Tourism Partnerships for Extended Marketing Reach

They are new, fresh and big and they are all partnerships with a cause.

Scotland is set to maximize its exposure to a global audience, through a joint marketing campaign with Disney for a new animated film set in the Highlands; Iceland Inspires and engages its audience through the spread of its marketing efforts and content to a multi platform level in cooperation with AOL; and Japan launches a joint marketing initiative with Taiwan to promote rail travel in both countries.

VisitScotland Teams up with Disney/Pixar

VisitScotland is to launch its largest global marketing campaign to date, based around the launch of Disney/Pixar’s forthcoming animated film, Brave. The partnership is a tourism first, since this is the first time that Disney has linked up with a country’s tourism organisation on such a scale.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, Brave is to be released in August 2012 and has characters voiced by Billy Connolly and Kelly Macdonald and a song by Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis.

Increasing the promotion of the typical Scottish landscapes and culture which are the background of the film through this partnership is quite fitting for both sides.

This will include multi-media activities such as joint TV and cinema advertising across the UK, North America and Europe, PR opportunities, digital marketing and events including premieres and screenings that will continue through the film’s home entertainment release.The campaign will see Scotland’s scenery, humour and culture showcased on an unprecedented scale and will position Scotland on the world stage in a way not seen since “Braveheart”.

As VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: “This is an incredible opportunity to extend the reach of VisitScotland’s marketing activity across the world. This film will be shown in more than 70 countries across the world and will give us the opportunity to convert cinema goers into visitors in the biggest campaign VisitScotland has ever launched.

“There are very few tourism destinations that get to work so closely with the world’s largest entertainment companies – and this gives us an unprecedented opportunity to put Scotland on the worldwide stage with a whole new audience.”

Source: www.visitscotland.org

Promote Iceland Cross-Platform Marketing

A cross-platform pan-European marketing campaign that aims to raise awareness of Iceland as a year-round holiday destination has just been launched by AOL in partnership with Promote Iceland.

The Inspired by Iceland campaign has marked the introduction of the Huffington Post UK’s ‘Inspiration’ section, which allows brands to communicate with consumers through video, blogs and social media. AOL claims this is the first pan-European marketing effort that integrates “a comprehensive suite of AOL advertising products, content and platforms”.

This is the third part of the Inspired by Iceland campaign, with the second phase featuring Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson calling on his Islanders to open up the doors of their homes and invite tourists in for a unique Icelandic experience.

The campaign is the first to feature a Project Devil ad with a live camera feed, and will span The Huffington Post, MyDaily, AOL Travel and AOL advertising platforms Advertising.com and goviral.

The campaign includes a 12-minute exclusive documentary on Iceland, ‘Islander,’ hosted on HuffPost UK Inspiration; a 60-second video trailer for the documentary distributed across goviral’s network in key European markets; sponsored content with the theme, ‘Inspired by Iceland,’ across The Huffington Post UK Lifestyle and additional content on MyDaily and AOL Travel; and Inspired by Iceland ads distributed across the Advertising.com network of premium publishers.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Japan & Taiwan Joint Rail Marketing Campaign

Taiwan and Japan plan to launch a joint rail tourism campaign as part of expanding links between the two countries since the massive earthquake which struck Japan.

As part of the tourism campaign titled “Train Travel: Winter in Hokkaido and Summer in Taiwan” a special steam train, dubbed “Doraemon” after the Japanese comic book character, will whistle its way through a mountainous area of northern Taiwan on March 12 to celebrate the sisterhood tie between the two countries.

For this joint marketing initiative, one train from each country will be used, Taiwan’s CK124 steam engine and a similar Japanese train called the Hokkaido SL Fuyu-no-Shitsugen, to promote railway travel in both countries.

The partnership idea came about during a visit to Taiwan by Japanese officials in April last year to promote tourism as part of Japan’s disaster recovery efforts and is expected to be formalized on March 12 in a letter of intent signed by the Japan Hokkaido Railway Co (JR Hokkaido) and the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).

The promotional campaign is expected to help revive the economy in northeast Japan, an area that was hit hard by the powerful earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 last year. The partnership is also a means to express Japan’s gratitude for Taiwan’s tremendous humanitarian aid in the wake of the disaster, according to JR Hokkaido.

