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Q&A About Tourism Marketing

• Developing a Marketing Plan
• Getting and Using Data
• Marketing Methods
  • Direct Mail Advertising
  • Brochures
  • Mass Media
  • Billboards
  • Word of Mouth
• Community Collaboration

Developing a Marketing Plan

Should our community consider the local, regional, and international markets all at once as we begin a serious tourism development effort? — Rochester, Minnesota

In general, it is best to start at the local and regional level. A community that is just starting to emphasize tourism is probably serving clientele who mostly live within a two- or three-hour's drive. At this level of development, the greatest opportunity for expansion will come from within this geographic area, or possibly from just beyond it.

Don't try to go from a rural or small community with limited current attractions to a major destination attraction all in one step.

It is important to begin with a tourism plan that identifies your current tourism resources and your current tourism market. You then need to develop a tourism plan for the next three to five years. It is important to gain as much community consensus as possible for tourism expansion plans so that the plan will have local support. In developing this plan, remember that tourism development occurs incrementally. Set realistic goals. Don't try to go from a rural or small community with limited current attractions to a major destination attraction all in one step. Based on your current resources, markets, and community goals, determine what the next logical development steps are so you can build on what you have now. Then try to accomplish that step.

Should you be located adjacent to a major national tourism attraction that brings in a large number of international visitors, you may want to determine the feasibility of attracting a portion of that market to your area. Otherwise, concentrate on regional markets at this stage of development.

Tommy Brown
Department of Natural Resources
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

How does a community develop a lake? — Forest Lake, Minnesota

Unless you find a way to completely thwart the free-market system, tourism on the lake will develop on its own. If, however, the community would influence the speed and direction of tourism development, there are some things that can be done.

The success of your marketing effort relies on your success in creating the perception of a unique destination area.

Determine where the major concentration of your principle markets are within the urban center. Depending on whether those markets are two hours, two to four hours, or four hours away by car will determine your opportunities for day or overnight visitors. Note the kinds of tourist activities in other lake communities of a similar nature and proximity to their markets. These activities will be similar to those you can provide without a lot of conscious effort. Beyond this you will need to make your market aware that you exist. The success of your marketing effort relies on your success in creating the perception of a unique destination area. Your lake community will need a distinguishing theme to create a niche in the existing market.

Jim Stribling
Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences
Texas A & M University, College Station

What can individual hotel and restaurant properties do to attract tourists?

The best answer is to put together and implement a good marketing plan. The individual hotel or restaurant operator should systematically develop and implement the market plan by answering the following five questions:

• Where are we now?
• Where would we like to be?
• How do we get there?
• How do we make sure we get there?
• How do we know if we got there?

Good marketing requires careful planning and some research.

Where Would We Like to Be?
The operator needs to select a marketing strategy and set marketing objectives. This means deciding which segments of the market to target and establishing measurable objectives for each of these target markets. Marketing objectives should identify the target market, a measurable result that the operator wants to achieve (for example, a 5% increase in occupancy), and a timetable for achieving the objective. In the lodging business, the two main segments are business (regular business travelers and convention delegates) and pleasure travelers. Most restaurant operators have a local and visitor market. It is often best for them to define target markets in terms of people living, either permanently or temporarily, within a 5- to 20-minute driving time from the restaurant.

How Do We Get There?
The operator needs to detail the actions that will be taken to achieve the set marketing objectives. Taking each target market separately, the operator should consider using a combination of eight factors to attract these customers. These are:

• Product
• Price
• Place (travel trade channels)
• Promotion
• Partnership (cooperative marketing with other local businesses and agencies)
• Packaging
• Programming (special activities for guests)
• People (training staff to provide quality service and improve their sales skills)

How Do We Know if We Got There?
It is critical that the operator monitor the success of marketing actions. The operator needs to check the progress made toward achieving each marketing objective at predetermined times, such as each quarter or at month-end. The operator should determine which marketing activities worked and which did not. Effective activities should be repeated or enhanced, while unsuccessful ones should be reevaluated and perhaps dropped.

