The Marketing Plan sets out activities and targets for two areas activity:
- Leisure Tourism Marketing
- Business Tourism Marketing
Marketing is managed by Mark Kibblewhite, with lead officers for the identified campaigns.
- Leisure Tourism Marketing
Background
The YMCTP provides a marketing service as it contributes to three of its four aims:
- Contribute towards the regional target of increasing visitor expenditure by 5% per annum by
maximising economic impact through increasing the value of each visit, and encouraging
additional visits particularly at shoulder and off-peak times; - Maximise visitor satisfaction, before, during and after their visit;
- Ensure tourism is managed in a sustainable way that safeguards and enhances the environment and benefits the local communities.
In all marketing activity, the YMCTP endeavours to build upon the marketing service it provided last year and the marketing services provided by its Local Authority partners before this.
Activity for 2009-10
The following marketing plan is written with the objective of maximising return on investment in two ways:
- Continuing to attract existing core visitor segments as return visitors comprise 84% of all visitors.(Source: YMCTP visitor survey 2007)
- Targeting new market segments which have the highest potential to visit our area and contribute to increasing the economic value of tourism.
- The YMCTP is also committed to the following sustainable development principles in its marketing activities:
- Ensure that marketing activities do not impact negatively on the environment people are coming to visit for example limiting marketing activity outside Europe to decrease travel miles to the destination, recycled paper used for YMCTP publications and biodegradable plastic for publication poly envelopes
- Ensure a ‘green tourism' message is within all key publications (Holiday Guide, What to See and Do and Festivals and Events Guides)
- Ensure green tourism messages and information is found on the YMCTP website or through links with the North York Moors National Park web pages where appropriate.
- Promotion of North York Moors National Park's annual Eco-working holiday through DMS and YMCTP website
- Promotion of North York Moors National Park's Moorsbus network as a sustainable way for visitors to enjoy the area through publications, website, press and PR opportunities
Current visitors
- Over 45's, socio-economic bands A and B, located in Yorkshire, Midlands, North East and North West.
- Scarborough Town has a large number of visitors from socio-economic bands. There is a need to raise the profile of Scarborough Town, and align its leisure tourism with the business tourism marketing activity to attract higher spending visitors.
The above visitor segments will be replaced by the new visitor profile data when obtained from YTB, who will use MOSAIC UK classifications to provide visitor profiles on the 1,000 visitor contacts made during the YMCTP visitor survey in 2007. This will be supplemented by data taken from the visitor survey 2007 report when received from Tourism UK Ltd.
New markets
These will be determined from the new visitor profile data when obtained from YTB, who will use MOSAIC UK classifications to provide visitor profiles on the 1,000 visitor contacts made during the YMCTP visitor survey in 2007. This will be supplemented by data taken from the visitor survey 2007 report when received from Tourism UK Ltd. These two data sets will provide the YMCTP with up to date visitor segments to inform the years marketing activity, and enable the domestic marketing campaigns to target these visitor segments for both staying visitors and day visitors.
Capacity
Some areas of the YMC area are reaching occupancy capacity, eg. Whitby and some rural areas in the high season, particularly at weekends. The YMCTP marketing activity therefore needs to focus on encouraging visitors to stay in those areas where capacity is not an issue and increasing the number of out of high season and mid-week visits.
Overseas Visitors
Overseas visitors represent 6% of the staying visitor market in the Yorkshire Moors and Coast area, and 7% of visitor spend (£25.5. million). Because overseas visitors stay longer (averaging 6.3 days) than domestic visitors (3.3 days), overseas visitors represent a higher spend per trip, although average daily spend is very similar (£47 / day compared to £49 / day). (Source: Cambridge Report, 2006). Some activity to this market will therefore continue, to a value not exceeding 7% of the marketing budget.
Group Travel
The Group Travel market remains an important sector, having the ability to bring large numbers of visitors to the area, and in a more sustainable way. 6% of visitors to the Moors and Coast arrive as part of a coach party. However, group travel visitors tend to be lower spending than independent visitors and the benefit can often be limited to the specific hotels, towns / villages, and to a lesser degree attractions, that the travel operator decides to visit. It is important therefore that, whilst maintaining some general activity, YMCTP targets its activities to group travel companies that specialise in tours for higher spending visitors.
We are running our first adverts and articles in the Yorkshire Group Travel Guide and websites, to encourage and entice more groups, including small groups. To view a sample of the advertising click the link below:
Yorkshire Moors and Coast Group Travel Advertising Sample (PDF, 4.8Mb)
