With much effort, the travel and tourism industry is full-force on the road to recovery. We’re all collaborating with industry leaders, researchers and our communities to bring our destination marketing back from ground zero, raise awareness about our safety protocols, community engagement, venues and hotel partners, and build confidence in the traveler—the business traveler, to be specific to our niche.
“7 in 10 U.S. attendees prefer in-person meetings to virtual meetings.” – Businesstravelnews.com
And we want those attendees back! Group business contributes to hotel occupancy and revenue AND fuels profitability. It’s necessary to keep hotel profits strong, bed tax revenue coming in, and DMOs in business.
It all starts with communication. Communicate properly and timely to inform your audience on:
- fact-based health advice and information within the destination
- safety and sanitation standards being employed
- flexibility in accommodations and contractual obligations
While many planners (39%, according to Northstar’s Pulse Survey) are in the Looking Not Booking phase, sourcing is still a top priority to get their plans in place for the end of 2020 and into 2021.
How Can Your Destination Stay Top of Mind?
Digital Edge has been helping DMOs get back into action, post-COVID-19. We’ve been working through a multi-phased recovery strategy that employs strategic marketing with flexible timelines and out-of-the-box targeting ideas.
Check out what our clients are working on….
Visit Columbus GA has been encouraging their community and visitors to take the C.A.R.E.S. pledge, dedicated to supporting the tourism and hospitality industry for the city to reopen and get back to business. Residents and visitors are urged to embrace the Columbus GA C.A.R.E.S. initiative—a community-wide pledge to keep safety before service to ensure best health practices and sanitation standards are being followed.
For Explore Branson, Digital Edge helped execute a time-sensitive virtual FAM to help the destination raise awareness to planners as a meeting destination, engage them in a time of reduced travel and create an interactive experience. Learn more about the FAM in our case study.
Some destinations have taken a look at their cancellation policies to meet planners’ needs at a moment of uncertainty. With many being uneasy about the pandemic and traveling at this time, making cancellation and refund policies flexible helps ease decision making. At MeetPITTSBURGH, the team has implemented a zero attrition offer to new and existing groups that will actualize in 2020. Learn more.
Digital Edge is continuing our proactive approach with DMOs by also creating content marketing assets that will serve not only the meeting destination but provide useful information, as it pertains to COVID, necessary for meeting planners and future attendees.
How Can We Help?
Digital Edge is here to help you map out the road to recovery. We understand B2B marketing and are ready to help you work through this crisis together.