Attracting more tourists to stop and stay comes as a result of good marketing. Good marketing requires careful planning and some research. Flashy advertising may not produce the best results.

How can a conference retreat center encourage guests to visit other attractions in the community? — Forest Lake, Minnesota

It is important to have an understanding of retreat center guests. Groups who go to retreat centers are there because they want to accomplish a specific goal without normal distractions. In order to market to them you will need to know something about them. Find out who they are, what kind of transportation they use, how long they stay, and how much free time they have. Once you have a better understanding of retreat center guests, you can determine if your attractions and services will appeal to them and when they have opportunities to visit them. You may want to work with the retreat center management and possibly with retreat group leaders.

Once you have an understanding of retreat center guests, you can determine if your attractions and services will appeal to them and when they have opportunities to visit them.

What should you offer? Try creating packages with the retreat center. Match attractions or services that complement and enhance the retreat center facilities. In some cases, retreat centers will provide their guests information about services, such as current menus from area restaurants, and provide you space for a brochure rack of attractions and monthly events calendars. You need to consider whether providing transportation would help retreat center guests visit attractions or use services. Some retreat centers provide such transportation.

If you have suitable attractions, you can consider paying commissions to the retreat center to send or take guests to the attractions. Determine whether or not some parts of a retreat center program could be held at your attractions and if you can provide instruction or other services to meet the needs of the retreat center.

Not all retreat centers will provide opportunities to cross-sell other attractions and services in your community. It depends on the needs of the retreat center's guests and cooperation from center staff. It will require a lot of creativity on your part to find what works.

Glenn Kreag
Tourism Center, Minnesota Extension Service
University of Minnesota, Duluth

Getting and Using Data

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How can the United States Travel Data Center help us in the area of marketing?

The United States Travel Data Center is a 20-year-old travel research organization specializing in market and economic impact data. It produces seasonal and yearly publications to inform the travel industry on current trends. The Data Center also publishes several books about state travel budgets, business travel, and the economic impact of travel on states and on the nation.

The Data Center can provide thorough and authoritative, customized research to individuals or organizations who need an information edge. It provides a range of data from specific traveler demographics and preferences to accommodations and expenditure trends.

Joe Horak
Public Relations Coordinator
U.S. Travel Data Center, Washington, DC

At minimum, what visitor-related data should a community tourism organization collect to track and fine-tune the market?

The kind of information you gather will depend on what you want to know. Different information may be needed about special event visitors than about continuous visitors. However, where your visitors are coming from is always the main question. Lodging establishments can give you the best answer. Spot checks at special events and at eating places are another way to get information on visitor sources. When there are distinct patterns of visitor sources, target those locations in advertising and promotion. Only a small portion of your advertising budget should be spent on new or unknown markets.

Travel expenditures in your community and surrounding area are important in determining the tourism impact.

How people heard about the community or special event is another important item. You can find out this information through different types of personal or mail surveys.

Travel expenditures in your community and surrounding area are important in determining the tourism impact. Surveys or other methods of analysis from secondary data sources can provide you at least with trend data and, if properly done, with more detailed economic data. Spending patterns related to origin or how tourists heard about your community will provide some interesting data.

What draws visitors to your community is an important question which should provide information on where to focus community action and attention. Determining what things people like and dislike about the community can be helpful in planning and over time is an indicator of your improvement.

It is important to continually obtain data and information, whether it is a formal survey or a more informal, anecdotal method, to help determine progress and where improvement is needed. Good data is paramount to good planning and improved results in the future.

These are the key things you need to find out from visitors:

• Degrees to which their expectations of the area were met
• Reactions to native friendliness, community appearance, authenticity of experiences and attractions, quality of attractions, facilities, and prices
• Anticipated versus actual lengths of stay
• Expenditures
• Age of visitors
• Size of groups (family, couples, singles, tour groups)
• Reasons for visiting
• How they found out about the area
• Home residence
• Other information they'd like to have prior to and on arrival

Dave Sharpe
Extension Service
Montana State University, Bozeman

How do you define and target a market for a community with a small budget?

