Final Report ONE BSR - One Baltic Sea Region

Transcription

ONE BSR Market
Research: US Tourism
Demand for the
Baltic Sea Region
Final Report
Munich/Berlin, August 2013
ONE BSR: US Tourism Demand for the Baltic Sea Region
ONE BSR Market Research:
US Tourism Demand for the Baltic Sea Region
Final Report
Content
Management Summary ............................................................................................................................. - 4 I.
Initial Situation .................................................................................................................................. - 9 -
II.
US Tourism Flows to Europe and the Baltic Sea Region....................................................- 14 1.
US travel to world regions, Europe and the BSR cities .......................................................... - 14 -
2.
Characteristics and travel patterns of US tourists to Europe .............................................. - 21 2.1
General characteristics and type of travel .................................................................... - 21 -
2.2
Information and booking including online research and platforms................... - 22 -
2.3
Travel patterns, expectations and activities of US tourists ..................................... - 24 -
III.
Perception of the BSR and its cities in the USA ....................................................................- 27 -
IV.
Tour Operators for the BSR Cities..............................................................................................- 32 -
V.
1.
Current relation towards the BSR cities...................................................................................... - 32 -
2.
Current BSR leisure tourism products ......................................................................................... - 35 -
Future tourism promotion of the BSR cities ..........................................................................- 40 1.
Trends and Opportunities ............................................................................................................... - 40 -
2.
Suitable Target Groups .................................................................................................................... - 42 -
3.
Promising Travel Topics ................................................................................................................... - 44 -
4.
Sample Products and Itineraries ................................................................................................... - 48 -
5.
City-specific recommendations .................................................................................................... - 52 5.1
Hamburg ................................................................................................................................... - 52 -
5.2
Helsinki ...................................................................................................................................... - 54 -
5.3
Riga ............................................................................................................................................. - 58 -
5.4
St. Petersburg .......................................................................................................................... - 60 -
5.5
Warsaw ...................................................................................................................................... - 63 -
6.
Recommended promotional activities for BSR Cities............................................................ - 65 -
7.
Marketing strategy recommendations for BSR cities ............................................................ - 71 7.1
First stage: Build travel trade awareness through push marketing ..................... - 71 -
7.2
Second stage: Build consumer awareness.................................................................... - 73 -
7.3
Reaching key target markets ............................................................................................. - 73 -1-
7.4
VI.
Outreach and support to the travel trade..................................................................... - 74 -
Sources...............................................................................................................................................- 77 -
Figures
Figure 1:
Map ONE BSR cities ............................................................................................................................... - 9 -
Figure 2:
Overview on research activities .................................................................................................... - 10 -
Figure 4:
Promotion of Copenhagen in the US .......................................................................................... - 12 -
Figure 3:
Hamburg Travel Planner 2013 ....................................................................................................... - 13 -
Figure 5:
Residence of US travelers to Europe ........................................................................................... - 16 -
Figure 6:
Overnights of US tourists in European cities (2011) .............................................................. - 17 -
Figure 7:
Development overnights of US tourists in BSR cities (Index 2003 =100)...................... - 18 -
Figure 8:
Foreign and share of US overnights in BSR cities 2012 ........................................................ - 19 -
Figure 9:
Overnights, cruise passengers and direct flights to BSR cities........................................... - 20 -
Figure 10:
Attractiveness of the BSR cities ..................................................................................................... - 27 -
Figure 11:
Current Sale of BSR cities ................................................................................................................. - 32 -
Figure 12:
Current sale of individual BSR cities ............................................................................................ - 34 -
Figure 13:
Duration of typical trips including BSR cities ........................................................................... - 35 -
Figure 14:
Sample Tour “Scandinavia & Russia Plus” .................................................................................. - 36 -
Figure 15:
Sample tour “Jewels of the Baltics & Scandinavia”................................................................. - 37 -
Figure 16:
Sample tour “Around the North Sea” .......................................................................................... - 38 -
Figure 17:
Meeting the locals in Helsinki and Wittenberg ....................................................................... - 41 -
Figure 18:
“Extraordinary experiences” in St. Petersburg offered by Exeter International ........... - 41 -
Figure 19:
Suitable target groups for BSR cities ........................................................................................... - 43 -
Figure 20:
Relevance of travel experiences for the BSR cities ................................................................. - 48 -
Figure 21:
Selling BSR cities ................................................................................................................................. - 49 -
Figure 22:
Routes and Clusters including/connecting BSR Cities .......................................................... - 50 -
Figure 23:
Possible Topics and their Relevance for the Promotion of BSR cities in the US .......... - 51 -
Figure 24:
B2B-marketing activities recommended for BSR cities ........................................................ - 66 -
Figure 25:
Recommended Sales and Promotional Material for US Travel Trade.............................. - 69 -
Figure 26:
Recommended consumer activities ............................................................................................ - 70 -
Figure 27:
Market Push and Market Pull ......................................................................................................... - 71 -
-2-
Tables
Table 1: Relevance and activities of BSR Cities regarding the market USA .......................................... - 11 Table 2: US Travel to international destinations (2012) .............................................................................. - 15 Table 3: Trends in Departures (US Resident Travel to Europe) ................................................................. - 16 Table 4: Main Purpose of Trip (US Resident Travel to Europe).................................................................. - 21 Table 5: Top travel websites in the US (July 2013) ........................................................................................ - 23 Table 6: Top Online Travel Agent sites by share of page views 2012 .................................................... - 24 Table 7: Types of transportation within Europe (US Resident Travel to Europe) ............................... - 25 Table 8: Typical activities (US Resident Travel to Europe) .......................................................................... - 26 Table 9: Promising Tour Operators for BSR cities (extraction from databank) ................................... - 33 Table 10: Tour operators (already selling Hamburg) ...................................................................................... - 54 Table 11: Tour operators (already selling Helsinki) ......................................................................................... - 56 Table 14: Tour operators (already selling Riga)................................................................................................. - 59 Table 13: Tour operators (already selling St. Petersburg) ............................................................................. - 61 Table 12: Tour operators (already selling Warsaw).......................................................................................... - 64 -
dwif-Consulting GmbH, Munich/Berlin
Michael Deckert, Karsten Heinsohn, Dr. Andrea Möller, Uta Schneider
[email protected]
in cooperation with
Myriad Marketing, Los Angeles/New York
Jaclyn Gaffaney, Jennifer Goger, Al Merschen
Munich/Berlin, August 2013
-3-
Management Summary
ONE BSR: Project aim and initial situation
The aim of the project is to generate an increase of overnight stays from the US market to the involved BSR cities. In this respect, the demand study was launched to prepare the tourism promotion of the BSR cities in the US market.
Current tourism promotion of the BSR cities in the US market depends on the local focus and
shows to be heterogeneous. None of the BSR cities is pursuing really heavy marketing campaigns
directed to the US market on its own nor is the US market a priority market to any of them. If the US
market is focused, this is done in cooperative marketing activities with National Tourist Boards,
Airlines or supranational cooperation (e.g. Scandinavian Tourism Incorporation).
US travel to world regions, Europe and the BSR cities
Europe is still the global top destination for US tourists’ international travel, but faces a severe decline and a more and more competitive situation regarding exchange rates, multilateral travel,
higher growth rates in Middle East, Africa and Central America. Between 2004 and 2011, US resident travel to Europe has declined by two million departures (- 17 %). Top regional source markets
within the US are South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic and Pacific.
Western Europe and the United Kingdom are the top destinations in Europe while only one in ten
US tourists visits Eastern European destinations. Berlin is the only BSR city among the top ten city
destinations in Europe, with Stockholm and St. Petersburg being the only three BSR cities with outstanding attractions for US tourists (according to a quantitative review on trip advisor).
Decreasing US tourist shares among incoming tourism in BSR cities show that other international
source markets are more dynamic. At the same time, also the length of stay among US tourists in
BSR cities has decreased.
Best direct accessibility of the BSR is given via Berlin and Copenhagen and future opportunities,
showing accessibility as a key factor in terms of direct flight connections to the US. The opening of
new or improvement of existing hubs (e.g. Berlin International Airport, new terminal in St. Petersburg) will have the potential to boost US tourism in the BSR and its cities in near future. The same
applies for high speed and direct train connections between European and BSR cities.
Characteristics and travel patterns of US tourists to Europe
Educated, wealthy and experienced, the average US tourist is a best to silver ager being around
50 years, well educated, wealthy, more likely female and an experienced traveler (repeat to Europe).
Two third are travelling either with their spouse or family.
-4-
Internet and personal contact as the most important travel planning sources play an increasingly
important role in the US tourism market not only for planning the trip but already as a source for
travel ideas and possible destinations. Google maps and MapQuest are the top consumer web
pages, followed by TripAdvisor, Expedia and Priceline.com. Facebook clearly dominates social media also in matters of travelling. Tourists search mobile, but prefer booking via desktop.
The average length of stay in Europe is 19,3 nights and includes 2,2 destinations. Multi-modal travel within Europe is frequent (taxis, trains, busses, ferries), with a preference for high speed trains.
Access from the US is by air. Higher standard for accommodation is preferred (four stars+), but
there are also target groups for three star offers. Culture and history are the main driving motives
for travelling to Europe, but have to be accompanied by attractive complementary offers with regards to shopping opportunities and gastronomy.
Perception of the BSR and its cities in the USA
There is no clear image of the entire Baltic Sea Region, as the respective cities are very heterogeneous in terms of awareness and attractiveness from the US perspective, ranging from very attractive
cities with distinct and positive associations to rather unknown places with a diffuse or even partly
negative image.
St. Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm and Copenhagen are rated as the most attractive BSR cities, followed by heterogeneous results for Oslo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Hamburg and Warsaw. Riga, Vilnius,
Gdansk and Malmö are rather unknown in the USA and face also “low attractiveness”. “Low attractiveness” seems thus often a result of being not known by tour operators and travel agents as well
as being not requested by their clients.
History and culture in general are the predominant associations not only with Europe, but also with
the BSR cities in particular, with different specifications for the single BSR cities.
Tour operator´s market and product development for the BSR cities
US travel trade is mostly indifferent and only reacts to the tourists’ demand. The market study
could identify experienced sellers to start with, but with most of them selling rather low volume of
trips to the BSR.
Pull market situation requires BSR cities’ full initiative. Online survey and in-depth interviews have
shown that BSR cities will have to engage themselves with strategic and sincere marketing action
in order to change the evident pull market situation.
In general BSR cities will be part of longer European itineraries. Berlin, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen
and Stockholm as the most popular BSR cities and Berlin as the trendy top destination in Germany
should be part of future products as the most popular BSR cities. The Scandinavian metropolises
-5-
Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki profit from pre- and post-cruise offers (especially Copenhagen), good
direct air connections as well as the possibility of travel to St. Petersburg from Helsinki (partly visafree). The other BSR cities can only be part of a longer European itinerary or a more differentiated
one country tour.
The typical travel period for BSR in general is from April to October, partly often with a reference to
seasonal events also for other months. Intraregional transport is mainly organized with comfortable coaches while ferries and partly trains are used for certain distances (e.g. Stockholm-Helsinki
respectively St. Petersburg-Moscow).
Future tourism promotion of the BSR cities
Relevant trends and opportunities in the US market are the discovery of new places, the longing for
authentic and unique experiences, experiential travel as well as heritage and multi-generational
travel.
Further developments and opportunities are due to specific good selling points (which apply to
the individual BSR cities to different degrees):
• the idea of a safe region where English is widely spoken (especially relevant for Scandinavia);
• concentrating on selected niche or affinity markets as the BSR and its cities are no destination for the mass market today (requires particular expertise and services for the selected
segment to answer the needs of the target group)
• specialized tour operators develop specific products and itineraries for defined target groups
(e.g. Ancestry and Jewish Heritage, Music and Performance Tours).
Suitable target groups are senior citizens as most promising and the concentration on the East
Coast as best connected to the BSR and densely populated.
Promising travel topics show the highest relevance for Seasonal Events, Museums/Arts and Historical/Cultural Sites, meaning that specific seasonal events should be elaborated as distinctive feature
and travel motivation. Regionally, “design” composes an attractive topic for Scandinavian cities,
fascinating royal and imperial heritage as well as “Music and European composers” seem most appropriate for Warsaw and St. Petersburg. Ancestry and Heritage Tourism are increasingly popular,
but deserve a specific putting in scene, creating individual and unique experiences. Jewish Heritage is strongly focused on Warsaw, maritime culture and waterfronts are mainly suitable for Hamburg (then Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki). Gastronomy and Nordic culinary are an add-on creating no travel motivation of its own. Promising natural sites must be outstanding and specific,
leaving the opportunity solely to the Fjords in this region.
-6-
Sample itineraries should include highlight cities considering combinations of especially the Scandinavian Capitals as well as the Capitals of the Baltic States and Helsinki and St. Petersburg (mostly
as part of a larger tour).
BSR cities should rather focus on a certain theme or tailored trip than trying to “be all things to everybody”. “History and culture” are the main topics and suitable for all, while further topics are mostly niches for only a few of the BSR cities, specific target groups and specialized tour operators.
The choice of major gateway cities such as Berlin or Copenhagen and the bundling of cities to geographic clusters respectively cities with good public transport connections are highly recommended in terms of enhancing accessibility.
According to the polled tour operators, escorted group travel would work best for a BSR cities itinerary. Apart from traveling through the region by cruise, Pre- and Post-Cruise Tours are considered
a promising opportunity for the BSR cities.
Taking into account limited budgets, promotion for the BSR cities on the US market needs to be
target-oriented. In this respect, marketing should concentrate on business-to-business- (B2B-)
measures (market push) with US Tour operators´ preferences on educational fam trips, cooperative
marketing funds and roadshows.
As far as sales and promotional material for the US travel trade are concerned, a strong and informative website for the BSR is recommended followed by available sample itineraries.
Taking into account the weak image and low awareness of the Baltic Sea Region in the US, a successful promotion of the BSR cities requires a serious, long-term, continuous commitment beyond
the lifetime of the ONE BSR project and respective funding.
B2B-activities will have to be well adjusted to each other: BSR sponsoring functions at trade events
to increase awareness among the trade, all marketing activities directing back to the website, using webinars and road shows to identify most promising partners and rewarding them with cooperative marketing funds and participation in specialized fam trips.
Despite all concentration on B2B-activities (first stage), it is still vital to build up awareness for the
BSR and its cities among consumers (market pull) at the same time. The strategy should thus also
define selected upcoming consumer oriented marketing measures and communicate them to the
partners in the US tourism trade (second stage).
-7-
Tour operators most likely to be involved with the BSR are those specialized in selling Europe already, small and mid-sized operators seeing their advantage in cooperation for more individually
tailored products “off the beaten track” and tour operators in specialized niches.
The web site should thus host a B2B as well as a consumer oriented section, press trips and work
with press accompany B2B-activity in regional markets and a BSR inspirational booklet could also
be directed to the consumer.
-8-
I. Initial Situation
The project “ONE BSR – Baltic Metropolises Accelerating Branding and Identity Building of the Baltic Sea Region” (ONE BSR) functions as umbrella project for branding the Baltic Sea Region (BSR)
and is implemented through the EU Baltic Sea Region program and co-financed by the ERDF.
Hamburg Tourismus GmbH (Germany) coordinates the tourism component of this project, cooperating with the Project Partner cities Helsinki (Finland), Riga (Latvia), Warsaw (Poland), as well as the
associated partner city of St. Petersburg (Russia) referred to as stakeholder cities. The aim is to generate an increase of overnight stays from the US market to the involved BSR cities. In addition to
the aforementioned stakeholder cities, these are Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm, Malmö
(Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Tallinn (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Gdansk (Poland) and Berlin (Germany).1
Figure 1:
Map ONE BSR cities
Source: ONE BSR
Apart from the present study on the US tourism demand for the Baltic Sea Region, the Project Partner Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia) is working on a study regarding the supply.
The demand study was launched to prepare the tourism promotion of the BSR cities in the US market. It generally considers all named cities although some parts are focused on the stakeholder
cities. Cruise tourism as already established market segment and subject to other EU-funded projects (Cruise Baltic) is explicitly excluded from this market analysis. The success story of cruise tourism in the BSR nevertheless underlines the general potential for further developing the US market
as a source for incoming tourism.
__________________________________________________________________________
1
ONE BSR, www.onebsr.eu, Call for tender market study
-9-
Research activities during the development of this study included
• comprehensive desk research, especially on suitable US tour operators
• research and analysis of available studies and statistical data
• an Online Survey to US travel trade
• additional in-depth interviews with US tour operators
• expert interviews with actors in the US and the BSR.
The Online Survey was addressed to more than 500 US tour operators and travel agents2 and additionally posted on suitable social media platforms. In total, around 100 persons participated in the
survey at least partly while 66 questionnaires were fully completed. Taking into account that the
survey was directed mainly to contacts with a certain affinity to European destinations in general
and partly to BSR-cities in particular, it is understood that this is not a representative sample. It
should consequently rather be considered as a positive selection of US travel trade.
