Building Destination Through Collaboration

5. Strategic Tips and Examples for Effective Collaboration 

As Collaboration is clearly key to creating Conversions (i.e. confirmed bookings) for tourism businesses and destinations, a framework for collaboration is required within individual tourism businesses and across destinations. 

Collaboration is key for conversion

Through proactive collaboration, tourism businesses can create conversion opportunities for their destination in a way that aligns and compliments the important work that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Tourism Ireland and regional tourism bodies do to promote Northern Ireland destinations and

Let's take a look at the following example that demonstrates how the spirit of collaboration can be used to encourage low season business in a remote destination.

Within a remote Northern Ireland destination that aspires to open and welcome customers year-round, local restaurants could collaborate to create a rota so that  

• the cost of opening is shared
• customers are ensured of places to eat out where they can create happy memories during low season and
• all kinds of tourism businesses have external dining experiences that they can recommend to their customers. 

As low season business builds and revenue generation grows, these restaurants are likely to open more regularly. In this way, through collaboration and referrals, restaurants can build new revenue generation opportunities with less risk. 

As part of this collaboration, tourism businesses could create their own list of reasons to visit the destination during low season that compel customers to book. Such a list might include the following: 

• Local smoked salmon served with a craft beer by the warmth of an open fire
• Feeling alive by joining the locals in a winter plunge from a local pier
• Watching a low evening winter sunset on a mountain hike
• Learning how to make a local dish within a cosily restored barn 

Through online and offline communications, tourism businesses could promote and raise awareness of key reasons to visit. 

As the destination builds and the collaboration framework consolidates, businesses could create their own compelling reasons to travel to the destination, by (for example) creating a winter light festival in December and January. 

Collaboration with Tourism Bodies

The destination can lean on regional and national tourism bodies for support and ways to promote reasons to visit their destination during low season.

As a collective, the tourism businesses within destinations can request the support of local tourist offices, regional tourism bodies, Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Tourism Ireland in promoting their low season offering.

Collaboration with Local Community 

Tourism businesses can lean on their local connections and knowledge to encourage local communities to raise the profile of the destination year-round and during leaner periods like low season.

As a collective, tourism businesses could also reach out to their local community to include them as part of the team in this initiative. For example, to drive low season business, the community could be asked to share their compelling reasons to visit offline through their own circle of friends and online through their social media community. 

In this example tourism businesses within a destination have set out to meet their objective to build low season business through a framework of collaboration summarised in the following:

1. Restaurants sharing the working week through a rota

2. Tourism Businesses clarifying a list of reasons and things to do/see during low season

3. Tourism Businesses promoting via offline and online communications

4. Destination & Tourism Businesses leaning on regional and national tourism body supports.

5. Tourism Bodies leaning on local contacts and networks

6.Tourism Business within the destination working together as a TEAM to maximise opportunities.

• Within this framework, each tourism business retains its independence and remains commercially responsible for its own revenue generation.
• Within this framework the tourism business also leans on indutry colleagues and contacts locally, nationally and globally to create opportunities for the business itself and the wider destination as a whole.

Insights into promoting destinations via paid and no or low-cost collaborations 

When promoting destinations, tourism businesses should always firstly consider options that come at a low or no financial cost.  Within a collaborative framework, it is advisable for tourism businesses to document in a simple bullet point format the multiple ways they can support each other in this way. Suggestions of ways to do this are highlighted below: 

Collaboration Via Pooling Resources for Low/No-Cost Marketing 

Accommodation providers could promote things to do in their destination via 

• In-room guest information 
• A welcome check-in letter highlighting seasonal/annual experiences and things to do A Things to Do tab on the business own brand website 
• A social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram showcasing what staff like to do in their free time thereby promoting what the destination has to offer across seasons 

A local visitor attraction or restaurant could 

• Create a poster or list that is available at reception highlighting the top 10 things that can be seen/done/experienced within a defined radius of the businesses 
• A destination page on their website to highlight compelling reasons to visit the destination and recommend other experiences within a defined radius 

An activity provider or tour guide could share their local insights of things to do and see while engaging with customers during or after the delivered experience. 

