Again this Rooster chuckles at the latest headlines and article attributed to the Director of the Latvian Tourism Organization....
Incoming tourism seeing less spending by tourists
Latvian tourist board director Uldis Vitolins points to trends....
Come on now Mr. Vitolins, speak up and say it like it is...
Your agency has failed to coordinate the various toursim sector and supporting sector players... and has failed to develop REAL tourism to Latvia...
This spending less... you mention, is really due to the FACT that the current visitors to Latvia are people staying fewers days now than they were in 2003 - before Latvia entered the European Union.
And guess what, when they stay fewers days, they tend to spend fewer Lats!
That's no BIG surprise, either!
Latvia was on top of the world when it won the EuroVision contest; joined both NATO and the EU; and signed the lowcost airline landing contracts.
The leaders of the Latvian National, and local Governments' various agencies including: Transportation, Economics, Police, Riga City Government, Latvian Development Agency, Latvian Institute, Hotel Association, Tourist Agency Association and TAVA have failed to find a way to coordinate and take advantage of this situation.
The net result is that the the lowcost airlines started to dump weekend stag party visitors and others from their origin cities in Riga for just a couple of nights - for a cheap weekend break.
Next, the various tourism providers didn't know how to handle themselves or take advantage of the situation. As they lacked the required customer service and marketing skills, they failed to provide a delightful experience - other than a cheap drinking opportunity.
Many of these visitors went home and told their friends ... not much in Riga.... nobody smiles; people don't make me feel welcome; and things are difficult to experience as most people won't communicate or engage with us.
To make matters worse, the young hoodlums and mafia "want to bes" found out quickly that these drunk visitors were an easy "mark" and created ways to take money from the visitor's pockets -- the Latvian Police simply went along for the ride and pocket change.
Again, more bad press about Latvian, and guess what.... more of the bad boys and girls came to Latvia for the excitment of the experience.
Then came the Freedom Monument experiences and the Northern Irish matches and...
more and more bad press...
some REAL TOURIST visitors just stayed away... afraid of the potential experience...
These heavy drinking folks did not come to Riga to see Tourism Objects -- other than lovely young girls (friends of the mafia "want a bees") and the inside of a beer glass. They don't eat at expensive restaurants; don't buy gifts to take home; don't hire tour guides; rental cars or desire to venture out of the city except to the bobsled track in Sigulda.
REAL Tourism should be the sharing of cultures....
But, Latvian service providers don't know how to share and communicate as it is NOT in the Latvian culture to show their teeth... as they say.
Well, Mr. Tourism Agency Director, it should have been your agencies job to have taught them otherwise - and your agency failed to do so!
Tourism is a business - plain and simple. Businesses survive on buying customers and profits - sales greater than expenses.
Customers don't go back to restaurants where they didn't like the food and don't shop where they do not feel welcome. This is especially true for foreign visitors and even more true that they need to feel welcomed in the nature of their own culture.
A seller of goods and services (a business) desiring to make a profit has a responsibility to understand the nature and culture of their customer and modify their offering to delight the customer. That is if they want to make a profit... and stay in business.
So without the basic understanding of business skills and a local culture of shyness, they failed to perform. Many businesses are now struggling and struggling realy hard.
Also, hotels have blindly (or was it GREED) now been overbuilt... and along comes the world economic crisis to "pull the rug out from under them" !
... good luck hotels in paying salaries, energy costs and credit payments !
Well, Mr. Tourism Agency Director, it should have been your agencies job to have taught them otherwise - and your agency failed to do so!
Concerning the Brand Image of Latvia, this Rooster would like to comment on the concept that Latvia is the "Land that Sings" The average visitor to Latvia does not experience a "singing Latvian" !!!
In order to be a proper Brand Image, the visitor needs to experience the situation and take it home as clear mental reminder.
Vietnam is a country where the people sing... they sing Karoke everywhere and even children from the time they can standup are taught to sing in front of a group. Now this is a country that sings and visitors clearly experience it.
Latvia clearly needs to figure out what it is trying to sell to our visitors.
may I suggest that it is NOT low cost bear being sold in outdoor cafes along with hot and cold, tall young women running in and out of strip bars and public toilets resembling Freedom Monument.
Once everyone know what it is we are trying to sell, then you can sell it with a lot of Quality and Customer Delight.
see link below for November 2003 Speach concerning Latvia Brand Image
In addition, this Rooster performed a Visitor Satisfaction Survey in the Summer of 2003 and presented the results to Rigas Dome (City Hall) Tourist origanization and to the Latvian Quality Association ( perhaps supported by the Economic Ministry) and the survey clearly pointed our these facts just outlined above. Take a look, they have posted on the Internet for the past five years:
http://www.latviaphoto.com/latviaquality/So, there is no big surprise in today's Newspaper Headlines
But, What's next Mr. Tourism Director? -- It doesn't have to be this way even in todays economy!
Now is the time for Leadership and to plan, organize, develop and invest in the future. Don't tell me about your agencies budget wooooos. There is suffient money available.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
There are ways to accomplish... even this difficult task... with a low budget.
Spend wisely, stop taking boon-dogle trips to the various tourism shows; organize the various players in the industry. Lead them, provide training and encouragement, look for ways to achieve FREE publicity like this Rooster recently did with the recent Laying of Flowers at Freedom Momumnet.
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-98999Support and development the concept of the First Christmas Tree.
http://www.rigatree.lv/lv/Look what Finland has done with Santa Claus. Its ONLY a legend too!
http://www.santaclauslive.com/When the going gets tough, the tough get going! What's it going to take to stop making excuses and to get going?
In addition, this Rooster provides the following "Food for Thought" - suggested reading...
... it is a speach about Requirements to Create an Appropriate Brand Image for Latvia Tourism. It was presented to the International Academic conference on public communication and media. on 14 & 15 November 2003, at Riga Stradins University
http://www.latviaphoto.com/brandimage/More From StandbyNews:
http://www.standbynews.infoIncoming tourism seeing less spending by tourists
Latvian tourist board director Uldis Vitolins points to trends
Latvian State Tourism Development Agency Director Uldis Vitolins reveals what he thinks tourists say about Latvia and how incoming tourism looks in the future. The overall trend right now, he says, is that people are travelling less, choosing shorter trips and spending less money and the beginnings of this trend are already being seen in Latvia. The Latvian tourist board has agreements with airBaltic and other main players so that the best attractions are advertised across a variety of markets. It is also important for Latvia, Vitolins stresses, to raise the quality standards across the incoming tourism sector.
Dienas Bizness, 2008-10-03
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