By David Ezra, Director, The Saltmarsh Partnership

Twitter: @DavidEzra66

I’m always intrigued to see the new and creative ways the industry finds to package up and cash in on this annual love-fest.  And this year I haven’t been disappointed.

So far I’ve spotted a Valentine ‘glamping’ break based on the questionable premise that camping makes us happy, so glamping must be even more romantic.  Then there is Britain’s ‘most stylish’ Valentine’s break, at a serviced apartment next to Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.

Or how about a luxury romantic break in …. Neath?  Now I grew up not far from here.  It might have changed a lot, and I’m sure the Bluebell Hotel is lovely, but I’m pretty confident that Neath is not quite up there with Paris, Venice or Rome in the lurve stakes, despite its enviable rail links from London Paddington and the appealing prospect of a half-day excursion to Port Talbot.

More impressively, one lucky couple staying at a particular hotel in the Lake District are going to find a £2,000 diamond brooch on their pillow instead of the usual chocolate.  And further afield, there’s a new aphrodisiac-themed spa package in Kerala, drawing on Ayurvedic techniques to improve sexual prowess.  Even if your sex life is satisfactory you can still enjoy the wonderful facilities of the resort, which comes as something of a relief.

Of course, travel has never been an industry to let a spurious marketing opportunity pass it by  -  hence the growth of the ‘anti’ or ‘escape’ package.  This is where clever marketeers trade on a forthcoming event to promote something that has nothing whatsoever to do with it: “Escape Valentine’s Day with our romance-free coach tour of Europe’s top abbatoirs  -  you’ll never look at a heart the same way again.”

Joking aside (and I was joking in that last bit, honest), these are tough times and every hotel, tour operator or destination has to take every possible opportunity to promote itself.  So it’s entirely understandable that capitalising on any event  -  whether it be Valentine’s Day, the Royal Jubilee or the Olympics  -  is the norm.

I sometimes wonder, though, whether there is too much focus on this kind of tactical spot marketing at the expense of the bigger picture.  In the long run, wouldn’t we all be better off improving and refining the experiences the industry offers, backed up with consistent messaging, to ensure their year-round appeal?

From a travel PR perspective, it’s largely driven by what the media want.  We know that the national newspaper travel sections and websites will have their round-ups of Valentine’s Day deals come what may.  Do we play the game, or stand back and allow the competition to hog all the column inches?  Game on, of course.

Ultimately, I would love to know how many people actually book the special ‘romance’ packages you see mentioned in the newspapers, or whether they function simply as a means of increasing brand awareness.  Perhaps they have a positive impact on general bookings, whether around 14^th February or not.

I’ll probably give them a miss myself though.  My wife and I will be spending Valentine’s Day evening at home with the TV and an M&S ‘Dine In For £10’ meal for company, still trying to finish the last of the wine we over-bought for our wedding last May.

Who said romance was dead?

by Darren Parry, Representation Account Manager – The Saltmarsh Partnership

News that the Government is about to spend £4 million on an advertising drive to encourage the British to stay in the UK to watch the Olympics this summer has rightly caused consternation among outbound operators.

Struggling through some of toughest travel trading conditions most of us have ever known, the travel industry really doesn’t need anything else to dampen people’s desire to holiday overseas. Indeed, on top of APD and other controls, some have described it as a kick in the teeth.

OK, it is only two weeks out of 52 but what is described as the biggest-ever domestic tourism TV campaign, rolling out in March, raises a few questions.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is quoted as saying: ‘People inside the UK are going to want to come and be part of the action, so it’s going to be an incredible period.’

If that’s the case, why does the Government feel the need to splash out £4 million in this era of massive spending cuts? The announcement came in the week after Olympic organisers LOCOG and Transport for London started issuing guidance on travel within London during the Games, highlighting road closures and ‘hot spot’ stations that are going to be rammed with travellers. While it’s great they are preparing so well, it also sent out a message that London is going to be a (more) difficult city to traverse during the Games. Certainly a case of mixed messages here.