The initial approach was to conduct a workshop with US tour operators to discuss selected issues
regarding the BSR and its cities. This working session was supposed to take place in a town or at
least country of the BSR partner cities and be combined with an existing trade fair or business
event attended by US tour operators. As this was not possible to go along with a suitable event in
the given time frame, individual in-depth interviews were chosen as an alternative.
Figure 2:
Overview on research activities
Source: dwif 2013
__________________________________________________________________________
2
The mailing list also included 51 Canadian companies. Analysis has shown that there were no significant differences
between US and Canadian respondents. The results consequently also include the Canadian respondents.
- 10 -
Current tourism marketing of BSR cities in the US market
Current tourism promotion of the BSR cities in the US market depends on the local focus and
shows to be heterogeneous. None of the BSR cities is pursuing really heavy marketing campaigns
directed to the US market on its own nor is the US market a priority market to any of them. If the US
market is focused, this is done in cooperative marketing activities with National Tourist Boards,
Airlines or supranational cooperation (e.g. Scandinavian Tourism Incorporation).
Table 1:
Relevance and activities of BSR Cities regarding the market USA3
Relevance of the US as Source
Market
Activities
No TOP market, but mentioned as
target market in marketing strategy
Cooperative Marketing with
National Tourism Boards (DZT,
Visit Finland), Airlines (Iceland
Air, SAS etc.) and transnational
organizations (Scandinavian
Tourism Incorporation)
Malmö, Riga, St.
Petersburg
No classification for the market
Activities on demand,
B2B-oriented
Vilnius, Warsaw,
Gdansk, Tallinn
No reference in marketing strategy
No active marketing
BSR Cities
Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg,
Helsinki, Oslo,
Stockholm
Sources:
information from city tourist boards, compilation dwif 2013
Berlin cooperates with the German National Tourist Office (DZT) and the German Convention Bureau (GCB). Additionally, the city’s tourist board visitBerlin has its own foreign representations in
the US: “KMS Communications” in Los Angeles for public relations and cooperation with “Marketing Challenges international” in New York with regards to conventions.4 Recent marketing activity
in the US focuses on MICE. Berlin visits fairs in the US (IMEX and Successful Meetings University
International with Air Berlin). Moreover, visitBerlin promotes the direct flight connections between
Berlin and the US, among them the new one from/to Los Angeles which was subject to press trips
and specific marketing activities with partners from the local hotel industry.5
Cooperation with the national Tourism Office VisitDenmark and the airline SAS is also being practiced by Wonderful Copenhagen, the tourism organization for the Capital Region of Denmark.
Promotion advertises for new direct flight connections from San Francisco to Copenhagen. Further
cooperation partners include other Scandinavian national or city tourist boards (VisitSweden, VisitStockholm, Innovation Norway, VisitOslo), Icelandair, Travelocity and Orbitz.
__________________________________________________________________________
3
4
5
Italic type: no information available, estimation of dwif
www.visitberlin.de
visitBerlin: Jahresbericht. Zahlen und Fakten 2012
- 11 -
Figure 3:
Promotion of Copenhagen in the US
Source: Wonderful Copenhagen
Hamburg categorizes the US as “B-market” where currently only basis activities directed to travel
trade, consumers (since 2013) and press are implemented, preferably in cooperation with the USrepresentation of the German National Tourist Office (DZT).6 In 2012, for example, Hamburg Tourism hosted a workshop with the Advisory Board of the DZT and was present at the USTOA conference for the first time. Additionally, the “Hamburg Travel Planner 2013” was published in February
2013 as a 8 page-supplement in the trade magazine “Recommend” with a print run of 50.000. Further 1.000 copies were distributed via the DZT and during the trade fair “cruise3sixty”.
__________________________________________________________________________
6
Hamburg Tourismus: Die Hamburg-Kommunikation, Kooperationsmöglichkeiten und Medien.
- 12 -
Figure 4:
Hamburg Travel Planner 2013
Source: Hamburg Tourismus GmbH
Helsinki cooperates with airlines and participates in the Scandinavian Tourism Incorporation. Promotional activities include
• the participation in workshops (Icelandair, STI)
• sales calls
• online campaign (Expedia)
• media and press trips
• cooperation with VisitFinland.
Also VisitOslo cooperates with the national tourist board to promote the Norwegian capital in the
US. This concerns workshops, route development as well as the membership in the Advisory Board
USA. Further activities includes sales trips and visits to shipping companies or the participation in
the cruisefair Seatrade in Miami.7
The activities of Stockholm Visitors Board for the promotion of the city in the US are often implemented in cooperation with partners such as national tourist boards (VisitSweden, but also the
respective organisations of Norway or Denmark), carriers (SAS, Icelandair) or hotels and attractions
(e.g. Scandinavian workshop in Los Angeles with Vasmuseet, Clarion Hotels and Lydmar Hotel).
Activities listed by the city’s tourist board include campaigns (Orbitz), trade fairs and workshops
(e.g. with the network Viruoso), sales calls or PR and press work.8
__________________________________________________________________________
7
8
VisitOslo: Markedsplan VisitOslo 2013
Stockholm Visitors Board: Privatresor & Turistservice 2012
- 13 -
Malmö does some B2B-activities and some press trips on demand in case of very specific requests.
Malmö’s tourism organization cooperates with VisitSweden as national tourist office and the airline
SAS. Riga’s tourism organization Rīgas Tūrisma Attīstības Birojs puts the focus on primary and secondary markets while the USA belongs to other markets with occasional marketing activities only
(e.g. relating to official visits).
Warsaw and Vilnius are not doing any active marketing in the US.
II. US Tourism Flows to Europe and the Baltic Sea Region
1.
US travel to world regions, Europe and the BSR cities
Largest share of overseas trips to Europe
About 36 % of all US-American citizens hold a valid passport (total of 113,4 million valid passport
by the end of 2012), which constitutes a pre-condition for international trips.9 46,9 % of all international travel by US citizens in 2012 was overseas trips. Statistical analysis shows that Europe still
received the largest share of the overseas trips by US American tourists in 2012. However, the market has become more competitive during the last 15 years. Air fares to other world regions have
become less expensive. The exchange rate between Euro and US-Dollar is not favorable. US tourists
are pursuing a larger variety of international destinations than they traditionally had in the past. US
tourists traveling abroad are no longer focusing as much on Europe. Especially in recent years,
Middle East, Africa and Central America have shown higher growth rates than Europe.
__________________________________________________________________________
9
US Department of State
- 14 -
Table 2:
US Travel to international destinations (2012)
World Region
2006
11.244.637
12.995.893
8.946.300
25,7
Caribbean
6.435.343
5.780.787
4.020.600
60,1
Asia
4.312.544
5.207.977
3.155.100
36,7
South America
1.702.869
2.317.921
1.455.500
17,0
Central America
2.394.332
2.371.223
1.045.600
129,0
547.271
828.799
591.800
-7,5
1.500.282
478.282
433.800
245,8
364.867
167.490
137.600
165,2
Total
Overseas10
28.502.145
30.148.372
19.786.300
44,0
Mexico
20.366.66711
5.747.999
3.992.400
-
Canada
11.853.98112
3.861.639
3.047.200
-
Europe
Oceania
Middle East
Africa
1996
Development
1996 to 2012
(in %)
2012
Source: US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI)
More than half of all international trips undertaken by US citizens in 2012 led to destinations in
North America: Mexico (33,5 %) and Canada (19,5 %). Mexico was the first among international
destinations for US tourists in 2012 with more than 20 million travelers. Travel to Mexico has fluctuated over the last 10 years. The strongest growth periods were in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
With almost 12 million travelers, Canada continues to be the second most visited international destination for international travel of US citizens. The peak year for US travel to Canada was in 2002
while it has declined in seven of the last nine years since then.
Slower decrease for travel to Europe since 2010
According to the Market Profile for Europe published by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
(OTTI) for 2011, US resident travel to Europe declined between 2004 and 2011 by two million departures equaling a decrease of 17 %. The years 2006 and 2007 marked the peak for US travelers to
Europe. Since 2010, the decrease seems to have slowed. 13
__________________________________________________________________________
10
Overseas and Mexico air traffic (non-stop from US port to foreign port) source: DHS APIS
Mexico aggregate total (Including air, land and border 1+ nights), source: Banco de Mexico
12
Canadian aggregate total (including air, land and border 1+ nights), source: STATS Canada
13
Deviations in absolute numbers between table 1 and 2 are due to different statistical concepts, tendencies remain
equal.
11
- 15 -
Table 3:
Trends in Departures (US Resident Travel to Europe)
in thousands
2004
Departures
2006
2007
2008
2009
11.679 11.975 12.029 12.304 11.238 10.635
13
% Change
2005
3
0
2
-9
-5
2010
2011
Change
2011/2004
9.806
9.674
-2.005
-8
-1
-17
Source: OTTI, Market profile 2011, US Resident Travel to Europe
At the same time travel spending for trips to Europe has shown a small growth of 4 % since 2004.
Top countries for US spending in 2011 were Mexico ($ 9,3 billion), the United Kingdom ($ 8,7 billion), Canada ($7,7 billion), Germany ($5,6 billion) and Japan ($5,0 billion). Details are displayed in
the annex.
Top regional source markets are South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic and Pacific
The top regional markets traveling to Europe are the South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic and Pacific,
with the states of California, New York and Florida sending the most travelers. Dynamic cities with
the highest potential are New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago
(see annex for details).
With regards to accessibility of the BSR from the United States, New York and Chicago region are
currently best connected and therefore seem to be the best regional markets to concentrate on
(see Figure 9).
Figure 5:
Residence of US travelers to Europe
Source:
dwif 2013, OTTI, base map www.createaclickablemap.com
- 16 -
United Kingdom as the top destination in Europe
Among European destinations, the United Kingdom is top for US travelers followed by France, Italy
and Germany. Eastern Europe’s market share is still small with only one in ten of all trips to Europe
going there (see annex for details).14
Berlin as the only BSR city among the top ten
When it comes to individual cities in Europe, analysis shows that London generated the most overnights of US tourists in 2011, followed by Paris. The only BSR city among the top 10 was Berlin,
which ranked 9th while Copenhagen and Stockholm appeared among the top 20. Nevertheless, the
number of overnights of US tourists in these cities is below those of London or Paris. These patterns
reflect the close cultural, historical and political relationship especially between the United States
and the United Kingdom and also France.
Figure 6:
Overnights of US tourists in European cities (2011)
London
Paris
Barcelona
Madrid
Florence
Amsterdam
Venice
Prague
Berlin
Munich
Vienna
Frankfurt
Budapest
Zurich
Brussels
Copenhagen
Lissabon
Geneva
Stockholm
Sevilla
4.098.245
3.600.522
1.261.606
1.157.669
1.026.308
980.400
923.469
717.629
651.423
649.047
580.671
414.380
375.584
358.739
348.207
333.434
307.987
236.288
229.329
195.712
0
1.000.000
2.000.000
3.000.000
4.000.000
5.000.000
Source: European Cities Marketing 2012 as per DZT Marktinformation USA
Taking a closer look at the BSR cities, statistical data shows that Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm
are followed by Hamburg, Warsaw, Helsinki and Oslo each with more than 100.000 overnights stays
of US tourists in 2011.15 According to the general trend, the average length of stay of US tourists has
__________________________________________________________________________
14
15
US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI)
Data on overnight stays of US-tourists in St. Petersburg not available
- 17 -
decreased in all BSR cities during the last ten years (with the exception of Gdansk) and lies currently
between 2,5 (Gdansk) and 1,9 (Warsaw) days.16
Comparing the years 2003 and 2012, there has been an increase of US tourists’ overnights and arrivals in most BSR cities. The exceptions are Helsinki, Oslo and Warsaw. Overnights of US tourists in
Helsinki in 2012 are almost equal to those in 2003 while the largest decline for the city has been
reported in the year 2009. In Warsaw, the respective figures are even below the status of 2003.
Figure 7:
Development overnights of US tourists in BSR cities (Index 2003 =100)17
Sources: TourMIS, statistical offices
When comparing the share of US tourists’ overnight stays to those of all international tourists in
2003 and 2012, the US tourists’ market share has decreased in almost all BSR cities and lies between 8,7 % in Stockholm and 2,1 % in Riga respectively Latvia. Detailed information is available in
individual city profiles in the annex.
__________________________________________________________________________
16
17
As far as data was available, see city profiles for details
Index 2003 (for Warsaw 2005)=100; data for Riga refers to entire Latvia, partly not available
- 18 -
Figure 8:
Foreign and share of US overnights in BSR cities 201218
Source: TourMIS, statistical offices
The popularity of the cities and their tourist sites is equally displayed in the classification of their
highlight attractions according to their reviews on TripAdvisor:19
• With Berlin, Stockholm and St. Petersburg, only three BSR cities have outstanding attractions
for US tourists (“fortissimo” and “forte”).
• Further attractions classified as “mezzo forte” are additionally located in Oslo, Warsaw and
Tallinn.
Best direct accessibility of the BSR via Berlin and Copenhagen and future opportunities
Direct flights are important in order to attract visitors from the United States and are a key factor
especially in times of increasing competition. In this respect, the analysis shows a heterogeneous
starting position of the considered BSR cities. Best accessibility is available for Berlin and Copenhagen, each with four direct connections to US airports, as well as a direct flight to Canada (Toronto).
These two cities are followed by Helsinki, Warsaw and Stockholm, which offer two US airport connections (plus Toronto for Helsinki and Warsaw), while Hamburg, Oslo and Riga are directly accessible from New York only. This is also the only airport that can be reached directly from each of the
aforementioned cities. Chicago is accessible from any BSR city with at least two direct flight connections. Gdansk, St. Petersburg20, Tallinn, Vilnius and Malmö currently do not have any direct flight
connections to or from the United States.
Cruise development illustrates the general potential of the BSR as a destination for international
travel. If easy access and high quality offers are guaranteed, growth rates are above average. The
opening of the new Berlin Airport will therefore presumably push the number of international and
__________________________________________________________________________
18
No data available for St. Petersburg, data for Riga refer to whole Latvia
Source: Supply analysis conducted by Vidzemes Augstskola
20
Direct flights from/to New York and Boston are planned
19
- 19 -
US tourists considerably. St. Petersburg will open a new airport terminal, which might imply also
new direct flight connections to and from the USA in the future (presumably New York and Boston).
But also the development of new high speed or direct train connection between BSR cities and
other European metropolises opens up opportunities for further product development (e.g. train
Paris – Berlin – Warsaw – Minsk – Moscow since June 2013).
Figure 9:
Overnights, cruise passengers and direct flights to BSR cities21
Source:
statistical offices, airports, research dwif 2013 (as at July/August 2013)
Summary
Although Europe is still the top destination for US international travel, it faces a more and more
competitive situation (exchange rates, multilateral travel, higher growth rates in Middle East, Africa
and Central America). Between 2004 and 2011 US resident travel to Europe has declined by two
million departures (- 17 %).
Within Europe it is the Western parts and especially the UK receiving the majority of US tourists.
Only one in ten US tourists visits East European destinations. Regarding the Baltic Sea Region Berlin
is the only BSR city among the top ten cities´ destinations in Europe, with Stockholm and St. Petersburg being the only three BSR cities have outstanding attractions for US tourists (according to a
quantitative review on trip advisor).
__________________________________________________________________________
21
Limited comparability: Data St. Petersburg refers to arrivals only (data 2006-2012), Overnights Stockholm only refer
to hotels, data Warsaw 2005-2012, data Tallinn 2008-2012, data Riga refers to entire Latvia; data cruise passengers
Berlin refers to Rostock, data cruise passengers Hamburg 2003-2011, data cruise passengers Malmö 2005-2011;
flight connections St. Petersburg are currently not established, but planned for the future
- 20 -
Despite an increasing number of US tourists among the 13 BSR cities between 2003 and 2012, the
share among incoming tourism in total today is lower, showing other international source markets
as more dynamic. At the same time the length of stay among US tourists in BSR cities has decreased.
Accessibility as a key factor so far favors Berlin and Copenhagen with the most direct flight connections to the US. The opening of new or improvement of existing hubs (e.g. Berlin International Airport, new terminal in St. Petersburg) sure has the potential to boost US tourism in the BSR and its
cities. Same is true for high speed and direct train connections between European and BSR cities.
2.
Characteristics and travel patterns of US tourists to Europe
2.1
General characteristics and type of travel
Educated, wealthy and experienced
The average US tourist to Europe22 is almost 50 years old, with male travelers skewing slightly older
(49 years) and female travelers slightly younger (47 years). Statistics reveal that there are slightly
more women (55 %) going on journeys to Europe. With regards to education and income, the levels are higher-than-average with a mean average household income of $ 116.200. Most travelers to
Europe (92 %) have previously been on an international trip from the United States.
