How to Attract International Visitors Through Your State Marketing Program

By Kim Birrell
Winter 2010
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Rocky Mountain International is in its 20th year promoting the “Real America” region of South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho in five European markets – the UK, Italy, France, Germany and the Benelux region. RMI promotes this region as an authentic, western destination attractive to Europeans because of its Native American culture and western history, its national parks, as well as adventure oriented opportunities. It is also a value packed destination when compared to other popular U.S. destinations and to many worldwide vacation destinations considered by Europeans.

RMI’s European offices are in close contact with tour operators and media in order to educate them about what the region offers, facilitate fam tours here, to encourage them to include more product from our region in their brochures and online offerings and expand media coverage of our region. Our offices work closely with tour operators to develop itineraries and packages. They coordinate trade shows and sales missions in each market and are constantly on the look out for additional opportunities to showcase our region in these markets. Each office maintains an in-language website as a resource to learn more about our region. RMI maintains its own international website – www.rmi-realamerica.com - an excellent resource for learning about our region. 

Each year the states decide which marketing activities to invest in and usually have a small budget remaining to add opportunities as they arise throughout the year. This flexibility allows the region to take advantage of changing trends as they occur. Because the states work together and pool their funds to promote the region they accomplish more with less money and effort. It would cost each state more than nine times what they pay to accomplish the same efforts individually by state. There is no membership fee for regional suppliers. All you have to do is contact your state tourism representative to let them know you want to become involved and participate in whichever of RMI’s annual marketing events you choose.

RMI measures the amount of regional product available in each market through its TRIP Reports each year. Each overseas office tracks the amount of product in tour operator brochures and online offerings. We compare the numbers in each state and from each overseas market in five different product categories. This allows us to track increases or decreases in product and trends in each market. While U.S. visitation as a whole may have decreased this past year, we see interest in our region remaining high as evidenced by the increase in our region’s product being offered in our markets. 

Mega Fam is a familiarization tour held each fall in two of our states.  We invite tour operators from each market and receptive tour operators to our region so they can experience it for themselves while traveling here over an approximately eight day period. In 2011 the Mega Fam will feature Idaho and Montana. In 2012 it will feature Montana and South Dakota. Exact dates in 2012 are still to be determined but if you want to offer services please contact your state tourism representative to see how you can help. 

Roundup is another annual event held each spring in one of our four states. It is a mini trade show in which regional suppliers meet with tour operators from each of our markets to discuss their products and conduct business. In 2011 it will be held at the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City, SD. In 2012 it will be held in Wyoming. Usually pre and post fams are held in conjunction with this event so there are additional opportunities for tour operators to learn about our gateway cities and other states in our region. There is a fee for suppliers to participate in this event but it is much less expensive than going to an international trade show like Pow Wow or traveling overseas to meet with tour operators. This event also focuses only on our region and only tour operators who specifically want to do business in our region are invited to attend. As part of their registration fee, suppliers are invited to attend a briefing about current trends in our markets and to learn more about working with receptive tour operators and overseas tour operators. At the main dinner they can mingle with tour operators in a more relaxed environment. 

RMI-US attends USTA’s Pow Wow each year. We have a booth and meet with approximately 45 tour operators and media from our markets on behalf of our four states. 

RMI’s quarterly eNewsletter includes news from our region and about our markets. We try to provide articles, like this one, that are helpful to our suppliers and give updates about recent trade shows, missions and marketing activities in each of the markets. 

The Real America Guide is published once each year and promotes our four states, gateway cities, partners and official receptives in the overseas markets. The guide is published in English, German, French and Italian and is available online. Regional suppliers can advertise in the guide to gain additional exposure overseas. 

Whether you want to focus your international marketing efforts on all of our European markets or just one, you can benefit by becoming involved with RMI. It is a cost effective way to get the word out about what you offer and is effective in helping you meet overseas tour operators who want to work with our region.  See RMI’s supplier website – www.rockymtnintl.com - for more useful information for suppliers.  

Here are some suggestions about what to do and what not to do when marketing overseas. 

Develop the relationships. Tour operators tell us they would prefer to book with someone they have met and know and trust, instead of an anonymous person they have never met and don’t know if they can trust.

