Everyone wants to boast a mark of distinction

Among the most prestigious international distinctions is “UNESCO World Heritage Site.” The European Union recently announced plans to develop a similar quality label as a way of developing culture and heritage tourism and enhancing its prestige and educational value.

Europe abounds with a variety of eco-labels, Tourism Australia has launched an ecotourism certification program, and the Quebec adventure and ecotourism sector boasts a quality program managed by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec. The Ministère du Tourisme du Québec is restarting its Démarche Qualité Tourisme total quality program. Under the aegis of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and with funding from both the Quebec and Canadian governments, the World Center of Excellence on Tourist Destinations (CED) recently opened in Montreal. It is currently developing criteria to measure the excellence of destinations.

In the US, five hotels are proudly displaying their certifications from the US Green Building Council. Every year, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) hands out its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards and is currently studying the possibility of establishing an accreditation for organizations which meet sustainable development standards. In Quebec, Grands prix du tourisme recipients proudly feature their awards in their advertising campaigns. And, although primarily a marketing association, the prestigious Relais & Châteaux hotel chain, synonymous with luxury, is not open to just anyone.

And the list goes on. Classifications, certifications, social labels, quality labels, labels of origin, eco-labels, major awards, luxury banners… if recognition is what you seek, there is certainly a lot to choose from!

It goes without saying that growing consumer awareness of the environment and the negative impacts of tourism has led to an inevitable reassessment of tourism practices. Certification is one way to prove one’s commitment and provide a guarantee of good practice. More and more, the principles of sustainable development are key to establishing criteria and creating new labels.

Advantages for businesses

Committing to a certification program or total quality approach is not easy. It is very time-consuming and can even lead to a complete overhaul of work processes. In a business climate where customers are demanding and often enjoy a wealth of options, more and more companies are looking for a seal of quality, recognition or distinction to:

• improve their services and product quality
• reassure consumers and provide a guarantee
• distinguish themselves from the competition
• enhance their visibility and reputation
• access new markets
• improve business practices and increase productivity
• and, to some extent, reduce the negative impacts of tourism

Even certification has its failings

The stars used to rank hotels are undoubtedly the most recognized travel rating system in the world. But who awards these stars? They can come from tour operators, the hotel itself, recognized organizations with very different criteria from one region to the next, or even – with the advent of Web 2.0 – internet users (also read:
You haven’t heard the last of Web 2.0!).

As a traveller, how often have you lamented the disparities in evaluations from different regions and the lack of uniformity among the various programs? In fact, many organizations would like to establish an international certification system, but this may only be a pipe dream.

The challenges? How can international standards take into account the realities of different regions, and how can mass tourism products and niche tourism products meet the same standards? How can a community have a say in the decision-making process, and how can small businesses rally the technical, financial and human resources to take on heavy, costly procedures?

These same questions apply domestically as well. To be “certified” means to ensure that something is true, to provide a guarantee of… what, exactly? Many companies, having understood the promotional benefits of certification, will go so far as to declare themselves certified, even if they are not. This is not uncommon in the case of various “eco” products.

Ambiguous surveys and an ideological debate

Can a “seal” truly influence consumer choices, and do travellers care about evaluation criteria when selecting a certified business or do they simply have faith in the “seal”? Do travellers know which criteria distinguish a 4-star hotel from a 2-star hotel? And do they know that rating systems differ from one country to the next?

In response to these questions, here are some survey results to answer these questions and point out some contradictions:

“Green” programs are definitely very popular! A survey by the Hotel Association of Canada shows that 60% of Canadians feel that membership in an environmental program is a major factor in their choice of hotel. In Quebec, this percentage is 72%, the highest of any Canadian province. Many other surveys illustrate the popularity of environmental programs, both in Canada and around the world.

If something has a “green” label, then it must be good! Various surveys indicate there is still a high level of confusion and lack of understanding when it comes to eco-labels. Consumers support certifications and quality labels, but they are rarely able to distinguish among them or understand their true meaning.

When travellers are on vacation, their principles take a break as well! On one hand, an Orbitz survey reports that 63% of people would pay more to stay in a “green” hotel and 67% attach importance to the “eco-friendliness” of a destination. On the other hand, according to a Starwood survey, most Americans leave their environmental conscience at home because 70% of frequent travellers state they do not waste water at home, while this percentage drops to 18% when they are in a hotel.