It is important to first know your community's tourist potential. What products or services do you have to offer in your area that might attract visitors? A community inventory becomes a key first step. You might have squash, apples, lakes, waterfalls, historical monuments, or other natural or cultural features. Many Tourism Development guides describe how to conduct such an inventory.

Seek customer information from:

• Store mailing lists
• Visitor sign-ins
• License plates
• Comment cards
• Hotel registration

The second step is to know the visitor. Who is the visitor and what does the visitor look for? Does there appear to be any match between what you have and what the visitor seeks? Since state tourism, commerce, or economic development agencies often do studies to look at what factors pull people to a destination, this can be linked to your inventory for a match.

On a small budget, how do you find out about your visitor? Before you decide to conduct your own survey with a questionnaire, think about your options. Hotels can provide information on guest origins. State agencies may also have information. Community businesses can ask patrons where they come from, why they came, and who is in their party. No survey is needed for this. A smiling, caring attitude can usually elicit a response from most visitors. Gathering information in this way will take some time, but is costeffective, can be updated during different seasons, and can provide some solid baseline knowledge to begin. Additional information gathering can eventually include different types of surveys and may eventually be necessary to find out more about activities, spending, and other information.

In order to analyze the current customer, it is not necessary to conduct formal surveys, but it is helpful to rely on some type of secondary research. Here are some possible information sources:

• Mailing lists maintained by retail stores
• Visitor signins at the Chamber of Commerce or visitor center
• Business owner's records of license plates of patrons
• Comment cards
• Hotel registration information

Simple observation can yield rich results. These ideas can be done with a minimum of human and financial resources. With this much information, a community can get a handle on the current customer. Your target market initially should be the home states or provinces of your largest markets. Should the marketing budget increase, other ways to segment the market might be explored, such as:

• Demographic segments (fifty-plus, baby boomers)
• Activities (fishermen, antique buffs)
• Socioeconomic status (occupation, income levels)
• Benefits sought (escapers, renewal seekers)

Colleen May
Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota

What technological advances might help our community stay competitive?

Technological advances allow even the smallest community to compete in today's economic environment. Personal computer equipment enables tourism planners to maintain and manipulate extensive market information. There is data that helps marketers identify the social and economic profiles of respondents to a particular advertisement. This information is important in developing and placing future advertisements. Other data firms and universities have a substantial amount of information about U.S. travelers which could provide a relatively low cost way to identify and evaluate potential tourist markets.

Recent developments in microcomputer software and hardware have made touch-screen multimedia advertising much more attractive and affordable.

Recent developments in microcomputer software and hardware have made touch-screen multimedia advertising much more attractive and affordable. The systems provide an important new format for getting visitor information to tourists.

New telephone-related technology is also restructuring the way small communities compete for tourists. Low cost 1-800 telephone lines, automated and interactive answering systems, and calling address searches are only the tip of the iceberg. These technologies enable communities to reach out much further to potential markets and to be more effective by tailoring each response to the specific needs of a potential visitor. Also, this technology provides the basis for marketers to be more efficient by tracking visitor information requests.

Dr. Daniel R. Fesenmaier
Department of Leisure Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Marketing Methods

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Is it more effective to do direct mail advertising or advertise at a travel show booth?

It depends on whom you are trying to attract and what specifically you are trying to accomplish with your promotional campaign. Once you are satisfied that you've selected or targeted your market and have some quantifiable outcomes in mind, you can identify the media mix that most effectively reaches your markets. It might be both techniques. Here are two examples:

Once you are satisfied that you've selected or targeted your market and have some quantifiable outcomes in mind, you can identify the media mix that most effectively reaches your markets.

Attracting Birders Through Special-Interest Publications
Birding is a major tourist attraction in southwest Louisiana. In 1991, the Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau prepared a plan to attract "25% more birders from throughout the U.S. and overseas to the general area." They chose to appeal to this audience by publishing a very attractive regional birding guide and promoting it in early 1992 in three birding magazines.

The 550 people who responded to the advertisements were sent a free copy of the publication. Their names were placed on several convention and visitors bureau member mailing lists. Follow-up materials offering many 1992 and 1993 visitor discounts and other inducements were sent.

