How to attract tourists to the city. How to attract tourists to a travel agency. What is meant by the ability to treat guests attentively and kindly?

Business on symbols that did not exist

Many tourist places, especially those that have appeared in recent decades, do not have any symbols of their own by which this place would be uniquely recognizable, like Mount Belukha in Altai or the beaver at the Bobrovy Log ski resort in Krasnoyarsk. The business idea is to create and popularize a symbol - it could be an animal, real or mythical, a sign, a statue or anything else - and then make money by selling souvenirs tied to the newly created symbol.

The business plan for this idea will include several stages:
- Popularization of the symbol. At this stage there is no profit; investments are made in advertising and the production of a prototype (a giant statue made of wood or snow, for example). After about a year, you can move on to the second stage.
- The second stage is the production and sale of souvenirs. The sources of profit and cost are obvious.

Success with virtually no investment will be realized when the author himself is directly involved in the production of souvenir products, or even owns the production or is ready to create it.

The idea seems absurd, but there are examples of its successful implementation. This is the famous Museum of Mice, for example, or the Yeti as a symbol ski resort Sheregesh. In both cases, first a large specimen of the popularized symbol appeared, attracting attention with its absurdity (a 3-meter statue of a mouse made of metal, a wooden statue of a Yeti with a pine board in his hands, the size of a person), tourists actively take pictures against the background of these statues, and soon a small tray with smaller samples, and after a few years it is already a well-functioning industry, bringing its owner a good profit.

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Video - Development of tourism in Russia:

Of course, a country’s brand is created with the aim of attracting tourists. But besides this, a number of factors influence the increase in the number of tourists: the remoteness of the country, the level of security, the presence of developed infrastructure, the number of major events held and many others.

There is no universal formula for creating a country brand that would help attract a certain percentage of tourists to the country, emphasizes Igor Blagodarsky. In each case, brand promotion is supported by real changes in the country.

The brand’s work with internal audiences plays almost the main role. It is the residents of the country and companies working in the field of tourism and beyond that will create the experiences that the country’s brand promises to its guests

Which countries' branding is the most striking, conceptual and memorable?

One example is Iceland. Since the 2010s, it has experienced a tourism boom with double-digit annual tourist growth. The concept of a country brand is an offer to be inspired by a unique and mysterious lifestyle. This message was actively promoted on social networks and YouTube. The brand's communication initiative turned out to be so infectious that a series of Iceland Academy videos launched a wave of others, already created by Icelanders themselves. As a result, the country, which was previously associated with ice and a volcano with an unpronounceable name, has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers from Europe and North America, and annual GDP per capita increased in 9 years from $5,000 to $45,000.

Among the countries of the former USSR, perhaps the most interesting example- Georgia. It attracted the attention of tourists from European countries and reactivated the flow of tourists from Russia. According to open data, the contribution of tourism to the country’s GDP today is 18%.

By the way, a city can also be a brand. In 2010, our agency developed a brand for Melbourne that presented the city as the creative and progressive capital of Australia. After two years of branding, the city's GDP grew by 10% to $56.8 billion, and revenue from external tourism increased by 5% to $3.4 billion.

Most recently, we presented the idea of ​​​​a new brand for Azerbaijan - “Look in a New Way”. The brand's visual identity consists of two figures that together form an icon stylized as a capital letter "a", symbolizing Azerbaijan.

A new visual symbol is a lens that allows you to see more, look at a place and its culture from a different perspective

What components does a country’s “brand book” consist of?

The brand book itself is not the goal of any branding project. The brand book only formalizes all strategic and conceptual developments and decisions within the project, and their list depends on the tasks at hand.

When developing the positioning of a tourist destination, special attention is paid to the target audience and the opportunities that the country already has. I'm talking about infrastructure, human resources, cultural attractions, business opportunities, transport accessibility.