Source: www.taipeitimes.com

New Reputation Management and Targeted Marketing Campaigns

Japan Going Social to Revive Image

Engaging influencers to suppress negative sentiment and creating brand ambassadors to promote a positive image of the destination, is certainly one of the crucial steps of online reputation management.

Japan National Tourism Organization is inviting international bloggers and twitterers to visit areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The goal is to write about the progress made in rebuilding disaster-ravaged communities and let the world know that the area still remains an appealing holiday destination.

Deciding to mobilize the immense communicative -better yet influential- power of blogs and Twitter, the Foreign Ministry earmarked some 21.5 million yen for the project for the current fiscal year through March, while it aims to invite a total of over 10 influencers by the end of March.

According to a recently announced draft tourism plan, Japan sets a goal of increasing the annual number of foreign visitors to 18 million by 2016. The number of foreign visitors to Japan, which hit a record high 8.61 million in 2010, is estimated to have dropped to 6.22 million in 2011 following the serial disasters while the previous plan aimed to increase the annual number of foreign visitors to 10 million by 2010.

The new plan’s implementation is set to start in March, which shows that the bloggers initiative, expected to be completed by then, is put forward to prepare the grounds. So, planning, an indispensable part of reputation management, is on the making, which it reportedly also calls for the launch of a public-private sector partnership to swiftly disseminate accurate information on natural and other disasters.

As for the initiative announced by JNTO a few months earlier, offering  10,000 Free Round-Trip Tickets to Japan, the plans are yet to be officially confirmed. The concept and aim however was quite similar as the selection of international travellers to get the tickets would be based on their online influence and their ability to share their experiences through social media.

More information: www.jnto.go.jp

Aruba Making the Most of Super Bowl

Even though they lost Super Bowl, New England players can still find something to smile about this week on one happy island.

As part of their marketing campaign, and in a clever attempt to draw some of the enormous Super Bowl attention towards their side, the Aruba Tourism Authority has extended a complimentary vacations offer to every member of the New England Patriots team.

The Aruba Tourism Authority is offering them the chance to touch down and score some happiness with all-expense paid trips to the tropical island known for its cheerful vibe.  At the same time, Aruba is poking fun at the fact that Disney World only offers a vacation to the winning team’s MVP by extending the offer to everyone on the Patriots team.

“While only the MVP of the winning club has the opportunity to jet set off to another well-known destination, Aruba is making the offer to the entire New England squad”, the ATA said in a press release

Source: www.prnewswire.com

Jump into Ireland

Tourism Ireland has unveiled a new integrated campaign, ‘Jump into Ireland’, in a bid to raise the profile of the island internationally over the next three years.

Created to reflect the island’s sense of playfulness and its natural beauty, the ‘Jump into Ireland’ campaign is being rolled out online first in Australia and New Zealand.  Targeting experienced travellers, the campaign will also celebrate key cultural events taking place in Northern Ireland this year, including the Titanic Belfast Festival, Peace One Day concert and the 50th Belfast Festival at Queen’s University.

The new initiative had been designed to build on the increase in visitor arrival numbers achieved last year, and to regain market share over rival destinations. The campaign spans TV, radio, press, cinema and online advertising and will include ramped up social media activity as the tourism body looks to make the channel a more integral part of its marketing.

Source: www.tourismireland.com

Guam targets Japanese Families

The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) recently launched the “Omoide Guam” campaign in Japan, Guam’s largest visitor market.

Omoide is the Japanese word for memory and “the idea behind this campaign is to invite our Japanese visitors to come to Guam with family and friends to make memories that will last a lifetime,” said GVB General Manager Joann Camacho. “After the triple disasters, we wanted to continue offering our Japanese visitors a way to recuperate, but at the same time to be sensitive to the issue and show support for their efforts to rebuild.”

The campaign kicked-off with a new interactive website which has several features that allow potential travelers to discover more about Guam, and is highly integrated with social media. Visitors can create custom postcards and albums with photos uploaded direct from Facebook, and then share what they create on Facebook, Twitter and Japan’s most popular social media site, Mixie.

