Why is this happening?

There are a number of converging forces at work here, summarised as follows:

1. The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is due this month (February) to publish the UK Tourism Strategy for the next 4 years.

2. The PM in his speech on tourism last August called for the strongest possible tourism strategy with measures to stimulate the private sector in tourism.

3. He said the old model was too top-down, failing to incentivise innovation and local enterprise.

4. In its Business Plan DCMS seeks to strip away red tape and stimulate private sector investment to create conditions for tourism growth.

5. The sector should be free to drive its own success – with the Government only intervening where there is a real need.

6. This will enable the tourism sector to deliver faster, more balanced economic growth and streamline and refocus tourism organisations in the process.

7. Visit Britain and Visit England will have to find administrative cost savings of 50% over the next four years 2011-2014.

8. The ban preventing owners advertising their properties in Government i.e. State-aided publications if they have chosen (a) not to enter the National Quality Assurance Scheme or (b) to have their properties graded under alternative schemes, has been subject of a long-standing State aid complaint to the European Commission

9. The ruling from the Commission is expected to be in favour of the complainants, judging the practice to be anti-competitive under Competition Law Rules.

10. Removal of State support from the National Quality Assurance Scheme would be a rational response to this ruling.

11. It would leave property owners free to choose which scheme they wish to join (if any) and compare the different marketing opportunities available from each according to need and budget available.

12. Marketing opportunities under the National Quality Assurance Scheme no longer favour property owners. They have grown increasingly restricted and bear little resemblance to new opportunities available in the open market.

13. Amongst these opportunities is reputation management through social media and user reviews. The free Owners’ Centre introduced by TripAdvisor is a prime example.

14. DCMS has recognised the power of user reviews to deliver quality messages and while these are not yet perfect in an imperfect world, the National Quality Assurance Scheme also has its drawbacks and is a net cost to taxpayers.

The media speculation would appear, therefore, to be well founded.

What happens now?

Tourism authorities have been preparing for this since the State aid case gathered momentum. Here is a summary of what to expect:

1. Visit Wales will offer listings based on adherence to basic statutory requirements through self-assessement with a nominal fee payable and spot inspections over a two year period.

2. A version of the old grading scheme is likely to be trialled over the next 12 months and abandoned if there is insufficient support from property owners.

3. The Regional Tourism Companies will lose any remaining credibility as delivery agents for Visit Wales marketing as property owners seek more viable alternatives.

4. Wales.info (Tourism Wales UK) will continue to recognise Visit Wales Star Gradings as long as the scheme exists with provision made for displaying AA Star Ratings in future.

5. Greater emphasis will be placed by Wales.info (Tourism Wales UK) on user reviews working directly with Google Places and TripAdvisor.

6. The AA Star Ratings scheme shares quality standards in common with the National Quality Assurance Scheme and will remain unaffected.

7. Owners whose properties are assessed and recognised by Visit Wales can join the AA as Associate Members and have their current Visit Wales star gradings recognised.

8. Tourism businesses’ use of social media and user reviews in their own websites will form criteria for ‘Platinum’ in the new UK WelcomeWeb awards scheme.

Further information will be given here as soon as the UK Tourism Strategy 2011-2014 is published.

– End –

2011 Membership

Love them or hate them, Google and TripAdvisor have changed the face of tourism marketing forever through the all-out launch of Google Places and the TripAdvisor Owners’ Centre.

The implications for independent tourism business adopting these new, direct-marketing channels are huge with operating cost savings up to 25% for serviced accommodation and 35% for self-caterers depending how quickly the new opportunities are siezed.

There’s no looking back. Organisations in the middle – booking agencies, tourist information centres, regional tourism companies, regional tourism partnerships, tourist boards – all in denial, will be squeezed out of the market with operating costs wiped out and passing to front line businesses as increased profit.

It’s not in the interest of these anachronisms to precipitate their own demise by telling you this. They will seek instead to buy time and reinvent themselves but it will be too little, too late; the cost savings are available now.

Deals already negotiated for Wales this year with TripAdvisor, eviivo frontdesk®, Holiday Lettings and Just Booking are just the start of a wide range of digital products and services flowing into the market to supplement Google Places in favour of small hotels, B&Bs, and self-catering property owners.

Change is never comfortable but the results will be rewarding to businesses owners in Wales able to grasp these new opportunities.

