Selling a Small R egion to the World

1. Selling a Small Region to the World Richard Green: Klaipeda 30th January 2019

2. Vilnius LITEXPO Adventur

3. CIVITTA: ‘Development of Tourism Sector in Klaipeda Region’ • The front page photograph isn’t from the region • The report is very heavy with jargon • The proposed ways forward cover huge differences in overall budgets • No attention to cooperation • No expansion of agrotourism • There isn’t a strong conclusion or executive summary

4. Introduction • Selling a Region: five P’s • Perception • Promotion • Planning • Product • People

5. 1. Perception

6. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term

7. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term • But it is strongly established

8. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term • But it is strongly established • Other include Balkans, Benelux, Central America…

9. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term • But it is strongly established • Other include Balkans, Benelux, Central America… • For tourism promotion it is an opportunity

10. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term • But it is strongly established • Other include Balkans, Benelux, Central America… • For tourism promotion it is an opportunity • Perceived as safe, stable, and successful

11. The term ‘Baltic States’ • Frustration with the term • But it is strongly established • Other include Balkans, Benelux, Central America… • For tourism promotion it is an opportunity • Perceived as safe, stable, and successful • For international market is a good term

12. Foreign awareness of Lithuania • British: “Is it poor and near Romania and Bulgaria - where Borat is from no?”

13. Foreign awareness of Lithuania • British: “Is it poor and near Romania and Bulgaria - where Borat is from no?” • Romanians: “Did it used to be in the Soviet Union, and does it have skiing? I know that its Grand Duke Jogaila became King of Poland in the 14th Century.”

14. Foreign awareness of Lithuania • British: “Is it poor and near Romania and Bulgaria - where Borat is from no?” • Romanians: “Did it used to be in the Soviet Union, and does it have skiing? I know that its Grand Duke Jogaila became King of Poland in the 14th Century.” • Americans: “I’ve been to several former Yugoslav Republics, but not yet to Lithuania, which I imagine to be landlocked and poor, and nowhere near as interesting as Macedonia.”

15. Local Names • For an English speaker it is a challenge

16. Local Names • For an English speaker it is a challenge • Gives weight to the idea of creating wider promotional terms for the area

17. Local Names • For an English speaker it is a challenge • Gives weight to the idea of creating wider promotional terms for the area • An over-arching term would help awareness

18. Value for Money • Many people are finding their budgets squeezed

19. Value for Money • Many people are finding their budgets squeezed • Getting value for money on holiday is a big plus

20. Value for Money • Many people are finding their budgets squeezed • Getting value for money on holiday is a big plus • Interrail, Price of Travel &The Culture Trip publish pieces on the best value places to holiday

21. Value for Money • Many people are finding their budgets squeezed • Getting value for money on holiday is a big plus • Interrail, Price of Travel &The Culture Trip publish pieces on the best value places to holiday • Independent newspaper - Krakow the cheapest European city for a two-night break at £164.80, with Vilnius 2nd at £165.53

22. 2. Promotion

23. Consider Quirk and Eccentricity • The Faroe Islands sheepview360

25. Branding • Coordinated exhibition presence

26. Branding • Coordinated exhibition presence • Municipality branding is no use for attracting an international market

27. Branding • Coordinated exhibition presence • Municipality branding is no use for attracting an international market • Internationally speaking, it would be better if there were a single brand for the region

28. Branding • Coordinated exhibition presence • Municipality branding is no use for attracting an international market • Internationally speaking, it would be better if there were a single brand for the region • Should consider and research an umbrella name. Perhaps the Amber Coast, CuronianCoast, Klaipeda Coast…

29. Tourism Promotion Websites • Websites are easier and cheaper to build & maintain

30. Tourism Promotion Websites • Websitesare easier and cheaper to build &maintain • Official tourism board websites remain popular research tools

31. Tourism Promotion Websites • Websites: now easier and cheaper to build/maintain • Official tourism board websites remain popular research tools • Current website redesigns are faster, de-cluttered, with emphasis on local people and events

34. Tourism Promotion Websites: Examples • Improving a website works: Visit California went from 150,000 monthly views in 2013 to over two million in 2017 • Excellent city websites include Cape Town and San Francisco

35. Tourism Promotion Websites: Examples • Good examples at the small country/region level are… • The Faroe Islands (www.visitfaroeislands.com) • Greenland (www.visitgreenland.com) • Iceland (www.inspiredbyiceland.com) • Populations are just 49,000, 56,000 and 338,000 respectively

38. Private Sector Tourist Websites • The current state of private sector websites in the region is poor • No English text at the Museum of Rare Stones or the ‘Vila Auska’ • Baltics Culinary - link for Lithuanian ‘national culinary website here’ arrives at an error 404 page.

40. Story telling • Everyone wants a story these days • Some stories find you – like Chinese tourists and Xu Zhimo in Cambridge

41. Story telling • Everyone wants a story these days • Some stories find you – like Chinese tourists and Xu Zhimo in Cambridge • Others need promoting, so find strands and use logic from there • Gliding: an example

42. Social Media • Levels the playing field

43. Social Media • Levels the playing field • Each Instagrampost an opportunity to tell a micro story

44. Social Media • Levels the playing field • Each Instagrampost an opportunity to tell a micro story • Posting should be frequent (at least weekly), entertaining and informative

45. Social Media • Levels the playing field • Each Instagrampost an opportunity to tell a micro story • Posting should be frequent (at least weekly), entertaining and informative • Hashtags should be used imaginatively with an eye to a global audience - in other languages too

46. Social Media • Levels the playing field • Each Instagrampost an opportunity to tell a micro story • Posting should be frequent (at least weekly), entertaining and informative • Hashtags should be used imaginatively with an eye on a global audience - in other languages too • Follow/like regional and international attractions

47. Regional Cooperation • At a regional or international level, cooperation can foster great rewards - ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ • https://vimeo.com/23638082

48. Regional Cooperation • Lake Constance (Bodensee) is where Germany, Austria and Switzerland meet • Promoted as a single destination since 1997 • 100 examples of shared promotion across territories – Greater Tumen Region, Greate Limpopo Transfrontier Park and so on