Although respect for the environment is now an integral part of contemporary mores, vacations are associated with freedom and a lack of restrictions. Consequently, high principles and good habits also go on holiday. Consumers are exhibiting an openness and commitment to the state of the environment, but tourists’ positive attitude towards eco-labels is not a guarantee of environmentally responsible behaviour.

Says Marie-France Turcotte, “Certifications have the potential to make a modest contribution to meeting a major challenge, that of changing business practices and tourist consumer habits.” So, the question is, should travellers purchase a product on the pretext that it is certified, or do we need to become accountable as travellers, companies and social actors? The answer is, no doubt, both.

With the growth of certifications, businesses will probably face the same dilemma they do vis-à-vis distribution channels: which one will improve their position in the wonderful world of competition, increase their visibility and make them the chosen one of consumers? Start strategizing!

Sources:
- Boyd, Christopher. “Green Hotels Are Cleaning Up – Embracing an Eco-friendly Philosophy Resonates with Tourists,” The Orlando Sentinel, July 9, 2007.
- Breaking Travel News. “Survey: US Travelers Stress Eco-friendly Travel,” April 12, 2007.
- Delisle, Marie-Andrée and Louis Jolin. Un autre tourisme est-il possible? Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2007, 144 pages.
- ehotelier.com. “Survey: Most Americans Drop their Green Habits when They Check-in to Hotels,” July 10, 2007.
- Le Figaro.fr. “Vers une liste du ‘Patrimoine de l’Europe’,” May 22, 2006.
- Hotel News Resource. “As Hotels Focus on Environmentally Friendly Programs, Awareness among Hotel Guests Lags,” July 24, 2007.
- Hotel News Resource. “Leaving Home often Means Leaving Green Routines behind according to New Survey from Element Hotels,” July 10, 2007.
- HSMAI. “Asian Hospitality Leaders at HSMAI Roundtable Call for Standardization of Ratings System for Asian Hotels,” July 17, 2007.
- Karantzavelou, Vicky. “Six out of 10 Canadians Want To Stay at Green Hotels,” [www.traveldailynew.com], June 10, 2005.
- Parnières, Émilie. “Le tourisme responsable: Convergence de deux démarches de labellisation,” Veille info tourisme, May 2005.
- Salerno, Neil. “Stars & Diamonds – Do They really Matter any more?” Hotel News Resource, January 31, 2007.
- Turcotte, Marie-France. L’écotourisme entre l’arbre et l’écorce – Labels et certifications d’écotourisme et de tourisme. Le contexte et la portée, Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2006, p. 348-369.
- World Travel & Tourism Council. “Big Companies Must Show how Green They Are,” November 24, 2006.

What is a tween?

“Tween” is a marketing term used to describe preteens ages 9 to 14. Straddling childhood and adolescence, they have a foot in both worlds. When it comes to technology, they rule: they are online longer, adopt and master new technologies faster than adults and participate in a wider variety of online activities. In Canada, 85% of tweens have access to a computer, 82% to a video game system, 25% to an iPod or MP3 player and 16% have a cell phone (this number rises to 26% among 12 to 14 year-olds).

While their favourite medium is still television (50%), 27% of American 9 to 14 year-olds watch it on the internet. Figure 1 lists their favourite online activities.

Purchasing power and influence on family decisions

Spending by tweens has doubled every decade for the past 30 years. In the US today, between spending their own money and influencing their parents’ purchasing decisions, this segment controls or influences approximately US$260 billion in spending. According to the BRANDchild study (conducted by Millward Brown among 2,000 young people ages 9 to 14 years in several countries), tweens influence 80% of their parents’ brand purchases.

In 2005, there were approximately 2.5 million tweens in Canada and their average annual income was CAN$1,155. This means they controlled CAN$2.9 billion of their own money in addition to influencing another CAN$20 billion in family purchases.

