TOURISM As Front Page NewsFRED PLEITGENCroatia, September 13th 2011

TOURISM, THROUGH THE LENS OF THE MEDIA

MY PAST 12 MONTHS…

• Iraq

• Afghanistan

• Bosnia & Herzegovina

• Myanmar

• Thailand

• Germany

• UK

• Jordan

• Switzerland

• Tunisia

• Libya

• Egypt

• Abu Dhabi

• Pakistan

• USA

• Poland

• Austria

• Croatia

WHY WE ARE HERE

Understanding the story behind

WHY TOURISM IS NEWSWORTHY

UNLOCKING HOW WE MAKE IT HAPPEN

• Translating information and insights into important business, economic and lifestyle stories

• Utilising global resources - people, networks, data, research - to understand strengthen tourism content and coverage

• Evolving the story in the media as media itself evolves.

OUR REALITY: THE NEWS CYCLE IS ENDLESS, EVERYWHERE AND UNCENSORED

THE OMNIPRESENCE AND DEMOCRATISATION OF MEDIA

• SOCIAL MEDIA operates alongside TRADITIONAL MEDIA, with each having an important part to play in shaping the news agenda of today.

WE GET IT - TOURISM MATTERS

• GLOBAL TOURISM has become critical to building nations:

– 940 Million in 2010

– 5% GDP

– 1 in 12 Jobs Worldwide

WE GET IT - TOURISM MATTERS (CNTD).

• Not to mention the benefit to:

GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING & CONNECTEDNESS

BUT IN THE BIGGER PICTURE, OTHER STORIES CAN BECOME MORE PRESSING

• Rarely does Tourism make the lead story of the news, because other stories immediately demanding our attention.

WHAT IT TAKES TO GET COVERED

• There needs to be a shift:

FROM: The STATS TO: The HUMAN STORIES

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STORY

WHO is travelling?

WHERE?WHY?

WHAT is the impact?

MAKING THE STORIES RELEVANT

• Tourism stories need to be framed to really ‘work’ for:

– The BUSINESS pages

– The GENERAL NEWS pages

– The SPORTS pages

And, of course,

– The TRAVEL pages

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA TO BUILD THE STORY: CASE STUDY

WHY WAS IT SUCH A SUCCESS?

• For FIFA?

• For football?

• For South Africa as a nation-brand?

• For South Africa as a Tourism destination?

• For CNN?

BUILDING THE MEGA-EVENT STORY

“CNN realized, long before the kick-off in June 2010, that the 2010 World Cup is not just a sports story.

Sports is certainly a major part of that story but to truly tell the 2010 World Cup experience, we had to look at how it affects and touches people across the world.

What happens on the pitch is only one small element of this great event. For the years leading up to the games, we showed how there was not a corner of the world untouched by the deep-rooted passion for the event.”

KIM NORGAARD, CNN BUREAU CHIEF - Johannesburg

BUILDING THE MEGA-EVENT STORY

DURING

• Coverage - on and off the field:• Matches• Human interest

stories• Host country

exposure: Tourism ++

AFTER

• Continue destination image building

• Building on traveller interest

• Inspiring action now

BEFORE

• Perception Shifting• Covering infrastructure,

business, security…& travel• Creating excitement• Building confidence in

readiness• Extending invitation

COVERAGE: FROM 18 MONTHS PRIOR TO KICK- OFF

COVERAGE: DURING THE GAMES

COVERAGE: AFTER THE GAMES

ADVERTISERS LEVERAGING THE STORY

ONGOING ADVERTISING MESSAGING

TOURISM & MEDIA - UNLOCKING THE STORY

Don’t be afraid of JOURNALISTS

- trust them to ‘get’ the story and get it out there, the right way.

NB - AN IMPORTANT DIVIDING LINE

NEWS: DESTINATION

NEWS: INDUSTRY

ADVERTISING: DESTINATION

EDITORIAL COMMERCIALFOCUS: INFORMATION

CONTROL OF MESSAGING: MEDIA

FOCUS: INFLUENCE

CONTROL OF MESSAGING: INDUSTRY

THANK YOUHAVE A GREAT CONFERENCE