s useful promotional tool companies use with success in 2022 (and will probably still use in 2222). Here’s what it looks like on the Dertour website:

The window pops up right after entering the website – it says that there’s a €50 discount for any travel package from Dertour, as soon as the total costs are above €500. The offer is valid until midnight, so there’s a strict deadline, but with plenty of time to think this decision through.

It’s a nice touch that after closing the pop-up window, it’s still available under the blue “Ihr Rabatt Code” button, so the customers can get back and copy their code anytime.

Promotion types used: flexibility packages, discount codes, freebies.

8. Flexible packages

Trends in the travel and tourism promotions have changed – customers expect more than low prices, loyalty solutions or various discounts. They also need peace of mind when it comes to planning their vacations. That’s why solutions such as ItaliaRail’s Flexibility packages work! With an additional fee customers can ensure that they would be able to reschedule or cancel their train tickets with an 80% or 90% refund:

9. Freebies

Genuinely taking care of customers’ well-being is one of the most effective promotional strategies – especially if the goal is to create a long-term relationship with the customer. So ItaliaRail went the extra mile and prepared a little welcoming gift for their potential customers – a free Italian phrases ebook, which can be a helpful guide for those who visit Italy for the first time. Of course, giving away an ebook like this probably won’t become a game-changing strategy for the company. Still, it’s an excellent little addition to make customers feel better about traveling, and to get some email addresses in the process.

Promotion types used: cart promotions, discount coupons.

With its branches in Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, the UK, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Finland, TUI became one of the most popular travel agencies in Europe, offering holiday trips worldwide.

10. Cart promotions

Knowing that the most straightforward solutions are often the most satisfying ones, TUI went through with cart promotions – the discounts visible immediately while browsing the offers:

A big, red –41% alert is precisely what TUI wants people to see right after clicking the TUI Deals button on the homepage. The difference between the regular and discounted price is what drives people’s purchasing decisions more often than they want to admit. But the difference between €1410 and €831 is just too good!

‍ Cart-level promotions , though, offer more than only displaying lower prices. Using them, you can assign automatic discounts to each customer who meets the redemption criteria, create personalized deals, enable free shipping, bonus items and much more!

Coming up with a successful promotion strategy for the travel and tourism industry requires a lot of work and dedication – I hope the above list of examples will help you choose the best promotion type to begin with. Now, before I finish, here are three final tips you might find helpful:

• Select two or three promotion types you’re eager to try out. Learn more about them and see if they are within your reach before investing any money in them.
• Look around and search for software that would help you create and launch the type of promotions you’re interested in. It’s always a better (and cheaper) idea to find ready-made software instead of trying to come up with your own solution.
• If you’re determined to try out different types of promotions for your business, make sure that the software you’ve found in step 2 is able to handle each of them. No point in subscribing to (and paying for) two or three different software packages while you can stick to a single one.

If you’re looking for a powerful promotion engine where you can create numerous marketing campaigns (personalized coupons, cart-level promotions, digital gift cards, product bundling, loyalty and referral programs, geofencing), but pay only for the actual usage, try Voucherify. And when I’m saying “try” I mean it – Voucherify comes with a free plan, which you can use to find your way through the platform before deciding to pay any money!

Don’t hesitate any longer

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The Importance of Tourism Advertising

Navigating today’s highly competitive and ever-changing tourism industry is no simple feat — you need to stand out from a constantly expanding crowd to be successful. That’s why effective tourism advertising is essential to any successful tourism brand. It’s not only important to create captivating ad campaigns and impactful messaging to engage potential customers but also to ensure that those campaigns reach the right audience. 

But how do you make sure your travel advertising is effective? While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for marketing for travel advertising, there are certain key elements to consider when advertising travel and tourism that can make all the difference. 

This blog will delve into the multifaceted realm of travel industry advertising, exploring the key components that make a campaign captivating and unforgettable. 

Understanding the Role of Advertising in Tourism Promotion

Advertising plays a pivotal role in tourism promotion, serving as the bridge that connects potential travelers with tourism products, destinations, and experiences. Its primary function is to generate awareness and interest in a specific location or service, ultimately influencing travel decisions and driving consumer action. 