It is this financial power that differentiates tweens from earlier generations; never has this age group exercised such influence. The generation is populous enough to ruin a brand it does not like or catapult another to success by adopting it. The influence of tweens is particularly noticeable when it comes to choosing a restaurant, groceries and even cars, but they can also affect travel-related decisions:

• Over 40% of young people believe they have some or a lot of influence when it comes to choosing a vacation destination.
• Although only a small percentage of tweens feel they have a strong influence on hotel choices, 59% believe they have some influence. Also, 20% of parents say they “always or sometimes” ask for their tween’s opinion when selecting a hotel.
• Tweens believe they influence the planning of vacation activities 55% of the time.

They may be plugged in, but do they shop online?

Surprisingly, tweens and teens are shopping online in increasing numbers, thanks to prepaid gift cards. Major companies now offer prepaid credit cards designed especially for young people. The Visa Buxx card is just one example and can be used everywhere Visa is accepted, particularly online!

Receptiveness to advertising

Young people in the United States, Australia and Great Britain see an average of 20,000 to 40,000 commercials per year and spend 60% more time in front of the television than at school. Two surveys conducted by The Harris Interactive Youth and Education Research Group in May 2006 offer more insight into young people’s attitudes towards advertising:

• Tweens attach a great deal of importance to objects and brands “cool.”
• Friends have a tremendous influence on their preferences and they want what their friends have. Their consumer choices are also influenced by advertising.
• More than earlier generations, tweens are very receptive to celebrity-driven advertising.
• Young people say they are most influenced by television commercials (54%), magazine ads (23%) and movie-theatre commercials (19%).
• Advertisements for food seem to attract the most attention from tweens.

Generally speaking, marketing specialists use the strategy of treating tweens like teens. The marketing industry has forced children to grow up faster and studies show that those aged 11 and older no longer consider themselves children.

Ethical debate

There is a major debate concerning the ethics of tween-oriented marketing. By treating these young people like mature, independent consumers, advertisers are taking parents out of the decision-making process and thereby making children more susceptible to unhealthy messages about body image, sexuality, relationships and violence. This is an emotional issue that creates sharp divides. Although the tourism industry is less involved in such marketing, it is important to be aware of the issues.

Some tourism examples

In terms of the tourist experience, tweens are often too old for activities aimed at children and too young for teen and adult activities. Very few tourism-based businesses offer products specifically for tweens. However, some businesses have adapted their products for this segment.

Club Med offers two programs designed for 11 to 17 year olds: Junior Club Med, which supervises young people and organizes group activities (beach volleyball, trapeze, trampoline, sailing, inline skating, tennis, etc.), and Club Med Passworld, an exclusive new zone with special high-tech equipment. Specially-trained counsellors facilitate the discovery of new activities designed specifically for them and encourage their development and socialization.

Some Four Seasons hotels (Atlanta, New York, London, Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto) have added a youth concierge to their service teams to deal specifically with tweens and teens. These hotels have also conducted focus groups with tweens in the aforementioned cities to identify cool things to do locally. They now have an updated idea of this clientele’s preferences and interests. These hotels also provide special amenities to this customer category, offering things like popcorn, recent magazines and films, an indoor pool, and balanced meals designed especially for them. For its part, the Ritz Carlton in South Beach, Miami, provides a tech centre for tweens and teens.

Finally, the Florida tourism portal lists activities aimed at tweens, like scuba diving, an indoor rink for roller-skating and skateboarding and water skiing.

Be among the first!

Given their economic muscle, tweens will no doubt continue to be targeted by businesses. In addition, since relatively few tourism businesses target this clientele in particular, doing so would probably provide a competitive edge. A few suggestions for reaching this market segment:

• Carefully analyze their likes, dislikes and influences, to offer products and services tailor-made for them.
• Speak their language: tweenspeak is the system of abbreviations, symbols, icons and numerals used for text messaging and in chat rooms. This new language enables them to communicate with each other around the world without even speaking the same language!
• Keep wait times to a minimum. Although no longer interested in colouring, tweens still don’t have much patience.
• Offer cool products traditionally aimed at older customers, but ensure they are closely supervised to reassure parents.