The promotional strategy's effectiveness depends on how many of the 550 inquiries for free information are converted into actual visits. There is optimism. Louisiana Sea Grant and the Southwest Louisiana CVB surveyed the 550 individuals in late 1992, and over 40% of them noted that they intended to bird in the area in the next year or two, and take advantage of some of the local offers.

Sports Shows Net Fishermen
The Sabine River Authority and several other tourism development organizations have used both direct mailing and travel show booths to promote freshwater fishing in Toledo Bend Reservoir. They have been particularly satisfied with the return on the investment after participating in midwestern sports and other outdoors trade shows.

During the early and mid-1980s, local leaders relied entirely on intuition to invest in promotional strategies. There was no planning. They chose two types of promotion: advertisments in prominent fishing and hunting magazines and direct marketing from reader response lists obtained from these magazines.

The ads and follow-up mailings generated a fair amount of inquiries, but the campaigns were not very effective. Local fishing guides and cabins reported that the number of out-of-state anglers actually dropped. Fishing conditions had declined, the economy was in a downward spiral, and there was a sense of urgency among the leaders. Their response was to draft a marketing plan designed to counter the lake's negative image. The primary strategy involved more personal selling and less direct mailing and magazine advertising. They rationalized that the past campaigns had been too impersonal and that the lake would sell itself.

Many of the earlier responses to the ads had been from anglers in several midwestern states. So, in 1989 they sent two individuals armed with an array of flyers and brochures to host booths at spring outdoors shows in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago. They have been very satisfied with the results, and after careful planning have chosen to attend several other sports shows in the midwest, southeast, and southwestern regions.

The Toledo Bend group continues to advertise in several publications and do some direct mailing. But they believe that the travel shows are more conducive to selling the region. They don't just talk about fishing, but have an opportunity to display the region's hospitality, court retirees, answer questions, and, in general, establish a greater rapport with their prospects. There has been an increase in visits; the lodging tax revenues have doubled in the last three years, and 1992 was a banner year.

Mike Liffmann
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

What is the average response rate for direct mail?

A 2-5% response rate for direct mail is considered good if it is a cold prospect list. However, direct mail response depends upon the quality of the mailing list and the quality of the direct mail piece. Some lodging businesses have very high responses from direct mail offers to previous guests.

A 2-5% response rate for direct mail is considered good if it is a cold prospect list.

Colleen May
Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota

How can we track distribution, usage, and effectiveness of brochures distributed through welcome and visitor centers?

Distribution of tourism information, particularly brochures, at state welcome centers or local visitor centers is a key investment in attracting potential visitors to an area. Recent studies reported in the Journal of Travel Research have shown that travel parties who stop at welcome centers and collect travel information are likely to be influenced into spending more time and money. These parties indicated that they were likely to use bro-chures to plan future trips to an area. There are some ways destinations (states, regions, or communities) can get information about usage and effectiveness of brochure distribution.

Recent studies show that travel parties who stop at welcome centers and collect travel information are likely to be influenced into spending more time and money.

One method is to periodically conduct a survey of individuals who stop at welcome and visitor centers. To gain the most complete and accurate data, a mail or telephone survey should be conducted shortly after they return from their trip. Ask questions such as:

• Did the information you received at the visitor center increase your length of stay in the area?
• Did the information you received influence the attractions visited or overnight accomodations used?
• How much extra money did you spend by staying a little longer, visiting selected attractions, or in overnight accommodations?
• Will you use the information to plan a future trip to the area?

Questions on the quality of the information and possible alternative distribution points can help a destination improve distribution efforts. If a destination has several tourist seasons, a survey should be conducted in each season to reflect possible seasonal differences. Destinations can contact their local cooperative extension agent or state university for assistance with survey design and data compilation.

Another method to track effectiveness of tourism information is to design coupon books for services and discounts redeemable in the local area. The extent of these services and discounts will be decided by participating businesses and organizations. Coupons should apply to services and discounts related to tourists. For instance, a coupon for an oil change is not as likely to be used by a tourist as a special-priced hotel room or discounted admission to a popular attraction. To evaluate the effectiveness of a coupon program, the number of coupons redeemed at each business should be reported to the local tourism organization.

