Tourism Media

You know you have arrived when Hemingway has already been there there. Hemingway chronicled the European experience in his novels and seems to have visited every hidden treasure of the old world. Travel writing used to be an essential media for informing the masses. In 2009, agencies like The European Travel Commission advance regional travel media and supervise national tourism media.

Hemingway on the Italian island of Torcello near Venice

The European Travel Commission's motto

In Rudiger Theilmann's "Brand Europe: Moves Towards Pan-European Identity," the author is specifically talking about “place branding." The main difference between product branding and place branding is the product branding markets while place branding tries to reach wide, general audiences in a less targeted way. Most tourism ads address a general audience because essentially anyone can travel and the quality is determined by particular hotels which are individually marketed and advertised. The author also explains that flags have become equivalent to logos. Switzerland uses the branding guide below, suggesting that the Swiss flag be used as part of company logos, as well suggesting integrating Swiss values into businesses.

Gstaad, Switzerland is an older tourist destination that thrives today. It has hosted skiiers and boarding schools since the late 1800's.

Biarritz is another example of an older tourist destination that has been attracting visitors for centuries. In the 1960's it was featured in the American magazine Surfer which transformed the city into a global destination.

John Severson's 1965 cover of Surfer brought French surfing to the world

Both the World Cup and the Olympics function as tourism strategies. Both events involve “place branding” that require the cities to shape up and offer a “well educated workforce,” “good language skills” and “dynamic population” as well as safe infrastructure.

Read the World Cup 2010 Press Release:

For one month the nation will be on show. And for South Africa it will be the greatest show on Earth and the Games of our lives: the 2010 Fifa World Cup. For one solid month from the middle of June until the middle of July in 2010 South Africa will open its arms, doors, communications networks and broadcast cables to over 20,000 members of the international and national media community who will capture an estimated over 200 viewing hours of 64 matches across 32 teams. In total over 300 broadcasters will send out a continuous month of live television coverage which will bring South Africa into the homes of a cumulative viewing audience of over 40 Billion people, internationally and nationally. 40 billion people watching the 2010 Fifa World Cup live as it occurs in South Africa. No rewinds, no edits, no second chances. And that is not to mention the on-line viewership and surrounding blog activity.The story of the 2010 Fifa WORLD CUP In South Africa is a story of promise, potential, possibility and rich purpose. 2010 is our opportunity to create the longest running, farthest reaching, most impactful and most exciting Tourism advertisement for our nation ever. Through advertising and through media. Our destination’s strength, competitiveness and Brand depend on it.

The initial media releases of global events are prospective drawings, maps and charts of dream projects that start to build public interest.

Mobile Media coverage:
The Beijing Olympics had unprecedented internet media coverage and this included significant coverage for mobile internet devices. Big media organisations such as NBC, and the BBC provided live 24/7 mobile web, mobile alerts and mobile video coverage. In August the MDA saw a 500,000 increase in the number of mobile internet users during the two weeks of the Beijing games.By 2012, tariff changes and device functionality will ensure Mobile Internet and streaming media will be being used on a regular basis by upward of 40 million Brits. This new wave of mobile consumers will put more emphasis on the need to produce innovative mobile content, from a medal watch for Team GB to action replays of the best action etc.All of this means that the wireless operators must ensure that their capacity planning factors in the anticipated popularity of the Olympics. The wireless provisioning, in and around the stadiums, will need to encompass GSM based bearers as well as WiFi, WiMax and Bluetooth which can all be used to distribute local event-based content and information.

“Brand entertainment” also happened with the film Borat which put unknown Kazakhstan on the map. The Eurasian country is the 9th largest in the world.

Wally Olins and his company Saffron have addressed the aspect of branding countries.

Most Eastern European countries are trying to align with Central European values through slogans.

Hungary, “The essence of Europe”

Czech Republic, “In the Heart of Europe”

Poland, “The heart of Europe”
Lithuania, “Center of Europe”

Solvenia, “The green piece of Europe”