Source: www.visitguam.org

Relevant Posts:

New Inclusive, Targeted & Reputation Management Marketing Campaigns

New Marketing Campaigns- Listen, Engage & Inspire!

Online/Offline Marketing Integration Case Study: This is Athens

New Tourism Marketing Initiatives by Queensland, Japan & France

Share some Queensland holiday love

Australians have been urged to visit Queensland and share some holiday love with friends and family as part of a new marketing campaign valued at $800,000. The national ‘Love a Queensland Deal’ marketing campaign began over the weekend and will run for four weeks.

A mix of print, television and online advertising has been prepared to encourage people to book a Queensland trip now and travel during a quieter time of the year.

“We already know that Queensland is where Australia Shines and I encourage Australians to find a deal they love so they too can find their own ‘Queensland shine’,” said Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes.

“Holidaymakers are opting for shorter breaks and this campaign gives Australians the perfect opportunity to book Queensland holidays from three nights with travel available until March 2012.”

Mr Hayes explained that although feedback from tourism operators across the state indicated confidence for state’s tourism industry was still high around Australia, there was still the challenge for the sector to “keep the momentum going”.

Despite natural disaster slowing the sector’s traffic earlier this year, the sunshine state welcomed more than 16 million visitors for the twelve months to March, a three percent increase on the year before.

Source: tourismqld.blogspot.com

Japan’s Increasing Marketing Efforts

The summer months are vital to Japan’s $16-billion foreign tourism industry, with the nation typically reporting some of its highest tourist numbers in July and August. The disaster took a huge toll on the nation’s spring tourism season, when large numbers of visitors arrive for Japan’s cherry blossom festivals.

Japan is stepping up efforts to draw foreign travelers, even recruiting Lady Gaga to spread the word that much of Japan is safe for visitors. As part of the effort to lure visitors before the summer travel season ends, the Japan National Tourism Organization recently posted online the radiation levels for down town Tokyo, which the tourism group says are lower than in tourist destinations such as New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The country’s tourism campaign comes as Japan reports progress in stabilizing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. But Japan’s tourism industry faces several hurdles, including lingering fear among foreign travelers about potential radiation hazards and increasing fuel prices that keep airfares to Japan high.

Since the disaster, the government-run tourism organization has organized trips to Japan for international travel agents and travel writers, persuaded hotels in Tokyo to offer discounts to visitors and posted information online — including video posts by celebrities and radiation levels — to show that most of the country is safe to receive visitors.

“We’ve been focusing our efforts on showing people that Japan is safe for travel and that it’s business as usual in Tokyo and most other major cities,” said Evan Miller, a spokesman for the tourism organization. “It’s fine to come here.”

Among the group’s efforts are online videos of race car drivers, ice skaters and other celebrities, including Lady Gaga, urging travelers to visit the country. “I can’t say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan … is very safe,” the singer says in an online video shot before a benefit concert in Tokyo in June.

Source: latimes.com

France Unveils New Brand Logo and Website

On July 14 France celebrated its first annual international “Destination France Day.” On Bastille Day, the French government and Atout France hosted three international events to establish France’s national holiday as the day to celebrate France as a top travel destination. Parties were hosted in Paris, New York and Shanghai. All three events featured live performances, fashion shows, exhibitions, and French music.

On July 18, the winning logo was unveiled after receiving 29 percent of the votes from 82,877 Internet voters. This new logo will be the image of destination France. With this new symbol, French tourism will be embodied by a sole image that conveys the high quality and values of the destination. It will be visible in all collateral and on badges for all tourism-related personnel. The logo also will serve as the linchpin for a new communication strategy that unifies all the sectors of the French tourism industry.

According to Lefebvre, that strategy will introduce visitors to a France that has changed dramatically under French President Nicolas Sarcozy. The goal is to turn France into a more welcoming destination for visitors. The strategy also will focus less on iconic symbols, such as the Eiffel Tower and Cote D’Azur, and more on gastronomy, film and other cultural attractions.

The updated logo includes a representation of Marianne, the national emblem of France, as well as the phrase “Rendez-vous en France” to inspire and welcome the public to travel to France. The logo also includes the new French tourism website at www.rendezvousenfrance.com, which is being completely updated to make it more interactive for visitors.

