Tourism

The travel industry is facing very challenging times. The weak economy is causing many consumers to cut back on spending, including family vacations and other getaways. Corporate and business travel budgets also are tighter. As a Florida-based PR firm, AXIA understands the critical importance of tourism to state and local economies.

Tourism Industry Profile

The Travel Industry Association of America estimated total U.S. travel expenditures in 2008 at $775.9 billion, which is a significant portion of the national economic landscape. Americans are expected to take 322 million domestic leisure trips during summer 2009, a decline of 2.2 percent from summer 2008. Consumers are expected to take an average of two trips this summer, stay approximately seven nights away from home and spend more than $900 on their longest summer trip. Corporate travel is expected to decrease 5 percent. E-commerce continues to play an extremely important role in the tourism industry, making online booking convenient for consumers and more cost-effective for travel providers.

What’s Next for Tourism?

• Americans plan to take more day trips or long weekend getaways in lieu of weeklong vacations. Although gas prices were the primary deterrent to travel last summer, gas prices will be less of an issue this year as they are expected to hover just over $2 per gallon.
• Online travel bookings are predicted to increase 10.5 percent, reaching $116.1 billion. Consumers are comparison-shopping and seeking travel packages, particularly online, to save money.
• At the higher end of the accommodations market, industry observers have noted a new trend in hotel construction. Companies are building more mixed-used hotels so that cash flows are steadier throughout the year and throughout economic cycles.
• Although the domestic leisure travel market has been fairly resilient, a more disconcerting trend is the expected 9 percent decline in international travel to the United States, including a 7 percent decline in overseas travel. Because international travelers spend more money – an average of $4,500 per trip to the U.S. – increasing travel to the United States is the most efficient form of economic stimulus.
• Many travel companies are using Twitter and other social media tools to head off problems before they start. For example, Southwest and JetBlue have both shown extremely quick response times to tweets by travelers en route. A Southwest passenger recently tweeted about losing a boarding pass and was contacted by the airline immediately. A JetBlue passenger was unable to be seated with his infant child until he tweeted his predicament, which was picked up while he was still in the boarding area. These immediate responses solved the problems and eliminated potential viral public relations disasters.

AXIA Delivers Results

Living and working in a tourism-dependent state gives the AXIA team a major advantage in delivering public relations results. Established relationships with news organizations plus expertly crafted news stories equal valuable exposure for AXIA’s tourism clients.

The Florida House Inn is the state’s oldest continually run bed and breakfast. For the inn’s 150th anniversary, the owners wanted to create some exciting news coverage that would ultimately lead to increased bookings and more repeat visits. AXIA launched a public relations campaign that resonated with reporters who cover travel and tourism. AXIA’s PR professionals reviewed editorial calendars and introduced the innkeepers to news contacts as subject-matter experts. The inn was featured in a full-color, front-page story in the Sunday business section of The Florida Times-Union! Additional coverage included Florida Trend, Jacksonville Business Journal, Nassau Sun and News-Leader.

Another tourism success story happened during four fall days on Amelia Island, Fla., when it becomes “Book Island.” Best-selling authors share their works with literary connoisseurs from around the country. Festival officials booked AXIA to promote the event locally and nationally to increase attendance. AXIA helped increase ticket sales by 73 percent, and increased bed-night stays by 57 percent. AXIA’s public relations experts negotiated a donation of $17,000 in advertising with NPR radio and a newspaper, and secured coverage from C-SPAN, all local TV news programs, booktv.org, The Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News, The Charlotte Observer, Southern Scribe, Bradenton Herald, The Florida Times-Union, The St. Augustine Record, Jacksonville Business Journal and other publications.

So, if you have tourism to tout, AXIA’s your PR agency. All it takes is a phone call to us today, and you will be on your way tomorrow.