It is also worth noting that the brand’s work with internal audiences plays almost the main role. It is the country's residents and companies (both in and outside of tourism) who will create the experiences that the country's brand promises to its guests. The brand must inspire local residents, which will further help spread a positive image around the world.

What was the most difficult thing in creating the Azerbaijan brand?

Be on time. We started working on the project in July and knew that on November 5th the brand had to be presented to the general public at the World Travel Market in London. Taking into account fairly strict timing, we built our processes so that time does not affect quality. To do this, our team of experts from different countries(including potential markets of Azerbaijan) worked intensively on the territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, the client’s team assisted us with work processes and brilliantly organized our trip to the country.

In a fairly short time, we were able to study the historical and cultural background of the country, the thinking and lifestyle of people, vision of the future, and opportunities to stand out in a competitive environment. This created a truly strong and credible positioning idea and a vibrant and vibrant brand.

What distinguishes the Azerbaijan brand from other eastern countries, for example, from Turkey, which also focuses on hospitality, natural diversity, centuries-old culture and the like?

Hospitality, natural diversity and centuries-old culture in themselves are not unique advantages. The uniqueness lies in the details and nuances, about which you can have a long separate conversation. And the mission of the Azerbaijan brand is to give guests a taste of these details, and for the residents of the country to do everything so that they are proud of them.

One of the key challenges for the country was that people know very little about it (even in the countries of the former Union there are certain stereotypes about Azerbaijan that are far from reality). However, this also became an advantage. The Azerbaijan brand invites people to discover the mysterious essence of the country, turning travel into a kind of exploration.

Igor Blagodarsky

What are the statistics: travelers from which countries visit Azerbaijan? What are the expectations - will the new brand change the situation?

Tourists mainly come to Azerbaijan from Russia, the republics of the former Union and Iran. Recently there has been an increase in interest in the Middle East. The main goal of the brand is to stimulate an increase in flows from these markets, as well as attract the interest of tourists from Europe.

In 2017, the country welcomed 2.6 million tourists who spent more than $1.3 billion, propelling the country into the top tier of the world's fastest growing tourist destinations. The goal of the Azerbaijan Tourism Council is to double their number by 2023 and make tourism the second most important sector of the country’s economy.

During the excursion, tourists get distracted, stop listening and look around, and not at all where you are pointing? This situation occurs quite often, so every guide needs to master techniques for attracting attention.

1. Tailor the material for your specific audience

This advice is often perceived one-sidedly: only age differences are taken into account. Accordingly, they construct a story for a child and an adult in different ways. However, it is also worth making adjustments to the narrative related to the clients’ professional activities or hobbies. A site for meeting tourists and guides will help you find out this information: when arranging an excursion, not only answer the traveler’s questions, but ask him yours.

2. Use acting and public speaking techniques

Nothing contributes more to the distraction of tourists than the monotonous speech of a guide and the absence of gestures. Therefore, use various means of expression from the arsenal of speakers and artists:

• play with intonation and tempo of speech: switch from a cheerful patter to a sincere tone, emphasize important phrases with your voice, etc.;
• talk about sad and joyful events with appropriate emotions;
• take pauses between semantic blocks of the narration, otherwise listeners will stop assimilating what was said;
• support your speech with gestures: express emotions with them, point to interesting objects.

3. Make “lyrical digressions”

Allow yourself to periodically be distracted from the topic: tell about some everyday details, love stories, fascinating incidents. Of course, digressions should be connected to your narrative in one way or another. Such “sketches” maintain interest in what is happening.

The personal approach works well. Your admiration, rejection or surprise at some historical character or event will be remembered by tourists for a long time. Just do not use this method in a story about modern realities, so as not to provoke a conflict.

4. Ask questions

You shouldn’t turn a tour into a lecture when only the “teacher” speaks. In such a situation, listeners become distracted very quickly. Encourage discussion by asking clients what they know about the events, structures, and characters in your story. This will force people to get involved in what is happening, activate their memory, which means no one will look around and ignore the guide.

