Tourism PR: Cities Need PR Too

When you think about public relations, a lot of areas come to mind like agency, entertainment, and event planning. One industry that you may not think of is tourism PR. It was not until after my study abroad experience that I began to consider this as a viable field I wanted to pursue. It combined all the things I loved- Philadelphia, traveling, and public relations. The only problem was I knew little to nothing about this rarely mentioned industry. But a few information interviews later, I've come up with some “need to know” points about travel PR:

• It’s not just about travel. This industry isn't simply about marketing to travelers so they visit your city. You’ll be working with a lot of different industries that encompass the visitor experience from arts and entertainment to local hotels and hospitality.
• You need to know your markets. Tourism PR works to reach the domestic, international, and niche markets, so it’s important to know who your audience is. These can include either a specific city like Boston or London or a group like the LGBT community. Being aware of the culture or needs of who you’re reaching will affect your messaging.
• Bloggers are changing the job. The increase in travel bloggers is affecting the way tourism PR professionals are doing their job. Now, travel bloggers are pitching THEM! These freelance bloggers pitch their post ideas in the hopes of getting their stories picked up and purchased.
• Sponsorships are increasing. Not only are travel bloggers changing the industry, but so is sponsored content. The future of tourism PR will see less traditional pitching to media outlets and more sponsorships.

Tourism PR isn't simply about promoting your city in the hopes of attracting visitors. It encompasses so many elements and industries that it’s often similar to agency life. But of course the most important thing to remember about tourism PR is that it takes a passion for your city and a love for showing what is has to offer.

Vacationing in Pakistan

Terrorists. Drone strikes. Al-Qaida. These are some of things that may come to mind when you hear the name Pakistan, but what about food, scenery, and ancient ruins? My family is from Pakistan and I’ve been there to visit almost every year. The first thing I can tell you is that you’ll never find better food anywhere in the world. Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan, is so much more than what the world thinks of them as; there aren’t terrorists or extremists hiding around every corner in Pakistan. Instead you’ll find people in need of help.

Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America, Pakistan has been the recipient of millions of dollars of US aid, meant to further the fight against militants and terrorists. Meanwhile, Pakistan has been trying to revitalize its own economy through tourism in order to help its struggling people. Pakistan should put the money towards helping the people, and creating a better name for itself worldwide. Nobody I know has ever wanted to go on vacation in Pakistan because it’s viewed as unsafe; that’s the attitude that the Pakistani government needs to be working to change.

To bring in more tourists and create more money for the economy, Pakistan needs to show people everywhere that it’s safe to visit the country. Pakistan’s Swat Valley used to be a premier vacation area because of its amazing scenery, but now it’s a nearly desolate, former battleground. 

The government needs to convince media and tourism agencies to promote Pakistan as a tourist destination again. Pakistan also needs to get off the USA’s travel warning list. The country needs to put itself into TV ads, onto more travel sites and offer deals and packages as incentive for people to visit. Once locals start returning, Pakistan can show the rest of the world that it’s safe to visit. 

There are plenty of people who want to see what Pakistan is like because it’s so different from the USA. People want to sample the amazing food, or explore the huge excavation sites of ancient ruins. Whatever your interest, there’s something waiting for you to discover in Pakistan.  They just need to brand themselves a little better in order to get you there.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Faiz Mandviwalla.

The Good,The Bad and The Ugly- PRying into Travel and Tourism Industry!

PR plays a significant role in the Travel and Tourism Industry. Beyond enticing travelers to a destination, PR professionals sometimes have the arduous task of creating and maintaining a safe, comfortable and enjoyable image of the destination. In this blog post I will discuss the three main elements in Travel and Tourism PR; The Good- Stimulating travelers interest in visiting a destination, The Bad-  Managing crises and The Ugly- changing the perception; accepting flaws of the destination yet highlighting it.

Below, are the aforesaid elements more detailed!

The Good-  Many countries  depend heavily on the Travel and Tourism Industry to maintain their economy. Its sometimes their main source of foreign exchange and its very competitive in the international market.With this, PR firms are contracted across their target markets to ensure their destination is among the preferred choices for travelers. What's better than creating avenues for press to experience the destination first hand? For destinations that promote niches such as events/cultural tourism or destination weddings. Press are invited to cover festivals/shows or sporting events. E.g Jazz festivals and Mardi Grass in New Orleans, Carnival in Brazil and the Caribbean.
       
The Bad- What does Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba and the Costa Concordia debacle have in common? Bad Press!! In this field, crises occur constantly, whether it is in the corporate environment, in the government or with a destination. This is a segment in PR that is often neglected and costs destinations millions in a matter of minutes. In this age of social media, PR professionals have to be verse in dealing with such sensitive crises and be able to act swiftly.

The Ugly- India, Mexico and South Africa are often portrayed as corrupt and crime-ridden countries in the media. They often show the bad in these countries which usually causes the public to have fear in visiting them. However, theres an "app" for that!! Not an Apple app but a PR app, which concentrates on changing the perceptions by accepting the faults and transforming the flaws into hidden treasures. For instance, Columbia launched a big PR campaign, Columbia, The only risk is wanting to stay, which created awareness on the beauty of this country. Communication professionals worked towards eliminating the distorted images people had of Columbia by putting together the aforementioned campaign, which gave information on the countries natural resources and positive elements.