The public awareness program

Successful implementation of a tourism program involves two distinct promotional efforts. Naturally, you must promote your community to the traveling public, a task discussed in Marketing tourism. Less obvious, but of equal importance is promoting tourism to your own community. This is accomplished through the community awareness program.

The purposes of advertising have been described as to inform, to persuade, and to remind. It is helpful to think of the community awareness program along the same lines. The community should be informed of the benefits of tourism and the nature of the tourism organization's activities. They may need to be persuaded these benefits are worth the cost. Finally, they must be reminded of the program from time to time and brought up to date on its progress, just to keep them "in the fold".

Some might question the allocation of resources to this task. A possible challenge is: "Spend the dollars or time devoted to the public awareness program on advertising to tourists; the benefits will speak for themselves". This seems ill-advised for several reasons.

Community leaders are likely to have mixed feelings toward tourists and tourism. An early effort to bring people on board may be necessary before a concerted effort at promoting the community is possible.

The benefits people receive from tourism differ in degree and kind. For those actually collecting tourist money, the advantages are obvious. Second order, or multiplier effects are more subtle and difficult to identify; even experts do not agree as to their magnitude. These may not be recognized without careful and thorough explanation. It may appear community resources are being spent to benefit the owners of a few attractions, restaurants and hotels.

The public awareness program is extremely important and should be planned and initiated before beginning to promote the area to vacationers. A manufacturer wouldn't advertise a product until he had a product to advertise. In tourism, an important part of the "product" is the community's receptiveness. Developing, or reinforcing the friendly, helpful attitudes that are so essential is a task of the community relations program.

Value of tourism

A central purpose of the public awareness program will be to educate the community as to the value of tourism to the community.

Relevance

The term "community" has been used as if its population were completely homogeneous. In fact, a community is a collection of individuals, families and groups with diverse attitudes, goals, and aspirations. This diversity must be recognized in planning and conducting the public awareness program. It is important to identify the audience for a particular communication and tailor the message to its needs. A critical factor to be considered in explaining the benefits of tourism is relevance. One must analyze the interests, aspirations, backgrounds, and life styles of the audience one is addressing. Only benefits which are relevant to a particular group should be selected for emphasis.

Taking an example, an increase level of banking activity might be a benefit of tourism of interest to the financial community. It would be a ridiculous theme for a campaign directed toward disadvantaged youths; it is not a concept that is relevant to their world. Even a reduction in the unemployment level might be too remote a notion, since this audience may often have been left unemployed in periods of rapid economic expansion. A discussion of the number and kinds of new jobs this group can fill would be focused on a benefit to which they can relate.

Tourism offers many values to the community and nearly everyone gains from some of them, either directly or indirectly. While the public awareness program should help citizens recognize these benefits, not all can be explained to all audiences. It is necessary to select and stress those a particular audience experiences and to explain it at a level they can understand.

Importance

Time, resources, and the audience's capacity to absorb will limit the amount of information that can be presented in any one message or in a total campaign. In selecting benefits to be promoted, it is necessary to consider not only their relevance, but, their importance. Given limited resources, it is necessary to concentrate on educating the public about those which it will feel to be most desired.

Some benefits, such as economic growth, would be counted as important by most communities. The ranking of others, such as diversifying the economic base, would be more situational. People in most communities might acknowledge this to be desirable. Among those recognizing its desirability, persons in areas whose economies were subject to wide cyclical swings would probably rate it as highly important. Were the local economy "recession proof", diversification would probably be of minor interest.

The importance attached to particular values may vary widely among groups within a single town or city. Again, it is necessary to tailor the message to the audience. All may agree expanding the property tax base would be a good thing. Homeowners and businessmen are likely to feel this is a highly important benefit while apartment dwellers would probably place it far down on their list of priorities.

Every benefit is of interest to someone. In communicating with an audience, it is necessary to concentrate on those they are likely to consider important.

A sort of filtering process has been described. First, all benefits of tourism are considered. In developing a message for a particular group those values that are relevant to their lives and goals are identified. This reduced list is then ordered as to probable importance and the important values are emphasized in the public awareness program.