Source: www.travelpulse.com, int.rendezvousenfrance.com/en

Destination Marketing & Reputation Management

Brand image is everything when it comes to tourism. No matter how beautiful and attractive a destination is, if the travelers have doubts especially regarding their safety, then they will most probably choose one of the competitors.

Many countries in the world face a variety of issues, either one-off or continuous, externally sourced or internally. When the country’s economy however relies heavily on tourism then it surely needs to be proactive and safeguard its reputation, so that it can minimize the effects and protect its tourism industry and therefore to some extent its economy.

Unfortunately bad news never stop surfacing, so it is wise for especially tourism reliant destinations to have a mechanism in place that will not only allow them to address that issue affecting them more effectively, but also manage the accurate dissemination of information both internally and externally as per the accuracy and timing.

Political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has affected the travel industry in entire countries like Egypt and Jordan. Japan has also witnessed a severe decrease on visitor numbers, following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in March. While Mexico fights to convince USA, its major market that it is safe to visit in general despite all the issued travel warnings, the Netherlands issues a ban on soft drug sales all around the country in order to shed the image of a drug destination.

Mexico

Mexico has recently launched a new marketing campaign to counter its image as a country wracked by drug-related violence and reinvigorate the vital tourist industry after US travel alerts warned Americans of violence south of the border.

Tourism Officials acknowledge the fact that they left a gap in their communication following the events, since for two years they had not addressed the issue. This gap was quickly filled by bad news mainly regarding drug related violence and affected the country’s image in their major US market severely.  Some of the travel alerts had gone headlining ‘If you want to stay alive, don’t travel to Mexico’ as in March, the Texas Department of Public Safety warned college revellers not to travel to Mexico for spring break with the message: “Stay alive”.

Mexico is now spending millions of dollars on print media and billboard advertisements in US cities showing its ancient pyramids and sunny beaches to stop Americans from cancelling their visits. The U.S campaign is called “Mexico, The Place You Thought You Knew” and highlights Mexico as a destination not only for sun and beach, but also for culture, history and cuisine.

While thousands of American tourists have been scared away by the brutal drug war raging in parts of Mexico, Mr Lopez-Negrete, Mexico Tourism Board CEO,  said the volume of people visiting Mexican resorts was back up to 2008 levels, although revenues were down because hotels were offering cheaper deals to draw wavering tourists.

“We were able to drive volume upwards at a cost of lower pricing but we are happy with that because as in any other business, volume comes back first, then you start escalating to the proper pricing” he said, “That’s the strategy”. Mr Lopez-Negrete said the inaccurate travel alerts were hurting tourism, which accounts for 9 per cent of Mexico’s economic output and is its third biggest source of foreign currency.

The challenge Mexico Tourism Officials now try to tackle  is to draw visitors back to the destination while ensuring everyone’s safety. To that direction, the secretary of Mexico Tourism, Mrs Gloria Guevara says that attempts are being made to inform the industry and communicate with US tour operators and cruise ship representatives to increase visitation to the popular destinations that are completely safe while acknowledging that word of mouth is very important.

Japan

Reshaping travelers’ mental images of Japan and other affected countries is going to take considerable amounts of time. Government officials and tour operators in all of these countries are using several methods in attempts to convince would-be travelers that they shouldn’t be afraid.

What they’re trying to do is entice the most adventurous travelers to visit, in hopes they can reassure more nervous friends that these places are, for the most part, perfectly safe.

A travel agency in Oregon, led a group of about 85 Americans to Japan. Most will be doing volunteer work in Sendai and other cities that need some cleanup help. But some will just be seeing the sites, because tourism is important for rebuilding the local economy, too. The group is being wined and dined, personally welcomed by U.S. Ambassador John Roos and plenty of Japanese tourism officials. They all recognize the importance of showing that Japan is a safe place for foreign guests. The message the group wants to promote is that Japan as a whole is safe and tourism is alive. The message of real life stories of average people is always more efficient than that of government officials.

The strategy of inviting the hardiest travelers to help signal that all is ok  is one being pursued in many countries that have suffered from a recent streak of bad news.

Advertising is important, but “much more powerful is the unsung story — people who have gone over there and told their friends they didn’t feel scared,” says Shannon Stowell, president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Egypt

Travelers looking for adventure or ways to help out can be “pioneers” that help lead people back into Egypt, says Basem Salah, a tour operator in Cairo.