And doesn’t it raise a wider question? The Olympics are surely the greatest show on earth. London’s successful bid was celebrated up and down the country six years ago and the effort to get the amazing Olympic venues built well on time is truly outstanding.

And the British need persuading to come to their own Games? Is this a sign of the Great British trait of enjoying knocking our own country – although we’re rightly outraged if any Johnny Foreigner dares to do so!

Personally – and speaking as someone who has Olympic event tickets and is genuinely excited at the prospect of watching them – I believe there will be a massive turn out of home audiences. Yes, some foreign tourists will be dissuaded from visiting London and droves of Brits will go overseas to escape what they fear will be mayhem.

But tens of thousands will flock to the Games, making this latest Government spending ‘initiative’ look like just a wasteful act of panic.

by Jenny Groutage, Senior Account Manager – The Saltmarsh Partnership

The Saltmarsh Partnership launched Women in Travel (WIT) in 2006 as an informal get-together of influential ladies from the media and travel industry.  Now held quarterly, it continues to thrive and last Tuesday night marked our 20^th event, attracting over 60 guests.

Attendees at WIT include representatives from domestic and international tourist boards, tour operators, airlines, other travel organisations and the media. We have ‘regulars’ who have been attending our events from the very beginning, as well as those who dip into an event whenever they can. There’s of course always a bunch of new faces too and we encourage everyone to bring friends and colleagues along.

In the past, we have been asked why, in an industry that is dominated by women, do we need a woman’s only networking event? The feedback from our regulars has always been that Women in Travel continues to be one of the most enjoyable networking events to attend – thanks to a friendly atmosphere and a ‘no pitching’ policy. In short, it’s a chance for women who work in the same industry to catch up over a glass of wine – share ideas, socialise and get up to date with the latest travel industry gossip. Some people like it, some people don’t – but we’re lucky enough to have a great bunch of regulars who keep the events entertaining, interesting and above all – useful!

Here are some Twitter highlights of this week’s event:

[View the story "Our Women in Travel Event" on Storify]

We’ve all gained some great contacts from the event – not just professionally but personally too. In fact I have just recently booked a kayaking holiday that was suggested to me by an industry colleague at our last WIT event.

The men in our office, who have had to listen to all talking about WIT for several years now, have even wondered whether they should create a Guys in Travel (GIT) event as a rival to WIT? We may need to work on the name first though …

The next WIT event will take place in March 2012. If you would like to attend, please contact Jenny or Sarah. As the event is run and funded by The Saltmarsh Partnership, we regret that we don’t currently invite any other PR agencies to attend.

by Sarah Heavens, Senior Online Communications Executive - The Saltmarsh Partnership

Follow Sarah on Twitter - @sarahheavens

2011 was an exciting year to be working in digital and social media, from the launch of Google+ to Twitter’s meteoric rise as a source of minute-by-minute news. And 2012 promises to be even better! So here are my five tips for what you should be keeping your eyes on over the next 12 months…

1. Augmented Reality

Business cards, apps, adverts, games… the potential uses for this technology are endless and very exciting. According to Visiongain within four years 25% of all mobile app downloads will feature some sort of Augmented Reality. And I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the ways it can be used for engaging and sharing by the travel industry via location sensitive apps.

If you’re not familiar with Augmented Reality, check out this cool video:

2. Twitter

Twitter is fast becoming the place to gather news, connect with industry professionals and share opinions and ideas. The network came into its own in 2011 when it showed its potential for real-time updates during the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Arab Spring and London riots [to name but a few], and I’m sure it will only continue to grow in influence and exposure. One of the big ways the platform is set to change is with an increase of advertising, via sponsored tweets and hashtags becoming more prominent and integrated into feed. Whether this is a turn off for users only time will tell.

3. Facebook Timeline

Facebook does like to change things up now and then, despite users’ opinions, and the new Timeline profiles definitely have fantastic potential – especially with the first 60 integrated apps announced this week. Facebook is also notorious for keeping its platform areas consistent, so we’re excited to see what they produce with Timeline for businesses and brands.

