24 October 2012
The Tourism Recovery Taskforce has published a significant new strategy to revitalise performance in the British market – GB Path to Growth.
The report, GB Path to Growth, sets out a radically new approach to recovering our share of the British market. by identifying areas of best potential growth and recommending that future marketing and development plans be focused intensely on these.
The Tourism Recovery Taskforce is a partnership comprising of Fáilte Ireland, Northern Ireland Tourism Board, Tourism Ireland, ITIC and and other industry members.
Key Actions Coming from the report
The report was informed by an extensive review of the island of Ireland and its competitors’ performance in the British market.
In order to win back some of the British market the report recommends that we:
1.Target areas with potential for growth
Three segments of the GB market have been identified as having the best prospects for growth in 2013 and 2014:
-
Social Energisers (young, fun-loving urban adventurers);
-
Culturally Curious (over 45s who want to broaden their minds);
-
Great Escapers (younger couples who want to get away from it all)
2.Make sure Ireland is ready to provide the specific and compelling experiences that match the needs of these segments
3.Pursue each of these segments with specific, targeted and captivating communications
4.Measure success by tracking overall performance and segment performance
Predicted Growth
Leading tourism experts, Oxford Economics, have estimated that growth could be close to 5% per annum during the period 2013-2016.
This would represent cumulative growth of almost 20%, or close to 200,000 additional annual GB visitors, which would exceed the general outlook for travel in Britain.
Speaking yesterday, Vivienne Jupp, Chairperson of the Tourism Recovery Taskforce, emphasised:
“Regaining our market share in Britain will require consistent and concerted action across the tourism industry if this report is to have the greatest impact possible.
“The tourism agencies will continue to work collaboratively to align their approaches. Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board will create iconic experiences that can only be enjoyed on the island of Ireland to match the core desires of the audiences that have now been identified and prioritised. Tourism Ireland will develop new communications plans designed to target those three target audiences.”
Welcoming the report yesterday, Shaun Quinn, CEO, Fáilte Ireland, said –
“It is rare that a report of such standing is produced. This is a seminal report in my view, one that provides the new solutions required to win back this market share.
“The publication of this report is only the first step in bringing the plan to fruition. For our part, we have established an implementation group to ensure that Ireland is able to deliver the promise of specific and compelling experiences that match the needs, interests and motivations of these three target segments.”
Pointing out that he felt that this report was a great model for how we might review our approach to other markets, Mr Quinn stressed-
“I would urge all members of the tourism industry in the first instance to farmiliarise themselves with the report, so that they can row in behind all agencies involved as we knit these plans into our own strategies for 2013 and beyond.”
Find out more about the key actions coming out of the report or downlad the full GB Path to Growth report at www.failteireland.ie
What other Taskforce members had to say about the report
Eamonn McKeon, CEO, ITIC
“We cannot ever take it for granted that things will ‘return to normal’ – things only happen when you make them happen, and this is exactly what this report is setting out to achieve. The implementation of this report will be a big challenge but it’s one that can happen by continuing with the collaboration that has been taking place over the last year.”
Brian McColgan, Chairman, Abbey Tours
“Reversing the substantial downward trend of the British market is one of the industry’s toughest challenges. This timely and welcome report produces a realistic path for growth and the prize is substantial – 200,000 extra visitors from our closest and largest market. The full and active support of the industry is crucial to the implementation of each of the report’s recommendations.”
Paul Gallagher, Buswells Hotel.
“This report looks at what the best in class have to offer the domestic visitor in Great Britain and Ireland is in a prime position to both match and exceed their expectations. For this approach to work, we need to adopt a much more targeted and creative way in which we attract these visitors, and the Irish tourism industry have a huge part to play in delivering this.”
|