Cultural Tourism
The Tourist as your Customer
Kevin Kidney, Fáilte Ireland
The Tourism Agencies
Responsibilities:
Supporting the tourism industry.
Developing the tourism experience
in Ireland.
Domestic marketing.
Cultural Insights Initiative 2011
Responsibilities:
Marketing and promotion of
the island of Ireland overseas.
Tourism Facts 2009 and 2010 (f)
2009
2010 (f)
Out-of-State Visitors (000s)
6,555
5,865
Foreign Earnings (€m)
3,879
3,412
Domestic Trips (000s)
8,340
8,000
Domestic Revenue (€m)
1,390
1,251
Total Tourism Earnings
5,269
4,663
The Role of Culture in Irish Tourism
2.9 million overseas visitors partook in cultural
activities whilst in Ireland in 2010 with
Mainland Europe accounting for 43% of this figure
Cultural Insights Initiative 2011
Overseas Visitors Engaging in
Cultural Pursuits 2010
Overseas
Visitors
(000s)
Any cultural pursuit
2,900
Visitors to places of cultural/historical
interest
2,752
(historical/cultural visits/gardens/festivals/events/
genealogy)
(historic houses/castles/monuments/heritage/
interpretive centres/museums/art galleries)
Attending festivals/events
(arts/music/heritage/garden/sport/agriculture/
educational/food)
Source: Fáilte Ireland Survey of Overseas Travellers
433
Overseas Holiday Visitors 2010
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Visiting:
85%
71%
60%
Source: Fáilte Ireland Survey of Overseas Travellers
56%
44%
11%
Average Length of Stay
Overseas Holiday-Makers
6.9
All Overseas
Source: Fáilte Ireland Survey of Overseas Travellers
7.5
Cultural & Historical
Global Perspective
Cultural Tourism….
• Accounts for 35-40% of all tourism worldwide (WTO)
• Growing at rate of 15% per annum –
3 times rate of general tourism
• It’s a generalist not a specialist activity
• Can provide context for other activities / products
• Visitors want innovative ways of accessing Culture &
Heritage
• Looking for broad, themed & authentic experiences
• Move from observation based to more embracing and
participatory experiences
Culture and Heritage
The Irish Perspective
• Key differentiator & a unique element of the Irish
experience
• Regularly cited in top 3 distinguishing factors (USPs) for
Ireland (FI Visitor Attitudes Survey)
• Over 2 in every 3 holiday-makers visits a Cultural or
Heritage site during their stay
• Closely aligned with Tourism Ireland’s broad destination
message
Cultural tourists tend to:
- Be highly educated
- Stay longer and spend more
- Be considered more ‘recession proof’
than other tourists
- Be increasingly interested in learning
while on holiday
3 key cohorts of Culture & Heritage
tourists
Motivation
Motivated
My holiday is built around a specific
cultural element for example a
Christian Heritage or garden tour
Inspired
I have a strong interest in culture and
sightseeing and a large part of my
holiday is spent exploring cultural
opportunities
Incidental
I come into contact with cultural or
heritage related experiences by
accident without any advance
planning
Overseas - Heritage Associations
Heritage
Overseas - Cultural Associations
Culture
Key Issues
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Lack of Awareness
Ease of Accessibility
Customer Experience
Coherent product offering
The Challenge
• Offer Tourists better
experience on the ground
• Increase number of tourists
visiting Ireland by leveraging
culture and heritage offering
Priorities
• Ensure high quality experience (both tangible and
intangible elements)
• Support the communication of the ‘Brand Ireland’
message – raise awareness
• Develop industry skills set
• Interpretation, bringing experience to life
• Insights – bench-marking, best practice, monitoring
and measurement
• Innovation in the offering, particularly in technologies
Communications
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Examine your business
Set targets (customers and revenue)
Set pricing – be clear about value
Work with partners – tour operators,
accommodation, packages
Develop and optimise website
Targeted PR / media campaign – tell a story
Organise Events
Talk to your customers
Monitoring and measurement
THANK YOU!