Internet is a form of conversation that also affects the tourism sector
France will not be present at the 2012 edition of Fitur. The news is causing a stir in the tourism sector since the neighboring country is the first tourist destination par excellence. If a leading country in the sector makes this decision, will it cause a domino effect in the rest of the countries? Will it mean an opening towards a new promotion model based on the Internet? We have spoken with Atout France , the French Tourist Office in our country and with a sector analyst, Fernando Gallardo (hotel critic for El País and head of notodohoteles.com).
Atout has taken stock of its participation in tourism fairs and the final results they have had in recent years. His decision has been clear: do without the Fitur stand and the BIT stand in Milan due to the loss of 5% and 33% of visitors respectively (In addition, as indicated in the press release from the French Tourist Office, the price per square meter of the exhibition continues to increase, up to 12.5% in both cases).
As a consequence of the 'tight belt' policy, its General Manager Christian Mantei states that “the return on investment is not enough and that this medium no longer systematically responds to the needs of professionals in the sector ”.
And which tool does? the new technologies that allow the elaboration of concrete actions (such as 'workshops', workshops that promote France as a destination), tailor-made according to the needs of the target audience. Fernando Gallardo points out that currently the scenario of trade agreements is fundamentally virtual: the direct and immediate contact provided by the network allows cost savings , which is the main concern of the neighboring country. What does this make of fairs, if the preferred space is virtual and not a common physical one?
It is necessary a turn of the screw in the fair system according to public preferences: “Consumers are no longer chasing collectible destinations; now you are dying to live an experience that you are not even looking for. You suddenly run into her in a conversation on Twitter ”, comments Gallardo.
In other words, the new model that France is betting on focuses on the specific, on offering exactly what is asked of each target, maximizing the effectiveness of the strategies, instead of using a general fair as a common space. Even so, it does not stop participating in the Berlin Tourism Fair, ITB, nor in the London one, WTM, because in these two halls the balance of visitors is positive (yes, participation in 2013 will depend on the results of this edition).
How far will this demanding policy take France? Gallardo is not tremendous and believes in the value of the tourism fair, but in a reinvented fair that knows how to adapt what the virtual space provides in the stands; even he believes in a possible future return from the Gallic country : “in the end, those who leave always end up coming back. Human beings need to look each other in the eye, feel close, share emotions, sensations... Fitur's key is not 'being', but 'how to be' (...) That is to say, it has to become a show, a factory of unique, unusual and technological experiences . Business will be done like this in the future: in communion, with a lot of innovation and uniqueness”.
Once again we are faced with a new form of interaction in another sector due to the evolution of the three double uvebles and the change in user feedback . If with a couple of social networks we get a direct, low-cost and fast conversation, perhaps the work of the fairs will have to tend to the adaptation of these issues in the stands. Gallardo sentences that Fitur can be an effective scenario “if you focus on the experience and not on the commercial ; if you renounce advertising once and for all and fully enter the conversation”.
Be that as it may, we will have to wait for the results of Fitur this year and those of France, weigh which model obtains the best results and wait for users to comment on their experience at the fairs; Of this, of course, we will find out through social networks. And through them, we will also comment our experience in this edition of Fitur, which begins next Wednesday the 18th.
And you, what do you think about it? as travelers, What means do you use to decide on a destination and prepare a trip?