Travel and Tourism Public Relations

With travel and tourism continuing among the top three global economic engines, the need for and opportunities in public relations in the travel and tourism industry continue to grow. Despite grim forecasts about the effects on tourism of faltering economies, terrorism, political instabilities, crime, and disease, in 2002 almost 715 million [Page 862]international tourist arrivals were registered, according to the United Nations–affiliated World Tourism Organization (WTO). This represents an increase of 22 million compared with 2001 and marks the first time that the number of international tourist arrivals has exceeded 700 million. By comparison, in 1956, when WTO first published statistics, there were 50 million worldwide international arrivals. Taking into account additional economic contributions of domestic travel, tourism in general continues to withstand tremendous challenges and remains robust overall in many nations' economies. The growth of travel and tourism public relations parallels the industry.

Eric Cohen (1972) wrote that, historically, it appears the words tourist and tourism were derived as a subcategory of traveler, historically separate from categories of travelers such as warriors, crusaders, or pilgrims. Linked to travels of English gentlemen on tour as part of their education and entertainment, the word tourist first appeared in English, with the Oxford English Dictionary dating the word tourist from 1800 and the word tourism from 1811. The word appeared as touriste in the French Robert dictionary in 1816 and tourisme in 1841, both derived from English.

A multilayered, overlapping, and interlocking distribution system of sellers and buyers of travel products makes travel and tourism big business for public relations. Travel suppliers—which include destination tourism-and-convention entities; hotels, resorts, and others providing accommodations; transportation conveyors, such as cruise lines and ships, airlines, trains, and motor coach operators; sightseeing tour operators and other ground infrastructures such as local car rental agencies, taxis, attractions, restaurants, duty-free shops, and souvenir retailers—are all travel sellers. At the other end of the travel selling-buying continuum is the traveling public, the ultimate buyers and consumers of travel products. In between are travel wholesalers and consolidators, who buy and package travel products from suppliers and then sell travel packages to retail travel agents or direct to ultimate consumer travelers, and retail travel agents, who buy travel products either directly from suppliers or from travel wholesalers or consolidators and then sell the travel products to ultimate consumer travelers.

Public relations practitioners may represent and act on behalf of any of the travel sellers—suppliers, wholesalers, or travel agents—with the purpose of building relationships with any of the travel buyers—wholesalers, travel agents, or consumers—in a bid to generate awareness, disseminate information, and attract brand preference and loyalty for the travel products represented.

Travel sellers may have public relations representation “in house” or may contract for representation with an independent firm specializing in travel and tourism public relations; it is not uncommon for travel sellers to have both in-house and external independent public relations counsel simultaneously.

Media relations with the travel industry press as well as with the consumer travel press constitute an essential element of travel and tourism public relations. Numerous publications, such as the industry newspaper Travel Weekly and industry magazines Travel Agent, Meetings and Conventions, and Conference & Incentive Travel, are widely read by travel sellers and must be serviced regularly with information about travel clients; typically such information is supplied by public relations practitioners. Similarly, the consumer travel media widely read by the traveling public, such as Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, travel sections of major consumer newspapers such as the New York Times and specialty publications such as Diversion, the magazine for physicians who travel often for pleasure, are “motivated” by public relations practitioners to “cover” their clients.

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