A passport-type book may also offer reduced prices to tourists. The passport book is punched or stamped when tourists patronize businesses. These stamps qualify an individual for a gift. Important information can be gained because this book records the number and type of places a tourist visited and can also record the amount of money spent at retail businesses. Technological advances such as bar code scanning and magnetic information strips on credit cards will improve data collection efforts associated with tracking visitation and spending levels. Coupons and passport books will only be effective tracking devices if strong reporting measures are in place at local services and tourists are motivated to use coupon or passport books.

How can rural communities get media involved with their tourism marketing and promotional efforts?

Marketing to the media is rural tourism's secret weapon. A community can benefit from media coverage because it's free and almost always positive. This is very effective because it reaches people who may not normally see ads in tourism publications. The real advantage is that print or electronic stories are effective with prospective visitors. They deliver believable, helpful information in a useful format.

Always think about your proposed story or public relations idea from the prospective visitor's point of view. That will keep your efforts focused. Print or electronic media stories are effective with prospective visitors. They deliver believable, helpful information in a useful format.

Choosing the Appropriate Media
You should use different types of media in a comprehensive, integrated way. Depending on your message and audience, certain media may be preferred. Here are some suggestions:

• News releases are the most common way to get media attention. Too often, news releases are just events or festival dates, informative, yet mundane. Think about special, out-of-the-ordinary people, places, or events. History-themed suggestions are also effective. Well-written news releases, periodic story suggestions, and easy access to sources in your community all can help when a reporter is on deadline or is having a creative block.
  
• News conferences are generally not used in rural areas unless you have a once-in-a-lifetime story.
  
• Good media relations are very important. Introduce yourself by letter or phone to a reporter or editor.
  
• Make sure you thank the media when you get coverage and serve as a local expert for them.
  
• Know your media. Read the papers, listen and watch different radio and TV stations, and read magazines. Know their coverage, personalities, and areas of emphasis.
  
• Public service announcements (PSAs) are fine for certain things but don't use them exclusively.
  
• A media familiarization tour can be very effective, but requires careful preparation.
  
• Don't manipulate the media. They have professional ethics. They want newsworthy stories and your job is to help them get those stories.
  
• Always include your local media when sending news releases. Be sensitive to their deadlines. A weekly paper has different deadline needs than a daily paper.
  
• Be aware that often something isn't considered news to local readers unless it appears in a regional, urban, or statewide paper.
  
• If you write a news release about your festival and the paper runs the story, be prepared for resulting phone calls, mail, and requests that result.
  
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts. At a minimum, you should document the ad equivalent value of a print or aired story. Keep track of this information so you can demonstrate the value and cost-effectiveness of your integrated marketing strategy.
  
• Always think about your proposed story or public relations idea from the prospective visitor's point of view. That will keep your efforts focused. It will make your job and the media person's job easier and will best help your visitor-to-be.

Mike Jones
Juneau County Extension Office
University of Wisconsin-Extension

How can a small rural town go about using billboards to bring visitors in and promote local tourism attractions?

Billboards can be used in two ways. First, as directional advertising to reach people already traveling with or without your destination in mind. Second, as part of your advertising program to reach people where they live as they are planning a trip or considering alternative destinations.

The addition of billboards to your advertising inexpensively adds reach and frequency to the program.

Directional advertising is typically placed within 50 to 75 miles of the attraction. Its purpose is to encourage travelers to add a visit to their present trip or make a future trip. It also reinforces and adds excitement for travelers who have decided to visit the attraction. Finally, it directs travelers from the main road to the attraction. A directional billboard is typically purchased for a 12-month period.

The addition of billboards to your advertising program inexpensively adds reach and frequency to the program. Messages on billboards in Minneapolis and St. Paul are seen by over 45,000 people every day. Wisconsin Dells (200 miles to the southeast), for example, purchased multiple boards in the Twin Cities during May, June, July, and August to keep their destination on the minds of residents all summer. Montana ski resorts target Minneapolis and St. Paul during November and December as people are planning ski travel.