Advertising in tourism promotion encompasses several key aspects:

• Increasing Visibility and Awareness: Advertising tourism destinations helps increase their visibility by promoting attractions, accommodations, activities, special events and other offerings to potential travelers. Creating memorable and engaging advertisements can capture your target audience’s attention and generate interest. This increased awareness can lead to higher demand and more bookings.
• Targeting Specific Audiences: Today’s adtech allows travel and tourism brands to target specific market segments based on demographics, interests, and travel motivations. Tailoring advertising campaigns to resonate with these specific groups enables businesses to attract the right type of visitors, increasing the likelihood of bookings and conversions. Recent advances in AI-driven data science tools enable you to gain deeper insights into your own data, target predictively modeled custom audiences, and optimize campaigns in real time to ensure you’re engaging with relevant, ideal audiences.
• Building Brand Image and Reputation: Effective advertising helps establish a strong brand image and reputation for a destination or travel brand. Businesses can create a lasting impression on potential travelers by consistently conveying a unique brand identity and promoting positive experiences. A strong brand image and reputation will then encourage travelers to choose you over competitors, leading to increased bookings and customer loyalty.
• Communicating Unique Selling Propositions (USPs):  Advertising enables you to highlight unique selling points and differentiate yourself from competitors. Showcasing the distinct features, benefits, and experiences that set you apart can entice potential travelers to visit or use your services.
• Educating Potential Travelers: With informative and engaging content, you can provide valuable information about tourist attractions, local culture, customs, and other considerations that are important to travelers planning their trips. This educational aspect helps travelers make informed decisions and increases the likelihood that they will choose a particular destination or business based on their interests and needs.
• Staying Competitive: The tourism industry is fast-paced and dynamic, making advertising crucial for businesses seeking to stay competitive. Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and adapting advertising strategies can help you maintain relevance and appeal to potential travelers. 
• Measuring Success and Optimizing Strategies: Digital advertising campaigns provide valuable data and insights that your business can use to measure the success of its tourism promotion efforts. You can evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising strategies by analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, social media engagement, and conversion rates. This analysis enables you to make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns, ensuring that you continue to effectively promote your offerings and attract potential travelers.

Why Is Tourism Advertising Important?

Effective advertising is obviously essential for any tourism business that wishes to stay ahead of its competition, promote its brand, and thrive. Here are a few reasons why it’s so important to keep your tourism advertising ahead of the curve today:

The Travel and Tourism Industry Is Extremely Competitive

With countless tourist destinations, hotels, resorts, tourism agencies, and attractions vying for the attention of potential travelers, differentiating yourself to stand out from the crowd and capture a share of the market is vital.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there is significantly increased demand for travel and experiences across all audiences – and brands are responding, saturating the market with messaging. In such a competitive environment, a sound advertising strategy can help you capture the attention of potential visitors and convince them to choose your destination or service over another. The ever-increasing popularity of digital platforms has also intensified the competition, as businesses now have access to a global audience and can target their advertising efforts more precisely than ever before.

Tourists Are Always on the Hunt for One-of-a-Kind Experiences

In an age where travelers are increasingly driven by a desire for unique, authentic, and memorable experiences, tourism brands must showcase their ability to provide these exceptional experiences to attract and retain visitors.

Tourism marketing plays a pivotal role in highlighting the distinctive offerings of a destination or service by showcasing its unique attributes, such as local culture, history, natural wonders, or exclusive activities. By effectively communicating these characteristics through advertising, you can spark the curiosity of potential travelers and persuade them to choose your offerings over those of competitors. Today’s formats and tech-enabled creative capabilities can help you convey the power of a destination or experience, with high-impact creative, augmented reality integrations, interactive video, and more.

Advertising Is a Must To Reach International Audiences

In an increasingly globalized marketplace, destinations and businesses within the travel industry must extend their reach beyond local markets to attract visitors from all over the world. While local tourists are an important source of repeat income, international travelers bring invaluable cultural exchange and can generate a much higher economic impact.

