This is the Croatia Tourism website! - 26 May 2010 · 2010. 5. 28. · Labelling in cultural tourism. The offer side. Creating and selling touristic - cultural products. Cultural

Point of view

26 May 2010

Contents

Page 2

1 Introduction

Labels nowadays. Lessons to be learned2

3 Labelling in cultural tourism

4 The way to go about product labelling

5 Conclusions and thoughts

Introduction

A definition

Tourism product labels are “tags” that certify, and most importantly, communicate to consumers that a

serviceequipment

site oractivity

has certain attributes or fulfils a number of requirements, raising the consumers’ perception of value.

Page 3

Introduction

A “universal” labelling scheme

Labels are not only a classification or grading tools!!!

PRODUCT

Category labels

•4-5 levels•Only tangibles Filter standards

Differentiation / specialisation

labels

•5-15 labelsOnly tangibles

Attributes evaluation

Quality labels

•1-3 levels•Both tangibles & intangibles

Evaluation criteria

Page 4

Introduction

Graphical illustration of the labelling scheme

Quality label

Category

Special labels

Name of the Hotel

Page 5

Introduction

Labelling schemes. Important benefits on demand and supply side

They provide relevant information to the consumer to plan its tripon origin and enjoy it on destination.

They provide the traveller with a guarantee before arrival on theprice-quality-experience relationship to be expected of touristresources, activities and services.

They are geared towards obtaining a more exigent demand willingto pay higher prices, but also putting pressure on the sector toinnovate and keep standards up.

DEMAND SIDE

OFFER SIDE

It improves presentation, structuring and commercialization ofthe product offer.

It strengthens destination image, positioning and differentiation.

It stimulates the offer side to keep a level of quality standards andto take especial care of country resources.

It increases the level of competitiveness of a destination tourismindustry.

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Contents

Page 7

1 Introduction





Labelling nowadays. Some lessons to be learned

Over 50 labels and trademarks working in Europe

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A system of eco-labels has been developed for tourism in Europe

The European VISIT (Voluntary Initiative for Sustainability in Tourism) was created in2004 within the frame of an EU funded LIFE project in tourism eco-labelling:• Designed to demonstrate how tourism eco-labels in Europe can collaborate and

move the tourism market towards sustainability• It groups a good number of regional, national and supra-national eco-labels

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German case study (2006): Consumers’ view of labelled tourism products

Low level of awareness of eco-labels by ecologically conscious consumers

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German case study (2006): What are the problems?

Not enough information about its use and offer behind them

When known, labels are of help to travellers (42,0%), but more than a 26%never considered this aspect and a 31% think they are of not help at all

27,7% think there are too many labels

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Lesson to be learned from the German case study

Labels have to...

Address target consumers hedonistic needs Be ambitious and different Provide a clear message to the traveller Guarantee the credibility, quality and the delivery Connect communication to consumers’ life Inform about offering & booking facilities

The task of development of a labelling scheme has to be integrated into the marketing and branding strategy of a destination

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Contents

Page 13

1 Introduction





“Movement of people outside their place of residence with the intention toobtain new information and experience to satisfy their cultural needs”

European Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS)

Labelling in cultural tourism

What is cultural tourism?

Two main conditions have to exist for cultural tourism to take place:

On the demand side. The will to know, to understand and learn about newplaces and the history behind them, present or past. The consumption of aproduct that contains cultural significance: monument, work of art, tradition,historical site, design & architecture, music & folklore, traditional food & wine,cultural exchange,. etc.

On the offer side. The intervention of a mediator, being a person, a written orvisual document (traveller guide, product portfolio information leaflet, productlabels...) that has the role of highlighting the cultural value of a resource, topresent it and explain it to the consumer, making it become a cultural-touristicproduct.

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The demand side. Attending the needs of 5 types of cultural tourists

B. McKercher

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH (2002)

The first four types (purposeful, sightseeing,casual and incidental) capture the vast majority of cultural tourists at any destination

Cultural experience

seekers“Full cultural engagement”

Cultural collector“Time matters”

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Serendipitous Cultural Tourist

Purposeful Cultural Tourist

Sightseeing Cultural Tourist

Casual Cultural Tourist

Incidental Cultural Tourist

1

234

5

Low High

Sha

llow

Dee

p

Importance of cultural tourism in the decision to visit a destination

Exp

erie

nce

soug

ht

Offer support


The offer side. Creating and selling touristic - cultural productsCultural Heritage

Base resources & attractions

Tangible “Intangible” or less tangible

Services Equipments Infrastructure

• Cities, towns, villages, natural sites• Architecture, urbanism and design• Monuments, museums and art galleries• Historical and archaeological sites• Wine and gastronomy• Events & festivals .........

CULTURAL OFFER

CULTURAL CONSUMPTION

Promotion Commercialisation

+

• Folklore, legends and traditions• Social evolution• People’s values• Symbols• Forms of expression• ......