In Minnesota, a directional billboard in a nonmetropolitan setting costs between $400 and $1,000 per month. In a metropolitan area a billboard costs between $2,000 and $3,500 per month.

The billboard industry is composed of many independent operators. Most of the major operators are listed in The Buyers Guide to Outdoor Advertising, published by Leading National Advertisers. This book also lists rates and areas of coverage. Most billboards display the name of their owner so you can contact them. The operators expect to be contacted directly by clients. Most states require a permit for each billboard, so usually someone in your transportation department is familiar with the operators in the state.

Most operators have the resources to create an effective outdoor design for your message. At Naegele in Minneapolis we have three full-time artists creating speculative and finished advertisements.

Michael Cronin
Naegele Outdoor Advertising, Minneapolis, Minnesota

What are some ways to generate positive word-of-mouth communication from current visitors to the community? — Atlanta, Georgia

Word-of-mouth promotion (WOM) is thought to be the most important form of promotion for tourism. It occurs when your current visitors directly tell potential visitors about the positive features of your town. Why is WOM promotion so important to your marketing efforts? Because it comes directly from the customer and not from a sponsor, it is regarded as the most believable of all information sources. Second, WOM is highly efficient. For the cost of ensuring that your visitors have a great time in your town (which you'll want to do on any account), you can set the stage for positive WOM promotions to occur. Here are several tips on how to make WOM promotion an integral part of your promotional efforts and give visitors a QUALITY experience:

Because word-of-mouth promotion comes directly from the customer and not from a sponsor, it is regarded as the most believable of all information sources.

Sarah L. Richardson
Department of Geography and Recreation
University of Wyoming, Laramie

Tourism professionals are responsible for using a combination of promotional techniques in the marketing of their community as a tourist destination. While advertising, personal selling, publicity, public relations, and sales promotion are well understood marketing tools, many tourism professionals have realized that the best marketers of their community are current or past visitors. As a result, word-of-mouth promotion is crucial to the success of community's tourism efforts because it can be more persuasive than paid advertising, has high credibility among potential travelers, and can reduce the risks associated with selecting a vacation trip, attraction, or destination.

An internal marketing strategy should be designed to educate employees on the value of being customer-oriented.

Successful tourism managers have learned that satisfactory tourism experiences result in positive word-of-mouth promotion. However, an unsatisfactory experience can result in the opposite effect which can be detrimental to a tourist destination's reputation. If positive word-of-mouth promotion is to be achieved, the tourism professional must undertake actions which ensure a high quality tourism experience for the visitor. Two strategies for achieving this goal are interactive and internal marketing.

High quality tourism experiences are a result of the visitor's interaction with employees, other tourists, the setting or environment, and the host community. As a result, the tourism manager must continue marketing once the tourist has arrived at the destination. Interactive marketing is the process of recognizing, identifying, and managing these crucial interactions in a manner that maximize the tourist's level of satisfaction.

Tourism professionals must also recognize that high quality service, and the resulting positive word-of-mouth promotion is dependent on the tourism industry's employees. Recognizing this, an internal marketing strategy should be designed to educate employees on the value of being customer-oriented. The primary purpose of internal marketing is to foster a strong customer orientation throughout the organization. The components of an internal marketing strategy include employee training, a progressive personnel policy, clear organizational communication, and the recruitment and retention of skilled employees.

Community Collaboration

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How can rival communities conduct joint marketing? — Colorado

Many communities that are considering ways to enhance their tourism industry are realizing that there are benefits to working with neighboring towns. By joining together with their neighbors, communities are often able to establish regional themes and a critical mass of attractions and services that exceeds what any one community could alone provide. Additional benefits include the consolidation of promotion efforts to avoid duplication, and the opportunity to develop a collective, regional leadership. For these and other reasons, many communities are joining together to form regional associations and initiatives.

By joining together with their neighbors, communities are often able to establish regional themes and a critical mass of attractions and services that exceeds what any one community could alone provide.