Tech-enabled creative and advanced targeting capabilities can be especially effective at targeting international audiences, finding behaviors and interests that help you determine the right channels, formats and messaging to resonate across cultural and geographical boundaries. By crafting compelling tourism-related marketing messages that resonate with a global audience, your business can create brand awareness and encourage potential visitors to choose your offerings.

Keeping Up an Active Online Presence Is Paramount to Business Success

Digital marketing is one component of an active online presence, which is crucial for business success in today’s digital landscape. With most travelers relying heavily on the Internet for researching, planning, and booking their trips, businesses in the tourism industry must prioritize their online presence to stay competitive, attract potential customers, and foster customer loyalty.

An active online presence ensures that your business remains visible and discoverable to potential customers. Being responsive and informative by engaging on organic social media and providing in-depth content about topics such as your specific offerings, destination, and local cultures will help establish trust and credibility among potential customers and encourage them along their customer journey. Showcasing positive reviews, testimonials, and engaging content demonstrates expertise, reliability, and commitment to providing exceptional experiences, encouraging potential customers to choose your business over competitors.

6 Tips for Successful Tourism Advertising

Here are a few tips to ensure that your campaigns capture the attention of potential travelers and stand out from the crowd:

1. Use the Right Advertising Tools and Services

Successful tourism advertising requires utilizing the appropriate tools and services to reach the right audience effectively. While traditional methods, such as print ads and billboards, still have value, digital channels like social media, search engine marketing, and programmatic advertising provide invaluable targeting capabilities and performance metrics to ensure you’re reaching precise audiences and getting the most out of every spend.

For example,  Google Ads allows businesses to target specific keywords and demographics, enabling them to reach an audience that is already actively interested in relevant destinations or services. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer advertising options that allow businesses to reach a wide range of users, including those who have shown interest in travel and tourism, by basing targeting on extensive demographic and interest-based behavioral data. Additionally, programmatic advertising enables placement on numerous relevant channels and outlets such as tourism-focused websites, blogs, apps, and even streaming video content and audio. On social media, working with travel influencers can also help you gain exposure to a highly engaged and relevant audience. 

Take, for instance, a hotel targeting young travelers. Partnering with a popular travel blog or influencer can help the hotel gain exposure to an audience of young, adventurous travelers who are likely to be interested. The hotel may also prioritize social media advertising on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where their target audience is most active. They could use visually appealing images or video ads showcasing unique experiences they offer and collaborate with influencers to increase reach and engagement. 

On the other hand, a luxury resort catering to an older demographic may prefer to focus on display ads on high-end travel publication websites, complementing their print ads in related magazines, or launching targeted email marketing campaigns.

2. Have a Solid Marketing Strategy in Place

A well-defined marketing strategy is essential for successful tourism advertising. This involves setting clear objectives, identifying your target audience – ideally using data science methodology to ensure accurate, objective analysis – determining your USP, and choosing the most effective channels for reaching your audience. Adtech tools like the machine learning technology leveraged by AUDIENCEX strategists can simplify this process, ensuring accurate and unbiased analysis and channel mix recommendations.

This process begins with outlining your goals and objectives, including increasing bookings, driving website traffic, or raising brand awareness. Next, define your target audience by considering age, income, interests, and travel preferences. This is where AI-driven data science tools can help ensure you’re working from objective fact rather than assumptions or unconscious biases. Finally, your USP should highlight what sets your offerings apart from those of competitors: a unique location, exceptional service, exclusive experiences, etc.

Once these elements are in place, you can select the most appropriate advertising channels based on your target audience’s preferences and habits. This is where unbiased media recommendations can help, ensuring that you’re operating from objective performance data based on extensive historical and real-time analysis.

For instance, a  destination marketing organization (DMO) aiming to attract more international visitors may set specific goals for increasing website traffic, social media engagement, and visitor numbers. It would then conduct research and employ data science analysis to understand the preferences and motivations of its target audience and develop a USP that sets its destination apart with a relevant point of interest, such as highlighting unique cultural experiences, stunning natural tourist attractions, or exceptional culinary offerings.