5. Make jokes

Don't be too serious when walking with clients: delight them with historical anecdotes, funny cases from practice, funny comparisons. Laughter allows you to relieve tension and listen to the guide with renewed vigor. And “on-topic” humor also helps to remember information: tourists will soon forget dry facts, but a joke will remain in the memory for a long time.

6. Use electronic technology

Modern gadgets will help you maintain your interest: tablets, netbooks, smartphones. The most fruitful work with them is on personal excursions, because in a group of 30-40 people it is unlikely that everyone will see what is happening on the screen. And when communicating face-to-face, this method is effective.

Today in every city there is enough a lot of travel companies and the competition between them is quite high. How to make sure that clients turn to you?

When opening a travel agency, pay great attention to its name and location. Original, but catchy name will be a small advantage. Place Where the travel agency is located also often influences the choice of tourists. It’s good if you can reach it both in person and by public transport. You shouldn’t be afraid of competition and you can open an office where there are already travel agencies. As a rule, people look into several companies before going on vacation to find a profitable and interesting offer.

The simplest and at the same time well-working method of advertising is word of mouth. When opening a travel agency, tell your friends and acquaintances about it, they can use the services. If clients remain satisfied, then they will recommend the company to friends, because, as a rule, people turn to travel agencies for the first time based on reviews from friends. Don’t expect a large flow of tourists right away, but within a few years you can form your own customer base.

Don't forget about business cards and leaflets. Making simple leaflets is not expensive, and by distributing them where a large number of people gather, you can interest customers. The main thing is that the leaflet is interesting and original and can interest people.

Before traveling, many tourists look on the Internet, and Internet advertising can be effective and yet be inexpensive. It would be nice to create your own website, which will post not only the proposed tours, but also reviews of tourists about vacations and hotels. Reviews must be truthful.

contextual advertising can also attract clients to the travel agency. This is one of the fastest and effective ways attracting clients. If, when you type keywords, a company’s website appears on the first page, then many will definitely look at it. This means that in the future they will be able to become clients of the company.

You can order the creation of a website and its promotion from our agency, see the services section.

Don't forget about popularity social networks . You can create a group or blog completely free of charge. But you need to keep an eye on them. Be sure to post interesting and profitable offer, answer questions and comments. It’s easy to invite to a group; it’s often clear who is interested in tourism; such people are your potential clients.

To attract customers for the holidays, you can organize special, unique tours. And for newlyweds, for example, offer discounts and give gifts. Discounts always attract customers, but a good and exciting vacation is often more important than price.

Many travel agencies reduce prices due to great competition, but you can take a different route. Necessary offer truly interesting and unique tours. Be sure to report new attractive routes on the website and in the group. Prove that when traveling, the price is not the main thing, the content of the trip is more important. Then clients will be interested, and having received a lot of positive impressions on vacation, they will return to your travel agency again.

Video marketing

Using video is one of the most powerful ways to attract customers. And you don't have to buy expensive TV time to do this. Posting videos on the Internet is no less effective, for example on the most visited video hosting site, YouTube.

The video can be made interactive, linked to a specific tour, example:

At the end of the video there is a special navigation block with the help of which potential clients can get acquainted with the most bright places your tour.

Think about what makes your city unique? To do this, make a list of all the events and attractions that are in your city. Tourists are more interested in the things they can do and see in a city rather than where it is located. First of all, tourists find out what entertainment is available in the city, and only then where it is located. Examples: observing white nights in St. Petersburg or rock climbing in Krasnoyarsk.

• Focus on events and attractions unique to the city. Even a small or strange attraction can attract visitors and attention to a city (from the world's largest paper clip to artificial waves on a river). Ask yourself: “What makes this city worth visiting? What is there that tourists can’t get or see somewhere else?”
• Work with your tourism development committee and focus on the three most exciting things your city has to offer. The more facts you provide, the more interesting the city will become for tourists.