Table 4:
Main Purpose of Trip (US Resident Travel to Europe)
2010
(%)
2011
(%)
Point
Change
Leisure/Recreation/Holidays
44
43
-1.3
Visit Friends/Relatives
28
28
-0.4
Business/Professional
18
21
2.5
Study/Teaching
5
5
-0.1
Main Purpose of Trip
(top 4 of 8)
Leisure is the dominant travel purpose of US resident travel to Europe followed by Visits to Friends
and Relatives. The average travel party size of US travelers to Europe is 1,5. Detailed information
regarding leisure or VFR overseas trips in general shows:
• 38 % travel alone
• 34 % travel with their spouse
• 28 % travel with family/relatives
• 11 % travel with friends.
__________________________________________________________________________
22
Main Sources: OTTI: Market profile 2011, US Resident Travel to Europe and Profile of US Resident Travelers Visiting
Overseas Destinations: 2011 Outbound
- 21 -
2.2
Information and booking including online research and platforms
The internet plays an increasingly important role in the US tourism market. Both customer and
travel companies will highly depend and relate to online information during research for travel and
destination. 78,1 % of the population in the USA was using the internet in 2012 (i.e. 245.203.319
persons).23 At the same time, analysis shows that the situation for senior citizens (65+) is still different. They hold a huge growth potential with regards to access (currently about half of them use the
internet) and time spent at it. Relatively few of them have smartphones or are active in social networks. With regards to media usage, TV still constitutes “the medium that matters most for seniors”.24
Internet and personal contact as most important travel planning sources
First brainstorming on potential destinations starts on the internet: 65 % of leisure travelers “begin
researching online before they’ve decided where or how to travel.”25 Also with regards to the more
concrete travel planning, the internet constitutes the most important source of information: According to the study “The Traveler’s Road to Decision 2011”, 85 % of US personal travelers (as opposed to business travelers) use the internet as travel planning source while 60 % ask family,
friends or colleagues. Further sources include
• Information brochures (32 %)
• Magazines (24 %)
• TV (22 %)
• Travel Agents (18 %)
• Books (18 %)
• Newspapers (12 %)
• 800 or toll-free number (11 %)
• Travel groups (10 % )
• Radio (7 %).26
Being present in an attractive way on Google Maps is vital for tourist destinations. Recent analysis
identifies the top travel websites in the US and clearly shows that Google Maps has been the most
popular travel website for months. The results underline that this website held more than twice the
visit shares of the second (MapQuest). Further major sites are TripAdvisor, Expedia and Priceline.com. Although Hitwise US compiled these sites in this analysis, it is understood that Google
Maps and MapQuest are primarily domestic maps while the others are online travel sellers or planners.
__________________________________________________________________________
23
24
25
26
Internet World Stats, December 2012/ETC
eMarketer, March 2013
HOTELMARKETING.COM, June 2013 as per European Travel Commission: New Media Trend Watch
ThinkInsights/Google: The Traveler’s Road to Decision 2011/European Travel Commission: New Media Trend Watch
- 22 -
Table 5:
Top travel websites in the US (July 2013)
Website
Total Visits
Visits Share
Rank 6/13
Rank 5/13
Rank 4/13
Google Maps
241.881.559
14,74 %
1
1
1
MapQuest
117.484.722
7,16 %
2
2
2
TripAdvisor
54.755.461
3,34 %
3
3
4
Expedia
50.246.407
3,06 %
4
4
3
Priceline.com
39.278.086
2,39 %
6
6
6
Source: Hitwise US
Facebook clearly dominates social media
As highlighted by a survey conducted by TripAdvisor, social media and travel are closely connected:
76 % of the respondents share travel experiences (especially photos) through social networks, 42 %
use social media for travel planning and 40 % use these channels for inspiration.27 Facebook clearly
dominates the usage of social networks with 83 % of the time spent on this site and is followed by
Tumblr (5,7 %), Pinterest (1,9 %) and Twitter (1,7 %).28
Search mobile, but booking rather via desktop
Searches on mobile phones and tablets are increasingly popular with a total of 113,1 million
searches on mobile phones and 38,7 million on tablets in December 2012 alone. However, these
searches mostly refer to local business searched while “on the go” with a need for immediate information.29
The booking followed a research on the tablet (smartphone) is made
• online via a desktop by 54 % (62 %)
• via mobile website on tablet (smartphone) by 26 % (19 %)
• via mobile app on tablet (smartphone) by 16 % (15 %).30
With regards to online travel agents, a recent ranking shows that Expedia is the top site with nearly
one-third share of all category page views, followed by Priceline.com (17,3 %) and Orbitz Worldwide (12,9 %). All other named sites have a share of less than 10 %.
__________________________________________________________________________
27
28
29
30
HOTELMARKETING.COM, September 2012 as per European Travel Commission: New Media Trend Watch
comScore, February 2013
eMarketer
Tnooz/European Travel Commission: New Media Trend Watch
- 23 -
Table 6:
Top Online Travel Agent sites by share of page views 2012
Rank
Property
Share of page
views31
Percentage points
compared to 2011
1
Expedia Inc.
31,6 %
-6,0 %
2
Priceline.com Inc.
17,3 %
+1,6 %
3
Orbitz Worldwide
12,9 %
-0,1 %
4
Fareportal Media Group
9,2 %
+0,7 %
5
Travelocity
7,6 %
-2,4 %
6
Kayak.com Network
6,9 %
+2,2 %
7
BookingBuddy Sites
2,3 %
+2,3 %
8
CheapCaribbean.com
1,4 %
+0,5 %
9
BookIt.com
1,1 %
+0,1 %
10
AppleVacations.com
0,6 %
-0,1 %
Source: comScore, Inc.: Press Release, February 2013
The decision for the trip to Europe is made 90 days in advance (median days).32
2.3
Travel patterns, expectations and activities of US tourists33
The average length of stay for trips to Europe is 19,3 nights (mean nights) respectively 12 nights
(median nights). More than two-thirds of travelers visit only one country while the average number
of destinations visited is 2,2.
Nearly all US tourists to Europe arrive by plane. Within the destination, air connections are equally
important to combine different cities and countries (multi-destination tours). Still, nearly one-third
uses railroad connections between cities. In this respect, high-speed trains, such as the ones between Hamburg and Berlin or Helsinki and St. Petersburg, are frequently used. Additional types of
transport used within Europe are taxis or limousines, city subway, tram or bus as well as cars (company, private or rented). With regards to the Baltic Sea Region, boat connections are also relevant:
Tourists use ferries to travel between BSR cities such as Stockholm and Helsinki or Helsinki and Tallinn, which is also demonstrated in the sample products (see IV.2).
__________________________________________________________________________
31
32
33
Total US – home and work computers
OTTI
Main Sources: OTTI, Market profile 2011, US Resident Travel to Europe, Expert Interviews dwif
- 24 -
Table 7:
Types of transportation within Europe (US Resident Travel to Europe)
Transportation
Types used within
Europe
2010
(%)
2011
(%)
Point
Change
Airline between Cities
39
37
-1,5
Taxi/Cab/Limousine
38
37
-1,1
Railroad between
Cities
29
30
0,3
City Subway/Tram/Bus
29
29
-0,6
Company or Private
Auto
23
24
0,8
Rented car
18
19
0,9
(multiple response--top 5 of 8)
Higher standard for accommodation preferred
Staying in a hotel or motel is the most common type of accommodation for US tourists traveling to
Europe (with 68 % staying for at least one night). The average number of nights spent in this type
of lodging is 8,5. Generally, a higher and American level of standard is preferred in terms of comfort
and cleanliness. For example, in 2011, 43 % of the US tourists in Germany chose first-class hotels
(4 or 5 stars) whereas middle class (10 %) and budget (7 %) hotels are booked less frequently.34 But
there are also target groups for three star offers as younger couples or families might dispose of
considerable lower income. Air condition, internet access and the acceptance of credit cards are
considered as important features for US guests. Moreover, English should be spoken (at least by
guides).
Offers for senior travelers need to consider slower pace and mobility issues. Safety is a further important aspect for US tourists. Experience shows that even minor incidents such as strikes or
demonstrations have had a negative impact on travel patterns.
Dining, shopping and historical places as typical activities
The analysis of typical activities of US tourists in Europe shows that dining in restaurants, shopping
and visits to historical places constitute the top three, followed by visits to small towns, citysightseeing and cultural heritage sites (see Table 8). This overview underlines that on the one hand
the general offer in terms of (cultural) places of interest is very important to US tourists. Still it
__________________________________________________________________________
34
Further types of accommodation: private and other; source: World Travel Monitor 2011 as per DZTMarktinformationen
- 25 -
demonstrates on the other hand that an attractive complementary offer with regards to shopping
opportunities and gastronomy is equally significant.
Table 8:
Typical activities (US Resident Travel to Europe)
Activities within
Europe (multiple response-
2010
(%)
2011
(%)
Point
Change
Dining in Restaurants
85
86
1,3
Shopping
74
73
-0.8
Visit Historical Places
68
71
2.7
Visit Small Towns
52
55
2.9
Sightseeing in Cities
52
53
0.8
Cultural Heritage
Sites
43
44
1.5
Touring Countryside
42
43
1.0
Art Gallery/Museum
40
40
0.3
Guided Tours
24
23
-0,8
Nightclubs/Dancing
17
16
-0,3
Concert/Play/Musical
17
16
-0,3
-top 10 of 25)
Summary
The average US tourist is a best to silver ager being around 50 years, well educated, wealthy, more
likely female and an experienced traveler (repeat to Europe). Two thirds travel either with their
spouse or family. The internet plays an increasingly important role in US tourism market not only
for planning the trip but already as source for travel ideas and possible destinations. Google maps
and MapQuest are the top consumer web pages, followed by TripAdvisor, Expedia and Priceline.com. Facebook clearly dominates social media also in matters of travelling. The average length
of stay to Europe is 19,3 nights and includes 2,2 destinations. Access from US is by air, but multimodal travel within Europe is frequent (taxis, trains, busses, ferries), with a preference for high
speed trains. Higher standard for accommodation is preferred (four stars+), but there are also target groups for three star offers. Culture and history are main driving motives for travelling to Europe, but have to be accompanied by attractive complementary offers with regards to shopping
opportunities and gastronomy.
- 26 -
III. Perception of the BSR and its cities in the USA
Europe in general is perceived as a safe destination with somewhat expensive, but high quality
products and services. When it comes to travel topics, Europe’s image is dominated by the aspects
of history and culture.
No clear image of the entire Baltic Sea Region
With regards to the Baltic Sea Region, experts confirm that it is rather unknown, virtually does not
have any clear image in the United States and, if at all, is partly known for cruises. Nevertheless, the
interviewed tour operators give generally positive responses with one-third mentioning culture/history and one-quarter cruise. Apart from this, the region as a whole otherwise does not
evoke any clear or uniform associations. However, some individual cities or areas such as Scandinavia have developed their own image.
This lack of a common image can also be traced back to heterogeneous perceptions of the different BSR countries or areas themselves: Scandinavia, for example, is appreciated as a safe destination, but also known for its expensiveness while traveling in other BSR regions such as Poland or
Latvia is known to be relatively cheap.
The same general sentiment applies for the BSR cities. As the online survey among US tour operators has shown, some BSR cities are rated as very attractive while others are rather unknown (see
also Figure 10). The heterogeneous image is equally displayed in the associations referring to the
individual cities.
Figure 10: Attractiveness of the BSR cities
St. Petersburg
69,6
Berlin
62,8
55,8
37,7
Copenhagen
54,5
39,0
38,2
Helsinki
Tallinn
Hamburg
Warsaw
Riga
Vilnius
10,5
Gdansk
9,6
Malmö
0%
20,0
1,3
35,5
20%
Very attractive
30%
Attractive
40%
50%
Less attractive
26,3
5,5
23,3
4,1
35,6
60%
11,5
19,2
2,6
26,0
27,4
13,3
25,0
31,6
35,6
10%
2,7
23,7
28,9
4,1
15,8
17,1
52,6
14,5
8,0
12,0
1,3
44,0
16,7
9,2
6,6
40,8
20,0
5,2
2,6 3,9
49,3
25,0
7,7
1,3
46,1
30,7
5,1
1,3
26,9
Stockholm
Oslo
1,3
1,3
24,1
70%
Not attractive at all
28,8
80%
90%
100%
Do not know the city
Source: Online Survey dwif 2013
- 27 -
St. Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm and Copenhagen as the most attractive BSR cities
Nearly 70 % of the respondents rate St. Petersburg as very attractive with further 24 % perceiving it
as attractive. St. Petersburg consequently is ranked first among the other BSR cities. The attractiveness of the city is reflected in the associations of the participating US tourism professionals: It is
mainly characterized with very positive adjectives expressing the specific appeal of this city such as
beautiful, fascinating or amazing. Apart from this, St. Petersburg is primarily associated with its
history and culture; with art and architecture also playing an important role. Other frequent mentions include references to the Hermitage or museums in general and to royal history (palaces,
Tsars). Further fewer associations refer to rivers and canals, St. Petersburg’s geographic location at
the Western border of Russia (“gateway to Russia”, “window on the west”) and the White Nights.
Those respondents who rated St. Petersburg as “very attractive” highlight first of all its history, but
also its cultural offerings with regards to art and architecture as most important determinants for
their assessment.
The attractiveness and the associations as results of the online survey are confirmed by the findings
of interviews: History and culture determine St. Petersburg’s image, and US tour operators indicate
a lot of demand for this city as well as its potential due to cruising. There still is the question of visa
for trips to Russia. A possible alternative is traveling on ferry from Helsinki to St. Petersburg that
allows a visa-free journey for up to three days.35
Berlin is ranked second: About 63 % of the participating tour operators confirm that the German
capital is a very attractive destination while further 27 % rate the city as attractive. A well-known
and popular city, Berlin possesses a very positive image and is considered as the “new hotspot in
Europe”, a “hip” and “trendy” place. Moreover, it offers a huge variety and a good priceperformance ratio. The respondents to the Online Survey rate the city as “very attractive”, often
referring to its rich history and partly to its connection to the USA (Berlin Wall, Cold War). Apart
from this, Berlin’s cultural offerings in general and museums in particular are highlighted, as well as
the city’s popularity and its cosmopolitan, trendy and dynamic atmosphere.
Referring to the results of the online survey, Stockholm and Copenhagen are almost equally attractive: More than 55 % see Stockholm as very attractive and almost 38 % see it as attractive. The city
is known as the Swedish capital, associations refer to the royals, the Nobel Prize and the archipelago. The data is similar for the Danish capital (54,5 % very attractive, and 39 % attractive). Associations referring to Copenhagen include architecture and design, the cruise port and friendliness.
Determinants for the attractiveness36 of Stockholm and Copenhagen are equally quite similar:
Among the factors named are their high profiles (“name recognition”, “well-known”) as well as their
general beauty, cleanliness, safety and friendliness. Besides, historic and cultural sites or the cities’
functions as a gateway for cruises or tours lead to very positive ratings.
__________________________________________________________________________
35
36
E.g. http://www.stpeterline.com/en/Goodtoknow/Visafreerule.aspx
Named by the respondents rating Stockholm as „very attractive“
- 28 -
Due to their high attractiveness and positive associations, these four cities can be considered as
highlight cities in the region and consequently as flagships for the tourism promotion.
Heterogeneous results for Oslo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Hamburg and Warsaw
Although generally known as a Scandinavian capital, Oslo is weaker than Copenhagen and Stockholm when it comes to awareness and image. About 38 % of the respondents rate Oslo as a very
attractive destination, but even more of them (46,1 %) as attractive. The image of Norway is closely
connected to nature, and this applies even for the capital, which is associated with the famous
fjords respectively seen as a gateway to visit these natural attractions. The determining factors that
make Oslo very attractive are similar to those named for Stockholm and Copenhagen: Safety, cleanliness and Oslo’s function as a starting point to the region including pre- and post-cruise extensions.
These factors stand alongside sights related to history, culture, art and architecture. What distinguishes Oslo here is the clear relation to natural sites (gateway to the fjords).