4. Google+

It may have more than 150 million users, but the new social network hasn’t really made its presence felt the way some early-adopters expected. But something tells me Google has something up its sleeve this year to make it more attractive to both users and businesses and, particularly with the benefits it has for SEO, it would be foolish to dismiss this platform completely.

5. Mobile browsing

And I’m not just talking about apps. In 2011 almost half of Internet users were accessing websites via their mobiles, so sooner or later those businesses and brands without mobile sites are going to start losing out. If you’re investing in your website this year, our one piece of advice would be to incorporate a mobile site, or even better a responsive site – which can tell what screen size your user is accessing from [mobile, iPad...] and lay the page out accordingly.

These are the things I’m excited to see develop in 2012, how about you?

By Geoff Saltmarsh, Managing Director,  The Saltmarsh Patnership

Follow us on Twitter - @SaltmarshPR

Amid all the continuing depressing economic doom and gloom, The Saltmarsh Partnership has created its own oasis of good news.

We go into 2012 with two major account wins under our belt, having just been appointed by Air France and over-50s specialist insurers Staysure.

We won the UK and Ireland PR account for Air France in a five-way competitive pitch. The airline operates from London Heathrow and 10 other UK and Irish airports to Paris, offering convenient connections to its global network spanning nearly 100 European destinations and 88 long-haul cities.

Our brief includes promotion of Air France London and regional operations to Paris, as well as pushing the worldwide network for leisure and business travellers and highlighting the facilities and ease of connecting with onward flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Our appointment by Staysure follows a formal tender process.

The company offers a wide product range, with key areas being travel, health and life insurance for the over 50s. One of the unique features of its travel policies is that free cover is provided for 220 pre-existing medical conditions, providing great value and potentially adding to the savings travellers can make over other companies’ policies.

Our brief includes supporting the company’s TV advertising debut later this month, as well as the promotion of the new-look website. We will also be looking to place Staysure representatives as spokespeople on a wide range of issues affecting the over-50s market.

So it’s great news for us and we go into the New Year in buoyant mood. However, we are neither smug nor complacent, as no company can afford to be in the present climate. Like many in our sector of travel public relations – and, indeed, many other sectors – 2011 was, to say the least, tough.

Thankfully, we were never in a position of having to enforce any cutbacks within our own operations but growing the business proved a real challenge. Happily, our dogged determination, continuing hard work by all of the Saltmarsh team, creativity and continuing to do what we do very well has finally paid dividends.

We’d like even more, of course, but for the moment we are delighted to welcome these two new clients and look forward to working with them and all our media colleagues.

by Tom Panagos,  Account Director – The Saltmarsh Partnership

It’s that time of the year again… only a few days left till the office closes, the year end reports are almost completed and all papers have now put their Christmas pages to bed… time to breathe out!

With front cover stories, awards and record coverage for our clients, 2011 has definitely been a good year. But that doesn’t mean that during these last 12 months we haven’t had our ups and downs (don’t we all?) – so with the new year on the doorstep, here is my wish list for 2012,  and what I’m asking Santa to bring me less (and more) of next year…

No, thanks (or, at least, less please):

-      Prima Donna behaviour: Not that long ago a journalist on one of our press trips decided the day before he was to travel not to join us as his ticket was in economy and not business class. Alas! Have some people not realised that these are not the ’90s!? And when a tourism board fully hosts a crew of four, is it really too much trouble to have dinner with your hosts on the last evening when the work is done?

-      Newspaper redundancies: It’s been going on for a while now. All newspaper travel desks are shrinking, many of them are a one-man (or woman) band and sadly it looks like there is no turning back. First the round up features became a way of life, then freelance journalists had their commissions (and their rates) slashed and now a new round of redundancies is rumoured for one of the top national papers… what next?!