Sign up today and have powerful players like Google Places and TripAdvisor make the difference for your business.

In addition, much of the sought-after accommodation in Wales is far from the madding crowd up winding mountain roads or deep in valleys that are ill-served by Broadband. Their only alternative has been to secure listings on agency websites with an initial set-up charge, commission payable on bookings and invariable a charge per transaction. This can amount to advertising costs as high as 35% of turnover and in trying to recover these, rate that are uncompetitive or profit margins too low to sustain the business.

So what’s the answer? Well, in the first place it’s a matter of education; the opportunities are out there but because the search engine marketing industry is some three years ahead of business according to the Search Engine Journal, businesses are simply out of touch with reality. Who then is to provide this education; tourism associations, tourist boards or the search marketers themselves? Answer: the search marketers. Why? Because tourism associations and tourist boards are hardly more knowledgeable and often less so than tourism businesses themselves with the blind leading the blind. So it’s incumbent on the search marketing industry to reach out to these businesses with new products and services that are simple to understand and can demonstrate real savings in a way small independent businesses can grasp.

There’s yet another challenge, which is how can trust be won from businesses that may have already experienced disappoint from ‘quick fixes’ offered by so-called search marketers when it’s impossible for all businesses buying into these can find themselves listed on the first page of Google search; even less possible now Google Places occupies top spot in Google’s own organic listings. Here though is exactly where one of the biggest opportunities lies for small independent tourism businesses. They just need to be told, which is why Tourism Wales UK has become one of the first, if not the first, online tourism marketing associations in the UK to tackle this. It’s a marketing gap that’s been crying out for some time now to be filled; a gap that the agency business model simply won’t fit into and as small independent tourism businesses become liberated the agencies will very soon find themselves imperilled.

Their aim was to come up with new ideas to help boost tourism to Wales as we enter a new decade on 1st January next year.

Presentations were received from Google’s spatial technologist Ed Parsons and Terry Jackson of Wales.info on new products and services already replacing search engine marketing as we know it, and will deliver increases in bookings and occupation rates for Wales at the same time as reducing business operating costs by up to 35%.

GOOGLE PLACES

WECOMEWEB

The next Tomorrow’s Tourist Today workshop will take place at Bluestone, Pembrokeshire on 1st February 2011. Register http://www.inventorium.org/evnts/view/36">now for this free one-day event.

To sign up to Tourism Wales UK for 2011, with up over £1,200 savings available from associated suppliers - one from TripAdvisor for serviced accommodation and another from Holiday Lettings-TripAdvisor for self-catering accommodation will pay back 2011 Membership twice over.

To take bookings online and save up to £295 setup charges from eviivo frontdesk© until 28th February 2011 sign up to Tourism Wales UK's new Book Online membership.

If you have any queries please contact tourism@wales.info

TOURISM MARKETING

TOURISM INDUSTRY

All these opportunities and more are available to accommodation providers in Wales at http://wales.info/admin/ourpackages2011.asp with mobile phone services and maps already installed in members’ Wales.info wbsites ready for 2011.

A new Online Booking membership category also makes its debut for 2011 to help speed round-the-clock booking transactions.

Call 0800 422 00 88 or email tourismwalesuk@eviivo.com direct quoting your property name and Unique ID to waive up to £295 set up charges before 31st December this year.

Situated on the border of England, Wales is a very popular with tourists looking to get away from it all. If you’re looking to get away from the stresses and strains of everyday life then there is no better place. If you want to keep a little bit of cosmopolitan splendour in your holiday then Wales has that too with Cardiff being a splendid, cultural city with many top restaurants and bars.

When choosing somewhere to stay in Wales there are plenty of options, one being a Wales bed & breakfast which can offer comfort and value for money. Many of these Welsh bed & breakfast establishments are situated in the rural areas of Wales and as such you can take advantage of the bed & breakfast as a base for exploring the countryside.

The type of Wales bed & breakfasts available differ wildly from large historical houses that have been opened to provide accommodation for the tourist market and small family run houses, to inns and pubs offering accommodation. They can be suited to individuals or couples travelling around Wales but not all will be able to cater for large families as they tend to be smaller than hotels and not many will offer family rooms, though these can be found occasionally.

Some will give you the option of an evening meal if required but you will have to give them advance notice. Also some of the B&Bs may offer packages for special occasions like romantic getaways where you will have extras like chocolates and champagne.