• Online, they could promote these recommendations through social media and website pages 

Collaboration Via Pooling Resources for Paid Marketing 

Through a collaborative framework, tourism businesses can pool resources to devise low cost, no cost and paid solutions for driving demand for the destination

Within a strong collaborative framework, tourism businesses can also consider pooling financial resources together to drive demand. For example, tourism businesses within a destination could consider creating a sales and marketing plan to drive low season business. This plan could include online promotions (e.g. a Facebook campaign) or offline promotions (e.g. a radio or newspaper campaign). The business could then share the financial burden by pooling together a shared fund for executing that plan. 

Building destinations to create year-round customers is hard word. Through collaboration, businesses within the destination lessen this burden by sharing learnings, time, human and financial resources.  

Collaboration & Building Destinations via Referrals  

The process of referring is crucial for collaboration as it is through referrals that destination awareness builds. For example, imagine the impact if all tourism businesses within a destination promote three things to do or see within their destination. The outcome is a rising tide that  

• raises awareness of what the destination can offer to customers and 
• generates bookings (maintaining the livelihoods) of the referred businesses within the destination 
• gives the customer multiple reasons to return for another stay to further explore all the destination has to offer. 

The following example shows the response written by a guesthouse owner based in County Tyrone to a request made by a German customer to stay one night.

Dear Jon 

I am delighted that you thought of me and The Glen Guesthouse for your booking on 20th July for one double room for one night.  

I am pleased to make you aware that we do have availability in our Rose Room at a rate of £XX. The Rose Room is one of my favourite rooms with views overlooking our beautiful rose garden and onto the glen. The rate includes 

• Breakfast: my guests tell me this is the best part of the stay as we include farm fresh eggs, local cheese and my own home-made brown bread. I attach a full list of all that we include 

• In your room, there is a tea and coffee welcome tray with home-made lemon cake and toiletries from Sheila who is a well-known local hand soap maker 

• There is free WIFI and ample car parking just outside the guest house and  

I also enclose a short list with some of my favourite things to do in this area. I have lived here all my life and can highly recommend joining Tim Blake for a guided walk through the glens. If you have time, a visit of Roundstone Chocolate factory and tearooms is a must and Taste of the Coast Café is loved locally for their excellent seafood chowder 

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best. 

Kind regards, Jane 

The following example shows the response written by an activity provider based in County Fermanagh to a request for 15 people from County Limerick.

Dear Paula 

Thanks so much for thinking of me for your hike on 20th February. I am really looking forward to showing you the incredible scenery here in County Fermanagh. 

I know you have not yet booked your accommodation, but I can highly recommend Buttercup Glamping Site. It is operated by Claudia Wilson who does a super job there. 

As you know the hike is five hours long, so I would recommend that your group brings something to eat and drink. Many people who join me like to get a prepared pack of local seasonal food from Fred Butler in Enniskillen.  

I also enclose a short list with some of my favourite things to do in this area. I have lived here all my life and can highly recommend joining Tim Blake for a guided walk through the glens. If you have time, a visit of Roundstone Chocolate factory and tearooms is a must and Taste of the Coast Café is loved locally for their excellent seafood chowder 

I look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best. 

Kind regards, Jane 

Many accommodation providers report that when they refer things to do in this way that:

• customers book one or more of the recommendations
• extend their stay, or return another time to explore more of the recommendations.

A local insight shared in this way is GOLD as it represents  

• a low cost way to build opportunities for tourism business throughout destinations 
• creates compelling reasons for customers to book and return 

Once the customer has a positive experience, they in turn become part of the collaborative process to grow destinations as they spread positive word of mouth about their experience through their own offline and online communications