Learn about the market you want to enter. Attend Roundup to meet the overseas representatives and learn about trends. Attend Roundup to meet the players operating in that market, learn what their needs are and tell them about your product. Consider attending overseas trade shows to meet the important players in each market. 

Follow up immediately. Be responsive to requests. If a tour operator does not receive a response from you they will find someone else to work with. If an overseas tour operator asks for your rates you need to provide them immediately. If they request a booking you need to provide confirmation immediately. Their requests are time sensitive – their clients will go elsewhere if they can’t get immediate answers. Be open to considering more flexible cancellation and payment policies for overseas tour operators if it means they will work with you.

Don’t expect results overnight. International marketing takes time and patience. You may not see an immediate return on investment when you host a fam tour or meet with a tour operator at Roundup. It may take several years for a tour operator to develop a new tour that will include your product. Be patient and keep communication lines open. Be ready to respond when the time comes. 

Work with a receptive tour operator. This provides you with much exposure overseas that would be expensive for you to get yourself. The exposure you gain is well worth the discounted rate you offer. Receptives work with a wide range of tour operators and save you time and effort acting as a central booking company who promotes you. There are several excellent receptives who specialize in our region and know it well. If you work with them realize this is a partnership where you both will benefit. 

Make it easy to book your product. Update your website. More tour operators are foregoing printed brochures in favor of online marketing. An online brochure can be updated much more quickly to reflect new products. Include details in your website about booking procedures, cancellation policies and opening/closing dates so the tour operator has as much information as possible available to him without having to contact you. Don’t make it difficult for them to sell your product.  Be honest about what you offer. 

Hosting Tour Operators on Fam Tours

By Kim Birrell
Winter 2009
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Hosting a fam tour for a tour operator is a very effective method of educating an overseas operator about your product and, therefore, increasing the advertising they will do for you in that market. Tour Operators want to visit you because they want to find out what your area or facility has to offer to their clients. They want to see for themselves what interesting, unique or appealing things there are to see and do in our region. 

After RMI’s recent Mega Fam to Wyoming and South Dakota, participants commented that they felt much more knowledgeable and confident about selling our region after seeing it for themselves. Some had been selling this region for some time but had never been here. Others had been here but never seen some of the attractions offered on the Mega Fam. Especially in our region, it helps them greatly to experience travel here – to see the spectacular scenery, to experience the driving distances, and to understand the special challenges that changing weather and higher elevations can bring.     

When you are deciding what to show on the fam keep in mind who your audience is and what their particular interest is. Find out if these tour operators are interested in winter product, or upscale accommodations or in particular activities. If not, don’t waste their time and your resources by showcasing these. Do they prefer upscale dining, campgrounds, ranches or moderately priced hotels? Are they interested in seeing activities in the area and if so, find out which kind of activities. 

Show off your community from a tourist’s point of view. Don’t showcase things like the local library, community arts center, or church meeting center. Although these might be interesting from your community’s point of view, these are not attractions that will be of interest to most tourists. Show off your unique downtown shops and restaurants. Take your visitors on site inspections of several hotels. Point out local museums, spas, horseback riding venues or hiking and biking trails if you don’t have time to visit them. What reasons can you give them to go back home and enthusiastically sell your facility or area to their clients?

While you are showcasing your product, don’t miss an opportunity to sell your product. Give participants all the information they will need to develop tour product in your area. Hand out rates, brochures and contact information, tell them about your booking policies. Let them know who you are, what you do and how you can help them. Take advantage of the relationship building opportunity this brings.

Sometimes a community forgets to sell the things that make their area most appealing to tourists. Simply showcasing various hotels, restaurants and activities isn’t always enough. Remember to explain why a place might be the perfect fit for a particular type of visitor. Suggest an itinerary. Tell them how your facility or area can easily fit into a larger tour. Outline on a map the distances and overnights so they can easily put together a new tour itinerary that includes your product. Show the location of your product in relation to other nearby attractions. Make it easy for the tour operator to take the next step in adding your product to their brochure.

Providing this information doesn’t have to take up a lot of their time or yours. These fam tours are usually on tight schedules. Be ready to provide succinct information and to provide these specific details in a short amount of time. Because there is so much ground to cover on the tours, they don’t expect a lengthy explanation everywhere they go, an abbreviated version focusing on major highlights will do. Websites are a great place to refer them to. It’s convenient for them to look up all the information they need once they return home if it is easy to find on your website. 

