Helping the tourism sector grow revenue from the lucrative Dutch and German markets
Amman– The ‘Know Your Market to Grow Your Market’ tourism workshop series continues today with a workshop for Jordan’s tourism industry on the travel trends and needs of two major European markets – the Netherlands and Germany. The series, which was launched last year, is implemented by the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project and the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB). The main purpose is to provide Jordan's tourism sector with insightful information about key tourism markets and market segments in order to help the sector understand what visitors want and respond to. With this information the Jordan tourism sector can increase revenue by customizing their services and fine-tuning marketing and promotion activities in order to increase the number of visitors to Jordan from these markets, increase spending, increase length of stay and address seasonality. The tourism and hospitality sector is already the biggest contributor to GDP. Further increasing tourism revenue translates into increasing local development, investment, and job creation.
“This series is further helping the sector to identify opportunities within existing markets to attract more visitors, maximize return on investment, ensure that Jordan gets its fair share of these tourism markets and increase the value of tourism to the local and national economy,.” said H.E. Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. She explained that, “To achieve this, JTB and the tourism industry must work together to identify and develop lucrative target segments, make joint decisions on which segments provide the best fit and what we may need to attract these markets. We must then deliver the same messages in order to convert more travelers from these markets into visitors to Jordan. ”
According to H.E. Nayef Al Fayez, JTB Managing Director, “To boost tourism numbers and attract high yield visitors from lucrative markets, there must be a better understanding of what these segments want and what we need to do to reach them and attract them to come to Jordan. This seminar series will thus help the sector make more sound decisions based on studying the behavior and trends of each of the markets.”
“These in-depth seminars highlight the opportunities for Jordan to ensure that all marketing dollars spent achieve the best return on investment for both JTB and the industry. They also highlight the opportunities, and most importantly the steps, to convert the most lucrative segments to Jordan. The presentations along with the market profiles already launched provide the background required for more effective promotion and for improving the visitor’s experience when they arrive in Jordan. A better experience will encourage more spending and thus bring more benefits from tourism to Jordan’s national and local economies,” said Mr. Ibrahim Osta, Chief of Party of the USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project.
The workshop featured international market experts who provided Jordan’s tourism industry professionals with facts and research about the Dutch and German tourist markets and feedback from tourists from these markets who have visited Jordan. This information will help the sector understand what drives the consumer and the tourism trade to consider Jordan as a destination, how to convert more consumers into visitors and get them to spend more time in or visit more attractions in Jordan. Marketing messages can thus be focused towards achieving that. The information will also help the sector develop services, tour programs and packages that specifically appeal to Dutch and German travelers, to also help increase tourist arrivals and revenues. In addition, the workshop outlined market segment opportunities, competitive markets, developing market specific programs and engaging and closing business online. The speakers also discussed the impact of regional events on tourism and provided recommendations for increasing target segments to Jordan in the short and medium term.
Generating 73 million outbound trips and US$80.8 billion in international travel spend in 2009, Germany is the world’s most important international tourism market. Though Jordan has been one of the few destinations to enjoy substantial increases in arrivals from Germany in recent years, with 41,622 Germans overnighting in Jordan in 2009 there is enormous potential for growth. Speakers stressed that more effort is needed to attract this market and extend length of stay in Jordan.
As for the Dutch market, the NTVS survey has revealed that visitors from the Netherlands stay an average of 16 days, somewhat above the global average of 13.6 days. About 90 percent of Dutch travelers visited at least one major tourism destination while in Jordan. The Jordan Tourism Board expects some further expansion in this market to Jordan despite predictions of general decline in intercontinental travel. Research conducted for the JTB concluded that Jordan was a particularly good match for the Dutch market in four main tourism segments: culture and heritage, eco-tourism, adventure and sports and MICE.
The Know Your Market to Grow Your Market series was launched in October 2010 and to date the workshops have covered the British, Spanish and Italian markets. Upcoming events within this series will cover USA, France, Austria, India and Russia.