When your customers think about holidays they probably just need a break. They’ve been working hard and they want some rest and relaxation along with a change of scenery.
Who can blame them? When Britain is wet and windy even in August we all want some guaranteed sunshine.
But what if there’s more to it? Why should you be thinking about ways to leave your customers educated and entertained?
It adds to the experience
I’ve met people who’ve got on a plane, got off at the other end and have no idea where in the world they are. At the other end of the spectrum are the people who’ve done masses of research and may have chosen their holiday to find more about a particular place.
Wherever your customers sit within that, there is always something you can add. The excursions you tell them about will obviously be a great day out. But they could also be showing them something that helps them to understand their destination better. An independent traveller might already be very well informed, but every destination has its surprises. When I was on honeymoon in Mexico we went on a catamaran trip. We stopped off at a local village and rolled our eyes, knowing that every excursion includes an opportunity for local people to sell stuff to tourists. What we actually got was a stall selling hammocks that had been made by local prisoners. It may have been a tourist trap but we also learned about conditions in the local jail. And of course we bought a hammock.
Whatever you choose to share, you can give your customers a better experience and great memories.
You can support other communities
I have a well-developed sense of self preservation. That means that when someone tells me to stay on the marked route to avoid snakes/spiders/violent gang members, I tend to do it. I’m also conscious that a beautiful place can be vulnerable.
The fact is, it’s hard to tell people about environmental protection or vulnerable communities without it sounding like a lecture. But it can be done. Say, for example, you offer holidays to a place where an endangered animal lives. There might be a fine balance between the income that tourism brings and the damage tourists could potentially cause to the environment. Your social media posts could share a picture of the animal and a short explanation of how it’s been protected. Or maybe their luxury safari accommodation meets strict environmental standards that gets them even closer to the wildlife.
You can be educated and entertained
Who wants to go on holiday to be lectured? Certainly not me. But your customers can be educated as well as entertained by great excursions or exclusive accommodation. The key to sharing all of this in your marketing is to find the things that they care about most. Then you can share the ways that local knowledge and environmental projects have made their holiday better.
Using humour is often the best way to talk about serious subjects. I’m betting you were told not to put toilet paper down the loo in France because it would block the pipes. What if you’d been told that you would drown in poo if you put paper down the loo? And there I was thinking I didn’t have a gift for poetry!?
Do you try to teach your customers something about their destination? Share your tips in the comments!
Further reading
For information about protected UNESCO World Heritage site visit their website
Prepare yourself for the people who knew nothing about their destination with these (apparently) genuine complaints.