Sources:
- Business Wire. “iGillottResearch Finds Significant Opportunities for Wireless Devices in the Tween Segment,” July 22, 2005.
- De Mesa, Alycia. “Marketing and Tweens,” Business Week Online, October 12, 2005.
- eMarketer. “What Do Kids, Tweens and Teens Do Online?” www.emarketer.com, October 10, 2006.
- Lindstrom, Martin. “Branding Is No Longer Child’s Play!” Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 21, No. 3, 2004.
- Martin, Suzanne. “Advertising to Youth: What Youth Want And What Advertisers Need to Know,” Trends & – Tudes, Harris Interactive, Vol. 5, No. 7, August 2006.
- Media Awareness Network. “Special Issues for Tweens and Teens,” www.media-awareness.ca.
- Shohan, Aviv and Vassilis Dalakas. “He Said, She Said, They Said: Parent’s and Children’s Assessment of Children’s Influence on Family Consumption Decisions,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2005.
- YTV, Corus Media. “2002 YTV Tween Report: Special Kidfluence Edition” and “Winter 2006–YTV Kids Trend Report.”

The format of the article is structured in a way that considers each of the four elements of the product marketing mix; the 4P’s (product, promotion, price and place). Airports obviously offer a service (as opposed to a product) and so the three elements of the services marketing mix (processes, physical evidence and people) will also be considered but this will be done within the context of the 4P’s as quite often, elements such as processes and people can be discussed within the context of the product. The main points of the article and areas for future research will be summarised in the conclusion.

The airport product

Airports wishing to compete in leisure markets need to be aware of the facilitation requirements of leisure carriers. Runway length, terminal capacity and landing systems will all contribute to the decision of whether or not to operate to a particular airport however; this applies to all types of carrier, not just those that offer opportunities for the development of tourism.

The level of infrastructure available at an airport will to a large extent determine the types of markets or carriers that can be targeted. For instance, only airports with a runway length of over 1600 meters can realistically target low-cost and charter carriers operating dense routes with a Boeing 737 or Airbus 319. Many of the airports in Europe’s northern periphery have fairly long runways that were built for military purposes and can therefore accommodate the typical range of aircraft used by low-cost and charter carriers. Airports with smaller runways will need to target niche regional carriers operating thin routes with smaller aircraft.

The harsh operating conditions that are typically associated with Europe’s northern periphery (e.g. frequent adverse weather and permanent obstacles such as mountains) may provide further constraints to some airports, especially those that are not equipped with modern landing systems and accurate real time weather monitoring, both of which have the capacity to improve airport safety and the reliability of flight operations.

Tangible infrastructure is a basic need of the airline and does not really provide much of a competitive advantage to airports, especially when competing airports offer a similar level of infrastructure. In such instances, airports should look to compete at the augmented level (where additional benefits can be offered).

Leisure carriers are especially focused on achieving low operating costs and an efficiency of operations. Therefore, they will want to see how airports can facilitate cost savings (e.g. by providing simple terminals and minimal services), speed (e.g. by providing fast aircraft turnarounds and an efficient positioning of aircraft), flexibility (e.g. by providing multi-functional and flexible staffing), and access (e.g. by providing longer opening hours and surface transport to the destination). Prestwick Airport in Scotland was able to adapt its augmented product in order to attract low-cost and charter carriers. The airport developed a multi-skilled workforce that is able to provide all airport services and a quick turnaround of aircraft. In addition, the airport made a conscious effort to reduce costs and to pass these savings onto their airlines and tour operators. In the first year of implementing such initiatives, Airtours (a leading tour operator) added seven new routes from the airport and the airports total number of annual passengers increased by over 30% (Lang, 1999).

For airports that target multiple carriers (e.g. traditional full-service or business charters in addition to leisure carriers), increasing consideration is given to whether or not to segment the product offering (e.g. by offering separate terminal facilities that offer different service levels to different types of carrier). Although not located in Europe’s northern periphery, Marseille Airport in southern France is one of the first airports in Europe to offer and actively promote separate facilities for different markets. At Marseille Airport, airlines can choose whether to use a full-service terminal that offers airbridge access to the aircraft or a low-cost terminal that offers remote stand access to the aircraft. The principle here is that the user pays for a superior product.