Despite the advantages of working together, many smaller communities face certain obstacles. Among these are community rivalries. While many of these rivalries are rooted in the good-spirited competitiveness of high school or recreational sports, others rivalries reflect more serious concerns, such as socioeconomic disparities between them. Since the development of small town tourism benefits from good working relationships with others, community rivalries should not be ignored. Instead their implications and the opportunities and challenges associated with them should be carefully assessed. Ask these questions:

• Why does the community rivalry exist?
  Community rivalries develop for many reasons. High school sports, Little League, and other recreational activities often create a competitive spirit between towns. More serious reasons for rivalries include perceived socioeconomic disparities between towns, and even family feuds that have colored the histories of some regions. The first step to developing sound regional partnerships is to understand the reasons that rivalries exist in the first place. Rivalries may exist on a number of levels and for a number of reasons. A highly competitive sports rivalry may disguise more serious rivalries.
  
• What are the impacts of the rivalry?
  Rivalries can have both positive and negative outcomes. A competitive spirit has a positive effect when it motivates community residents to constructive action, and a negative effect when it results in an antagonistic attitude. Some rivalries provide opportunities for residents of rival communities to meet and interact in fun ways, which helps them to get to know one another and their towns. Other rivalries create barriers between communities, which result in misperceptions and mistrust.
  
• Can the rivalry be diffused?
  In many cases, community rivalries are significant obstacles to regional cooperation. If the rivalry reflects a serious social concern, the first step toward diffusing the rivalry is addressing its root cause. Rivalries sometimes reflect different community goals and leadership styles. To sort these out you will need to talk about what goals, interests, and opportunities you have in common and how residents, elected community leaders, and citizen groups can achieve them.
  
• Does the rivalry offer unique marketing opportunities?
  Some communities have found that fun, non-serious rivalries have marketing potential. For example, sporting events between two rival communities often have appeal to a wider audience. Special events, such as cooking competitions (like chili cook-offs), may be developed around rivalries that are purely good-spirited and fun for all.

Sarah L. Richardson
Department of Geography and Recreation
University of Wyoming, Laramie

The Allegheny National Forest Region is located in four counties. For the past couple of years, these counties have considered merging for funding purposes. Officials of the four counties were unable to agree on personnel, control, funding, and are concerned that individual county identities would be lost. The counties' differences in size, composition, and resources and a history of unsuccessful attempts to merge made it even more difficult to resolve these issues.

From a marketing standpoint, each county could find alternative combinations with other counties outside the National Forest area. However, the Allegheny National Forest is a recognized commodity outside the area, something that none of the four counties can claim. Therefore, with the cooperation of the National Forest Service, tourism leaders in the area have banded together to promote the area through jointly funding brochures and cooperating on a number of bus shows. Because of these and other efforts, attendance has increased dramatically at the National Forest. The leaders realized that waiting for everyone to agree on an organizational structure that wouldn't ruffle anyone's feathers would take a great deal of time, effort, and compromise. They also realized that potential tourists couldn't care less about internal politics. With these two realizations, a joint effort to promote the area was possible.

Richard Gitelson
School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management
Pennsylvania State University, University Park

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to involve your local Extension or Sea Grant agent. He or she can help facilitate some productive conversations. Your agent's local credibility can help demonstrate that joint marketing is mutually beneficial.

One of the most effective means of dealing with rivalries is to demonstrate the importance of tourism linkages between smaller urban centers and neighboring rural areas.

In order to do joint marketing, old rivals must be willing to declare a temporary truce. They need to realize how important it is that attention and resources be concentrated on the extremely urgent economic and community issue of creating more jobs and income for the entire area by attracting more visitors.

One of the most effective means of dealing with this sensitive issue is to demonstrate the importance of tourism linkages between smaller urban centers and neighboring rural areas. Urban centers serve as hubs (with hotels, major restaurants, museums, etc.), while the outlying rural communities are the spokes (with attractions and amenities). Furthermore, the urban convention and visitor bureaus, unlike their smaller rural neighbors, have the financial and manpower resources needed to mount strong marketing efforts. Promotional strategies primarily revolve around attractions, and what better way to expand the urban attractions base than to add many of the nearby rural allures. This then becomes a win-win proposition for all parties. While, the urban areas now have more to market, the less able rural tourist commissions have a marketing and promotion arm at little or no cost.