Understanding the tourist

In addition to building acceptance of tourism, the public awareness program must help the community to understand the tourist. This involves two separate topics: understanding who the tourists are, and their problems, and understanding their motives for journeying to the area.

Tourists and their problems

It is important for residents to know what kinds of people are coming into your area. This will involve various methods of informing the community of the demographic and economic characteristics of visitors and of their geographic origins. In many instances, these profiles will show travelers do not differ markedly from the area's own population. Similarities can be emphasized to facilitate acceptance of visitors.

Where differences affecting tourists relations with the community do occur, they should be explained so as to be understood and accepted. These may be illustrated with two differences that are certain to be encountered: the tourist is from somewhere else and he is on vacation. Geographic differences exist and affect individual tastes and preferences as well as speech and behavior. In the US, Northerners' brisk manner and more rapid speech may seem rude, and even insulting to natives of a southern locale. The most sophisticated of southerners may be branded as a "hick" in the north because of his drawl. To the uninitiated, a New Yorker's praise may sound less friendly than a Georgian's insults. Residents must be educated to expect and respond appropriately to these differences.

"The tourist is you" has been mentioned several times as a possible theme for a public awareness program. We frequently observe those on vacation acting differently than they would at home. Those visiting your community are probably no worse, and no better than your own residents vacationing elsewhere. Realistically, the theme should be qualified to "The tourist is you, on vacation".

Three factors seem helpful in understanding these modes of behavior: normlessness, strangeness and pressure. We will illustrate these with a simple case of undesirable behavior; dumping trash in a park.

Normlessness. Solid citizens, who live amidst meticulously trimmed suburban lawns and complain about school children dropping an occasional gum wrapper, can be observed indiscriminately strewing trash when on vacation. Normlessness is frequently offered as an explanation. The idea is that once the individual is away from the restraining influence of friends, neighbors and associates, his true (animal) nature emerges.

This explanation obviously rests upon a pessimistic view of human nature. If it is appropriate, there is little the community can do to prevent the behavior. Yet it is important for the community to understand some visitors, like some residents, will respond in this manner. As in raising children, it helps to know about the various phases you should expect, even if you can do little to influence them.

Strangeness. The traveler is in a new and strange environment. Odd, and normally unacceptable acts may merely be a response to unfamiliar circumstances. Taking the trash example, the visitor might willingly have deposited his litter in a garbage receptacle if he had known where to find one. He may even have carried it around for a while looking for a place to put it. Admittedly, this example seems a little far-fetched. The important thing is to realize people respond differently and, perhaps unpredictably, to unfamiliar circumstances.

Pressure. Americans supposedly go on vacation to relax and get away from the restraints and pressures of everyday life. They then set a grueling pace for themselves. The resulting pressures may be as great as those they face during their normal routine and of a sort they are not accustomed to handling. An executive who competently manages tens or hundreds of subordinates may be completely frustrated by the pressures of controlling his own children on a full-time basis. The trash dumper may have been a person who is normally neat and orderly responding to unfamiliar pressures. Similarly, kind and considerate individuals may behave rudely as a result of cumulative frustrations.

While the example, trash, seems trivial, there is an important principle involved. The more the community understands and attempts to alleviate the problems of tourists, the fewer the problems the community will have. Normlessness can be reduced if the tourist feels those he meets are interested in him. If he has been befriended by someone in the area, he is less likely to act objectionably. Emphasize the necessity of responding readily to questions, even if they seem absurd; they are very real to the person making the inquiry. It may not be apparent to everyone passing through that the cute op-art frogs with gaping mouths are trash cans. By easing the frustrations and pressures of traveling, your community can reduce the number of unpleasant incidents with tourists. Maybe the litter in the park did not get there by careless dumping. Maybe, to borrow an American term from the late sixties, it was a case of (subconscious) trashing!

Understanding tourists' motives

We are all familiar with the biblical golden rule. George Bernard Shaw's comment is less well-known, "Don't do unto others as you would have them do unto you; they may not share your taste". Both are relevant to understanding and responding to the tourist. It is important for the community to understand tourists are families much like their own, rather than a mob or rude, intrusive litterbugs. Visitors appreciate and will respond to friendly, courteous treatment.

On the other hand people differ. The area's primary appeal might not be one that would attract its own residents, were they vacationing in the region. People in the community must be helped to understand, and accept as legitimate, the various reasons visitors do come.