Associated with the airport product is the idea of the airport brand. Branding has been widely used by airports in Europe’s northern periphery and especially by those seeking to attract charter carriers. In this instance, the brand that is developed may be based upon natural or man-made attractions or aspects of historical importance. A few examples include Lakselv Banak Airport in Norway (now known as North Cape Airport), Kemi-Torino Airport in Finland (uses the logo ‘For Golf in the Midnight Sun’), and Keflavik International Airport Terminal in Iceland (inaugurated in 1987 under the name of Leifur Eiriksson Air Terminal after the Norwegian navigator who, according to Norse sagas, was the first to discover North America). Airports have also been branded in a way that demonstrates their size or scope of services. For example, Prestwick Airport in Scotland is now called Glasgow Prestwick International Airport in order to create awareness of the fact that the airport offers international services.

Branding creates distinctiveness and adds tangible cues to what is essentially an intangible service. In addition, branding can promote recognition, preference and loyalty amongst target markets. However, branding can have a potentially negative impact by being too distinctive and encouraging aspects such as seasonality. Rovaniemi Airport in Finland was branded as Santa Claus Airport in 1984 in order to contribute to the development of ‘Santa-based’ tourism in Finnish Lapland. The airport has become a major tourism gateway to the region and during Christmas 2003, the airport attracted over 200 foreign charter flights and nearly 80,000 international tourists (Rovaniemi Tourist Board, 2004). The problem is that traffic at the airport is concentrated in the winter months and at certain times of the day and week, leading to seasonal and inefficient airport operations. In addition, the dominance of charter traffic, which provided 92% of the airports international passengers in 2003 (Finnish Civil Aviation Authority, 2004) may be a deterrent to the attraction of scheduled low-cost carriers that offer higher frequencies and a year-round service.

Promoting the airport

Advertising is a basic form of marketing that airports do to create awareness and communicate certain messages to target markets. However, advertising tends to communicate general messages to a general audience and can be very costly. For example, it costs an airport ?10,000 to place a one page colour advertisement in the publication Airline Business.

Attending exhibitions is another basic form of marketing that airports do to create awareness amongst target groups. For example, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), operators of the 10 airports in the Scottish Highlands and Islands targeted tour operators at VisitScotland Expo 2004 to promote its airports to around 1,000 buyers from the international travel trade (HIAL, 2005). However, it should be noted that scheduled carriers, especially low-cost carriers increasingly reduce links with the travel trade in order to reduce costs so the effectiveness of attending exhibitions may only be restricted to airports competing in charter markets.

Increasingly, airports adopt a more direct and aggressive means of communicating with target markets. One recent development that has supported this type of direct selling is the World Route Development Forum called “Routes”. Routes is a type of speed dating for airports and airlines as it provides networking opportunities through one-to-one meetings (e.g. see www.routesonline.com). However, airlines increasingly expect to be presented with market research on new route potential and will be particularly interested to know about the tourist appeal of the catchment area for inbound passengers and the purchasing power of residents in the outbound market(s) (Favotto, 1998).

Many smaller airports may not have the financial or human resources to carry out detailed market research and therefore, may find it difficult to target carriers in this way. One way of overcoming this constraint is to develop strategic partnerships with local stakeholders such as tourism and regional development agencies. This enables airports and local stakeholders to pool resources, develop an integrated approach to regional tourism development, and provide airlines or tour operators with a wider overview of the area and its potential. Aberdeen Airport in Scotland has tried to achieve this through the creation of an Airport Business Development Forum; a group of airport stakeholders that meets every two months to discuss route development opportunities and provides potential airlines or tour operators with a one-stop shop for data on the airport, the local catchment area and on potential demand.

Pricing the airport product

Offering price incentives has become particularly important at airports wanting to attract scheduled low-cost carriers (Francis et al., 2004). Such incentives vary greatly between airports but have traditionally included the offer of reduced or discounted airport user charges and/or the provision of marketing support.

One of the constraints faced by airports that belong to national or regional airport systems is the inability to offer flexibility in airport user charges. Quite often at these airports, charges are levied in the same way throughout the entire airport system and may be set and controlled by the State. This relinquishes the opportunity for airports to compete on pricing and is one of the reasons why low-cost carrier concentration is higher at privately or locally owned airports where there is more opportunity for them to offer flexible and discounted airport user charges.