Mike Liffmann
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

How can rural communities get travelers off the interstate and major highways and into their town? — New Mexico

Many smaller communities feel isolated from major traffic flows. While some consider this a liability, this isolation can actually attract certain market segments. For communities that are close to and distant from major traffic arteries, the key to successful marketing is targeting that market. This means deciding which market niche you can best serve and finding ways to communicate directly with people in that target market.

The designation of secondary routes as scenic or historical highways and byways helps to draw curious visitors off interstates and into rural settings.

Communities that are close to highways and interstates have the advantage of a drive-by market, but this alone will not attract visitors to their town. Most travelers who get off the beaten path of highways and interstates do so for one of two reasons: they may be seeking the scenery of secondary roads or may be traveling to a specific destination. Each of these situations present fruitful opportunities for communities that are seeking to expand their tourism base.

Create a Linear Route
If your community is along a secondary route between points A and B, or along a loop that forms a convenient side trip, you and members of other communities along this route may want to consider joining forces to promote it as a travel alternative. Many secondary roads have stories to them. Some were trading routes, others were blue highways (important east-west arteries before the days of interstates). Others, such as the Highway of Legends in southern Colorado, have unique history and folklore. The designation of secondary routes as scenic or historical highways and byways helps to draw curious visitors off interstates and into rural settings. Once visitors are off the beaten path, they are more likely to stop in your town.

The development of linear attractions, such as specially designated highways and byways, requires substantial cooperation between communities, federal land agencies, and commercial interests along the route. Not only must all interests agree to a single, unifying theme, but they must work together to develop and promote it. Cooperation, not competition, is the key to success! One facet of cooperation is cross-selling which occurs when all interests work to promote the attractions and services of other interests. The common goal is the overall development of the route or region.

Sarah L. Richardson
Department of Geography and Recreation
University of Wyoming, Laramie

Prior to developing a strategy to get travelers off the interstate and major highways, the rural community must do two things. First, the community must identify its tourism potential. This would include a critical analysis of natural and cultural resources, sports and entertainment, business and industry, and tourism services. Second, the community must conduct a market analysis which identifies and describes current and potential tourists.

Based on market research, the community should develop a mixture of promotional vehicles designed to communicate the benefits of the community to the undecided tourist segment.

For example, in a recent study of nonresident tourists in Colorado, over 55% of the respondents indicated that they made their decision to visit attractions before arriving in Colorado. That means that almost 45% of this group decided to visit an attraction after they arrived. These undecided travelers represent a significant market segment that rural communities need to learn about and reach. Such a community needs to know the purpose of their trip, their travel motives, trip characteristics (for example, trip length, destination, activities), information sources used in trip decision-making, and characteristics of the travel party.

Once a relevant marketing profile of the undecided tourist segment has been defined, the rural community must develop a marketing mix that can best meet the needs of this segment. First, the community must identify the resources, facilities, and services that this tourist segment demands. This could include the development of tourism packages consisting of partnerships between complementing tourism businesses and organizations, such as motels, restaurants, gift shops, and museums. Second, the community must develop a promotional strategy and a distribution plan which allows them to communicate their offerings to the undecided tourist segment in a effective manner.

I would recommend the development of a promotional strategy similar to point-of-purchase advertising and sales promotions used in grocery stores. Based on market research that identifies preferred sources of travel information and trip behavior, the community should develop a mixture of promotional vehicles (examples are radio advertising, brochures, newspaper advertisements, and roadside signage) designed to communicate the benefits of the community to the undecided tourist segment. However, the key to success is locating or distributing the promotional materials where undecided tourists visit (such as travel information centers) and including the types of information (maps, weekly publications, regional publications) they use in decision-making.

Tourism Center
120 BioAgEng Building
1390 Eckles Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108-6005
Phone: 612-624-4947
Fax: 612-624-4264
tourism@umn.edu

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