Suppose the major attraction is a geological feature that is only of real interest to those with formal training in geology. Residents would not be likely to share visitors' enthusiasm. They might even feel anyone willing to spend good money to come and "look at the silly rock" is a little weird. A task of the public awareness program is to help the community understand and be supportive of travelers' interests even though they do not share them.

Further, even though an area may have a central appeal, say flat water recreation, different aspects will appeal to different travelers. The community must be made aware of the multifaceted nature of its offering. Imagine the plight of the tourist who hates fishing and is only seeking a little solitude, when he is cornered for a 30 minute discourse on the best fishing techniques.

This facet of the public awareness program is largely a matter of promoting the area to its own citizens. Residents must understand the reasons visitors come to their community: what it has to offer. Strategies for the public awareness program are discussed below. Those encouraging the local populace to sample the area's offerings seem most appropriate for this step. These could range from distribution of brochures within the local community to programs encouraging citizens to visit its attractions.

The latter might include tours, off-season rates, resident passes and other devices encouraging local tourism.

Methods for communicating with the public

In the preceding paragraphs we discussed the message to be conveyed to the public and the necessity of tailoring these to specific audiences. Attention will now turn to methods or channels for delivering these. Channels will be categorized as passive spokesmen, personal communications, mass media, and direct experience. Before turning to specific strategies, one other, more general item should be considered.

One-sided versus two-sided arguments

How many times have you heard "There are two sides to every story"? This is as true of tourism as of any other complex issue. The problem for a communicator is whether to present only one side, "Tourism helps the economy" or both sides: "Admittedly, tourists create congestion but they help the economy". The evidence is mixed as to which strategy works best. On the one hand, a two-sided argument seems to make the communicator seem more credible. On the other, the speaker risks delivering his opponent's view to people who had not heard them.

The decision as to which strategy to adopt should be based on the prevalence of opposing views and the strengths of your counterarguments. If opposing views are not widely held or your arguments may sound weak by comparison, a one-sided approach is safer. This situation could be encountered when your case depends on complex arguments and your opponent's rests on simple, but erroneous assumptions. If negative views are commonly accepted but you can muster strong reasons for your position, there is little to lose and much to gain by a two-sided approach.

The refutational approach. If a two-sided campaign is selected, the following sequence, termed the refutational approach, has proven superior.

Two-sided campaigns have often failed by stopping after step two. Communicators apparently felt their case was so strong any thinking person would come to the desired conclusion without assistance. Many did not!

Passive spokesmen

Some strategies involve using objects, rather than words to communicate. An anecdote will explain. The commander of a major military installation was dismayed at the hostility citizens of the neighboring community displayed towards the post and his troops. Having tried various public relations activities that failed, he hit upon one final idea. He secretly arranged to have the entire command paid entirely in USD two dollar bills. The program was conducted without comment. This mass of currency silently flowing through the community demonstrated the installation's importance more powerfully than words could ever have. Best of all, the program involved almost no direct cost. It was free.

Several communities have employed variations on this theme.

Other silent salesmen, such as souvenir buttons and bumper stickers distributed free or at cost, can effectively highlight the number and importance of tourists to the economy.

Face-to-face communications

Communicating on a face-to-face basis is the most effective method of delivering a message. Most communities rely heavily on this mode in their public awareness program. This may either take place in an informal one-on-one setting or in the more structured atmosphere of a group. In the latter instance there is usually an implicit notion of a two-step process: tourism representatives meet with, or address, groups hoping the members will, in turn, convey the message to their friends and associates.

Meetings. Meetings offer an opportunity for one, or a few tourism representatives to discuss their plans, programs and problems with the citizenry. In areas where formal tourist promotion organizations exist, officials usually consider attending or addressing meetings to constitute a major portion of their responsibilities.

Examples of how this approach may be used are listed below. These fall into one of two general categories: (a) meetings held specifically to discuss tourism with interested parties, or the general population and (b) providing speakers and programs for groups formed for other purposes.

Personal communication. Except for meetings with key influential people, the purpose of the strategies outlined above is seldom only to deliver the message to the few people who attend. As we noted, there is usually some notion they will pass it along in that most effective of all communications situations: direct, one-to-one personal communication.