Obviously it helps greatly for travel professionals to visit an area themselves, and it is valuable for them to meet you, the person they will work with when making future reservations, and this will hopefully develop into a long-term business relationship. If the participant’s experience with your product on the fam tour was memorable and if you make it easy for them to get information, they are more likely to include your product in their tours. Showcase your product in its best light, and remember to sell it. 

For more information on RMI coordinated fam tours, click here.

Working with Receptive Tour Operators

By Kim Birrell
Fall 2011
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A receptive tour operator sells your product, whether it’s included in a tour itinerary or is sold alone, to tour operators and/or travel agents. They are a wholesaler and do not sell directly to the public. They produce a tariff that gives the specifics and rates for all products they carry -- whether they are hotels, ranches, bed and breakfasts, sightseeing tours, horseback rides, bike tours or transportation. In our region a receptive must be an expert on the whole region, and must know so much more than just which hotels, ranches or activities are offered here. 

The receptive markets your product for you overseas. They attend trade shows both overseas and in the U.S. where they promote your product. They do advertising for you. Overseas tour operators who carry your product print brochures or offer online brochures that contain your product. There is no cost to you for any of this advertising and promotion until the guest books and stays at your property or uses your services. The cost is in the form of a percentage discount that you give to the receptive in your rates. You pay nothing for any of this advertising and promotion unless a client books your product. 

It would cost you a lot of money in print or online advertising, trips overseas, and phone calls, emails and letters, not to mention the enormous amount of time it would take for you to contact all the individual tour operators that a receptive tour operator can contact on your behalf during its normal course of business. 

The receptive makes money by adding a percentage onto the rate you give them. The receptive adds a fee to the tour operator for booking its product. That tour operator may add on a fee to the travel agent who books that product. This is why you don’t have to deal with commissions when working with a receptive. 

Tour operators consult receptives for assistance in setting up their own tours and itineraries, whether they are for motorcoach tours, FITs, fly/drives or tailor made itineraries. The tour operator may not know much about a region so they need the assistance of a receptive to help them with identifying hotels or services or setting up itineraries. 

Receptives are especially useful in our region because our four states are not as well known to the overseas markets as other areas in the U.S. and clients often choose our region because they want a unique vacation experience.  RMI’s two official receptives – America 4 You and Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours - know about lesser-known, unique or special properties or services, as well as the well-known ones, that would fit well into a particular tour operator’s offerings or that would satisfy a particular client. 

Large receptives may have access to a large number of rooms across the U.S. but specialized regional receptives are more valuable to tour operators located in overseas markets that RMI targets. Lena Ross, Director of Product Development at America 4 You, says “larger tour operators often simply provide what they know will be booked at high volume. Smaller operators look for the unique and different and the destinations that may not get 500 room nights but that will provide guests with an experience they will never forget.” 

Gary Schluter, owner of Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, says his company “can work with smaller, often more specialty or boutique lodging that cannot afford to have large room blocks set aside until just prior to the booking date.” He says large receptives “tend to contract only with the ‘standard’ lodges in the region. If a specific lodge is not available, they do not have the expertise to offer an alternative.” Tour operators know they can rely on the expertise of a receptive who understands their needs and knows the region well. It is too time consuming for a tour operator to research all the lodging options; they rely on the expert – the receptive. 

A regional receptive, particularly America 4 You and Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, can also better assist with unusual requests or with providing suggestions to make a client’s stay especially memorable. Schluter says “many times a day, we get specific requests for a lodge or an activity that a client may have seen in a travel article, on a tv show or movie, or heard about from a friend.” Ross says their company often receives requests from tour operators “for things that are outside the norm.” She says “that’s one of the benefits of working with a smaller operator. They have the time and understanding to find those unique things for clients that may not be offered normally.” In contrast, a large receptive who covers the entire U.S. doesn’t have the expertise to offer a better alternative for that client. These smaller receptives also offer other activities and options like ranches or specialty resorts. These all help to enhance a guest’s stay in our region, and hopefully keep them coming back. 