Helsinki, rated as very attractive by more than 30 % and as attractive by nearly half of the respondents, generally possesses a positive image and a good awareness. Positive adjectives like attractive
or beautiful are named quite often followed by mentions referring to an image of a green, clean
and friendly city. Further associations refer to its geographic location. While one tour operator describes it as “a bit out of the way”, several others highlight Helsinki’s function as gateway city. This
aspect has equally been named several times by the participants of the online survey. The Finnish
capital is consequently an interesting starting point to visit other places in the area, which especially applies to St. Petersburg, but also to Tallinn and further places in Finland and Scandinavia in
general. Further mentions include design and architecture, culture in general, history, but also nature and activities as well as cruises, ferries and the port. Moreover, Helsinki’s image is connected to
Scandinavia and the Nordic region. Those respondents who rate the city as “very attractive” quote
its reputation in terms of beauty, general awareness, cleanliness and safety. Further mentions are
Helsinki’s modern character, architecture and design and others (e. g. shopping, culinary). Moreover, trips to and combinations with St. Petersburg, Tallinn and natural attractions are equally considered to be attractive features. But as mentioned in one of the interviews, the Finnish capital possibly is even perceived as nicer than it is in reality. Despite all the positive descriptions, some respondents thus also alluded to negative aspects (cold, grey, expensive) or ignorance of the city. A
number of participants in the online survey, 12 %, consequently rate the city as less attractive. The
flight connection from the US to Helsinki integrating Iceland (Icelandair) was mentioned by some
tour operators as very attractive and popular as Iceland offers exotic experiences (e.g. hot
springs).37
__________________________________________________________________________
37
Carriers are very attractive partners for co-op marketing. Icelandair for example does a lot of marketing for its connections between North America and Europe, Ryanair is generally interested of promoting its central role as major regional carrier bringing US-Americans from London/UK to the rest of the European continent and this also already in the US. They might be interesting sponsors for press or fam trips and also interested to be present at
trade events in the US.
- 29 -
Tallinn turns out to be the most popular among the Baltic States’ capitals (25 % rate it as very attractive, about 41 % as attractive). Those who expect the city to be “very attractive” mainly refer to
its picturesque appearance (“lovely city”, “old town charm”, “people seem to love it”) and its location, which allows for combinations with Helsinki, St. Petersburg and cruises. Moreover, the aspect
“music” is named twice. However, around 17 % of the respondents assess the city as less attractive
and nearly 16 % indicate not to know the city at all. This is also reflected by the interviewed experts
who describe Tallinn as rather unknown and partly being associated with the “old Russia” or the
image of a “communist city”.
The results of the online survey equally reveal a heterogeneous picture of Hamburg: While onefifth perceives the city as very attractive (44 % as attractive), still a further fifth expects it to be less
attractive and more than 13 % do not know Hamburg. Tour operators indicate that there is not
much demand for trips to this city. These findings are also reflected by the respective associations:
The majority refers to the port, and as it was pointed out during several interviews, this mainly
means negative features (industry, dirt). “Industrial” is consequently another negative association.
Further aspects of Hamburg’s image include its history, the Hanseatic league, emigration and the
gateway-function as well as culture in general and architecture. Moreover, some mentions refer to
the commercial and business character of the city, characterize it as large, modern and affluent
while others name water (lakes, rivers, waterfront) or the “Reeperbahn”. Nevertheless, the results
also show that the respondents and interview partners are partly unfamiliar with Hamburg and do
not have any clear idea of the city and its tourism offerings. Even if the name of Hamburg might be
known (e.g. to cruise passengers), it is not connected to any distinct positive image. One big tour
operator stated that as long as the market does not ask for trips to Hamburg, they would not try to
sell it. The respondents who rate Hamburg as “very attractive” name culture and history in general
as well as the broad offerings, which are a surprise to the visitors.
When it comes to the assessment of the Polish capital, only about 17 % of the respondents see
Warsaw as very attractive and still more than half of them see it as attractive. Those who rate it best
call it an interesting place and refer to history in general, Jewish heritage, music and culinary. Nevertheless, nearly a fifth expects it to be less attractive. Main associations refer to its history with the
subthemes Jewish history, the Warsaw Ghetto and World War II. Further mentions include culture
in general and music respectively musicians (Chopin). Several respondents know Warsaw as Polish
capital, while others associate it with Eastern Europe. Moreover, some participants refer to family
roots/heritage and culinary. With regards to architecture, both traditional (castle, old town) and
modern aspects of the city are named. Single respondents characterize the city as cold, grey or ugly.
Some experts also mention that Warsaw is rather unknown and does not have any strong image in
the United States.
- 30 -
Riga, Vilnius, Gdansk and Malmö as rather unknown in the USA
A quarter of the respondents to the online survey indicates that they do not know Riga and a further quarter expects it to be less or not attractive. Nevertheless, more than a third rates the city to
be attractive and nearly 15 % even as very attractive mentioning architecture, history, charm, but
also the fact of being unfamiliar. Experts and tour operators confirm that the Latvian capital is
widely unknown. This is also frequently named in the online survey to characterize the city. Those
who have an idea of Riga often describe it with positive adjectives such as “pretty” or “charming”
and highlight the architecture, art nouveau, its old town and medieval aspects as well as history
and culture in general. Still, similarly to the idea of Tallinn, some negative associations refer to the
image of a grey “communist city”.
With regards to Vilnius, more than a quarter of the respondents does not know the city and about
one third rates it as less or not attractive. Experts confirm that the city is unknown in the US and
that it might be associated with the “old Russia”. Nevertheless, nearly 40 % indicate a more positive
image (10,5 % as very attractive, 28,9 % as attractive).
Gdansk is equally unknown by nearly a quarter of the participating tour operators while almost one
third rates the city as less or not attractive. Nevertheless, about 45 % confirm a generally positive
image (9,6 % as very attractive, 35,6 % as attractive). The analysis does not reveal any distinct associations with Gdansk.
Malmö, finally, is the BSR city with the lowest awareness and attractiveness from the view of the
polled US tour operators: Only around 4 % believe it to be very attractive (27,4 % attractive) while
nearly 40 % expect it to be less or not attractive. Almost 30 % do not know the city at all. Experts
confirm that the city is hardly known in the US.
Summary
To sum it up, the analysis shows that the Baltic Sea Region does not have a clear and uniform image while the respective cities are equally very heterogeneous in terms of awareness and attractiveness from the US perspective. The range goes from very attractive cities with distinct and positive associations to rather unknown places with a diffuse or even partly negative image. Those few
respondents who rate certain cities as “not attractive at all” mostly based their assessment on the
fact that the respective place is not known (also no requests from their clients).
History and culture in general are the predominant associations not only with Europe, but also with
the BSR cities in particular. However, the answers to the online survey show different specifications.
These findings constitute an important basis for future product development. In this respect, Figure 23 indicates potential travel topics and their relevance for the entire region resp. the concerned
cities.
- 31 -
IV. Tour Operators for the BSR Cities
Tour Operators and Travel Agencies are important business partners to promote the BSR region
and its cities in the US market. The study has thus researched and analyzed suitable companies that
either already offer trips to (parts of) the Baltic Sea Region or are likely to include it in their future
products. In order to learn more on their attitude towards the BSR and its cities, all these companies were invited to the Online Survey conducted during the research. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with selected further contacts
1.
Current relation towards the BSR cities
Pull market situation requires BSR cities’ full initiative
The current status of tour operators in the survey concerning sales of BSR cities proves that the
sample extracted is highly relevant for the project and participating destinations: 77 % of the participants in the Online Survey confirm that they are currently selling cities in the Baltic Sea Region,
among them 22 % indicating that their offerings are growing. Further 15 % show a future potential
as they are either planning to sell these cities in the near future (6 %) or may consider doing so
(9 %). Only 6 % of the respondents indicate that they do not sell BSR cities anymore. The respective
companies explain this decision with the general variety and change of destinations and programs
or the creation of packages on demand only.
Figure 11: Current Sale of BSR cities
I don't know 2,3%
No, but may consider them in
the future. 9,2%
No, but we do plan to sell BSR
cities in the near future. 5,7%
We have sold BSR cities in the
past, but no longer sell them.
5,7%
Yes, we are selling BSR cities.
55,2%
Yes, we are selling BSR cities
and our offerings are growing.
21,8%
Source:
Online Survey dwif 2013
Nevertheless in-depth interviews showed clearly that US travel trade is mostly passive and indifferent towards marketing initiative for BSR cities. The BSR cities are confronted with a classical pull
market where tour operators and travel agents only react to the tourists’ demand. Since the economic crisis in the past years, very few tour operators actively push destinations on their own. This
situation can only be changed by strategic and sincere marketing action from the destinations
themselves. Long-term engagement will be essential for success.
- 32 -
A comprehensive databank containing the data of suitable tour operators and travel agents has
been set up and is an annex to this report. In total, it includes more than 500 companies with information on contact persons, products including BSR cities, as well as a categorization concerning
their potential for working with respectively their current relation to the ONE BSR project. A short
extraction is displayed in Table 9. Detailed profiles of the most promising companies are included
in the annex.
Table 9:
Promising Tour Operators for BSR cities (extraction from databank)38
Tourism products for BSR stakeholder cities
Tour Operator / Agent
Abercrombie & Kent
Category
Hamburg
B
Helsinki
Riga
St.
Petersburg
Warsaw
x
x
x
x
x
x
ACIS
A
x
Avanti Destinations
A
x
x
Borton Overseas
B
Brendan Vacations
B
Brownell Travel (Marion Harbison)
Casto Vacations
Collette Vacations
A
Continental Journeys
B
x
Cultural Tour Consultants
B
x
East West Tours
B
EF Educational Tours
B
Europe Too (by Isram World)
B
Exeter International
B
Five Stars of Scandinavia
B
Frontiers International Travel
B
Gindroz & Co.
A
Grand European Tour
A
Herzerl Tours
A
Maupintour
B
x
Odyssey Travel
A
x
Passage Custom Tours
A
x
Premier World Discovery
B
x
x
Rail Europe
A
x
x
Tauck
A
Travel Bound
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
A
x
x
x
x
x
B
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
B
x
x
x
x
x
Travcoa
B
x
x
x
x
x
TravelStore
B
x
x
x
x
TT & A Travel
B
x
x
x
x
Uniworld (river cruises)
A
VIP Alpine Tours
B
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Source: dwif 2013
__________________________________________________________________________
38
Categories: A=completed Online Survey and personal interview; B=completed Online Survey
- 33 -
Berlin, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg and Stockholm39 as most popular BSR cities
With regards to the individual BSR cities, most respondents sell St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Berlin (each more than 75 % of those selling BSR cities). Oslo, Warsaw, Helsinki, Tallinn
and Hamburg are still being sold by more than half of the polled companies (see also Figure 12).
The three best-selling among the BSR cities are Berlin, St. Petersburg and Copenhagen (followed by
Stockholm).
Figure 12: Current sale of individual BSR cities
St. Petersburg
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Berlin
Oslo
Warsaw
Helsinki
Tallinn
Hamburg
Riga
Vilnius
Gdansk
Malmö
82,6%
81,2%
78,3%
75,4%
72,5%
68,1%
66,7%
63,8%
52,2%
47,8%
40,6%
40,6%
29,0%
0%
Source:
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
These results of the online survey are being confirmed through the analysis of sample products: St.
Petersburg stands out as a must-see in the Baltic Sea Region. The Scandinavian metropolises
Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki similarly prove to be among the top cities which is due to pre- and
post-cruise offers (especially Copenhagen), good direct air connections as well as the possibility of
travel to St. Petersburg from Helsinki (partly visa-free). Berlin is top among trips to Germany. Warsaw is equally en vogue as destination and might also profit from nearby Cracow. Hamburg,
Gdansk and Malmö are scarcely present in the analyzed products.
Experienced sellers, but rather low volume
The results of the survey also show that nearly 60 % of the respondents have been selling BSR cities
for more than ten years and further around 17 % for more than five years already. Almost 23 %
have been doing so for one to five years. The volume generated by these tour operators and travel
agents, however, is rather low: Almost 40 % do not sell more than five trips and further around
13 % not more than 15 trips per year which include at least three BSR cities across three countries.
Nevertheless, a significant portion of respondents, nearly one-third, indicates very strong sales of
the region with a yearly distribution of more than 50 trips.
__________________________________________________________________________
39
in alphabetical order
- 34 -
2.
Current BSR leisure tourism products
Information provided by the participants in the online survey and the analysis of sample products
to US tourist provides an overview on current leisure packages including one or several BSR cities:
BSR cities as part of longer Europe itineraries
The trips are usually offered for the period from April to October, partly often with a reference to
seasonal events also for other months. Most trips last longer than seven nights in total. The situation is different for the BSR portion: More than 88 % of the respondents indicate that the typical
share is one to seven nights. The most frequent BSR portion is one to three nights, thus only a (minor) part of a typical tour (see Figure 13 for details). Over one third of the respondents normally
combines three BSR cities within one itinerary (27,9 % two cities, 14,7 % four cities).
Figure 13: Duration of typical trips including BSR cities
33,3%
more than 10 nights
3,4%
42,6%
7-10 nights
8,5%
14,8%
3-7 nights
35,6%
9,3%
up to 3 nights
52,5%
0%
10%
20%
whole trip
Source:
30%
40%
50%
60%
BSR-portion
Sample tours to BSR cities often include Scandinavian cities and St. Petersburg
The analysis of sample products offered to US tourists confirms that typical itineraries often include
Scandinavian cities and St. Petersburg. Apart from these border-transgressing combinations, tour
operators also provide tours to one country respectively one region such as “Highlights of Germany”, “Discovering Poland” or quite frequently Scandinavia (e.g. “Best of Scandinavia”, “Capitals of
Scandinavia”). Intraregional transport is mainly organized with comfortable coaches while ferries
and partly trains are used for certain distances (e.g. Stockholm-Helsinki respectively St. PetersburgMoscow). The sample products analyzed in detail have an average duration of 13 days with a minimum of seven and a maximum of 29 days. In order to give an insight into current products including BSR cities, the report displays selected examples.
- 35 -
Figure 14: Sample Tour “Scandinavia & Russia Plus”
Source:
http://www.contiki.com/destinations/europe/tours/194-scandinavia-russia
The sample tour “Scandinavia & Russia Plus” offered by Contiki Holidays goes from Berlin or Copenhagen via Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus and Poland (back) to Berlin and includes
seven BSR cities. It is set up as follows (see also
Figure 14):40
• 21 nights (7 nights hostel, 13 nights hotels, 1 night cruise)
− Day 1: Berlin/Copenhagen (start in Berlin optional only, also start in Copenhagen possible)
− Day 2: Copenhagen (“full of history”, “stylish capital”)
− Day 3: Copenhagen/Oslo
− Day 4: Oslo (“Scandinavia’s oldest capital”)
− Day 5: Oslo/Voss (“Norway’s adventure capital”)
− Day 6: Voss/Geiranger Fjord
− Day 7: Geiranger Fjord/Gjovik (overnight stop at “Norway’s largest lake”)
− Day 8: Gjovik/Stockholm (“Sweden’s cosmopolitan capital”)
− Day 9: Stockholm
− Day 10: Stockholm/sail to Helsinki
− Day 11: Helsinki (“a blend of Finish and Russian influences”)
− Day 12: Helsinki/St. Petersburg (“imperial city”)
− Day 13/14: St. Petersburg
__________________________________________________________________________
40
http://www.contiki.com/destinations/europe/tours/194-scandinavia-russia
- 36 -
− Day 15: St. Petersburg/Novgorod
− Day 16: Novgorod/Moscow
− Day 17/18: Moscow
− Day 19: Moscow/Minsk
− Day 20: Minsk/Warsaw
− Day 21: Warsaw (“budding”, “troubled history”)
− Day 22: Depart Warsaw/Berlin
• 32 meals (21 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 10 dinners)
• Transport with modern coaches, overnight cruise, ferry crossings
• Sightseeing tours in all major cities
Figure 15: Sample tour “Jewels of the Baltics & Scandinavia”
Source:
http://www.cosmos.com/Product.aspx?trip=36930&content=overview
The sample tour “Jewels of the Baltics & Scandinavia” offered by Cosmos mainly leads from Copenhagen via Berlin, Warsaw, Baltic capitals, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki to Stockholm and is set up as
follows (see also Figure 15):41
• 16 days from Copenhagen to Stockholm (standard and first-class hotels)
− Day 1: Copenhagen
− Day 2: Copenhagen/ Berlin (Ferry Crossing)
− Day 3: Berlin/Poznan
− Day 4: Poznan/Warsaw
− Day 5: Warsaw/Vilnius
− Day 6: Vilnius
__________________________________________________________________________
41
http://www.cosmos.com/Product.aspx?trip=36930&content=overview
- 37 -
− Day 7: Vilnius/Rundales Pils/Riga
− Day 8: Riga
− Day 9: Riga/Parnu/Tallinn
− Day 10: Tallinn
− Day 11: Tallinn/St. Petersburg
− Day 12: St. Petersburg
− Day 13: St. Petersburg/Vyborg/Helsinki
− Day 14: Helsinki/Stockholm (Overnight Baltic Sea Crossing)
• Buffet breakfasts, 3 lunches, 7 dinners
• Transport with first-class motor coach, ferry, overnight cruise
• City sightseeing in Copenhagen, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm.