More structured efforts also exploit the advantages of face-to-face communication. Tourism leaders often have programs of meeting privately with key influential people on a regular basis. In other instances, personal contact has been effective in membership drives or fund raising efforts where supporters agree to quotas of new members or contributions. This is often a particularly effective method for reaching those who have recently allowed their membership or support to lapse.

Mass communication

Face-to-face communication is the most effective mode since listeners have an immediate opportunity to respond, question and clarify. Unfortunately, the time available for this task is never as great as the need and part of the task must be accomplished through the use of mass communication.

Opting to use mass communications involves trading off effectiveness for efficiency. Admittedly, the message is not delivered as effectively and completely by mass means. Yet, it is efficient in that larger numbers can be reached for a given allocation of time or money.

In discussing mass communication, it is conventional to distinguish between advertising and publicity.

Advertising. Advertising differs from publicity in that advertising is paid for while publicity is free. The most obvious use of advertising is the purchase of space in newspapers or time on radio or television. An alternative is the publication of newsletters or brochures.

Media advertising seems to be used less frequently than other modes in public awareness programs. The amount of information that can be conveyed is limited, the relative cost is high and the amount an organization can afford is frequently viewed as being so small as to have a negligible impact.

In the communications program, paid advertising seems best adapted to one-shot efforts such as countering specific criticisms. Since the use of public resources to influence the public is politically sensitive, a tourism organization may not wish to pay the cost from its own funds. Often it will be advisable for the organization's officials to coordinate campaign that is underwritten by one or several members.

Brochures and newsletters are more frequently used since their relative cost is low and larger amounts of information can be included. Examples include:

Public service spots made available by radio and television stations resemble both advertising and publicity. They are like publicity in that the time is free, like advertising, there are costs involved; the advertiser usually must prepare, or pay for the content. These can be valuable if they are offered at times when desirable audiences are available. Otherwise, the organization may find itself in the situation experienced by one federal agency.

The department was prohibited by Congress from using paid television advertising, and relied entirely upon public service time. They still had to pay the considerable cost of preparing and distributing commercials. A study revealed that, since few were watching, the total cost per viewer worked out to be greater than if the organization had purchased prime time.

Publicity. Publicity is free and is carried among the regular articles, stories or programming of the medium. Sometimes it is unsolicited. Dodge City, Kansas (USA) residents' consciousness of their heritage was raised immeasurably by the American sitcom "Gun-smoke". The Poconos area in Pennsylvania, (USA) was pleasantly surprised to be the subject of a five minute interchange about second honeymoons on another sitcom: "All in the Family”. These cases are exceptions. A successful publicity program usually requires at least as great an effort as advertising.

In considering publicity, remember media representatives are anxious to find newsworthy items of interest to their readers. This sentence contains two key ideas: "newsworthy" and "their readers". Those who have experienced difficulty getting an item published have frequently ignored one or both.

An item must be news. The day to day activities of the organization or its officers usually do not qualify. The appointment of a new director may be an exciting event for those in tourism, but most of the community will not share their enthusiasm.

Media have different audiences with different interests and items must be tailored accordingly. An agency's news releases may often be ignored because they are intended for mass distribution in the hope someone will see fit (or be desperate enough) to notice them. Higher success rates will be experienced if items are tailored for specific audiences.

Some examples of successful publicity efforts follow.

Direct experience

No method of building the community's appreciation of its attraction and of tourists' motives for visiting is as effective as direct experience. Many methods might be pursued to develop the public's understanding of the area's offering. Those listed below have proven effective in successful public awareness programs:

Summary

The public awareness program is largely a matter of educating the members of your community in the value of tourism. In this process it is important to tailor the message to the audience and emphasize benefits that are relevant and important to the listener. The necessity of developing an understanding of who the tourists are, their problems, and motives was noted.

The public awareness program is a communication task. One may use any or all conventional methods: personal contacts, advertising, and publicity. Facilitating resident visits to the area's attractions was viewed as particularly appropriate to building an understanding of the area's appeal and tourists' motives.

One opportunity for the community to show the tourist that he is a welcome guest in the community is to establish a Tourist Information Center.