Tour operators also like to work with receptives because it simplifies their billing. Instead of the tour operator having to pay ten individual hotels separately for each night where a client stayed during his trip, the receptive tour operator handles the billing. The tour operator pays one bill for all these overnights to the receptive. It’s much easier to handle this way and saves the tour operator money because they don’t have to convert each individual payment from their currency to USDollars. A tour operator who works with a receptive can often make one monthly payment for all their bookings that month. This saves them on bank wire fees. 

In this industry relationships are key and this applies to working with receptives too. Tour operators develop close working relationships with smaller receptives and trust them because they realize how valuable they are to work with. Local suppliers, CVB’s, and states should develop close relationships with receptives. 

Tour operators often consult a trusted receptive when they want to expand a program or create a new itinerary. Schluter says he works with many tour operators who call on RMHTours first when they are looking for a new program or a new group route. “They get to know that RMHTours is a specialist…in the RMI region and call on our advice before making any definite plans or changes to their current programs.” This special attention is something provided by the smaller specialist receptive. Ross elaborates: “we are able to provide clients with scenic routing, special hotels and cities, and activities that one might skip if you didn't know the area better. It's easy to pick the shortest route if a route is map-quested, but companies that know the area will make sure you see everything you need to see. It's hard to do a full three-week tour in a place you have never been and choose the right options.  That's why we are here, to make sure the clients do."

You don’t have to work with a receptive and this relationship may not work for your particular product. But it is to your benefit to explore whether or not it would make sense for your particular business. Some receptives specialize in fly/drives or groups, or in ranches or upscale lodging, others in particular markets, like Japan or Italy. You do not have to work with many receptives; you may choose just one or two that are right for you. Some tour operators will only work through receptives in our region so ask a tour operator who you want to work with which receptive they use. 

If you choose to work with one you must give them your LOWEST RATE. At first you may think this is unreasonable, that you are giving away too much. Realize this is necessary because of the chain of bookings. Each party along the way must make some money or there is no incentive to promote and book. The receptive does not keep all the percentage discount that you give them.  They keep only a small part of it. The tour operator and travel agent also get a share. In the end the guest will end up paying about what they would have paid had they booked it direct. 

You will need to provide your rates early – the receptive needs to get these into their tariff and to the tour operators before they publish their information, all of which is done well in advance. For example, at Roundup 2012 they are looking for rates that cover 2013-2014. Also provide information on what your tax rate is because these are quoted together. See more on pricing and commissions at our International Marketing 101 page.

If you work with a receptive you must also be aware of international laws and their requirements. You cannot advertise certain services, like breakfast or free airport shuttles, and then not have them available once the guest arrives. If the hotel is undergoing renovations, or its pool or gym is closed, you must give adequate notice of these changes. Events in recent years, like the Icelandic volcano ash cloud or disturbances in North Africa, emphasize the importance of booking through a tour operator or travel agent. Travelers who booked online were not protected and received no assistance when they were stranded because of the ash cloud. By law, tour operators had to assist clients who booked with them. Events like these remind travelers to book with a reputable agency. It is another reason why you may want to associate with a receptive and not rely entirely on online business in the international market. Despite the growing worldwide trend to book directly online, there are still a great number of travelers who book only through agencies.  

There will be a briefing session for suppliers at RMI’s Roundup in Buffalo where we talk about working with receptives and where you can ask questions of our two official receptives. You can also meet with them during the marketplace to discuss your particular needs.

Working with a receptive doesn’t mean you can’t also do individual direct bookings. It doesn’t mean you can’t work with several receptives. It does make your product more readily available to more outlets to purchase. In the long run if your product is available through more channels, you should get more bookings. Isn’t that what everyone wants? 

Followup after Roundup is Essential

By Kim Birrell
Spring 2011
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RMI’s annual Roundup was just held last month in Rapid City, South Dakota. This annual event is held each spring in one of our four states. It is a mini trade show in which regional suppliers meet with tour operators from each of our overseas markets to discuss their products and conduct business. If you attended, now that this event is over what should you be doing to get the most benefit out of it? 

First, review your notes, and you should have taken notes at each meeting with each tour operator, receptive tour operator or overseas market representative. This will help you recall which were most interested in your product or who needed more information. 