3. Build Tourism Campaigns That Resonate With Your Target Audience

Creating tourism campaigns that resonate with your target audience is key to successful advertising. This involves understanding their needs, desires, and motivations and crafting messages that speak directly to them.

Personalized Advertising: What It Is, How It Works, and How To Do It Right

One approach to achieving this is by developing buyer personas, which are fictional representations of your ideal customers. These personas can help you understand your audience’s travel preferences, pain points, and decision-making process, enabling you to create campaigns that address their needs and showcase your offerings in a compelling way. These can also be informed by data science to ensure they are accurate to your most valuable segments.

Using storytelling, personalization, immersion and interactivity in your campaigns can particularly help you connect with your audience on an emotional level. Share real-life experiences of previous guests, highlight the unique aspects of your destination, or showcase local culture and history to create memorable and engaging content that resonates with potential customers.

4. Stay on Top of Tourism and Travel Trends

Keeping up-to-date with the latest tourism and travel trends is essential for successful advertising. This helps you stay relevant in a rapidly changing industry and enables you to identify new opportunities and adapt your digital campaigns accordingly.

Some popular sources for staying informed about travel trends include industry reports, tourism conferences, tourism boards, travel-focused websites, blogs, and social media. Additionally, monitoring your competitors’ activities and analyzing their marketing strategies can provide valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t in your particular niche. 

5. Enhance the Customer Experience

A positive customer experience is paramount to the success of your tourism marketing efforts. This includes providing exceptional service from the moment potential customers encounter your ads to the point when they complete their trip.

To enhance the customer experience, ensure your website is user-friendly, visually appealing, and easy to navigate. Provide detailed information about your offerings, including high-quality images, video ads, and testimonials from satisfied customers. Offer multiple booking options and payment methods to cater to different preferences and make the process seamless.

Additionally, consider implementing customer relationship management (CRM) tools to track and analyze customer interactions and preferences. This data can help you personalize your marketing efforts, improve customer service, and anticipate the needs of your guests, and can be helpful to build your first-party data and inform future analysis, audience modeling, and optimization.

6. Highlight the Value of Your Offerings

Lastly, successful tourism advertising involves demonstrating the value of your offerings to potential customers. This means showcasing the features of your destination or services and the benefits and unique experiences they provide.

Communicate how your offerings can meet the needs and desires of your target audience, whether they seek relaxation, adventure, cultural immersion, or something else entirely. Ensure that the message is tailored to the audience you are speaking to, as different travelers have different reasons to employ your services or visit a particular destination. Use compelling visuals and descriptions, as well as engaging interactivity where possible, to paint a vivid picture of what customers can expect when they choose your destination or services. And, of course, consider offering special promotions, discounts, or added-value packages to entice potential customers and demonstrate the value of your offerings.

Grow Your Business With HolisticTourism Advertising Campaigns

The importance of tourism advertising cannot be overstated in today’s highly competitive market. Businesses must partner with proficient advertising partners to stand out in a crowded landscape, promote unique offerings and experiences, attract potential travelers, and drive revenue.

AUDIENCEX is built to be an adaptable partner to help marketers navigate the digital landscape, access emergent technology, and achieve meaningful, measurable performance throughout the digital landscape. Our team has extensive experience with numerous travel, tourism, and hospitality brands, and we pair that expertise with seamless media access, AI-powered data science, holistic strategy and award-winning, tech-enabled creative services. With an in-depth understanding of the full-funnel marketing and data-enabled insight into each unique customer journey, we can deploy impactful, engaging campaigns to reach your ideal audience across channels, screens, and devices.

Contact us today to talk to a member of our team about your needs and goals. We’d love to explore how we can help you find the right audience, engage them effectively, and drive real results today.

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• Tourism Promotion Operations

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Tourism Marketing and Promotion

Posted in Tourism & Wildlife Management

The EAC partner States undertake to develop a collective and co-ordinated approach to the promotion and marketing of quality tourism into and within the Community. To this end, the Partner States co-ordinate their policies in the tourism industry and establish a framework of cooperation in the sector that will ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy (2021-2025)

A Regional Tourism Marketing Strategy has been developed through a consultative process. The Strategy is aimed at reinforcing the individual efforts of Partner States and providing a framework for cooperation in the promotion and marketing of tourism within the region and internationally.

The EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy (2021-2025) is pegged on the vision: 'EAC to be the leading sustainable regional tourism destination in Afric a’ while its mission is to ‘ develop and promote inclusive and sustainable intra-regional and international tourism across the EAC region ’.

The Strategy is underpinned by various Strategic Objectives, that is,

• Develop regionally and internationally competitive multi-destination tourism products offering high-quality travel experience;
• Position and market EAC as a leading regional tourism destination in Africa;
• Branding East Africa as a single tourism destination;
• Build institutional capacity of EAC Secretariat and Partner States to effectively develop and market the region as a tourism destination of choice; and
• Enhance financing for tourism marketing and promotion.

Joint Tourism Promotion at International and Regional Trade Fairs

EAC Partner States have been undertaking joint tourism promotion at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, United Kingdom and International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany since 2007/2008. However, this was put on hold in 2019 pending a Return to Investment study.

In addition, the EAC Secretariat participates at tourism expos taking place in the region. This is aimed at projecting and creating visibility of EAC as a single tourism destination.

Regional Tourism Campaign

A one-month Regional Tourism Media Campaign was undertaken in November/December 2021. The main objective of the campaign was to support the recovery of the EAC tourism sector following the unprecedented decline in international tourism occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ultimate goal was to increase visitations to key tourist sites and consumption of tourism services by domestic and regional markets. This way, a dedicated media campaign would help sustain tourism businesses within the region and restore confidence in the destination.

The campaign took into account an existing initiative by the East African Tourism Platform dubbed “Tembea Nyumbani” and it was therefore agreed that the EAC campaign be aimed at identifying areas of synergy and address the possible gaps in order to sustain the rallying call for the EAC citizens to travel within the region.

The campaign was launched on 24 th November 2021 by the EAC Secretary General who urged tourism private sector players to extend affordable packages to East Africans so as to entice them into taking advantage of the holiday offers. The campaign took a two-pronged approach, that is, use of mainstream media (radio, TV and newspapers) and use of social media platforms (facebook, twitter and Instagram) through selected influencers.

More information: Tembea Nyumbani special packages

Tourism e-Catalogue

The EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the East African Tourism Platform and with support from GIZ is in the process of finalizing an EAC Tourism e-Catalogue that highlights the key tourism offerings in the region including the tourism attractions sites, accommodation establishments, tour operators and travel agent services among others.

The catalogue will be shared through the EAC and EATP websites as well as through National Tourism Boards’ websites.

EAC Tourism Barometer

The EAC Secretariat is in the process of developing an easy-to-use online tool to monitor tourism trends in the region. The tool will guide the Secretariat, national governments and tourism stakeholders in making policy and strategy decisions related to the promotion of tourism into and within the Community. A regional consultative meeting in this connection was held in July 2022 and national stakeholders’ meetings as well as a Regional Validation meeting are planned to take place by December 2022.

Regional Tourism Capacity Building

As part of the tourism recovery efforts in the region in line with the EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy and the EAC Tourism Recovery Plan, a capacity building programme was initiated and undertaken from December 2021 to February 2022. The exercise was undertaken in close collaboration with the East African Tourism Platform as a measure to ensure sustainability. It targeted different stakeholders across the tourism value chain in the region including MSMEs, youth, women and local communities.

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• Can Sri Lanka's Local Cuisine Take Food Tourism To New Heights?

Can Sri Lanka's Local Cuisine Take The Food Tourism Industry To New Heights?

Sri Lankan cuisine might not only be known for traditional rice and curries or hoppers; there is so much more to the traditional cuisine that might not have received the much-deserved recognition. With the country reviving its economy, Sri Lanka might be rethinking not only the promotion of tourism with a sustainable approach but also slowly focusing on the culinary tourism aspect. 

