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The Tourism Network is now more than just me, but I am still involved in every project we undertake, whether it is marketing, project management, training or publishing.
The following is more the story of how The Tourism Network came about - there are some client and project examples here too.
After studying languages, I began my tourism industry career with a small incoming tour operator in my native Yorkshire, follwed by a couple of years with a specialist study tour operators and incentive company in London. My boss irritated me with his management-speak and lack of practical action and every time a representative from an attraction, hotel or destination came to sell to me, I ended up giving them new contacts and business ideas instead.
It didn't take long before I decided to start my own marketing consultancy (1990), helping destinations, accommodation providers and attractions to promote to a wider market and develop new revenue. Before long I had a great client list including Historic Royal Palaces, hotels through-out the UK, English Heritage and the then British Tourist Authority (now VisitBritain). They recommended me to others and since then I'm pleased to say that all our business has come through word of mouth (saves a fortune on advertising!).
I've undertaken projects for small and large organisations and companies. These include national and regional tourist boards, regional development agencies, major and minor visitor attractions and accommodation providers.
Projects have
included development and implementation of tourism and marketing strategies
and campaigns, communications'
plans, brochure and web site development, facilitating brainstorms, "marriage
guidance" between between small private businesses and public sector
organisations, business engagement, multicultural marketing, promoting
to groups and the travel trade, developing new ways of targeting VFR business,
bringing different sectors like cultural industries
and tourism together, developing marketing consortia and speaking at many events.
Every project has been subtly different so there have been many chances
to learn even more about this fascinating and complex industry.I've
also tried to pass
on some of my skills by offering training
workshops and writing advisory
articles and books. I've now trained over 2000 people in practical
marketing techniques,
developed new business advisory surgeries, toolkits and "how to" advisory
publications for organisations like VisitBritain.
I've written several books, "Successful
Tourism Marketing" and "Successful Web Marketing", both published
by Kogan Page and now translated into several other languages, and "English
Experiences" a sort of alternative guidebook published by Metro Publications
More recently, VisitBritain have commissioned me to write two new
books as part of their practical "How To..." series. The first
deals with marketing for accommodation providers and the second
internet marketing for tourism businesses.
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