These include not just adventure travelers but travel agents, who are being lured to places like Cairo and Tokyo with free travel packages. “Some countries will offer package tours that are reduced in price,” says Jafari, the tourism professor. “This may not attract all the tourists they’re looking for, but may bring in people on a budget who always wanted to come.”

Salah says the major tourist sites in Cairo and the monuments from Aswan to Luxor are perfectly safe. But he recognizes that potential guests will need some convincing. As incentive, he and some others in the local travel industry are offering “revolutionary tours” of recently important sites like Tahrir Square.

“Now it is a re-brand that you will also see the Egyptians who made the revolution,” Salah says. “It’s not going to be monuments only, but the revolution and freedom. We will have people who participated in revolution coming to visit you.”

Salah and a number of other Egyptian tour operators are partnering with nongovernmental organizations to put together packages aimed at bringing over volunteers. In addition to sightseeing, they might spend part of their visit working with children at a cancer rehab center, or teaching deaf women to build a business by turning rice stalks into craft paper.

The hope is not just to convince people willing to come over at a difficult time to come back, but to get them to convince their friends that Egypt is a safe place to visit now. Word of mouth is the best weapon the travel business has to convince people that things aren’t as dangerous as they may look on the news.

Like a certain streak of politician, travel industry officials are fond of blaming the media for showing relentlessly negative images. “I hate to blame the media,” says Dozono, a tour operator in Portland, “but they go from one disaster to another, and they don’t show the recovery. They only show the damage, and people think it’s not safe to go there.”

On this point exactly, the destination’s tourism officials’ role is to feed the appropriate content to the media and their partners in order to ensure the accurate dissemination of information.

Lower Manhattan 9/11

A new large-scale tourism campaign will help drive more visitors to Lower Manhattan — spotlighting the area’s remarkable recovery in the nine years since the 9/11 attacks.

Beginning this month the global initiative will promote downtown neighborhoods, restaurants, shops, museums, and open spaces among local and international tourists in New York City. The campaign will include new tour itineraries, special offers at local hotels, multimedia advertisements, and discounts at shops, attractions, and the new “Downtown Culture Pass.”

Announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the NYC & Company-designed campaign is launching in anticipation of a major tourism surge downtown — where the 10th anniversary of 9/11 already is drawing scores of visitors to the World Trade Center area.

“In less than four months time, the eyes of the world will be on Lower Manhattan, as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and open the Memorial,” said Bloomberg. “An important part of the story of 9/11 is how Lower Manhattan has come back in the past 10 years. Today Lower Manhattan is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in New York City. Our new campaign will help ensure visitors from around the world know about that vibrancy and have an opportunity to take advantage of all that Lower Manhattan has to offer.”

In tandem with the new campaign is a new welcome program at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, which will debut in June with posters, wall clings and column wraps showing imagery of New York City with a particular emphasis on Lower Manhattan. The campaign will encourage visitors to stay in Lower Manhattan, and, for those who stay elsewhere, it will encourage them to travel downtown by mass transit.

Tourism to New York City’s five boroughs reached record levels in 2010 with 48.7 million visitors and $31 billion in visitor spending. NYC & Company — the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York — estimates that the city will achieve Mayor Bloomberg’s goal 50 million annual visitors by 2012.

Netherlands

Amsterdam attracts more than 3.5 million foreign tourists per year, many of whom are drawn to the coffee shop culture and promise of being able to easily and legally obtain marijuana. However, the coffee shop cannabis trade will soon come to an end since the Dutch government plans to stop drug tourism by forcing coffee shops to become private clubs that only sell to Dutch citizens that show proof of identification.

The city of Amsterdam, where most tourists go, is against the decision. The outcry from critics has been deafening, as it is anticipated that the anti-tourist marijuana law will cost The Netherlands millions of pounds annually in lost revenue. Moreover, there is concern that the law will push the drug trade underground again, as Dutch residents will likely take to selling marijuana to tourists at inflated rates.