Another way in which airports are known to offer price incentives is through the provision of marketing support. This is in recognition of the fact that airports are a derived demand and that instead of conducting their own advertising and promotional campaigns, it may be more effective for them to support campaigns via intermediaries such as airlines or tour operators. These intermediaries have a much greater level of brand recognition amongst end users (i.e. passengers) and are able to penetrate markets more effectively than airports, through aggressive marketing campaigns.

Price incentives such as reduced or discounted airport user charges and/or marketing support have traditionally been offered by airports as one off payments or discounts, or on a scale that diminishes over time. The assumption here is that the start up risk is shared until the route becomes more established and commercially viable however, airlines have often argued that such discounts should always be available and this has been a source of friction between airports and their airlines in the past (Graham, 2003).

On 3rd February 2004, the European Commission ruled that the incentives granted to Ryanair by the Walloon government for the use of Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) breached EC State aid rules. The ruling means that state-owned airports in Europe can only offer incentives that meet strict criteria. For instance, they will only be accepted by the Commission if: they are necessary to the opening of new routes and granted in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner; their duration is limited (5 years for direct flights); they do not represent more than 50% of the costs incurred to start the new route; and, they are available to any airline established at the airport. he ruling will have profound implications on the ability for airports to offer incentives and the arrangements at a number of airports, especially those that are locally owned, will have to be reassessed.

The Commission ruling does not apply to privately owned airports and because of this; we may see an increasing level of private investment at state-owned airports, especially those seeking to attract low-cost carriers through incentives.

Placing the airport product

Airports sell direct to airlines or tour operators for rights to use the airport. They then rely on intermediaries such as airlines, tour operators, travel agents or travel planning portals to reach end-users. Despite this, airports are increasingly involved in providing online travel planning support to passengers and also to their airlines or tour operators. This is particularly important considering that online travel sales in Europe increased by as much as 41% between 2003 and 2004 (Marcussen, 2005).

The provision of online timetable services (as provided by companies such as OAG and Innovata) is a basic level of online support but surprisingly, less than 10% of world airports currently buy into online timetable services (Compton, 2005). In addition, whilst most airports have an online presence, their support for airlines or tour operators is fairly limited and especially at airports that belong to large national airport systems where websites tend to be fairly plain and simple. HIAL maintains a fairly good level of online presence and support. The company provides online timetable services and links to the tourism industry, airline websites, and Expedia (a travel planning portal) (e.g. see www.hial.co.uk).

Concluding remarks

This article has provided a preliminary discussion on the challenges and opportunities for airports in Europe’s northern periphery that aim to adopt a leisure-orientated marketing mix in order to facilitate the development of tourism. Greater debate on this subject is required before a more balanced and informative analysis can be conducted however, initial discussions have identified the following issues and considerations.

Firstly, airports need to understand the facilitation requirements of target markets and the ability for airports to compete at the augmented level is especially strong. Branding can also be used to gain a competitive advantage. The challenge is in deciding whether or not to specialise or to develop multiple product offerings that offer a range of service levels. This does not only apply to the infrastructure and services available but also to the airport brand.

Secondly, airports should adopt more direct and aggressive means of communication and events such as “Routes” offer tremendous opportunities however, this means of communication needs to be supported with detailed market research. For those airports that do not have the resources to conduct such research, strategic partnerships with local stakeholders are vital and enable the pooling of resources. Strategic partnerships also facilitate a more integrated approach to the development of tourism and are therefore of importance to all airports, not just those with resource constraints.

Thirdly, airports can offer incentives to encourage routes that may otherwise not have been considered however, the European Commission ruling has affected the way in which these may be applied. Airports may subsequently seek private investment in order to overcome the effects of the ruling.

Finally, airports should do more to support the distribution channels of their airlines or tour operators and the travel planning needs of end users. Airports that belong to large national airport systems tend to offer plain and simple support in this area and should consider developing a more advanced and personal approach.

Perhaps it is the nature of airport ownership or the style of airport management that facilitates the ability of airports to adopt such marketing principles. In addition, it is unclear as to whether or not such marketing principles affect the performance of airports. These are some of the issues that I hope to address in future studies?..