• Optional excursions
Figure 16: Sample tour “Around the North Sea”
Source: http://www.acis.com/trips/itinerary/program/BHA#/trips/itinerary/program/BHA/?tab=itinerary
One of the few samples including Hamburg is the educational tour “Around the North Sea” (!) offered by ACIS. It comprehends the highlight BSR cities of Berlin, Copenhagen as well as one day in
Hamburg on the way to Amsterdam. Although being titled in reference to the North Sea, there is
rather explicit connection to the Baltic Sea (ferry tip, Lübeck as “Gate to the Baltic”). In detail, the
tour is set up as follows (see also Figure 16):42
__________________________________________________________________________
42
http://www.acis.com/trips/itinerary/program/BHA#/trips/itinerary/program/BHA/?tab=itinerary
- 38 -
• 9 days, 7 nights (2 Berlin, 2 Copenhagen, 1 Hamburg, 2 Amsterdam)
− Day 1: Depart from the USA, Overnight flight
− Day 2: Berlin (“Germany's capital and largest city”)
− Day 3: Berlin
− Day 4: Copenhagen (ferry across the Baltic Sea (!) to the Danish capital)
− Day 5: Copenhagen (“known as the Paris of the North”)
− Day 6: Hamburg (with a stop in the “Gate to the Baltic (!), Lübeck”, “sightseeing … shows
you the harbor and neighborhoods of this city where the Beatles started their career, and
includes entrance to the opulent Rathaus”)
− Day 7: Amsterdam (with stops in Bremen and Het Loo Palace)
− Day 8: Amsterdam
− Day 9: Departure for the USA.
• Available for private groups on request
• Optional Extensions and Extra Nights: 2 nights extension from Amsterdam to Paris
Summary
Online survey and in-depth interviews have shown that BSR cities will have to engage themselves
with strategic and sincere marketing action in order to change the evident pull market situation.
US travel trade is mostly indifferent and only reacts to the tourists’ demand. The market study
could identify experienced sellers to start with, but with most of them selling rather low volume
(trips to BSR).
Berlin as trendy top destination in Germany, St. Petersburg as must see, Copenhagen and Stockholm should be part of futures products as most popular BSR cities. The Scandinavian metropolises
Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki profit from pre- and post-cruise offers (especially Copenhagen), good
direct air connections as well as the possibility of travel to St. Petersburg from Helsinki (partly visafree). These BSR cities can only be part of a longer European itinerary or a more differentiated onecountry-tour.
Typical travel period for BSR in general is from April to October, partly often with a reference to
seasonal events also for other months. Intraregional transport is mainly organized with comfortable coaches while ferries and partly trains are used for certain distances (e.g. Stockholm-Helsinki
respectively St. Petersburg-Moscow).
- 39 -
V. Future tourism promotion of the BSR cities
The project ONE BSR aims at joint promotion of the BSR cities in the US market. In this respect, the
analysis has identified relevant trends and opportunities, suitable target groups and promising
travel topics. Moreover, it gives hints on product development and recommendations on promotional activities.
1.
Trends and Opportunities
The analysis has identified current trends and developments that are suited to affect the future
potential of the BSR cities on the US-market.
Discovery of new places
As the research has underlined, the Baltic Sea Region and its cities are not among the topdestinations of US tourists in Europe. This fact can also be interpreted as an opportunity for the
region. Experienced travelers who have already visited the landmarks of Europe may be ready to
discover “new” places “off the beaten track”. Taking into account the most popular places for UStourists in Europe and in comparison to cities like London, Paris, Barcelona or Madrid, this approach
needs to consider that even the most promising countries and cities in the BSR could already be
understood as “off the beaten track” from the US-perspective. The aspect of “exploration” equally
applies to cruise guests who come back to learn more about a town or a region known during their
cruise. Cruises can thus be understood as “entrance ticket” for the BSR cities.
Authentic and unique experiences, Experiential Travel
Based on the idea of being a visitor rather than a tourist, travelers intend to discover the destination in an unusual and active way. Guided city tours by bike, Segway or jogging are only exemplary
for this approach. Authentic insights are becoming increasingly popular, can be seen in the number of websites presenting accommodation or sightseeing with locals. Offers such as “meeting the
locals” are valued as an interesting methods to discover the “real” life of families living in the country visited. An example of this type of local experience is available in Helsinki and presents the city
from the perspective of a young inhabitant. Another sample is the city of Wittenberg in Germany
where local families invite US-tourists to a traditional coffee party in their homes. Here, the Tourism
Information office cooperates with the company Grand Circle Cruise.43 (See Figure 17)
__________________________________________________________________________
43
http://www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de/kaffeeklatsch.html,
wandeln-deutschland-auf-luthers-spuren
http://www.luther2017.de/20247/us-amerikaner-
- 40 -
Figure 17: Meeting the locals in Helsinki and Wittenberg
Sources:
blog.visithelsinki.fi, Tourist and
www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de
Convention
Bureau’s
Material
Bank/Kaisa
Luukannel,
Tour operators estimate “Experiential Travel” as up-and-coming including hands-on, learning, authentic experiences and engaging with local people. Hands-on-activities referring to local traditions, such as a cooking courses or private tastings for local specialties constitute popular products.
There are a lot of further ideas on how to enrich the trip with unique experiences. This may include
special guided tours to places normally not open for visitors or the special attention of a local representative (e.g. hotel manager, mayor). “Different, unusual and often closed to the general public we can offer special insider access that defines experiential travel”, this is how Exeter International
for instance promotes its “Extraordinary Experiences”.44 With regards to St. Petersburg, this kind of
offering is available for example in “Amber Room Workshops”, a gala evening in a famous palace or
private vodka tasting with traditional snacks and the introduction of the Restaurant Manager in a
high-class hotel.
Figure 18: “Extraordinary experiences” in St. Petersburg offered by Exeter International
Source: http://www.exeterinternational.com/
__________________________________________________________________________
44
http://www.exeterinternational.com/
- 41 -
Heritage and multi-generational travel
Being known as “heritage” or “roots” tourism, traveling to discover one’s own ancestry is another
trend with relevance for the Baltic Sea Region. The German National Tourist Office (DZT) states that
there are more than 50 million people with German roots living in the United States today. They are
considered as a huge potential market for trips to Germany and should be targeted with specific
offers and promotion.45 BallinStadt Emigration Museum in Hamburg or the German Emigration
Center “Deutsches Auswandererhaus” in Bremerhaven (about two hours away from Hamburg) are
examples for thematic attractions in the BSR. The significance of heritage tourism is underlined by
the assessment of the tour operators polled via online questionnaire: Almost 90 % of the respondents state that this topic is (very) relevant to promote the BSR cities.
Some experts also mentioned “multigenerational travel”, which is especially relevant for, but not
limited to heritage tourism. The occasions for the “togethering” of various generations during a
journey are often linked to private anniversaries.
Further developments and opportunities
When it comes to “value for money”, the position of the Baltic Sea Region is heterogeneous: As
mentioned above, some regions are rather upscale while others have competitive prices. This development is consequently only an opportunity for parts of the BSR.
Further good selling points (which apply to the individual BSR cities to different degrees) are the
ideas of a safe region where English is widely spoken. This is especially relevant for Scandinavia.
Taking into account that the BSR and its cities are no destination for the mass market today, there is
much opportunity in concentrating on selected niche or affinity markets (see also V.3). Specialized
tour operators develop specific products and itineraries for defined target groups (e.g. Ancestry
and Jewish Heritage, Music and Performance Tours). Concentration on niche markets would require particular expertise and services for the selected segment to answer the needs of the target
group.
2.
Suitable Target Groups
Senior citizens as most promising target group
The research activities have identified suitable target groups for the promotion of the BSR cities on
the US-market. Both Interviews and Online Survey clearly showed that wealthy and educated senior citizens constitute the most promising potential. It is the generation of the “babyboomers” that
is reaching the age of retirement. Being retired with grown-up children, they are the people who
have the time and the financial resources for overseas travel. While nearly 80 % of the polled tour
__________________________________________________________________________
45
DZT: Marktinformationen
- 42 -
operators selected this group as most suitable, still a significant portion of respondents, more than
half, opted for couples between 30 and 55 years as a promising potential market.
As already outlined above, the Baltic Sea Region and its cities are not destinations for first-timevisitors to Europe. It is more promising to address repeating visitors who are already familiar with
the classical European landmarks and could be attracted by “new” destinations.
Referring to the results of the Online Survey, young adults and student groups, as well as families
and multigenerational groups are considered as less important (still more than 20 % each). There
are specialized tour operators taking care of these target groups that often require a specific programme. Their relevance thus depends on the products and the orientation of the selected cooperation partners in the market.
Figure 19: Suitable target groups for BSR cities46
Seniors 55+
79,70%
Couples 30 to 55
53,10%
Repeat to Europe
48,40%
Young adults and student groups
23,40%
Families and multi-generational
groups
21,90%
Business travelers
6,30%
Other
1,60%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Concentration on the East Coast
Taking into account that marketing budgets for the promotion in the US market are limited, BSR
cities should concentrate their activities on the most promising regional source markets. Respondents to the Online Survey mostly state that the East Coast has the highest potential for the BSR
(91,7 %). Still, 43,3 % recommend the West Coast while only 25 % opt for Central (multiple answers
possible). As the analysis above has shown, current US-tourists to Europe mostly reside in South
and Middle Atlantic while New York and Florida are among the top states. Most direct flight connections from the BSR are mainly available from New York. The focus of tourism promotion should
therefore lie on the East Coast of the United States, and especially in New York.
__________________________________________________________________________
46
Multiple answers possible
- 43 -
3.
Promising Travel Topics
Highest relevance for Seasonal Events, Museums/Arts and Historical/Cultural Sites
The term “Baltic Sea Region” alone is not sufficient for the tourism marketing in the US (rather unknown, in need of explanation, weak/unclear image). Promotion should therefore work with specific themes or travel experiences. But as analysis has shown, the perception of the BSR and its cities is
heterogeneous. However, there is one overarching thread of culture and history in general, which
not only applies to the Europe in general but also to the BSR cities in particular. The Online Survey
among US-tour operators has identified several more concrete promising travel topics for the promotion of the BSR cities to the US-market: The cultural subthemes “Museums and Arts” and
“UNESCO, Historical or Cultural Sites” are highly valued (see
Figure 20): More than 50 % of the respondents state that these topics are very relevant while further 41,2 % (Museums and Arts) respectively 38,8 % (UNESCO, Historical or Cultural Sites) still judge
them as relevant. In-depth interviews confirmed that history, museums and art are well-established
travel experiences in the US travel market for the BSR.
The respondents who selected “very relevant” for these travel topics, explained their choice predominantly with quality and quantity of the existing offerings (“great museums”, “top of the line art
museums”, “Hermitage”, “lots of museums to see”, “Riga, Warsaw center, those jewel boxes of culture and history”) or their clients’ needs (“Art is a driver for our customers”, “most Americans like
museums and understand art”, “always a strong factor to visit a region”). Although expert interviews and comments by the participants in the Online Survey have shown that the UNESCO-label is
less relevant for tourism promotion in the US (“No one cares.”, “US-Americans don’t know/don’t
understand what it means”, “UNESCO is to Americans no value”), some mentioned different perceptions (“In general, UNESCO sites are worth visiting.”, “UNESCO is always a draw.”, “We try to include UNESCO sites in our tours when possible.”). Looking at the specific recommendations for
individual cities clearly underlines the highest relevance of these topics for St. Petersburg (73,9 %
for Museums and Arts, 67,4 % for UNESCO, Historical and Cultural Sites).
Specific Seasonal Events as distinctive feature and travel motivation
Apart from these classical cultural and historic travel experiences, the Online Survey demonstrates
that “Specific Seasonal Events” constitute an important promotional topic for the BSR cities. More
than 55 % of the respondents value them as very relevant and further 32,8 % as relevant. Respondents praise events as “major highlight of travel” and state that unique events allow different experiences and make the area interesting. Seasonal Events with a relation to the BSR cities may be
Christmas Markets, Northern Lights, Summer Solstice or the White Nights, thus mostly occasions
that are very specific for the BSR. They consequently help to distinguish the area from other destinations and create reasons for travel. According to the polled tour operators, seasonal events are
especially relevant for the cities of St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Hamburg (Christmas Markets).
- 44 -
Design as attractive topic for Scandinavian cities
“Scandinavian and Baltic Architecture and Design” is equally judged as a promising travel experience for the BSR cities (47 % very relevant, 34,8 % relevant). One of the determining factors for this
attractive feature is Scandinavian design. Several respondents named concrete brands (Dansk,
Marimekko, IKEA). Obviously, there is a close connection to Helsinki, the World Design Capital in
2012. In September 2013, the annual festival “Helsinki Design Week” will take place, and the city’s
Tourist Board also makes use of this topic. The polled tour operators state in their comments that
(Scandinavian) design (including interior design) and architecture are also connected to both local
lifestyle and current accommodation in the US: “Many new homes in the US incorporate these designs.”, “Thanks to IKEA, this style is now gaining popularity in the US”. Scandinavian design (and
architecture) are thus suitable to serve as a specific distinctive feature for (a certain part of) the BSR
cities. Moreover, this topic can also be considered as a niche for experts (e.g. Art and Architecture
Tours). Apart from Helsinki, some respondents also mentioned St. Petersburg in connection to this
topic.
Fascinating royal and imperial heritage
“Royal and Imperial Heritage” are also a relevant topic for the promotion of BSR cities to the USmarket: Nearly 90 % of the respondents see it as very relevant or relevant. This positive acknowledgement can be traced back to a certain fascination for this topic which is understood as interesting and important. As commented by one of the tour operators, “Americans are fascinated by the
romance of royals even though they believe in a democracy.” This topic is very closely connected
to St. Petersburg (“a huge draw for this”), but also to the Royal palaces in Copenhagen, Stockholm
and Oslo.
Music and European composers in Warsaw and St. Petersburg
“Music and European Composers” are also important whereas Warsaw (Chopin) and St. Petersburg
are considered as key cities to this topic. With regards to promotion and business partnerships, it
would be suitable as a niche topic for specialized tour operators. In this respect, music lovers for
“classical music tours” or choirs going on “performance tours” are seen as suitable target groups
while average travelers would rather experience a concert as a complement to sightseeing.
Ancestry and Heritage Tourism increasingly popular
As already pointed out above, “Ancestry and Heritage Tourism” constitutes a promising topic for
the BSR region. Although it is rather a niche topic and not suitable for escorted groups, some respondents state that this topic is (becoming more and more) popular. This could generally be applied to all BSR cities although the tour operators see Warsaw before St. Petersburg, Hamburg, followed by Riga and Helsinki. This topic is suitable to all citizens with family roots in one of the concerned countries and with an interest in genealogy. Although the focus will be on this country of
origin, it is likely that the visitors will be interested in seeing another city or two, either choosing
from one of the most popular cities like London or Paris or a nearby city or country to the region
- 45 -
that they are going for heritage. Tour operators mentioned during the in-depth interviews that
ancestry/heritage travel is the largest niche market growing in the United States.
Promising natural sites must be outstanding and specific
The analysis has already shown that the cities of the Baltic Sea Region are more associated with
culture and history than with nature which is self-evident as it is about urban areas. Consequently,
more than 15 % of the polled tour operators consider “Natural Sites“ as less relevant. As demonstrated above, the exception is Oslo, which is closely connected to the fjords. However, especially
Scandinavian countries are known for their natural sites and the cities’ surroundings may offer respective attractions. 36,4 % of the polled tour operators thus evaluate “Natural Sites” as very relevant and 45,5 % still as “relevant”. Some tour operators suggested in the in-depth interviews to
combine city/urban with country/rural and activity. Among the five stakeholder cities, the highest
relevance is attributed to Helsinki (followed by Riga). Taking into account the manifold presence of
spectacular natural attractions in the United States and other destinations worldwide underlines
that only outstanding and specific natural sites of the BSR (such as the fjords) are promising for
promotion.
Jewish Heritage focused on Warsaw
Although more than a fifth of the respondents to the Online Survey thinks that “Jewish Heritage” is
“less relevant” as travel topic for the BSR cities, still almost one-third understands it as “very relevant” (and nearly 42 % as relevant). It is clearly connected to the city of Warsaw where this topic is
already present in tourism (e. g. brochure Warsaw Judaica with information and proposals for thematic itineraries). Comments of tour operators show that this topic is mostly understood as relevant for Americans seeking the roots of their own families, thus as a sub-topic of Heritage Tourism.
Maritime culture and waterfronts mainly for Hamburg
Although the concerned cities are widely defined as part of the Baltic Sea Region, only some of
them are located directly at water fronts. Others, such as Berlin, Vilnius or Warsaw are even relatively far from water bodies. This explains why more than 15 % of the polled tour operators judge
the topic “Maritime Culture, Waterfronts, Harbor and Events, Maritime Museums” as less relevant.
Still, more than 87 % think that it is relevant or even very relevant. This applies especially to Hamburg, which promotes itself as maritime city (including specific leaflets such as “Hamburg Maritime”, a dedicated section on the website or the offer of maritime hotels). To some extent, Helsinki
is equally expected to suit to this topic, and it can be assumed that this is also valid for Copenhagen,
Oslo and Stockholm. It is understood, that Maritime Culture and Water Fronts are able to constitute
a distinctive feature and possess a high relevance for cruise passengers. However, as shown above,
ports can also induce negative associations.
