“Be consistent with your product offering….avoid situations that have the potential to damage your brand and take every opportunity to increase your brand awareness”. These were some of the parting words from Michelle Connell, Facilitator of the Digital Trends in Tourism Seminar to the participants, many of whom were representatives of the various stakeholder bodies and entities in the local Tourism Industry.
The Ministry of Tourism partnered with the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (ALJGSB) to provide representatives of its various tourism stakeholder groups, with an opportunity to experience first-hand, the increasingly important role of social media in the global Tourism sector and its potential to positively impact their small businesses. While travelers have always been curious, technology has made it easier to research destinations as information is more readily available to the discerning traveler. This seminar provided those in attendance, many of which are small business operators in the sector, with insight into using technology and social media platforms to build awareness and promote their businesses
This seminar, which was facilitated by the ALJGSB follows a networking symposium, Digital Transformation within the Tourism Sector, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism in February. The Ministry recognized the need to expose its stakeholders to emerging trends in the global tourism industry and to sensitize these stakeholders on the impact on the local sector. This one day seminar, Digital Trends in Tourism, presented the perfect opportunity for the Ministry of Tourism to reinforce and in some cases supplement for its tourism stakeholders, strategies for marketing their businesses in the local and global environments. These marketing strategies have the potential to positively impact these small businesses by increasing their brand awareness to both local and international guests. There is also the potential to improve the overall appeal for the local tourism product to new and returning visitors and this has the potential to increase visitor arrivals to Trinidad and Tobago. Increased visitors translates to more jobs in the sector and with increased tourist spend, the tax-payer sees the positive effects on the local economy.
Digital trends in the global Tourism sector; Strategic digital tourism marketing; Social Media and its impact on potential clients and how to handle negative social media in the tourism sector were some of the topics covered in the Seminar on September 26, 2018.
On September 27, 2018 the global community observes World Tourism Day. This seminar was one of the Ministry of Tourism’s activities in recognition of the annual, global observance, for which this year’s theme is, “Tourism and the Digital Transformation”.