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Labelling schemes. Their role in cultural tourism offer

1. Product portfolio management tools, fundamental in offer creation and rising quality standards.

2. Differentiation elements, they can be regional, national or supra-national.

3. Promotion and communication tools easily integrated in the communication strategy of a destination (website, leaflets, etc..). Very visual and easy to recognise.

4. Private and public offer upgrade motivators. Helps cultural heritage preservation.

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Quality product labels. Role in cultural tourism

Offer side

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Demand side Implementation

They make sure that the attraction,resource, site, service etc..complieswith some basic quality of theexperience requirements:• Technical quality. Necessary for the

consumer to understand andexperiment the attributes andcharacteristics of cultural resourcesand attractions. Ex: guides,information boards, leaflets, etc..

• Service quality. Security, comfort,accessibility, etc..Ex: lighting, heating,toilet facilities, souvenir shops,restaurants, road signals,infrastructure etc....

• Resource quality. The site is up tothe standards to be “experienced”. Ex:Degree of restoration andmaintenance

For the traveller it involvesbeing able to:• Understand what it has

been seen. Give it ameaning, really experienceit

• Feeling safe• Having a good meal

afterwards or buying asouvenir

• Having a nice sleep in anearby hotel

• ...

National levelMore of internal usethan external use


Special product labels. Role in cultural tourism

Offer side

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• It helps to create the culturalproduct offer.

• It supports its positioning• Powerful promotion and

communication tool• For a resource, establishment,

service, etc.. to belong to aspecial label it has to meet a setof attributes or criteria thatconvey the essence of the label.Ex: Camino de Santiago.

• It provides the traveller with important information on the special or different elements of the cultural offer of a country, region, etc..

• It raises notoriety• It helps the trip planning

process

Regional, locallevelMore of externaluse


Special product labels. A system of trademarks, brands and special labels

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Barcelona Madrid North of Spain Alt Empordà

Cultural city breaks

Wine & gastronomy

Historical tours / trails

Following religious paths

Special product labels (segmentation and differentiation)

Camino de Santiago

Romanic footsteps

Modernist hotels

Tours & villages high on culture and history

Top traditional restaurants

Living the Rioja

Product brands

Trademarks


Category product labels. Role in cultural tourism

Offer side

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• It rises competitiveness and itpraises those who deserve it

• It differentiates and helps settingprice standards

• It segments the offer

• It gives the traveller asense of priority (culturalheritage)

• It helps making a choiceand comparing among thedifferent establishmentsof the offer

National levelBoth of internaland external use


Some examples. Wine & Gastronomy

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Name of the Restaurant

* Special labels

Traditional restaurants Living the Rioja

* Quality labels


Some examples. Cultural cities

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Name of the Hotel

* Special labels

* Quality labels

* Star category system

Modernist Hotels


Some examples. Heritage tours

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Name of the Castle

* Special labels

* Quality labels

* Category system

Romanic footsteps European heritage site


France is the destination with a more developed cultural labels strategy

Cities and villages in bloom(France)Awarded each year by the Frenchcouncil of cities, towns and villages inBloom following a competition whichjudges criteria such as landscapedplant heritage, flowering, respect forthe environment and the livingenvironment

Cities of Art and History (France)Awarded by the French Ministry ofCulture and Communication to citiesand towns with a rich heritage whichpursue an active policy to stimulateand develop their heritage andarchitecture and adopt measures toraise inhabitants and visitor’sawareness of their heritage

Most beautiful villages (France)Awarded by an association to beautifulFrench villages of under 2.000inhabitants which posses a rich naturaland built heritage – with at least twolisted buildings – and pursue andactive policy to stimulate and developtheir heritage

Most beautiful detours (France)Awarded by an association to mediumsized French towns (2.000 – 20.000)inhabitants located away from themajor trunk roads which possess allyear round tourist facilities, a rich builtheritage and an interestingenvironment

Listed resort (France)Awarded to seaside, spa, health,tourist, winter sports andmountaineering resorts which pursue apolicy of high quality tourist facilitiesand activities.

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Some examples of other cultural labels already implemented

Arts Welcome (Scotland)Establishments displaying this awardwill offer specific provision for guestsattending cultural events or venues

Ancestral Tourism (Scotland)Ancestral research and tourism isabout people’s sense of identity and itcan be an emotional journey. Ancestraltourism involves people usingarchives, libraries, museums and otherresources to build a picture of the livesof their ancestors.