“The cabinet expects that the closure of coffee shops to foreign drug tourists will result in that they no longer travel to the Netherlands for the sale and consumption of cannabis,” the Dutch cabinet said in the statement. “After all, for many of them applies that they can use the existing illegal market in their own country. Nevertheless will the possible side effects of these measures be monitored closely and adequately addressed by the police, judiciary, and administration.”

Sources:  www.npr.org, wireupdate.com, www.lowermanhattan.info, www.telegraph.co.uk

Study Snapshot: Japan quake: How hard do disasters hit tourism?

The devastation in Japan will have long-term consequences. But research suggests crises often have a short-term impact on travel

The world has looked on in horror at the accumulating disasters in Japan and a death toll that must surely rise over coming days, weeks and – if there is a nuclear disaster – years.

Japan is no stranger to catastrophe, of course, or to recovery from it. This is a country that has survived not one but two nuclear attacks. The capacity of its people to deal with disaster is astonishing.

The UK outbound travel market will be largely untouched, albeit none of us can be untouched by the scale of the suffering. The disaster will have unpredictable consequences for the world economy. The shutdown of Japanese industry may trigger both a fall in the oil price and lay-offs at manufacturing plants dependent on imported parts from Japan. The markets fell immediately amid forecasts of a renewed downturn.

Consumer survey

The usual lines about the British desire for a break and “the resilience of travel” appear out of place in such circumstances, but they do capture an essential truth about attitudes to holidays.

By chance, research analyst TNS examined precisely this issue for Travel Weekly in a consumer survey in early February. The study followed the overthrow of the government in Tunisia but was conducted while Egypt remained in turmoil.

More than half (55%) of adults said they would be deterred by a terrorist attack from booking a destination, 44% by civil unrest or riots, 37% by a natural disaster, and 28% by government collapse.

However, almost nine out of 10 (87%) of the more than 1,600 people surveyed had never changed, postponed or cancelled a holiday because of concerns about safety or security.

One in 20 had cancelled a holiday, one in 25 had changed a destination and the same proportion had postponed a trip.

To put these concerns in context, holidaymakers’ two biggest worries were falling ill overseas and losing their passport.

Concerns fade

Presented with a list of destinations and asked whether they would consider visiting in the next three months, 62% said they would avoid Egypt and 33% Tunisia.

However, this was at the height of the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. By last week, the Egyptian tourism ministry was sufficiently confident in recovery to launch a campaign to woo tourists back.

At the same time, the survey found only 8% would avoid Thailand, where there was serious social unrest last May, and 7% Mexico, where an outbreak of swine flu dominated the world’s media in April 2009.

Source: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk

Our best wishes lie with all the people affected by this catastrophe, hoping that the worst days have already passed.

Destination Brandwatch: Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Puerto Rico, South Australia & Yemen unveil new tourism campaigns

 

Online Facebook Marketing Campaign by Japan Tourism Agency

Japan Tourism Agency has launched its online interactive facebook marketing campaign for Japan Tourism in Australia, Powder Dash. The Japan Tourism Agency invite skiers and boarders from around the world to take a trip and visit Japan to feel the experience of snow sports through its new online social media campaign on Facebook titled with Powder Dash. The online social media tourism marketing campaign “Powder Dash” is an Facebook app that allow you to carve deep powder tracks down a fresh mountain, hit jumps, score points and unlock a line of advanced boards to get you thinking about Japan. As users, you can challenge your friends or compete on the leaderboard.

Taiwan launches 2011 tourism campaign

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has announced its 2011 marketing campaign, which will feature three key elements: Tour Taiwan 100, Authentic Taiwan and Great Service in Taiwan. Tour Taiwan 100 sees the introduction of over 100 new tours and different experiences on the island. From celebrity spotting to Yulin Puppet Shows, the tours will fall into one of 10 themes: customs & religion, local culture, aboriginal tribes, hot-springs, innovation tours, contemporary culture, hiking, tracking celebrities, eco-touring and biking.  The tours are designed to help visitors maximise their time and make the most of their experiences on the island.