-      Twitter bullying: And on the seventh day journalists discovered Twitter – and oh what a fun way it was to abuse PRs. Personally I’ve spared myself all the drama simply by not joining Twitter but there are some horrible stories out there, from journalists slagging off the very event they are attending to making their frustration public when their itinerary is not ready when they want it.  I thought that Twitter was another way of facilitating our communication with the media but apparently not everyone sees it like this.

-      Articles that take forever to come out: It took just two months for all coverage from the latest group press trip we organised to appear – and I’m sure you can all understand our enthusiasm. I do realise that some titles have a huge backlog of articles but given that 2012 will be the fourth year that we’ll be waiting for a piece to appear (the travel editor has run out of excuses so now she’ll just ignore our phone calls and emails), I do hope that this will remain the exception!

-      Freeloaders: Ok, we all love going on a trip but at some point a line must be drawn. Has anyone else worked with these journalist BFFs who exchange ideas about where they’ll get the most freebies? One of them kept referring to her press trip as her ‘holiday’, while the other asked for her two-hour orientation tour, the only activity scheduled in her three-day visit, to be cancelled. Joy!

More please…

-      New titles: Every travel PR welcomed the launch of National Geographic Traveller, we’re all thrilled that the suspension of Real Travel was only temporary and we love the idea of the Wanderlust spin offs – so let’s hope more will come in 2012. Perhaps a UK version of Travel & Leisure? Or the return of The Observer’s Escape?

-      Good manners: ITV sent to our colleague Jenny flowers the other day. For a show that they never worked on together. But Jenny had spent weeks organising a trip for them, which through no one’s fault the very last minute didn’t go ahead. Yet it was nice to see that her long hours and endless phone calls were appreciated. Although usually a simple ‘thank you’ is enough, however these days it is not to be taken for granted.

-      Meaningful industry events: Regular events such as TravMedia’s Meet the Media and Gorkana Breakfasts have now become a fixture in most PRs’ diaries – and there’s a good reason for that: valuable opportunities for networking, access to high profile journalists and insight in titles that you wouldn’t easily gain any other way. Some others, let’s be honest, are just an excuse for another piss up. Pass.

-      Newsworthy stories: We’ve had some great stories to tell this year, such as the launch of the Great Himalaya Trail (ranked by The Daily Telegraph as ‘No1 Adventure for 2011’ and described by The Guardian as “trekking’s holy grail”). To all our beloved clients – please keep them coming, media love anything new, quirky and exciting (and so do we). If they can be accompanied by amazing pictures even better! 

-      Bona fide colleagues: We’ve all heard the stories: backstabbing, account teams competing against each other, directors stealing ideas, junior members of staff getting dumped with all the work. Well, that’s not how we do it at Saltmarsh. Our meetings with the media are not exclusive to one team, we share ideas and opportunities, we suggest lovely journalists we have worked with – oh, and we all bring chocolate back to the office every time we are away.

There you have it… Now let’s make sure we speak again this time next year and see how much of the above actually happened (or not). Until then, Happy Christmas to everyone and a splendid 2012!

by Samantha Crossfield,  Senior Account Executive – The Saltmarsh Partnership

Follow Sam on Twitter - @samcrossfield

Since the announcement that the rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD) will go ahead there has been much discussion and debate about the implications it will have on the travel industry, which, due to the economic climate, has undoubtedly already had a turbulent (sorry!) year.

So it is no wonder that ABTA has urged the government to ‘give the industry a break’. It was however, slightly more surprising when four of the UK’s biggest airlines – easyJet, British Airways, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic – joined forces as the ‘Axe the Tax’ Alliance, to speak out against the rise in a joint statement. To me, such a coalition highlights the potential impact this could have on the industry as a whole.

However, I feel that it is important to remember that it is the consumers that will ultimately be footing the bill. This feels somewhat overlooked – how does the average Joe feel about the rise? If indeed they really know the implications it will have on their travel plans?

I spoke to several people about this, none of whom work in the travel industry; all of whom are experienced travellers with many trips under their belts and in the pipeline. What surprised me the most was the fact that none of them really knew about APD or the fact that it had risen. Yes, they were aware that the cost of flying had increased in recent years, but the reasons for this were inconsequential to them.