- 46 -
Gastronomy and Nordic culinary
As outlined earlier, dining in restaurants is a frequent activity of US tourists in Europe. While eating
in general is part of daily life, experiencing local cuisine may become an important part of travelers’
visit to the region. Half of the polled tour operators is thus of the opinion that “Gastronomy and
Nordic Culinary” are relevant travel experiences in the BSR cities. Almost one-third rates this topic
as “very relevant”, and comments show that local cuisine is considered as an important and upcoming product to “discover” the destination. Interviewed tour operators indicated future potential for this topic. Positive mentions refer to fish dishes, healthy Nordic food, good own experiences
and the famous restaurant “Noma” in Copenhagen. Referring to the results of the Online Survey,
this topic fits best to Helsinki (and to a lower extent also to Hamburg). Nevertheless, 17,2 % of the
respondents expect it to be less important. Unlike other European destinations, such as France or
Italy, the Baltic Sea Region is not primarily associated with gastronomy, a topic that would have to
be developed further. Taking into account the current status, explicit gastronomic trips to the BSR
cities would first of all be suitable for specialized tour operators. Otherwise, it should rather be an
integral part of the journey rather than a focus of product and promotion.
Additional travel experiences with lower relevance
Additional travel experiences seem less relevant for the promotion of the BSR cities on the USmarket:
• “Outdoor Activities and Soft Adventure” are still considered as not relevant by more than a
quarter of the respondents. However, a further quarter judges it even as “very relevant” and
further 46,2 % as “relevant”. This topic is closely connected to Helsinki, probably also Oslo
and to a certain degree also to Riga and Hamburg. In general, tour operators see it as an up
and-coming travel experience.
• “Entertainment” such as Musicals and Plays were seen as “less relevant” by almost 40 % of
the respondents. Nevertheless, further around 46 % consider this topic as relevant for the
BSR cities. It is mostly connected to St. Petersburg and Hamburg and could also be used to
promote the relevant cities, but rather not as main topic.
• “Health and Wellness” were equally evaluated as “less relevant” by nearly 50 % of the respondents and as “not relevant at all” by further 6,3 %. One of them stated: “USA travelers are
not at all likely to travel abroad for health reasons. Spa maybe but even then the Caribbean
and Mexico would be more appropriate.” Most respondents attributed this topic to Helsinki,
probably thinking of Finish saunas. But just as “Shopping”, “Health and Wellness” would rather be appropriate as an additional offer on-site.
• “Shopping” was judged as “less relevant” by almost 50 % of the respondents and would rather be an add-on for certain cities (St. Petersburg, Hamburg, Helsinki) than a promotional
theme. In order to make shopping in the BSR cities specific, reference to local or regional
specialties is useful.
- 47 -
Figure 20: Relevance of travel experiences for the BSR cities
Specific Seasonal Events
55,2
Museums and Arts
52,9
UNESCO, Historical or Cultural Sites
52,2
Architecture and Design
32,8
15,2
44,8
44,8
Music, European Composers
44,4
46,0
40,3
31,3
Maritime Culture, Waterfronts
30,9
Gastronomy, Nordic Culinary
13,4
Health and Wellness
12,5
Shopping
20,9
50,0
17,2
46,2
23,1
46,3
38,8
29,7
48,4
35,4
10%
very relevant
11,8
55,9
7,7
0%
9,0
15,2
41,8
26,2
Entertainment (Musicals, Plays)
7,9
45,5
29,7
Outdoor Activities and Soft Adventure
7,5
47,8
36,4
Jewish Heritage
3,0
34,8
Royal and Imperial Heritage
Natural Sites
4,4
41,2
38,8
47,0
Other Ancestry, Heritage Tourism
10,4
20%
49,2
30%
relevant
40%
less relevant
50%
60%
70%
not relevant at all
80%
90%
100%
not familiar with this topic
4.
Sample Products and Itineraries
Sample itineraries should include highlight cities
The development and presentation of sample products and itineraries are an important basis for the joint promotion of the BSR cities. They serve as models to demonstrate
the area’s offerings as well as possible itinerary combinations. As the research
has shown, the region and its cities are not able to compete with the classical European destinations in Europe, but they are of interest for repeating visitors. Taking into account that only select BSR cities are better known and rather popular
in the United States, it is strongly recommended to package them for the promotion of the BSR cities in the US market. Almost 79 % of the polled tour operators
confirm that only some of them can be sold as stand-alone destinations (see
Figure 21). Personal interviews showed that this could merely be St. Petersburg, Berlin or Copenhagen while all others should be sold as part of larger itineraries (or pre-/post-cruise). The general
approach should thus be to combine unknown cities with outstanding attractions in- or outside
the BSR. At least one of the cities St. Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm or Copenhagen should be included in sample itineraries. With regards to other European highlights, tour operators suggest to
create combinations with Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, Vienna or London. Further possible conjunctions include Paris and Moscow. Apart from that, packaging cities also may contribute to gaining attention while it would be much more difficult for single, rather unknown cities.
- 48 -
Figure 21: Selling BSR cities
Source: Online-Survey dwif 2013
Typical itineraries and suggestions of tour operators as model
It is understood that packages with all 13 BSR cities at once are currently not realistic. They are just
too different in terms of thematic focus, image and location. Parts of them, by contrast, are very
likely to be offered as a package. Tour operators recommend pursuing in smaller sub-regions (or by
theme). As research has shown, typical and popular (border-transgressing) combinations are as
follows:
• Scandinavian Capitals: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki (very frequent and equally
recommended by many tour operators in personal interviews)
• Capitals of the Baltic States (in combination with other cities, e.g. St. Petersburg, Warsaw,
Moscow): Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn (also recommended by several tour operators in personal interviews)
• Helsinki and St. Petersburg (mostly as part of a larger tour)
• Helsinki and Tallinn (as part of a larger tour)
• Berlin and Warsaw (in combination with other cities, e.g. Prague, Vienna, Budapest)
As mentioned above, Hamburg rarely appears among the analyzed products and tour proposals.
Due to the comfortable train connection and the attractiveness of the German capital, future potential lies in the combination of Hamburg with Berlin, and further cities, e.g. Warsaw or Copenhagen.
- 49 -
Figure 22: Routes and Clusters including/connecting BSR Cities
Source: dwif 2013
Further itinerary suggestions tour operators named in in-depth interviews include
• Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga, Helsinki
• Hamburg, Berlin, Warsaw, Gdansk
• Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Poland (not necessarily Gdansk), Hamburg
• Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, St. Petersburg
• Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn
• Copenhagen and Denmark
• Berlin, Hamburg, Sweden
• Budapest, Prague, Berlin
• Combinations with Prague, Amsterdam, London, Vienna or Munich.
For a BSR itinerary, the US travel trade suggests an average of three cities per itinerary and between
eight and 12 nights for the region (maximum six if sold as Pre-/Post Cruise or added to another
European itinerary). Several respondents also recommended packaging smaller or shorter stays,
then customizing a longer itinerary according to clients‘ interest.
- 50 -
Focus on selected themes
As indicated above, tour operators suggest to focus on a certain theme or tailored trip, rather than
trying to “be all things to everybody”. In this respect, Figure 23 indicates possible travel experiences, their relevance for the joint promotion of the concerned BSR cities, as well as possible thematic
combinations. While some topics apply to the majority or even all five cities, others are only relevant for one of them (e.g. Jewish Heritage for Warsaw, Health and Wellness for Helsinki). When it
comes to their current and future potential, “Museums and Arts”, as well as “Historical and Cultural
Sites” constitute the established main topics while others hold future potential. In order to push
one or two of these growth topics, a long-term engagement is required. Several further topics are
mostly niches for specific target groups and specialized tour operators. The remaining experiences
should rather be added instead of being explicitly promoted as a separate travel experience.
The overview demonstrates that “urban” topics, such as culture, art and history dominate. City
Stays combining different places are thus the main point. Contrasts could be set by adding specific
experiences with a reference to:
• unique Natural Sites/Countryside (e.g. Fjords) or
• to a certain extent Outdoor Activities/Soft Adventure (e.g. bicycle tours, hiking or winter activities in combination with the topic “Christmas”, e.g. skiing, tobogganing).
Figure 23: Possible Topics and their Relevance for the Promotion of BSR cities in the US47
Source: dwif 2013
__________________________________________________________________________
47
Natural Sites: closely connected to Scandinavia and esp. Norway/Oslo/Fjords; Health and Wellness in Finland focused on typical Sauna
- 51 -
Consideration of gateway cities
In terms of accessibility, the creation of itineraries should consider direct flight connections (see
Figure 9). Major gateway cities such as Berlin or Copenhagen are predestined to be starting or ending points of tours, but also further ones offering direct flights can be considered. However, the
mentions of tour operators indicate that logistics could be challenging due to timing of flights and
the long transfer times/distances between cities. Bundling of cities should thus focus on geographic clusters respectively cities with good public transport connections (e.g. high speed trains between Helsinki and St. Petersburg or Hamburg and Berlin).
Escorted group travel and cruises mostly recommended
According to the polled tour operators, escorted group travel would work best for a BSR cities itinerary (61,1 %). 51,4 % recommend Cruises while 47,2 % selected FIT/customized travel.48 Tour operators expect escorted group travel to remain popular for the region, especially for the elder market.
This form of travel helps control quality, comfort and costs of the entire trip. As alluded in in-depth
interviews, US travelers generally may not be too comfortable in the region (partly due to unfamiliarity, partly due to the nature of the US traveler), and this means they will prefer either an escorted
group or guided FIT package or cruise. Apart from traveling through the region by cruise, Pre- and
Post-Cruise Tours are considered an opportunity for the BSR cities. This applies mainly to Oslo, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg and Helsinki, but also others could be included (e.g. Hamburg, Gdansk,
Riga, Tallinn). Pre- and Post-Business Travel plays only a minor role.
5.
City-specific recommendations
The analysis shows that each of the stakeholder BSR-cities has an individual starting position with
regards to the promotion on the US market. The key findings and specific recommendations for the
respective cities are summarized below.
5.1
Hamburg
• More than 100.000 overnight stays by US tourists and direct access from USA
Image / high profile
• Compared to other BSR cities Hamburg´s general attractiveness is underestimated
•
General lack of image even if name is known
• Controversy image as port city with negative associations such as industrial, dirty
Work on Hamburg´s attractiveness, refer rather to Maritime city than port city, promote as preand post-cruise destination, gateway to North Sea, to Baltic Sea via Belt or Copenhagen/Rostock-Warnemünde
__________________________________________________________________________
48
- 52 -
Travel topics
• Growth topics:
− History, the Hanseatic league (Baltic Sea + Bremen), emigration (Bremerhaven) and the
gateway-function as well as culture in general and architecture
− Maritime Culture, Waterfronts, Harbor and Events, Maritime Museums as general match,
needs more promotion (additional to existing leaflets such as “Hamburg Maritime”, a dedicated section on the website or the offer of maritime hotels) – e.g. Internationales Maritimes Museum (mentioned in trip advisor) with special offer for Alumni travel
• Niche topics:
− “Music and European Composers” only in connection with Warsaw (Chopin) and St. Petersburg
− Seasonal occasions and events: Hafengeburtstag, Alstervergnügen, Christmas market
(with others), Cherry blossom in the “Alten Land”, Hamburg Classics …) underlining Hamburg´s attractiveness and entertainment offer
• Add-ons:
− Elaborate Culinary aspect for Hamburg
− Work on soft adventure topics e.g. sailing, rowing, canoeing on the Alster, Elbe, attractive
bike trails etc.
Geographical clusters for product development
Hamburg could be sold with
• Amsterdam
• Scandinavian cities, especially Copenhagen (train and ferry)
• Bremen / Bremerhaven (train; topic emigration/ roots tourism with exhibitions Ballinstadt
und German Emigration Center/Deutsches Auswandererhaus)
• Potential to cooperate with Berlin (using high speed train), further connection: Warsaw or via
night train connection to St. Petersburg
• Raise image and attractiveness, selling the attractive surroundings like Lübeck as UNESCO
World Heritage or attractive destinations in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania as UNESCO cities
Wismar and Stralsund with Pre- and Post-Cruise
Elaborate cooperation structures for clusters
Target groups / market segments
• Pre- and Post-Cruise
• Repeat to Europe
• Possibly MICE (according to/ in cooperation with Berlin; recent Berlin strategy focusses on
profiling and selling Berlin as MICE destination in the US)
- 53 -
Table 10:
Tour operators (already selling Hamburg)
Name of tour operator
AAA member choice vacations
ACIS
Adventure Caravans
Alamo World Travel & Tours
American Travel Tours
Avanti Destinations
Aviation & Tourism International
Bike Tours Direct
Celtic Tours
Cole Travel
Cosmopolitan Travel by Scott
David Travel
European Destinations
European Tours
EuroVacations
Express Travel
Grand Circle Travel
Horizon & Co.
Int Travel
Passport Travel & Tours
Peak Performance Tours
Polk Corporate Travel Management
Prime Time Travel
Rail Europe
Redyk Travel
responsibletravel.com
Seniortours
Tatra Travel
The Annemarie Victory Organization, Inc.
Thomas Tours & Travel
Tradesco Travel
Travel Options
Viator
Viking Travel Service
Royal Caribbean International
Jensen World Travel
Key Tours International
New Millenium Travel
Odyssey Travel
Pack & Pedal Europe, Inc.
Source: dwif 2013
5.2
Helsinki
• More than 100.000 overnights stays of US tourists in 2011 and direct access from US, attractive flight connection with stop-over in Iceland, promotional campaigns by Iceland Air, USP
because of gateway function for St. Petersburg (Visa free – short trip)
• Rated as very attractive by more than 30 % and as attractive by nearly half of the respondents
• Generally possesses a positive image and good awareness
• Function as gateway city to St. Petersburg
• Image is connected to Scandinavia and the Nordic region
- 54 -
• Modern character, architecture and design and others (e. g. shopping, culinary)
• Despite all the positive descriptions, some respondents thus also alluded to negative aspects
(cold, grey, expensive) or ignorance of the city
Work on Helsinki´s positive image stressing the gateway function (St. Petersburg) and the connection to positively recognized destination Scandinavia, intensive use of cooperative marketing opportunities with Iceland Air
Indirect/ long term: improve unattractive parts of the city (planning and development), bring in
the tourism perspective into the cities´ development strategy, start awareness building process
for tourism among politics, general economy, trade and population, work on “value for money”-relation
Travel topics
• Growth topics: Product development should work in the directions the image is already developed (see above)
− the attractive flight connection via Iceland which offers exotic experiences (hot springs,
cultural and natural experience) and opens up cooperative marketing topics (e.g. design
twins)
− Packages and tours stressing the unique gateway situation to St. Petersburg, highlighting
history and sightseeing (high speed train)
− The Scandinavian experience combining Helsinki either with other Scandinavian capitols
or with the Fjords as unique natural experience
− Maritime Culture, Waterfronts, Harbor and Events, Maritime Museums as Helsinki is equally expected to suit to this topic to some extent
• Niche topics:
− Design: Obviously, there is a close connection to Helsinki, the World Design Capital in
2012. In September 2013, the annual festival “Helsinki Design Week” will take place, and
the city’s Tourist Board also makes use of this topic; package had been developed with
Iceland/ Reykjavik (design twins) – could be expanded in connection with other Scandinavian and Baltic cities; niche for experts (e.g. Art and Architecture Tours)
− Build upon the already elaborated offers such as “meeting the locals” (Bal MetPromo project) and transfer to US market as there is growing interest among Repeat-to-Europe visitors to gain unique insights in local culture and lifestyles – combination with heritage and
ancestry tourism also applicable
− Educational travel, if specific arrangements are available in connection with “meeting the
locals”
• Add-ons:
− Elaborate Culinary aspect (best fitted of all BSR cities) and regional shopping for design
(Marimekko)
− Work on soft adventure topics e.g. sailing, rowing, canoeing, attractive bike trails etc.
- 55 -
− Use also events for motivating seasonal travel (e.g. christmas markets, Summer Solstice,
Northern Lights)
− Wellness in connection to Finnish Sauna, but pay attention to US American attitude towards nakedness
Geographical clusters for Product development
Helsinki could be sold with
• Scandinavian cities
• St. Petersburg
• Iceland / Reykjavik
• (Baltic cities)
Strengthen existing cooperation structures for clusters
• Pre- and Post-cruise
• (Students / Educational travel)
Table 11:
Tour operators (already selling Helsinki)
Academic Arrangements Abroad
iExplore
ACIS
In Quest of the Classics
Adventure Centre
Insight Vacations
Int Travel
Ambassadair
Intrepid Travel
America Asia Travel Center
Jensen World Travel
America by Rail
Legendary Journeys
Majestic Vacations
Artisans of Leisure
Montrose Travel
Mountain Travel Sobek
Bike Tours Direct
MTS Travel
Borton Overseas
Nelson's Scandinavia
Brekke Tours
Brendan Vacations
Odyssey Travel
China Travel Service Los Angeles
Classical Movements, Inc.
