While we continue to hear bad news coming out of
Puerto Rico, the reality is that what would help them considerably is an influx
of tourists. But it may take a bit of
convincing.
I wrote this blog back in March when Cape Town,
South Africa was suffering from an epic drought and their tourism board served
me up a few ads on my Instagram account.
Needless to say I thought it was a waste of their money.
But, it does beg the question as to whether people
can be persuaded to visit Key West and Puerto Rico as they seek to
recover.
The Florida Keys tourism council has taken a rather
standard approach, launching a ValueCation program this summer that is
scheduled to run through October 21. You
can check it out here...
Puerto Rico on the other hand has partnered with
JetBlue its largest airline to unveil "Bluericua" a new plane
designed by JetBlue crewmembers based in San Juan, Aguadilla and Ponce, Puerto
Rico.
According to Carla Campos, executive director of the
Puerto Rico Tourism Company, they hope that the plane will generate attention
and serve as a reminder of the diversity and authenticity of Puerto Rico.
(Gazdik, 2018)
So what do you think of these approaches? What persuasion techniques are they
employing? Do you think either effort
will be successful? Why or why not? Would you have tried something
different? What and why?
Gazdik, T. (2018, September 24) Efforts Support Tourism To Hurricane-Affected
Areas. mediapost.com. Retrieved
September 25, 2018, from https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/325541/efforts-support-tourism-to-hurricane-affected-area.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=111092&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI
3 comments:
The value added program “ValuCation” by Key West is likely to attract tourists who feel may that they are getting extra value for their money and time which would not have been the case had they visited the place in periods outside the offer time. The specials include those for accommodations, attractions, bars and restaurants, services, retail items, fishing, diving, water sports, and entertainment. I think this is pretty persuasive. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, is likely to attract new tourists especially the lovers of diversity and authenticity.
Key West is using promotion advertising technique. The ValuCation will encourage tourists to build a relationship with Key West. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, is using Association technique. Their association with a big brand “JetBlue” is likely to make tourist create a psychological connection with Puerto Rico’s services. The tourists would like to be the first ones to try out JetBlue’s new jet which is set to make tours to Puerto Rico. I think both approaches are good and are likely to be successful since the techniques used are attractive. I would have tried the same approaches as well.
YUE FENG
Key West ValueCation Program
In my opinion, I don’t think this program can attract tourists effectively. In fact, the ValueCation program contributes more to help several local businesses than attract new tourists who are not really familiar with the Florida Keys.
The design of the website is not attractive. Although the website can provide people with some useful coupon information, the design of the home page and other pages of the website are too simple and crude to attract new tourists. For example, people can search for bar and restaurant coupon in Key West, however, there is little information about those bars and restaurants. At least, the web should provide the audience with some basic introductions and pictures of those bars and restaurants.
I believe telling the audience why they should come to Florida for these amazing places is much more important than just providing coupons. Introducing the audience more about the history, story, and interesting things of those businesses is more helpful in attracting new tourists. Tourists always want to go to some places where are meaningful to them. The tourists will love this program if they can learn some amazing things from it.
Bluericua Program
I believe this program will be successful. “Puerto Rico” theme JetBlue plane is beautiful and attractive. Many of the passengers of JetBlue are young people who love travel. The new beautiful JetBlue plane can attract their attention effectively. What’s more, there are many passengers of other airlines will see the “Puerto Rico” plane in the airport when they are walking through this plane.
Guo Yu
I think that although the ValueCation is pretty dated and not very creative (their website is another proof of this), it could still work in driving up tourism. A lot of people going on vacation probably love saving money and feel like they are getting a good deal. However, it’s not getting the same traction and media covering as JetBlue and Puerto Ricos approach. The fact that it only runs through October 21 uses the scarcity persuasion technique.
I like the JetBlue approach more, it’s creative and uses the liking persuasion. Incorporating culture in the strategy is a smart way of getting people to like the brand. I’m not sure if the effort will be successful in increasing tourism by a lot. Mostly because this effort not only promotes Puerto Rico but JetBlue too, who offers flights to other destinations as well.
I think these destinations attracts many different target groups, however, considering young people have less money to spend on vacation, I would try to focus my efforts on them since these destinations are not crazy expensive. I would try to get a lot of social media exposure and show the younger generation what fun things you can do at these destinations, what restaurants and activities they have to offer.
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