There’s certainly no shortage of things to do in Wales be it historical, countryside, sporting activities, nature or city visits. Decide what you want to get out of your holiday and then visit one of the many websites that specialise in Wales bed & breakfasts and choose an idyllic location with a bed & breakfast that suits your needs. Whatever you are looking for you will find it in Wales.

Wales is easy to get to, has stunning scenery and so much more, so find some time to get away and enjoy Wales and the bed & breakfast accommodation it offers.

But things are changing. This timeless land is getting a new roadmap for the second Millennium.

Innovations in mobile navigation are now making it easier than ever for holidaymakers to plan where to go, where to stay and what to see during their holiday in Wales. Combining location-based internet mapping with online directories of accommodation, local sights and visitor attractions, the technology enables holidaymakers to plan their itineraries before arrival in Wales, save the information to their mobile phones with a single click, then find their way round while they’re on holiday, picking up information on their mobile phones as they go about special events and money-saving offers they might otherwise miss.

Take places to stay in Wales, for instance. Whether holidaymakers are looking for a holiday cottage in South Wales or a B&B in North Wales, they can quickly and easily find their ideal Wales accommodation on a real-time map of local areas. They can then explore the map with pinpoint accuracy, highlighting nearby attractions and saving these to their mobile phones for later reference when they’re at their destination.

This mobile navigation service is the product of a new partnership between Tourism Wales UK and award-winning mobile phone software supplier, Cauwill Technologies.

According to Terry Jackson, of Tourism Wales UK, the service is the next major step in the Wales holiday experience: “The fusion of internet mapping and mobile phone technology will help visitors to Wales discover things that would otherwise pass them by, and take advantage of money-saving offers they might otherwise miss.”

Location-based services have come into their own in the past 12 months. From the popular social network, Foursquare, to Google Latitude, location-based applications have made their mark on the way people access information and find each other while on the move.

Cauwill Technologies’ CEO, Ian Rice, sums up how in conjunction with Tourism Wales UK the new service will put this technology firmly in the hands of Wales holiday-goers, “…allowing visitors to Wales to easily navigate to their accommodation and local attractions with just one click on their mobile phone.”

With smartphones and most other mobiles shipping with GPS navigation as standard now, the potential for Wales accommodation providers to better understand and build relationships with potential visitors and guests is substantial. Even for holiday-goers with more basic mobile phones, Tourism Wales UK’s web browser service provides the same level of accuracy and detail on a PC or laptop, before or during a holiday in Wales.

So now, with the advent of the mobile navigation service, visitors to Wales can forget about getting lost, or worrying about where to find the right accommodation for a warm Welsh welcome – and instead find their own way to discovering a real Wales adventure.

The latest figures for the £3.5bn a year industry have shown a downturn in July across certain sectors. Wales was actually busy but it appears that those who did journey to Wales were cautious with their money. The official figures show that occupancy rates at guest houses and Wales bed & breakfast establishments along with caravan parks were down. On the upside Hotels and touring caravans performed better.

Occupancy rates for beds in Wales’ hotels were among the strongest performers at 55%, which was an actual rise of 3% on 2009, but this contrasted to Wales bed & Breakfasts where the figures fell by three percentage points to 43%.

So what does this mean? Well it could be a great time to look at the fantastic hotels on offer in Wales, these quality establishments are vying for business and are going to great lengths to make their clientele feel welcomed and spoilt. You have a great choice of hotels in Wales whether they be city hotels in Cardiff, a picturesque hotel overlooking one of the famous Welsh bays or a stunning country hotel overlooking some of the best scenery in the world. You have always been afforded a warm welcome in Wales but now you get that little bit extra to make your holiday really special.

There’s no denying the allure of the sunshine and the warm seas of foreign climes but when was the last time you visited a welsh hotel and sampled the warmth of the people, the stunning scenery, the great food, the history of a country that has over 400 castles and keeps, the great beaches and bays, the wildlife, great attractions and so much more? I have been abroad before like many of us but have always come back to Wales time after time and nowhere have I felt so much joy and peace and had such a fantastic invigorating time and had so much to see and do.

Do yourself and your family a big favour and go to Wales, see what it has to offer and experience a truly wonderful holiday. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

The services will allow visitors to Wales to navigate to their Wales hotels, B&Bs or hostels using their mobile phones.