Cole Travel
Pilgrim Tours
Compagnie du Ponant
Contiki
Prime Time Travel
Princess Cruises
- 56 -
Corporate Travel Service
Rail Europe
Redyk Travel
Cosmos
Cruise Planners
Rockport Tours
David Travel
Sacca Tours
East West Tours
Scandia World Travel
Educational Opportunities Tours
Scandinavian American World Tours, Inc.
EF College Study Tours
Scantours
Seniortours
Euro River Cruises
Smolka Tours
Eurobound
Spirit Cruises
Tauck
European Tours
Thomas P. Gohagan & Company
EuroVacations
Tour Designs Inc.
explorica
ToursFun
Express Travel
Trafalgar
Travcoa
FOS Tours & Travel, Inc.
Travel Impressions
Garlin Travel
Vacations To Go
Gate Travel
Viator
Gateway Music Festivals & Tours
Viking River Cruise
General Tours
Gindroz & Co, Inc.
VIP Alpine Tours
Go Ahead Tours
Walking Adventures International
Go Today
Artistic Ambassadors
Grand Circle Travel
Globus Journeys
Group Travel Directors
Harmon Travel
Safety Tours
Hermes Tours
Virgin Vacations
Horizon & Co.
Zegrahm Expeditions
Source: dwif 2013
- 57 -
5.3
Riga
• Less than 100.000 overnights stays of US tourists in 2011, but directly accessible from New
York
• No focus on US tourism market so far
• The Latvian capital is widely unknown (25% of the respondents to the online survey) and
among those, who just have heard of it by name, many expect it to be less or not attractive.
• Those who know more about Riga rate the city to be attractive and even very attractive
(15 % ), mentioning architecture, history, charm.
• Positive adjectives are such as “pretty” or “charming”.
• Highlighted are the architecture, art nouveau, Riga´s old town and medieval aspects as well
as history and culture in general.
• Still, similarly to the idea of Tallinn, some negative associations refer to the image of a grey
“communist city”.
Use BSR project to raise awareness for Riga by combining Riga with more known BSR cities (e.g.
St. Petersburg)
Bundle as Baltic capitals with Tallinn and Vilnius to produce synergies and use association with
whole region
for tourism among politics, general economy, trade and population
Travel topics
• Growth topics: Product development should work in the directions the image is already developed (see above) with history, art nouveau, ancestry and heritage tourism
• Niche topics:
− Natural and landscape experience highlighting Curonian Spit, the unspoiled landscape in
connection to soft adventure e.g. sailing, rowing, canoeing, attractive bike trails etc.
• Add-ons:
− Elaborate Culinary aspect, but beware of too heavy meals and giblets/innards
− Work on soft adventure topics
Geographical clusters for product development
As pointed out above Riga could be sold with
• St. Petersburg and/or the other Baltic capitals
• In connection with landscape and nature together with Helsinki
- 58 -
• Concerning history and ancestry together with Warsaw, Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Helsinki
Table 12:
Tour operators (already selling Riga)
Bike Tours Direct
Cole Travel
Cosmos
David Travel
European Tours
EuroVacations
Express Travel
Gate 1 Travel
Go Ahead Tours
Grand Circle Travel
Horizon & Co.
Int Travel
Intrepid Travel
Odyssey Travel
Pilgrim Tours
Prime Time Travel
Redyk Travel
Seniortours
Tauck
Tour Designs Inc.
Tours4Fun
Travcoa
Viator
Safety Tours
Cox & Kings
Isram World Tours (Europe Too)
Grand European Tours
Kompas
Krakowiak Travel Agency
Tradesco Travel
Compagnie du Ponant
Cruise Planners
East West ToursEuro River Cruises
Gindroz & Co, Inc.
Harmon Travel
Jensen World Travel
Scantours
Trafalgar
Vacations To Go
VIP Alpine Tours
Zegrahm Expeditions
Five Star Touring
Lindblad Expeditions
Overseas Adventure Travel
Adventure Centre
PAT Tours
Artisans of Leisure
Nelson's Scandinavia
AER World Tours
Jewish Travel Agency
Pack & Pedal Europe, Inc.
Select International Tours
Travel Gallery, Inc.
- 59 -
Globus Journeys
Source: dwif 2013
5.4
St. Petersburg
• St. Petersburg is a definite “Must See” of BSR, being with Berlin and - with restrictions Stockholm among the only BSR cities having outstanding attractions for US tourists (according to TripAdvisor - analysis, “fortissimo” and “forte”)
• More than 120.000 arrivals by US tourists in 2012 (number of overnights not available)
• Situation due to visa regulation for international tourists and no direct flight connection to
the US is difficult and does not reflect the given demand; but St. Petersburg will open a new
airport terminal, which might imply also new direct flight connections to and from the USA
in the future (presumably New York and Boston)
• Nearly 70 % of the respondents rate St. Petersburg as very attractive with further 24 % perceiving it as attractive. St. Petersburg consequently is ranked first among the other BSR cities
• It is mainly characterized with very positive adjectives expressing such as beautiful, fascinating or amazing, History and culture determine St. Petersburg’s image, the Hermitage being
the most known attraction as well as the Tsar history
• Russian destinations (further Moscow) are generally perceived as most exotic and the highlights of trips to BSR region.
Underline and promote existing image
Main effects for attracting more US tourists will result from improving the visa regulation and
the direct air accessibility.
Travel topics
• Growth topics:
− Stand-alone destination St. Petersburg: respondents clearly marked the city as possible
stand-alone product, the major topic being its world famous architecture and sights (palaces, museums), the Royal and Imperial history of the Tsars and events (White Nights)
− St. Petersburg thus could be connected to all tours around BSR as highlight destination
• Niche topics:
− “Music and European Composers”: with important composers e.g. Tschaikowsky and the
famous “White Nights Festival” (consists of a series of classical ballet, opera and music
events and includes performances by Russian dancers, singers, musicians and actors, as
well as famous international guest stars) St. Petersburg offers attractive events in this section
- 60 -
• Add-ons:
− Shopping
− Entertainment
St. Petersburg:
• Scandinavia, than for easy access via high speed train from Helsinki
• Concerning history and ancestry together with Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Riga (further Baltic
Cities) and Helsinki
• Potential to cooperate with Hamburg - Berlin (using high speed train) than further connection to Warsaw via new night train
• In connection with “Music and European Composers” with Hamburg and Warsaw (Chopin)
Build up new and strengthen existing cooperation structures for clusters
Table 13:
Tour operators (already selling St. Petersburg)
Borton Overseas
Bike Tours Direct
Compagnie du Ponant
Brendan Vacations
Corporate Travel Service
Cole Travel
Cruise Planners
Contiki
East West Tours
Educational Opportunities Tours
EF College Study Tours
Cosmos
Euro River Cruises
David Travel
explorica
European Tours
Garlin Travel
EuroVacations
Gindroz & Co, Inc.
Group Travel Directors
Express Travel
Harmon Travel
Gate 1 Travel
iExplore
Go Ahead Tours
Jensen World Travel
Grand Circle Travel
Legendary Journeys
- 61 -
Horizon & Co.
Montrose Travel
Mountain Travel Sobek
Insight Vacations
MTS Travel
Int Travel
Princess Cruises
Intrepid Travel
Rockport Tours
Odyssey Travel
Scantours
Smolka Tours
Spirit Cruises
Pilgrim Tours
Thomas P. Gohagan & Company
Trafalgar
Prime Time Travel
Vacations To Go
Redyk Travel
Viking River Cruise
VIP Alpine Tours
Seniortours
Tauck
Virgin Vacations
Tour Designs Inc.
Zegrahm Expeditions
Tours4Fun
A Touch of Class Tours
Travcoa
AAA member choice vacations
Viator
Abercrombie & Kent
AHI Travel (Alumni Holidays)
CIE Tours
Globus Journeys
Cultural CrossRoads
Safety Tours
DAI Travel
206 Tours
Elite Travel
Celtic Tours
Five Star Touring
Collette Vacations
Gutsy Women Travel
Cox & Kings
Holland America Line
Homeric Tours
Lakani World Tours
Kompas
Lindblad Expeditions
Maupintour Extraordinary Vacations
Sawa Travel
Music Travel Consultants
Syrena Travel Agency
Overseas Adventure Travel
Tatra Travel
The Annemarie Victory Organization, Inc.
Tradesco Travel
Women Traveling Together
WorldStrides
AIMS
Group Destination Planners
ACIS
Sita World Tours
Ambassadair
- 62 -
America Asia Travel Center
America by Rail
Source: dwif 2013
5.5
Warsaw
• More than 100.000 overnights stays of US tourists in 2011, but actual status is below 2003,
average length of stay of US tourists in BSR cities is lowest in Warsaw (1,9 days), direct flight
connection
• Still tourism board recognizes high proportion of US tourists among international tourism,
which may have jewish background or also roots and heritage tourism
• Probably profits from in-destination Cracow
• Only about 17 % of the respondents see Warsaw as very attractive and still more than half of
them see it as attractive
• Main associations refer to its history with the subthemes Jewish history, the Warsaw Ghetto
and World War II
• Single respondents characterize the city as cold, grey or ugly
• Some experts also mention that Warsaw is rather unknown and does not have any strong
image in the United States
Concentrate on image and topics Warsaw is already known for (e.g. history, Jewish heritage
with new opened museum, heritage tourism)
Use the nearby in-destination Cracow for motivating more visits to Warsaw (Warsaw as gateway to Cracow)
Stress tourist friendly value-for-money – relation
for tourism among politics, general economy, trade and population
Travel topics
• Growth topics: Product development should work in the directions the image is already developed (see above) with history with the special focus on Jewish legacy, but also in general
and architecture, imperial epoques (Polish kings), ancestry and heritage tourism
• Promote Warsaw in combination with nearby in-destinations e.g. Berlin and Cracow
• Niche topics:
− “Music and European Composers” as Warsaw was the only destination associated with
classical music (Chopin with Chopin Airport, Museum, Festival, Memorial)
• Add-ons:
− Elaborate Culinary aspect, but beware of too heavy meals and giblets/innards
- 63 -
− Work on soft adventure topics e.g. sailing, rowing, canoeing, attractive bike trails etc.
Warsaw could be sold with
• Nearby Berlin and Hamburg as well as Baltic Cities
• Also in direction to Tchech Republic (Prague, Vienna)
• Concerning history and ancestry together with Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Riga and Helsinki
• Potential to cooperate with Berlin (using high speed train), further connection: Warsaw or via
night train connection to St. Petersburg
•
In connection with “Music and European Composers” (Chopin) with Hamburg and St. Petersburg
• Bundled with in-destination Cracow
Build up new and strengthen existing cooperation structures for clusters
• (Students / Educational travel)
Table 14:
Tour operators (already selling Warsaw)
Adventure Centre
Seniortours
Tauck
Bike Tours Direct
Brendan Vacations
Tour Designs Inc.
Cole Travel
Tours4Fun
Contiki
Travcoa
Travel Impressions
Viator
Cosmos
David Travel
Globus Journeys
Safety Tours
European Tours
206 Tours
EuroVacations
Avanti Destinations
Celtic Tours
Express Travel
Classic Travel
- 64 -
Gate 1 Travel
Collette Vacations
Gateway Music Festivals & Tours
Cox & Kings
Go Ahead Tours
Go Today
Grand Circle Travel
Kompas
Horizon & Co.
Mosaic Group Travel
Insight Vacations
PAT Tours
Int Travel
Peter's Way Tours
Intrepid Travel
Poland Culinary Vacations, Inc.
Ritz Tours
Odyssey Travel
Sawa Travel
SST Tours
Syrena Travel Agency
Pilgrim Tours
Tatra Travel
Tradesco Travel
Prime Time Travel
VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations
Rail Europe
WorldStrides
Redyk Travel
Source: dwif 2013
6.
Recommended promotional activities for BSR Cities
Focus on B2B-marketing strengthening market push
Taking into account limited budgets, promotional activities for the BSR cities on the US market
need to be target-oriented. In this respect, marketing should concentrate on business-to-business(B2B-) measures (market push).
Fam-trips
US-tour operators clearly recommend conducting educational fam-trips to the BSR cities (78,7 %). It
is understood that these are very expensive and the request for these trips may be motivated by
respondents’ individual desire, but may not necessarily provide the best return on investment. In
terms of “quality before quantity”, they should thus be realized with small groups consisting of the
“right” stakeholders only. Trip itineraries, topics and regions visited must be determined by the
specific needs of the attending stakeholders as well as compatibility with the stakeholders’ portfolio. This approach enhances both success of the measure and interest of the tour operator. Much of
this can be pushed through inbound tour operators as their responsibility. (As one interview partner mentioned, he would only go to places or topics that he could sell realistically.) Tour operators
also acknowledged that fam-trips would make a difference in selling the destination (for agent or
key sales staff training).
- 65 -
Figure 24: B2B-marketing activities recommended for BSR cities49
Educational fam-trips to BSR cities
78,7%
Cooperative marketing funds T/O
41,0%
BSR-cities roadshow
41,0%
Online training, specialist programs
36,1%
Established US travel trade events
29,5%
Webinars
24,6%
Sales Calls
9,8%
Other
3,3%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Cooperative marketing funds with tour operators
41 % each recommend cooperative marketing funds with tour operators or hosting a BSR cities
roadshow with workshops and product training. Interview partners mentioned that a single destination campaign can cost between USD $30,000-$40,000 and that the individual operator could
not afford this amount of marketing for one destination. Practical examples:
• Croatia saw a boost in numbers to the destination after participating in a co-op marketing
campaign with a major US tour operator
• Switzerland Tourism executed a co-op mailing through US organization AARP, which worked
well.
Other respondents recommended to cooperate with tour operators only (not particular agencies)
or to invest in a cooperative strategy rather than in “brochure pages”.
Cooperation with consortia and associations
Moreover, interview partners recommend cooperating with consortia and associations. Working
with these consortia was seen as “a great way to reach a large group of qualified and active agents”
(examples: Virtuoso, Signature Travel Network, Travel Savers, Travel Leaders, Vacation.com, WESTA).
As for associations of tour operators and travel agents, USTOA (United States Association of Tour
Operators) and ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) were recommended.
__________________________________________________________________________
49
- 66 -
Roadshow for the BSR cities
A roadshow for the BSR cities should focus on selected regional markets. Several tour operators
mentioned in in-depth interviews that they would not travel to attend a roadshow themselves.
With respect to the format, responses were mixed: Several expressed interest in attending to receive direct contacts for on-the-ground product, and others wanting to participate as a supplier
and meet with US-based travel agents. Practical examples:
• The Australian States come together for an annual event bringing in hosted buyers and suppliers to one location.
• Visit Britain and Switzerland Tourism host road shows in several cities with regional representatives/product and agents in attendance.
Online training courses and webinars
Online training courses and specialist programs were recommended by more than one-third of the
respondents while only about one-quarter selected webinars. Especially online trainings are costeffective for the suppliers and easily accessible and less time-consuming for participants. This is a
way of enhancing awareness and motivation among advisors and giving them a better feel of the
destination. However, there are numerous similar offers on the market. It is thus crucial to provide
and communicate an (economic) advantage for participants (e.g. credits/certificates), to deliver
“fresh” content in an attractive way. Practical examples:
• One respondent conducts a continuous series of online training courses with their Australia/Pacific and Africa specialist agent networks.
• GNTO frequently hosts co-op webinars with a regional tourism board (e.g. Berlin) and a USbased tour operator to conduct agent training.
Travel trade events
Yet almost 30 % recommend to attend established travel trade events. As suggested during an indepth interview, the choice should mix the big ones (such as USTOA’s Annual Conference or
SeaTrade) with smaller, specific events (such as the Educational Travel Conference or hosted events
during travel agent Consortia Annual Meetings). BSR cities ideally should select a few key events
and make a bigger impact (e.g. sponsoring evenings, speakers or educational opportunities) to
raise destination awareness among key industry groups. For future years, when the reputation of
the group is more established, then just attending (a broader range) events will be okay. However,
taking into account budget restrictions, it is understood that attending all events is not realistic.
Sales calls
Only about 10 % would do sales calls to promote the BSR cities. Nevertheless, several interview
partners mentioned Sales Calls and destination training in-person as useful with one saying that it
would be better to train all of their staff than to bring only one person on a fam-trip.