Whilst the latest increase in APD will add just a few pounds onto the cost of travellers’ flights, the British public have actually incurred an overall increase of up to 333 per cent on APD in the last six years, according to Daily Telegraph writer Charles Starmer-Smith’s article last weekend. A statistic that shows British air passengers as the most heavily taxed in the world. The fact that the government has been so candid about the fact that APD is a revenue-raiser, rather than the environmental tax it was originally sold as, merely rubs salt in the wound.

With this in mind it shocks me that there hasn’t been more gusto from the British public in fighting this rise. The Daily Mail reported in November that somewhere in the region of 6.5 million people had already booked flights after April 2012, all of whom will have to cough up more money to meet the new higher APD rate. There are campaigns such as www.handsoffourholiday.com, while The Daily Telegraph is also fighting the cause, but supporter numbers are in the thousands rather than millions, as I would expect.

Perhaps the public perspective is more in line with the thoughts of Jonathan Mitcham, travel researcher for Which?. He suggested that a couple of extra pounds isn’t likely to be a deal breaker for someone already set on taking a break away. Many people will find a way around the worst of the increases, for example by flying long-haul from a European hub.

Do I agree with the rise in APD? No. But will it stop Brits from travelling? I’m not so sure.

by Chloe Buchanan, Senior Account Executive – The Saltmarsh Partnership

Follow Chloe on Twitter - @ChloeBuchananPR

Crisis management: latest Thomas Cook advert

Having monitored the Thomas Cook saga over the past week, I can’t help but feel a little sad about its most recent attempt to restore the faith of the Great British public with a self deprecating discount for summer holidays in 2012, playing on its heritage -

‘We’ve delivered great value for 170 years – 2012 will be no different.

‘Guaranteed: £170 off any summer 2012 holiday’

In the last week alone the bookings are said to be down 30%. A last ditch £200 million loan was thrown to the troubled tour op, and although Monday was reported to be an excellent trading day, we must surely look at the long term effects of such a public crisis. (I must also add that the £200 million facility is only available until 2013 – will this be enough time for them to stabilise?)

From a Travel PR perspective here is really where the battle begins for Thomas Cook. Yes, it has bought itself a financial breathing space but it now faces the very difficult task of winning back the hearts and minds of the British public.

I think the first step, and arguably one of the most important, is getting the UK media onside about the booking and security facts. Thomas Cook needs a lot more support of the kind it received from The Sun’s travel editor, Lisa Minot, when the crisis broke:

 “It’s grim — but if you’ve booked a Thomas Cook holiday, don’t panic.

UK travellers are automatically covered by the government-backed ATOL scheme. If the worst were to happen, you WOULD be able to claim your money back. “

The difficulty for Thomas Cook is the moment they say, ‘if we fail, you’re covered’, they naturally create fresh fears.  In this instance it is much better to get the travel editors to say it for them.

Will seeing fewer of these effect customer confidence?

Also it’s about more than financial protection.  OK, so you won’t lose any cash but what about the potential inconvenience of having your holiday cancelled last-minute?  And then waiting to get your money back, effectively preventing you from booking a replacement holiday?

Clearly Thomas Cook needs to get its house in order.  Part of this is making itself leaner and healthier. The problem is, the public will see 200 fewer Thomas Cook shops on the high street and will read stories of job losses.  Will they see this as a sign that Thomas Cook is tackling its problems to emerge stronger – or will it simply reinforce the perception that the company is in trouble?

Thomson's ad response to the Thomas Cook crisis

Ultimately, making their holidays unbeatable on price is probably the only way to guarantee they get bookings in the short-term.  But the ruthlessness shown by their rivals (witness the TUI and Ryanair ads) will ensure it’s a fight all the way.  Hopefully for Thomas Cook it won’t be a fight to the death.

by Amelia Astley Birtwistle,  Account Executive – The Saltmarsh Partnership

Follow Amelia on Twitter - @a_birtwistle

There was a noticeable decrease in the number of travel journalists attending this year’s World Travel Market  -  but with more travel bloggers than ever before, we were still kept pretty busy!