Sri Lanka is an island nation that has pristine beaches, lush green landscapes across the mountains, ancient temples, and rich history, culture, and food experiences to offer every traveller. In 2019, the country received 2.3 million tourists, which generated a revenue of over $4 billion and contributed 4.4% to Sri Lanka’s GDP, as stated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. With the country's economic crisis and struggles, civil unrest and COVID outbreak in 2019, tourism has taken a hard hit in the past five years. While they are on their way to recovery now, the food experiences and the culinary tourism aspect of Sri Lankan tourism might be changing overall.

While rice is a staple of this nation, fish and seafood feature heavily in the daily diet of this island nation, along with the tropical vegetables and fruits cultivated locally in the country. Coconut and coconut milk, chillies, spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, etc., and onions are widely used ingredients in Lankan cuisine. While seafood is prominent on the southern coast of Lanka, chicken, mutton, and red meat are prominent as you travel to the northern regions.

Sri Lankan cuisine is influenced by the multi-ethnic mix of people living on the island, which comprises Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors (Muslims), Burghers and Eurasians, Malays and Veddhas. Thus, the culinary influences of the Indian, Arab, Malay, Portuguese, Dutch, and British culinary traditions are prominent in the array of delicacies.

From cooking with jungle farmers on a wild food tour to street foods, homely meals in bed and breakfast inns, fried snacks on-the-go, and savouring Ceylon tea, Sri Lankan cuisine has so much to offer. When you travel across the island country, you will see how the Sri Lankan cuisine varies from one region to another.

Local Food Scene In Tourist-Heavy Regions Of Sri Lanka

With tourism being heavy in the southern coastal areas, central regions like Ella, Nuwara Eliya, etc. of the island nation, it can be seen that there are fewer restaurants and eateries offering the local delicacies for travellers to try. Some street food snacks like the fish bun, orange juice with sabja seeds, etc. may be available on the street, but the restaurants mostly offer global cuisine that is devoid of the fiery spice or the ingredients that Lankan cuisine is famous for.

This may be happening because of cultural erosion, where the local communities are being displaced or might have adapted to meet the expectations of the tourists. In a country that is reviving its economy, it may be easy to find a sandwich, pasta or batter-fried fish and chips on the menu of mainstream restaurants, as opposed to a sappadu, lamprais or buriyani plated with the local spicy flavours.

Tourism-infested places like Galle Fort area, Mirissa, or Unawatuna, which has some upmarket restaurants that once upon a time required reservations and implied a dress code, now allow walk-in guests irrespective of the dress they are wearing only to offer batter-fried calamari and steaks on their menu. Even if there are some local delights in the offerings, there are too few, or they are mostly catering to palates that cannot tolerate spice or people with many restrictions on food, making these offerings a bland choice for a local dining experience.

Pineapple fritters or mango cheese cakes can be eaten for dessert anywhere in the world, but when you are in Sri Lanka, it might be different and appropriate to try the local wattalappan (cardamom-spiced coconut custard), aluwa (Sri Lankan pudding) or simple curd and treacle instead to elevate your dining experience and culinary knowledge of the land.

It can be seen in the news that Sri Lanka is considering promoting sustainable tourism but they might have a long way to go. For instance, if you are travelling in Lanka, it is a known fact that you must sip on water every 20 minutes to stay hydrated or the heatwave could get the better of you. But most places, be it your hotel, restaurants, or eateries, do not let you refill your water bottle, and you will end up buying many plastic water bottles in a day, generating more waste and contributing to pollution. However, if you are a sustainable traveller who is mindful of these inconveniences, you can buy a 5-litre water can from a local shop and refill your bottle on-the-go as you lug on extra baggage.

The Local Food Scene In The Sri Lankan Cities

Having said that, in cities like Colombo, Galle, and Kandy, where the local inhabitation might be higher and the tourist footfall manageable, there are many restaurants and small eateries offering authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, like the elaborate sappadu or buffet in restaurants like Coconut Sambol at Galle, the Ministry of Crab, or the lamprais at Fort Colombo restaurant in the Dutch Hospital area of Colombo.