- 67 -
Tour operators recommend informative BSR website
As far as sales and promotional material for the US travel trade are concerned, tour operators and
further experts clearly recommend a strong and informative website for the BSR. As suggested in
several interviews, this website should be split with one section each for professionals and consumers. The US travel trade expects
• Sample itineraries (including sample city combinations and information on transfers between regions)
• Information on the destinations overall (also as a resource for consumers)
• Contacts to relevant tourism boards, hotels and further suppliers
• Sales manuals, guidebooks and maps (online).
Displaying sample itineraries provides an idea of possible combinations per theme and/or geographic proximity and logistics, thus supports tour operators and travel agents in developing their
products and selling the BSR cities. The same applies for business contacts and sales manuals, destination guidebooks and maps which are available online and for download. Overall information
on the region and its cities would equally be relevant for consumers as well. As these consumers
are often doing their own research, suitable information and attractive pictures are very important.
Taking into account that the BSR cities intend to move forward with a joint promotion, it is highly
recommended to establish a central website instead of referring to the existing websites of individual cities. All marketing activities would thus direct back to this website.
The maintenance and regular updates of this common website require the partners’ commitment,
ideally beyond the project’s lifetime. It is understood that the question of responsibility after the
funding by the Baltic Sea Region-program poses a challenge and would need to be discussed
among the involved institutions. In order to secure the website’s ongoing maintenance, however,
the following ideas should be evaluated within the partnership:
• One partner could overtake the responsibility for hosting the website. This option would require an appropriate benefit for this partner, which should already be considered during the
planning phase.
• The site could be turned over to a top selling US-tour operator as they often have numerous
URLs to distribute their products, and this new one would already have established value developed during project time.
Instead of a full-service website, the BSR cities could set up a landing-page only that has less content and directs to individual cities. Instead of merely being a gateway, this site, however, would
have to offer an additional benefit for travel trade and consumers such as online trainings, topics
etc. Instead of being a full-fledged website, it could offer some lively and updated modules, e.g.
high class events in the BSR cities, distinctive features and press releases.
- 68 -
Figure 25: Recommended Sales and Promotional Material for US Travel Trade50
Informative BSR website
60,0%
Sample itineraries for BSR trips
49,2%
Contacts "One stop shop" DMCs
36,9%
Online trainings/webinars
30,8%
Sales manuals etc. (online/downl.)
29,2%
Product contacts in BSR cities
24,6%
Quick responses to queries
23,1%
Sales manuals etc. (print)
16,9%
0%
25%
50%
75%
The website should then also include further support for tour operators such as the introduction to
contacts, trainings, webinars or sales manuals (see also
Figure 25).
Create awareness among consumers for increasing market pull
Despite all concentration on B2B-activities, it is vital to build up awareness for the BSR and its cities
among consumers (market pull). Tour operators often book according to their clients’ requests
respectively will consider destinations only if they receive relevant demand. Accordingly, interview
partners recommended more exposure for the destinations overall. Reaction of tour operators to
B2B measures will strongly depend on whether they trust also in the market pull - strategy conceived by the destination involved. Any, if not all of the B2C-marketing should be pursued to raise
consumer awareness and therefore demand for the destination.
Experts outlined the relevance of continuous press work and recommended to conduct press tours
to the region respectively to parts of it. It was also mentioned that the acquisition of media for
tours to “unknown” regions can be beneficial.
As per the respondents to the Online Survey, the top three recommended consumer activities for
the promotion of the BSR cities are
• Travel TV Shows (52,5 %)
• Social Media (50,8 %)
• Travel Magazine Advertising (42,6 %).51
__________________________________________________________________________
50
51
See Figure 26 for details
- 69 -
TV and magazine activities are relatively expensive, but tour operators said in in-depth interviews
that these were good vehicles for increasing consumer familiarity with the destination. Getting
dynamic images in front of the consumer would help to build interest in and awareness of the region. Taking into account the media usage of senior citizens as a central target group, TV even
gains importance.
Figure 26: Recommended consumer activities52
Travel TV Shows
52,5%
Social Media
50,8%
Travel magazine advertising
42,6%
Public relations
32,8%
Consumer sweepstakes/trip
giveaways
26,2%
Consortia advertising
26,2%
Online advertising
26,2%
0%
25%
50%
75%
Focused and continuous engagement required
The Baltic Sea Region and its cities are widely unknown as tourism destination in the US market
and need to compete with established destinations worldwide and in other parts of Europe. Taking
into account the weak image and low awareness of the Baltic Sea Region in the US, promotion
needs to present selected themes. Research has shown that the future promotion should clearly
focus on defined segments only instead of “trying to please everybody”. In case of certain niche or
affinity markets, this would imply distinctive products and services for the specific target group.
The project and its partners need to be aware that the successful promotion of the BSR cities in the
US market, convincing business partners and raising awareness among consumers requires a serious, long-term, continuous commitment beyond the lifetime of the ONE BSR project and respective funding.
__________________________________________________________________________
52
- 70 -
7.
Marketing strategy recommendations for BSR cities
Although focusing resources on the push side, building awareness among travel trade, the strategy
will also have to incorporate action towards market pull, raising awareness among consumers. Only
this way tour operators and travel agents will be motivated to join in and cooperate.
Figure 27: Market Push and Market Pull
STEP 1
MARKET PUSH
Building
travel trade
awareness
7.1
BSR Website
Travel industry events
Specific fam trip
Educational webinars
Co-op marketing with US Tour Operators
Roadshows visiting several US cities
STEP 2
MARKET PULL
Activating
consumer
awareness
BSR website
strategic press trip(s)
BSR inspirational booklet
Social media
First stage: Build travel trade awareness through push marketing
• Begin with a trade marketing campaign. At the same time, inform the trade that a consumer
awareness campaign will be coming 6 months later.
Building a BSR Website
• The website may include information relevant to both consumers and the travel trade.
• All marketing activities would direct back to this website.
• The website could include a list of US-based tour operators, on-the-ground product, and/or
DMCs
• Agent training courses and webinars could be housed here.
• Advertising campaigns could direct consumers to this site for BSR information or special offers for the BSR.
Attending travel industry events
• Recommended events for BSR to participate in:
− CLIA’s Cruise3sixty
− SeaTrade
− USTOA Annual Conference
− ASTA Global Convention
− Educational Travel Conference
- 71 -
• BSR may also sponsor functions at these events to increase destination awareness among
the travel trade.
Developing a specific fam-trip
• Developing a fam-trip or series of 2-3 fa- trips
− that are specific to areas of 3-4 cities or niche topics (like Jewish heritage or design etc.)
− based off of the recommended itineraries. (It would only work if BSR and DMCs were able
to provide the marketing company completed product itinerary(ies)).
• Product managers/developers for tour operators would be invited to attend the fam-trips,
and would make the investment of developing their own product itinerary after the fam.
• If they reach a certain percentage of sales, they could receive the co-operative marketing
funds mentioned below.
Educational webinars
• Webinars housed on the BSR website would act as educational sessions for travel agents.
• Each webinar would highlight a specific regional theme or highlighted niche itinerary for
trips to the BSR.
− The webinar would inspire agents with strong visual components and also demonstrate
how each type of trip would be put together in a BSR itinerary.
− The webinar hosts could be US Tour Operators or BSR based DMCs and product. They
would talk about specific product they sell to the US market as well as the regional
theme or niche topic for each webinar. The host would also act as the direct contact
for agents.
Co-op marketing with US Tour Operators
• The BSR would offer co-op funds to Tour Operators to help advertise and promote specific
BSR itineraries.
• These itineraries would either use existing product sold by the Tour Operators, or would be
new product developed together with assistance from the BSR.
• Tour Operators would reach out to their past client databases in addition to other advertising.
For a detailed description on past client outreach, please refer to the section below: How to reach
the “Return to Europe” market.
Roadshows visiting several US cities
• Two-part roadshow
− Executive brunch/lunch for key members of the travel trade, including Tour Operators,
trade media, relevant tourism boards etc.
- 72 -
− Afternoon destination training for agents, concluding the function with a cocktail networking function
• DMCs, product and tourism boards would conduct meetings and training with travel agents.
• Location: Several cities on the East Coast. In selecting cities, include some regions with large
numbers of consumers with ties to BSR heritage and culture.
7.2
Second stage: Build consumer awareness
Build a BSR website
• including information relevant to both consumers and travel trade (as mentioned above)
• For a detailed description on recommendations for a BSR website, please refer to the section
below: BSR-Website
Organise strategic press trip(s)
• Focus on developing very strategic press trips (due to limited budget)
• Mirror any developed niche markets (i.e. the special topics listed above)
Develop a BSR inspirational booklet to insert into travel magazines
• Would also be made available in digital format and housed on BSR website.
• For a detailed description on this item, please refer to the section below: Inspirational Booklet.
Social media
• Utilize well-known members of the travel trade to talk about and promote the destination to
their followers. Develop a social media dialogue with travel trade who are active in the region.
7.3
Reaching key target markets
How to reach the “Return to Europe” market
• Provide Co-op marketing funds to Tour Operators and/or agencies selling BSR product directly to consumers.
− Operators would promote existing product or newly developed product, including valueadded components or other special offers.
− Marketing would be done through a variety of methods and could include: Email-blasts,
direct mail (print), or through traditional print and online advertising.
• Market to niche groups
− Market to regions in the US with strong connections to BSR heritage (mostly East Coast).
- 73 -
• Online marketing
− Banner ads in TripAdvisor and other Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
− Ads would target travelers who are already searching for hotels or airfare to Europe and
would direct them to web pages with BSR travel packages.
How to reach the pre- and post-cruise market
This market will provide a big window of opportunity for the BSR.
• If travelers book their cruises through travel agents:
− Provide an incentive to travel agents for booking any pre/post tours to the BSR-cities
− Provide itinerary samples to the agents and direct connections to on-the-ground product.
• If clients are booking directly with a cruise line:
− Work with the cruise lines’ product development teams to assist in developing itineraries.
− Conduct a special BSR promotion with cruise lines
− Conduct training exercises in the reservation call centers for major cruise lines.
− Establish direct contact with product managers and other key industry partners at events
such as SeaTrade or CLIA’s Cruise3sixty
− Conduct targeted sales calls and training in conjunction with these events.
7.4
7.4.1
Outreach and support to the travel trade
Itinerary development and guidance
• Develop sample itineraries focused on niche/affinities, such as:
− Baltic Sea Region Christmas markets
− Best small towns in the region
− Heritage
− WWII History tour
− Historical palaces and architecture
− Royal and imperial heritage tour
− Pre and post cruising
− Soft adventure
• Educational Webinars will also outline sample itineraries in detail.
• List sample itineraries on the BSR website
− Longer (10-day) itineraries over 2-3 BSR cities
− Shorter regional itineraries which can be joined together
− Include niche/affinity itineraries samples as above
- 74 -
7.4.2
Sales and promotional materials
BSR Website (both for consumers and the travel trade)53
• This website would be a central location for hosting marketing activities, including:
− Destination information
− Information on upcoming events (both consumer and travel trade)
− Micro-websites for special BSR promotions
− Archived copies of webinars and e-newsletters
• The site would also host individual BSR cities’ information
− This would include links to all individual cities tourism websites, as well as listings of
product and sample itineraries for each city.
• Travel trade section of the website
− This would include contact information for on-the-ground product and DMCs
• Consumer section of the website
− This would include contact information for Tour Operators and travel agents
E-Newsletter
• This e-newsletter would be a brief highlight of information on the BSR website as well as updates from the region. Possible articles to include in the e-newsletter:
− Sample itineraries
− Niche product
− New webinars
− Upcoming events
• The e-newsletter would be published on a monthly or quarterly basis.
• The e-newsletter would be sent out to Consumers and/or the Travel Trade
Inspirational Booklet
• The booklet would be developed in print and digital versions that operators and agents can
send to clients, either by standard mail or email.
− This would serve to excite clients who are already booked to the BSR or to inspire prospective clients.
• This could also be distributed at travel trade events.
• The booklet would also include regional and city maps, including a focus on sample itineraries.
__________________________________________________________________________
53
The information could partly also be included in an e-brochure as a first step (e.g. information on the destination
and regular events).
- 75 -
7.4.3
Tour operators most likely to be involved with BSR
• Those who are specialized in selling Europe already
− Example: Avanti Destinations
• Small and mid-sized operators
− Example: Exeter International, Eurobound
• Education/academic travel organizations
− Example: EF Educational Tours
• Niche/affinity tour operators (including history and heritage tours)
− Example: Luther Tours
• To determine which tour operators are likely to participate, this will depend on what marketing projects BSR develops with the market.
− If the BSR and its cities are offering support to their existing marketing efforts, a smaller
company will likely be more interested in investing in promotions for the BSR.
- 76 -
VI. Sources
Studies
Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus e. V. (2013): Marktinformationen USA. Incoming-Tourismus
Deutschland.
dwif (2010): Concept PATA CrossCulTour. Munich.
European Travel Commission (2013): Key Findings – Study on the US Outbound Market.
European Travel Commission (2013): New Media Trend Watch. USA Online Travel Market.
European Travel Commission (2009): Market Insights USA.
European Travel Commission (2004): The Image of Europe in North America.
Google/Ipsos Media CT (2012): The 2012 Traveler.
Hamburg Tourismus (2010): Die Hamburg-Kommunikation. Kooperationsmöglichkeiten und Medien.
Institut für Management und Tourismus (2011): Analyse ausgewählter Auslandsmärkte für die
Hamburg Tourismus GmbH.
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (2011): Profile of U.S. Resident Travelers Visiting Overseas
Destinations Outbound 2011.
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (2011): Market Profile. U.S. Resident Travel to Europe.
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (2011): United States Resident Travel Abroad.
Österreich Werbung (2013): Märkte und Marktstrategien. Märkte mit dem größten Potenzial für
„Urlaub in Österreich!“. Handbuch 2013.
Stockholm Visitors Board: Privatresor & Turistservice 2012.
visitBerlin: Jahresbericht. Zahlen und Fakten 2012.
Visit Finland (2011): Outbound Travel USA.
- 77 -
VisitOslo: Markedsplan VisitOslo 2013.
Internet Sources
www.acis.com
www.comscore.com
www.contiki.com
www.cosmos.com
www.emarketer.com
www.exeterinternational.com
www.hotelmarketing.com
www.internetworldstats.com
www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de
www.luther2017.de
www.newmediatrendwatch.com
www.tourmis.info
www.visitberlin.de
Expert Interviews
National Tourist Boards
Contact Person
Date
Latvian Tourism Development
Agency
Inese Sirava
04th June 2013
German National Tourist Office
Ricarda Lindner
07th June 2013
Polar Star Marketing Solutions LLC (USrepresentation of Finnish Tourist Board)
Helena Niskanen
12th June 2013
City Tourist Boards
Hamburg Tourism GmbH
Contact Person
Nadja Biebow,
Julia Grundmann
Date
09th April 2013
City of Helsinki / Tourist and Convention
Bureau
Hanna Muoniovaara
03rd May 2013
Convention Bureau Warsaw
Mateusz Czerwinski
06th May 2013
Live Riga/Rīgas Tūrisma Attīstības Birojs
Aigars Smiltans
08th July 2013
Further Companies and Institutions
Contact Person
Date
Riga City Council
Ieva Kalnina
07th May 2013
KMS Communication
Kirsten Schmidt
07th June 2013
The Travel Experience
Merja Hart
13th June 2013
Hamburg Airport
Anja Compton
19th June 2013
Magic Cities
Dorothea Niestert
08th July 2013
- 78 -
Kempinski Hotel Atlantic Hamburg
Judith Fuchs-Eckhoff
15th August 2013
In-depth Interviews Tour Operators
dwif – Consulting GmbH
Tour Operator
Contact Person
Date
ACIS
James Matthews
10th July 2013
Odyssey Travel
Karen Upchurch
15th July 2013
Travcoa
Cathy Holler
16th July 2013
Tauck
Rakesh Dewan
22nd July 2013
Avanti Destinations
Harry Dalgaard
24th July 2013
Rail Europe
Simone Ruf
24th July 2013
Myriad Marketing
Tour Operator
Contact Person
Date
Friendly Planet Travel
Peggy Goldman
17th July 2013
SITA World Tours*
Laudie Hanou
17th July 2013
Borton Overseas
Linda McCormick
18th July 2013
Beatty Group
Donna Johnson
18th July 2013
Gindroz & Co
Karen Gindroz
18th July 2013
Marion Harbison Travel
Marion Harbison
19th July 2013
Culture Quest
Jean Harris
19th July 2013
Herzerl Tours
Suzanne Servin
19th July 2013
Passage Custom Tours
Gordon Hoffert
19th July 2013
John Miller
19th July 2013
Uniworld Boutique River
Cruise Collection
Wanda Kowalczyk
19th July 2013
Collette Vacations
David Luz
23rd July 2013
Goway*
Emma Cottis
23rd July 2013
Avanti Destinations
Regina Bang
24th July 2013
* = Shortened interview. Do not sell destination.
- 79 -

Final Report ONE BSR - One Baltic Sea Region

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