References:
-Compton, P. (2005). “Timetable for success,” Airport World, 10(2), April-May, 56-57.
- Favotto, I. (1998). “Not all airports are equal,” Airport World, December, 17-18.
- Finnish Civil Aviation Authority. (2004). “CAA’s Air Traffic Statistics, Ilmailulaitos A 5/03,” Vantaa.
-Francis, G., Humphreys, I. and Ison, S. (2004). “Airports’ perspectives on the growth of low-cost airlines and the remodelling of the airport – airline relationship,” Tourism Management, 25, 507-514.
-Graham, A. (2003). “Managing airports: an international perspective,” 2nd ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
- HIAL (Highland and Islands Airports Limited). (2005). “HIAL targets tour operators at VisitScotland Expo 2004,” HIAL Press, Inverness.
- Lang, H. (1999). “Attracting business to Prestwick airport. In: 1st Forum on Air Transport in Remoter Regions,” 2-4 April, Nairn.
- Marcussen, C.H. (2005). “Trends in European Internet distribution – of travel and tourism services.” [http://www.crt.dk/uk/staff/chm/trends.htm] (accessed 26th October 2005).
- Rovaniemi Tourist Board. (2004). “Rovaniemi Region Marketing Strategy 2005,” Rovaniemi Tourist Board, Rovaniemi.

Communicating the message is not enough

According to William Fitzgerald of Hotel and Motel Management magazine, a hotel’s performance – measured by revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate (ADR) – depends directly on its ability to make its front-line employees true brand ambassadors. However, few tourism-based businesses know how to engage all their workers in this internal branding effort, which is the ideal opportunity to provide a concrete example of the values associated with the brand.

Today’s consumers are extremely sceptical when it comes advertising. In 1987, the Yankelovich Monitor estimated that approximately 13% of Americans had any confidence in the ads they see or hear; by 2002, this percentage had dropped to a mere 7%. Although many businesses emphasize their brand in their advertising, very few of them, unfortunately, make the necessary effort to ensure that all employees work together to deliver on the brand promises customers come to expect.

Happy employees mean satisfied customers

Front-line employees are not the only ones who are key to making a visitor’s stay unforgettable. It is a group effort, from the desk clerk to the housekeeper. Of course, it is difficult to wring stellar service out of employees who dislike their work.

In the US, the situation is worrisome. A survey conducted by HR Magazine showed over 75% of US workers are either “totally turned off by their jobs” or “do just enough to get by”. It goes without saying that such attitudes are unacceptable in a service industry.

Performance evaluation measures

Some businesses set up performance evaluation mechanisms to verify whether their goals are being reached. Before defining quality standards, it is a good idea to consider the types of customer demands one must deal with (in other words, concrete examples of what a company promises its customers). For example, festival organizers could decide that a quality standard would be to respond to any information requests within five working hours, either by phone, fax or email.

The variety of customer demands must reflect the clientele’s actual expectations. For this reason, visitor surveys can be an effective strategy for accurately determining what customers want.

Delivering on the promise

Even if we properly train our employees, deliver motivational speeches and hire the best talent available, we cannot be certain the employees in place are acting as true brand ambassadors if we do not assess whether service quality standards are being observed.

One way to do so is to hire “mystery customers” to evaluate service delivery. Corrective measures can then be adopted, according to the observations gathered. This approach also has the advantage of enabling employers to set up a reward system for star employees. By instituting quantifiable, measurable performance goals, the employer can occasionally offer performance bonuses to employees who attain service quality targets. Another, more traditional, tool is to conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys.

Sources:
- Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme. “Enquête sur les pratiques de formation,” La pause RH, January 2004.
- Huigens, Bill. “Customer Service: Will somebody please define this?”, HVS International, August 25, 2004.
- Fitzgerald, William. “Successful hotels teach employees to be brand ambassadors,” Hotel and Motel Management, No. 219, June 21, 2004.
- Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme and Emploi Québec. “Diagnostic des ressources humaines en tourisme – Horizon 2004-2009,” October 2004.
- Pan, Crystal. “Human Element of Customer Service – Personal touch is the golden key,” Hotel News Resource, November 9, 2004.