With the country reviving its economy, Sri Lanka might be rethinking not only the promotion of tourism with a sustainable approach but also slowly focusing on the culinary tourism aspect. It has been in the news that this island nation intends to focus on tapping into culinary tourism to generate revenue in the coming years. While efforts towards that can be seen in the cities that have teams hosting street food walks or tours and exclusive cooking classes, there may not be many along the tourist-heavy regions yet. Also, these experiences do not come cheap. They may cost you LKR 6500–7000 or INR 2000 or more for one cooking class or a street food walk. Moreover, these experiences are mostly available in cities like Colombo or Galle, apart from the 'cooking in the wild' experiences that are offered in jungle stays, etc.

Sri Lankan cuisine might not only be known for traditional rice and curries or hoppers; there is so much more to the traditional cuisine that might not have received the much-deserved recognition for many reasons like lack of promotion, social issues, tourism exploitation and cultural erosion. However, with some considerations and a few changes, Lankan cuisine can take the culinary tourism of this country to new heights in the years to come. 

Related Articles

• International

April 14, 2024 - Iran's attack on Israel

By Jerome Taylor, Heather Chen , James Legge, Sophie Tanno, Emma Tucker , Kaanita Iyer , Paul LeBlanc , Catherine Nicholls, Maureen Chowdhury , Antoinette Radford and Eve Rothenberg, CNN

Our live coverage of Iran's attack on Israel has moved  here .

India calls on Iran to release 17 Indian crew members on board seized container ship 

From CNN's Sandi Sidhu in Hong Kong 

India has called on Iran to release 17 Indian crew members on board a container ship seized by Iran on Saturday. 

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that he spoke to his Iranian counterpart Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and "took up the release of 17 Indian crew members of MSC Aries."

Four Filipino seamen were also on board the ship, according to the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers.

The department said it was working with its government, the ship owner, and the operator to release the captured seafarers.

On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized an Israeli-linked container ship in a helicopter operation near the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported. 

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said there were 25 crew members on board.

Japanese prime minister condemns Iran's attack on Israel

From CNN's Junko Ogura in Tokyo 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday said he "strongly condemns" Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel.

"(The attack) further aggravates the current situation in the Middle East. We are deeply concerned and strongly condemn such an escalation," Kishida told reporters.

Kishida said Japan would continue diplomatic efforts to "prevent the situation from worsening and to calm the situation down," and "respond in cooperation with other countries."

Blinken calls British and German counterparts following Iran's attack on Israel

From CNN's Philip Wang 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his counterparts from the United Kingdom and Germany on Sunday following Iran's attack on Israel, according to readouts from the State Department. 

All parties agreed "the importance of condemning Iran's attack in the strongest possible terms and preventing further escalation," the readout said. 

Blinken earlier held phone calls with his counterparts from Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia , in which he emphasized the importance of avoiding escalation in the Middle East and of "a coordinated diplomatic response."

US forces destroyed more than 80 attack drones from Iran and Yemen, Central Command says

From CNN's Philip Wang

US forces intercepted more than 80 one-way attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles from Iran and Yemen during its attack on Israel, according to a statement from the Central Command.

The operation included destroying a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle and seven drones on the ground in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, CENTCOM said. 

"Iran's continued unprecedented, malign, and reckless behavior endangers regional stability and the safety of U.S. and coalition forces," the statement added. 

Israeli and Iranian ambassadors trade accusations during UN Security Council session

From Abel Alvarado in Atlanta

Israel and Iran’s United Nations ambassadors condemned each other’s actions during Sunday’s UN Security Council emergency session called to address Iran’s attack on Israel.

Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said Iran "must be stopped before it drives the world to a point of no return, to a regional war that can escalate to a world war." Erdan accused Iran of seeking world domination and that its attack proved that Tehran "cares nothing, nothing for Islam or Muslims" before pulling out a tablet to show a video of Israel intercepting Iranian drones above Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Erdan called on the UN Security Council to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror organization.

“Action must be taken now, not for Israel's sake, not for the region's sake, but for the world's sake. Stop Iran today."

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said his country’s operation was "entirely in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense, as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and recognized by international law."

