selling ireland and adventure experiences on the ... · info deficit on activity packaged holidays...
TRANSCRIPT
SELLING IRELAND AND
ADVENTURE EXPERIENCES
ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
- Keith McDonnell, Extreme Ireland
- Cathy Wolfe, Connemara Wild Escapes
.
...this is a story about a guy
...who was addicted to the outdoors
...yes this is Ireland
...so he had a GREAT idea
...he turned his PASSION into a BUSINESS
...and has gone from here
• Started Hiking Tours in 2007 on part-time basis • Diversified in 2010 to offer Day Tours to The Cliffs Of Moher and the Giants Causeway on a year round basis
...to here
ADVENTURE HIKING ALL Ireland INERNATIONAL Coach Tours 2 TOURISM OFFICES
TRANSPORT | ACCOMMODATION ACTIVITIES | MEALS | GUIDES
...and now, where can we go? Top of the world!
Expensive to
translate my
website
Who can HELP?
Marketing
Expensive to
translate my
website MaRKeting
Who can HELP?
me you
US
Selling Ireland as a destination...
Partner with complimentary local product offerings
It can only benefit you both!!
me you
US
Selling Ireland as a destination...
Get out there...
Talk to everyone...
Continuously!!
World’s leading online travel company
Proud to have +21,000 bookings every day
Largest tour operator in Germany
Working with +2,000 travel agents & sales points
1. Difficult to get seen online
2. Expensive to translate & create a multi-lingual website
3. International competition
OTAs have large $$$ budgets we can only dream of
OTAs translate free of charge
OTAs sell to millions of international tourists
OTAs sell by destination
RESULTS
30% of Extreme Ireland’s bookings come from OTAs
Ambassadorfor
Ireland
You put in a lot of hard work &
recognition comes down the line
Ambassadorfor
Ireland
Ambassadorfor
Ireland
Same
Issues
Globally
Ambassadorfor
Ireland
Connemara Wild Escapes is a destination management / tour operator
offering activity safari packages to the West of Ireland :-
Walking
Cycling
Angling
Adventure
Leisure (History, heritage & culture, festivals,
gardens, cruises, wellness, golf, equestrian,
islands, wildlife, food, creative arts & crafts)
www.connemarawildescapes.ie
Background of both businesses, where they have come from, where they are at today
Connemara Wild Escapes background - 2013 Entrepreneurial background in strategy, marketing, advertising & sales
Started as online tour operator selling multi day angling packages to Connemara
Info deficit on activity packaged holidays – wanted to make it easy to buy online
Formed 2011, set up, website fail in 2011, redo of website plus expansion of
product offering to include walking, cycling, leisure & adventure packages,
First season 2012. Added 1 day packages. Destination management company
2013 - Destination management tour operator selling west of Ireland.
Focus on set up, sales & travel trade + Strategic alliances to consumer markets
Defining channels-market, products and packages
Targeting consumer market next
Expanding to sell broader west of Ireland
SELL, SELL, SELL! - Define correct buyers
Selling Ireland as an Adventure Destination on the International stage Define word ‘Adventure’ = Soft adventure approx 70% of EXPERIENCES
ATTA-Adventure experience=Engagement with activity, landscape and local peoples
Position and promote the Island of Ireland first…
Own destination and product offering second
Suggestions on how best to sell Ireland:
Ireland is on everyone’s bucket list...!!!
Know what other destinations offer and how to position your Ireland
product USPs against the competition eg: Scotland
Find out needs & expectations, then position
your product accordingly, action the
lead/sale or past the lead on!
Networking - Its importance nationally & internationally… SME’s have to learn to work with businesses that sell internationally
Networking is so CRITICAL
If you don’t know how LEARN HOW effectively
Referral is everything - both nationally and internationally.
Know who you need to market to, research, attend & engage with both the
national and international networking opportunities on offer.
Opportunities arise in the strangest of places, certainly when you least
expect it! Be prepared
Be true to yourself, your product , your offering
Know your product, your competition, trends,
latest research, keep up to date & innovate
Being an Adventure Ambassador – Learnings & the ATTA Summits Being an Adventure Ambassador is a huge privilege & opportunity:-
Offers much opportunity to accredit your company & offerings, both nationally
and internationally.
Connemara Wild Escapes is also a Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) Ambassador
ATTA Summit Switzerland 2012 (my 1st )
Opportunity to learn and network with other Irish ambassadors
Met like minded international tour operators, media who were interested in my
destination within Ireland
They understood more fully my various offerings
Best sales lead opportunities so far
Best networking opportunities so far
Being an Adventure Ambassador – Learnings & the ATTA Summits ATTA Summit Switzerland 2013:-
Work on existing networking contacts and leads developed from 2012
Targeting new leads and media opportunities
Learnings and insights from the conference presentations
Networking to build more relationships within ‘the tribe’ of operators
‘Adventure travel, which represents 26% of global tourism is experiencing 17% annualised growth’. Source ATTA
We as adventure travel operators and suppliers have huge opportunity ahead!
Make sure you are on board !
Keep learning!
Thank you