Modernist trail (Spain, Barcelona)This labels builds a cultural productbased on the key architectonical sites,places of interest and experiences ofthe modernist movement in Barcelona

Gastronomy (Denmark)The purpose of the label is to ensureguests a good and attentive eatingexperience in Denmark. The labelmakes it easier to find restaurants, withopinions and ideas about theirproducts, and where food and goodservice is a top priority.Tourist attractions’ quality label(Denmark)Quality labelling and star ratingscheme making it easy and simple fortourists in Denmark to be clearlyinformed about the experiences,services and facilities available at theindividual attractions. Attractionsinclude Museums, Parks & Gardens,Castles & Manor Houses, etc..

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A new European Patrimony Label for 2011

• The European Heritage Label is designed to promote the transnational European dimension of cultural property, monuments, natural or urban sites, tangible and intangible, contemporary and traditional heritage and sites that have played a key role in building and uniting Europe.

• The heritage label, which is based on European cultural history, has a different specifically European function to UNESCO’s World Heritage list, which aims to promote the protection of monuments and sites based on their universal value.

• The label could be launched in 2011 or 2012 and each European country could propose up to two sites a year. A group of experts will then choose a site per country and year.

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Contents

1 Introduction





Page 28

The way to go about product labelling

Some clichés. Too often labels begin with the hotel sector

Wrong, because: It is usually not the sector in the worst state Major concern in a tourism destination should be the activities

(“experiences”)

InformationBooking/

Travel To arrive To stay To live

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– Information office

– WEB– Call centres– Etc.

– Plans– Roads– Ships– Etc.

– Airport– Custom– Information– Land

transport– Etc.

– Accommo-dation

– Touristic information

– Medical services, pharmacy

– Etc.

– Activities & attractions

– Routes/ trails

– Shops– Restaurants

(wine & gastronomy)

– Etc.

True, because: Quality cannot be imposed by means

of regulations

...But also wrong, because: Few “self-regulation” initiatives on

behalf of the private sector The public sector cannot “forget” the

quality... and concentrate only on promotion

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Some clichés. Now, the public sector does not play a key part

True, because: The private sector cannot afford

investments in infrastructure

...But also wrong, because: Service is delivered by both the

private and the public sector

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Some clichés. The public sector deals with infrastructure and the private sector... with the service

Cliché: The success key for tourism quality is a good technical approach

32

...But also wrong, because: Both internal an external promotion is

the success key Some systems make it difficult to

reach a “critical” mass andcommunicate something tangible tothe tourist

True, because: It is necessary to take care of the

technical approach, but withoutforgetting the tourist point of view

Conclusion:Always link the design and the

implementation of a quality system with the destination’s promotion

Cliché: Financing is always a problem, and it is assumed by public sector

33

...But also wrong, because: Trend for public-private sector co-

operation

True, because: The public sector must play the part of

a “driving force”

The “stick” To regulate basic minimum

requirements “To penalize” companies that do not

comply

The “carrot” Complementary voluntary schemes Financial incentives to invest Partly subsidize technical assistance

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Approach. The “stick” and the “carrot”


35

Option 1: 100 % financed by the public sector

Option 2: from 70 up to 100 % financed by the public sector

Option 3: from 30 up to 50 % financed by the private sector

Approach. Financing options and success probability


The development process: 2 phases

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Phase 1.Design of the system of labels

Phase 2.Implementation

1. Offer attractions, establishments, services, etc.. to be included

2. Labelling strategy and objectives

3. Labels attributes or characteristics

4. Name or label expression

5. Evaluation criteria and method

6. Sector agreement

7. Key sector agents identified

1. Protocol of duties and rights, training

2. Evaluating commission set up

3. Labelling management regulation

4. Graphical design

5. Public presentation

6. Implementation and control processes

7. Internal and external C & P plan execution

8. Integration of labelling scheme in C & Pstrategy

37

Design only

Design & implementation

or

Involvement level by the Consultant

Technical system

Management & financing

Promotion plan & tools

Intervention scope


How can consultants help governments and associations?

38

Consultant

Organisation chart (conceptual example) National Tourism Organisation

2 task forces (technical/ management

+ promotion)

Executive Committee

Tourism sector


How can consultants help governments and associations?

39

1. Value chains and weight on “intangibles”

2. Step by step

3. Independent audit and certification

4. Public-private co-operation

5. Strong link with destination promotion


5 success factors for implementing labelling schemes

Contents

Page 40

1 Introduction





Page 41

Conclusions and thoughts

Implementing a labelling scheme, special labels, quality labels or category labelsis not an easy process but once this is assumed.....

1. Perfect alignment with product portfolio offer creation

2. Start with the activities or experiences

3. Consensus and agreement among all actors

4. Labels have to appeal and “speak” to travellers

5. They have to be “self-explanatory”

6. Implementation step by step

7. Implemented internally and externally

8. 100% integrated into the communication and promotion strategy

9. Continuous improvement, maintenance and control

Documents

This is the Croatia Tourism website! - 26 May 2010 · 2010. 5. 28. · Labelling in cultural tourism. The offer side. Creating and selling touristic - cultural products. Cultural