Authentic Taiwan will promote the culture and traditions of Taiwan through four key events, one for each season: Taiwan Lantern Festival (Spring), Taiwan Cuisine Festival (Summer), Taiwan International Cycling Festival (Autumn) and the Taiwan Hot Springs and Fein Cuisine Carnival (Winter). In conjunction with these events, there will also be a number of new initiatives such as ‘Taiwan Tea Adventure’ and ‘Taiwan Night Market Competitions’ designed to promote the other aspects of culture on the island. Source: eTurboNews

Finally, the great service initiative focuses on an even better hospitality on the island, before, during and after tourists’ trips. There will be several new websites, offering more information and insight, as well as shuttle buses, tour coupons and special offers making getting around much easier. Holidaymakers will also benefit from extra special treatment such as a free ‘Easy Card’ for the subways in Taipei and Kaohsiung, free half-day tours for transit tourists as well as prizes for the millionth tourist visiting the country.

Israel touts new tourism campaign on FTV

The Tourism Ministry announced Wednesday that it had launched a NIS 3 million advertising campaign on the Fashion Channel (FTV). The campaign, which highlights Israel as a destination for urban and beachside vacations, features images of good-looking young men and women with picturesque vistas in the background. The campaign includes a tourism image video and marketing clips that present Israel’s tourist sites and entertainment spots. In addition, a calendar will be distributed featuring 12 tourist sites, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Masada and the Dead Sea. Source: The Jerusalem Post

Puerto Rico Launches Tourism Campaign In New York

NEW YORK—The Puerto Rican Government and tourism bureau have launched simultaneous campaigns intended to overcome economic challenges by sparking tourism and private investment. “Discover why Puerto Rico does it better,” reads the tagline for the joint tourism campaign launched by the Puerto Rican Governor’s Office and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company in New York on Tuesday.The new tourism campaign launched alongside an aggressive tax incentive plan meant to alleviate economic challenges caused by years of recession, and to encourage private business investment in Puerto Rico. To compliment economic and infrastructural reforms, the Puerto Rican Tourism Company is launching a bold advertising campaign, most visible in a dynamic advertisement in Times Square that features colonial Old San Juan, and Puerto Rico’s tropical rainforest, “El Yunque.”The campaign advertises Old San Juan as a historic gem (“the oldest city in the United States”) and El Yunque as the “only rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service.” Source: Latin America News Dispatch

South Australia Tourism unveils new geo-location campaign

The South Australian Tourism Commission has unveiled an innovative social media campaign to draw more people to the State‟s renowned winery cellar doors, based on check-in technology and social sharing. The SATC partnered with “Scruffy Gen X wine geeks” The Qwoff Boys to create the Great South Australian Wine Adventure, a platform which integrates Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Gowalla. The Great South Australian Wine Adventure initially focuses on Adelaide Hills‟ cellar doors. The Adventure will be rolled out into the Barossa and McLaren Vale before Christmas, with other regions including the Coonawarra/Limestone Coast, Riverland and Clare Valley to follow. A mobile application is also in the planning stages. Source: CampaignBrief

Yemen Launches Biggest-Ever Tourism Campaign in Gulf

Yemen has launched what it says was the biggest-ever tourism campaign in the Arabian Gulf countries. The campaign, kicked off on Wednesday in Qatar’s capital Doha, covers five GCC member states. It coincided with the hosting of the 20th Gulf football cup in the south. Deputy Minister for Tourism Mutahar Taqi said the tourism promotion campaign started in Qatar due to this country’s important role in supporting the tourism sector in Yemen which comes after the oil sector in terms of contributing to the investment boost. The championship, being held in Aden and Abyan, represented a push to develop the tourism sector, he said, denying the last events topped by Al-Qaeda’s threat have affected tourism in the country. “Many visitors continue to arrive in Yemeni cities, putting the unfair media propaganda over the situation in Yemen behind them.”

The security and political situations in Yemen are good, and we urge foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy as to what they report on any thing in our country, he said.

“We also urge the media and those interested in Yemen to introduce Yemen as it is in reality and to avoid distortion.”

Inaccurate reports have hampered tourism in Yemen more than real events did, he said. Yemen has recently taken several steps aimed at improving the tourism sector including the establishment of the tourism security unit and tourism police. Moreover, the Tourism Minister has a number of improvement projects coinciding with the championship aimed at attracting more visitors to Yemen. Earlier this week, Tourism Minister said the revenue from the championship was estimated more than $ 600 million.  source: Yemen Post