My contact book is now bursting with bloggers interested in our clients… Yet I’m still wading through the issue of what we should expect from an online trip and how do you identify the genuine and truly influential bloggers, and those who are just after a free holiday?

At The Saltmarsh Partnership we have run a number of online media trips this year with fantastic results – working with The Bald Hiker and Wild Junket just to name two. And we’re always keen to be contacted by bloggers for information and possible trips. However, judging the credibility of a blogger straight off is much more difficult than, say, a freelancer with a commission from The Independent.

I am not in any way devaluing what bloggers offer. They can provide fantastic coverage and a lot of great ‘noise’ about a destination. But the truth is that anyone can set up a blog. Making that blog great takes skill. So when we’re approached we need to see evidence of a site’s reputation, reliability and influence before we send them on a trip.

We need to be able to explain to our client why this blogger deserves flights, accommodation and any other assistance. A print journalist, for example, will give us an indication of the expected coverage in a word count or number of pages.

So this is the type of information we need from bloggers, and the kind of details we would gather before pitching a trip to a blog:
• The blog focus and how our client fits with its audience
• Unique viewer statistics per month
• Details of the social media surrounding the blog – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube…
• What kind of content can be provided during and after the trip

There’s no doubt that the influence of key bloggers is growing all the time. The travel PR industry is now starting to get into dedicated blogger group trips, just as we have always run group press trips. For me these work best around a particular theme - family, budget, walking, etc - because when two or three key influencers begin to interact online with each other and their respective followers, the exposure for our client can be massive.

For us, the trick is taking the time to ensure we are actually working with the great, well written and engaging blogs. Getting it wrong could lead to a costly and unproductive project. Blaggers beware!

By Geoff Saltmarsh, Managing Director,  The Saltmarsh Patnership

Follow us on Twitter - @SaltmarshPR

Christmas is nearly here. I know that because World Travel Market is over for another year.

This goliath landmark in the travel industry calendar comes round again all too quickly doesn’t it, bringing with it the usual pressures, workload, long days and aching feet?

As a leading travel and tourism public relations company, The Saltmarsh Partnership is naturally heavily involved. This year was a particularly busy and successful one for us, with six clients participating. Happily, all of our plans came to full fruition, with a busy schedule of trade meetings and successful events for such clients as Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Aruba Tourism Authority, Visit Iceland and Pierre & Vacances.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau's WTM stand

We even had superb icing on the cake when at the Caribbean Travel Journalism Awards four of the seven awards were for editorial coverage resulting from press trips we organised to Dominica and Montserrat. We reckon this underlines our great knack of planning itineraries that exactly meet the needs of the media while showcasing key elements of the destination.

Colin Piper and Sammy Smith from Discover Dominica Authority with Mark Stratton, winner of the award for ‘Best consumer feature’ for his Dominica article in Wanderlust

But one other thing struck me about WTM this year. It seemed quieter than I ever remember it. While our forward scheduling of meeting reaped the usual dividends and our client stands were busy, this did not seem to be reflected across the whole show – Thursday was particularly subdued.

I also had the feeling from a number of exhibitors that WTM needs to change. One of our clients pulled out this year and another is thinking of doing so and I cannot believe they are alone.

A comment from several exhibitors was that consideration should be given to reverting to the original WTM formula of holding consumer days after the trade show to enable exhibitors to maximise on their considerable investment in attending.

Pierre & Vacances' popular wine and cheese event

There were also the usual grumbles about the cost of everything at WTM, including the catering where exhibitors are required to use the in-house company.

In these difficult economic times and when the tourism industry has so many more marketing weapons at its disposal, one can only hope that WTM organisers will listen to these comments with renewed attention.

WTM lost some of its sparkle this year and it is coming under even closer scrutiny.