Visitors will also be able to explore and learn about the local attractions.

The deal will allow for several new developer and marketing jobs in Cauwill’s Limerick office over the next 6-12 months.

The deal came about through Inventorium, a National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) and Centre for Advanced Software Technology, Bangor (CAST) initiative aimed at stimulating digital sector innovation between Ireland and Northern Wales.

“This is a great coup for a new Irish company,” said Ian Rice, CEO of Cauwill.

“Mobile navigation is ever increasing with more and more smartphones being shipped with navigation software pre-installed.

“This partnership will allow visitors to Wales to easily navigate to their accommodation and local attractions with just one click on their phone,” said Rice.

Evert Bopp of Inventorium said their remit is to foster commercially viable links between the two areas.

“We match people and ideas who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to connect and do business together,” said Bopp.

“I knew of Cauwill’s excellent work in this area and linked them to Tourism Wales UK. This is the first of many such partnerships we will be developing.”

Terry Jackson begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting of tourism Wales UK believes that internet mapping and mobile phone technology will revolutionise tourism marketing for Wales.

“The new partnership between Tourism Wales UK and Cauwill Technologies has made this a reality, with over 8,000 star-graded accommodation providers and visitor attractions in Wales set to benefit,” said Jackson.

“This Irish technology gives Wales significant market lead over the rest of the UK.”

It celebrates its 10th birthday this year after seeing a 100% increase in booking enquiries in the first half of 2010 and notching up its 10,000th booking enquiry for Wales on 30th July.

It’s taken ten years for a true picture to emerge after the Snapshot report was first published in 2000. Ten years and £10m of public expenditure later, Visit Wales’ much-heralded destination marketing system is now seen as a failure by the industry after poor performance and being forced to withdraw its booking system three years ago.

In doing so it became a time thief to progress by soaking up the marketing budgets of many small tourism businesses in Wales given to expect more, drawing income away from private sector players and draining the investment required for innovation.

As a result Wales has slipped backwards. The disintermediation anticipated in the Snapshot report hasn’t materialised and many small businesses remain behoven to commission agents that relieve them of subscriptions and commission on bookings up to 30%. It’s little wonder Wales is considered uncompetitive with occupancy rates amongst the lowest in Europe.

Can Wales tourism recover this lost ground? Yes, it’s already happening and is the reason why Tourism Wales UK is experiencing the success it deserves. By concentrating its marketing effort on bringing booking enquiries direct to tourism businesses, the middleman is removed from the equation. This leaves tourism businesses with two options: they can reduce their rates to become more competitive, or they can increase their bottom line by pocketing the commission otherwise payable.

But there’s much more to it than that. Gone are the days when one organisation can deliver a single marketing solution. That was Visit Wales’ mistake. Consumer marketing today is all about neworking, using information tools available from several product and service providers.

Tourism Wales UK’s success is that it has brought these providers together under one umbrella, giving tourism businesses any number of inexpensive options they know they can trust. This new multi-agency solution doesn’t stop there either. It extends to network solutions that engage Google, Bing, Facebook, Apple, Nokia and new technology startups to help future proof investment.

This renaissance in Wales tourism marketing was marked earlier this year by a ‘Place and People’ Symposium at TechniumCAST (Centre for Advanced Software Technology) Bangor. This will be followed by a ‘Tourism’ Symposium scheduled this autumn during week commencing 15th November.

The ‘Tourism’ Symposium will mark the UK launch in Wales of the WelcomeWeb Award scheme to boost online consumer confidence and help tourism businesses up their game and usability of their own websites.

It will enable them in turn to take the fullest possible advantage of direct, commission-free booking opportunities presented by Google Places, Microsoft Bing, mobile services and a whole host of other new products and services that can be trusted to drive up small and micro tourism business profits.

Wales.info in support of Tourism Wales UK and Location Wales Online will make it its business to keep tourism business in touch with developments in Wales at News from Wales.info and through regular, no nonsense email alerts.

So, you see, Tourism Wales UK has much to celebrate on its 10th birthday!

For more information on this posting contact the Tourism Wales UK team at tourism@wales.info and visit http://www.wales.info

Tourism businesses in Wales that want to sign up to the Tourism Wales UK programme for the remainder of 2010 should go to http://wales.info/admin/ourpackages2010_2.asp.