Iravani said:

"This concluded action was necessary and proportionate," adding that the operation was “precise and only targeted military objectives” to reduce the potential of escalation and to prevent civilian harm. “Iran is never seeking to contribute to the spillover of the conflict in the region, nor does it to escalate or spread the tension to the entire region," he said.

Tehran’s attack had been anticipated since  a suspected Israeli strike  on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria earlier this month.

Iravani added Iran has “no intention of engaging in conflict with the US in the region” but warned Iran will use its “inherent right to respond proportionately” should the US initiate a military operation against “Iran, its citizens or its security.”

Israeli war cabinet says it's ready to respond to Iran's attack but delays immediate action. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

The hours-long Israeli war cabinet meeting ended Sunday night without a decision on how Israel will respond to Iran’s missile and drone attack , an Israeli official said.

The cabinet is determined to respond — but has yet to decide on the timing and scope and the official said the military has been tasked with coming up with additional options for a response.

Separately, a senior Biden administration official told reporters that an Israeli official told the United States that it's not looking to significantly escalate the showdown with Iran.

CNN analyst Barak Ravid said Israeli ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot advocated for swift action, but US President Joe Biden's phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led to a decision to delay the response until the next day. 

Here are the latest headlines:

• Retaliation is over, Iran told US: Iran privately messaged the United States that its retaliation against Israel had concluded, echoing what Tehran said publicly, according to a senior administration official. Late Saturday, Iran said its attack on Israel is a response to Israel's strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, and "the matter can be deemed concluded." However, President Ebrahim Raisi said any “new aggression against the interests of the Iranian nation will be met with a heavier and regrettable response,” according to Iran’s state news channel IRIB. 
• United Nations response: UN Secretary-General António Guterres  called for a de-escalation of violence after Iran’s attack. Guterres said the United Nations and member countries have a “shared responsibility” to engage “all parties concerned to prevent further escalation.” He also called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict. “Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” he said.
• G7 and others: Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in response to Iran's attack, the G7 nations said they would work together to "stabilize the situation" in the Middle East, according to a statement from Biden. Also, Jordan summoned Iran's ambassador in Amman on Sunday after it intercepted Iranian drones over the country.
• Meanwhile in Gaza: As thousands of Palestinians were turned away from returning to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday, a 5-year-old girl was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers, her mother said. Video showed a man carrying a 5-year-old girl named Sally Abu Laila, who was bleeding from her head, with people crowding around her in panic trying to cover her wound.

Also on Sunday:

• Israel decided to lift its restrictions on large gatherings and to reopen schools on Monday.
• The US Department of Homeland Security has not identified any “specific or credible threats” to the US since Iran attacked Israel.

Blinken calls Turkish, Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi counterparts following Iran's attack 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke with his counterparts in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia following Iran's attacks in Israel, according to readouts from the State Department. 

During his phone calls, Blinken emphasized the importance of avoiding escalation in the region and the importance of "a coordinated diplomatic response."

In his conversation with Jordan and Egypt, Blinken also underlined the significance of achieving an "enduring end to the crisis in Gaza."

Iran will be held responsible if any action is taken against the US or Israel, deputy ambassador warns

From CNN’s Abel Alvarado

The United States warned Iran against taking any action against the US or Israel during the UN Security Council emergency session over Iran’s attack on Israel.

“Let me be clear, if Iran or its proxies take actions against the US or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible,” US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said Sunday.

The United States is “not seeking escalation, our actions have been purely defensive in nature,” adding that the “best way to prevent such escalation is an unambiguous condemnation of the council of Iran’s unprecedented large-scale attack,” he said.

The envoy reiterated US support for Israel and condemned Iran’s attack. “Iran’s intent was to cause significant damage and death in Israel,” Wood said.

Wood also said the UN Security Council had an “obligation to not let Iran’s actions go unanswered.”

“For far too long, Iran has flagrantly violated its international legal obligations,” he said before listing occasions Iran has violated UN Security Council resolutions and international law.

Wood accused Iran of being in a “broad sense complicit” of the October 7 attack on Israel by providing “significant funding and training for the military wing of Hamas.”

He added the US will explore "additional measures to hold Iran accountable here in the UN.”

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