Do you need to follow up with everyone? Not necessarily. During your meetings you should have determined if they were interested in your product. Try to qualify your leads and limit them to those who are a good fit for your product. Did they need more information that you should send them now? Do they need your rates? Did they ask about specific booking procedures and policies? If there is information you promised to send, you should send it right away. 

You should also follow up with an email to those who may not have needed anything else right now, but who were interested in your product. This lets them know you are interested in working with them. It also reminds them who the contact is for bookings or questions. Make sure your email signature line contains all the information they will need to easily identify you for future contact. Be a bit more formal in your emails to overseas markets than you would normally be, but be friendly. Direct messages sometimes come across as rudeness in their cultures. 

How much followup contact is necessary? A supplier who attended a past Roundup wrote to every tour operator who attended soon after the event. They didn’t hear back from anyone. So they contacted them all again by email the following month, then the following month, then the following month. Many tour operators found this irritating and harassing. This supplier expected an acknowledgement to each and every email they sent and when they didn’t receive one they were frustrated. Imagine how irritated the tour operators were to receive an email every month about a product they already knew about but had not asked for more information about. Many are so busy that they don’t have time to thank you for each and every email you send. In this case, there was no polite way to tell this supplier to stop contacting them. 

Keeping in touch with a tour operator is better done by contacting them a few times a year unless, of course, they make requests more often. If something new is being offered, this is a great reason to contact them. Or when the season changes you can contact them to update them on new hours, renovations or expansions. Once you have established a closer relationship with them it’s much easier to send a short email sending good wishes for their vacation, or about some personal event coming up. But it takes time to establish this kind of comfort level in a relationship and usually involves meeting with them several times over several years. 

When they meet you at two or three Roundups they begin to remember you and your product and they will trust you. So develop these relationships over time. Tour operators tell us they would prefer to book with someone they have met and know and trust, instead of an anonymous person they have never met and don’t know if they can trust.

You may not see an immediate return on investment when you meet with a tour operator at Roundup. It may take several years for a tour operator to develop a new tour that will include your product. Be patient and keep communication lines open. Be ready to respond when the time comes. Don’t expect results overnight. International marketing takes time and patience.

Be responsive to requests. Follow up immediately. If a tour operator does not receive a response from you they will find someone else to work with. Be mindful of the fact that these tour operators are very busy. They are helping clients arrange their vacation and many provide a tailor made service which involves a lot of work. When a tour operator contacts you with an availability request you must respond immediately. If that tour operator doesn’t hear from you within a day or two they will look elsewhere to book. Their client can’t wait weeks for a confirmation and will go to another tour operator if they don’t receive immediate service. So they need to hear from you right away. 

Make it easy to book your product. Update your website. More tour operators are foregoing printed brochures in favor of online marketing. An online brochure can be updated much more quickly to reflect new products. Include details in your website about booking procedures, cancellation policies and opening/closing dates so the tour operator has as much information as possible available to him without having to contact you. Don’t make it difficult for them to sell your product. Be honest about what you offer. 

Consider working with a receptive tour operator. This provides you with much exposure overseas that would be expensive for you to get yourself. The exposure you gain is well worth the discounted rate you offer. Receptives work with a wide range of tour operators and save you time and effort acting as a central booking company who promotes you. It is easier for the tour operator to pay the receptive in one check instead of cutting many checks to each hotel along the route of a client’s itinerary. There are several excellent receptives who specialize in our region and know it well. If you work with them realize this is a partnership where you both will benefit. 

Learn about the market you want to enter. Attend Roundup to meet the overseas representatives and learn about trends. Meet the players operating in that market, learn what their needs are and tell them about your product. Consider attending overseas trade shows to meet the important players in each market. 

The next Roundup will be held in Wyoming in 2012. Usually pre and post fams are held in conjunction with this event so there are additional opportunities for tour operators to learn about our gateway cities and other states in our region. This event also focuses only on our region and only tour operators who specifically want to do business in our region are invited to attend.

Whether you want to focus your international marketing efforts on all of our European markets or just one, you can benefit by becoming involved with RMI. It is a cost effective way to get the word out about what you offer and is effective in helping you meet overseas tour operators who want to work with our region. See RMI’s supplier website – www.rockymtnintl.com - for more useful information for suppliers.