The Balearics division of the Spanish met office has explained that there is an average of 300 lightning strikes onto Mallorcan land or sea per annum and that the Tramuntana mountains and the north-east of the island are the most affected. The met office has issued general recommendations to avoid being struck by lightning and to take precautions at home or in the office, such as switching off electrical appliances (internet routers and computers should definitely be switched off during a storm).
See more: Diario de Mallorca
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Pressure Of Tourism Recommendation
Another day, another barometer. The barometer used to be a contraption hanging on the wall in your great aunt's house that was intended to measure something to do with weather. Next to it would hang a piece of old seaweed, and consulting a combination of the two would lead to the conclusion that it was about to snow or to be 80 degrees (in old money). It was a de rigueur wall adornment for great aunts' houses, a device employed not solely as a means of weather forecasting but as a guide to the daily arthritis bulletin and as a way of keeping small children quiet while they stood and stared at the damn thing in the hope that its gauge might move.
The barometer has been updated for the modern marketing era. It is now what used to be called a survey. And in keeping with modern times, the barometer has gone European. The European Commission's "Eurobarometer" not only has 27 member-state points on its changing-conditions compass it also has those for wannabe EU members, for couldn't-care-less, not-about-to-be EU members (Norway) and for members that have no chance of being members as they are not European (Israel).
The thirty-four member and non-member states have been surveyed - sorry, barometered - as to what their people think about tourism. The Commission does this each year, which is good of them, and no one of course takes any notice of the results. Oddly though, the 2012 barometer might just demand slightly more attention than usual.
Most of it is almost totally pointless, as in, for example, the discovery that 48% of respondents the length and breadth of the European Union and other parts of Europe as well as parts that aren't Europe go on holiday for rest and recreation. Well, not entirely pointless, as what are the other 52% doing?
You will be able to amaze your friends with the knowledge, as I am being good enough to tell you, that the Czechs, with a huge 65% of the vote, come in at number one in saying that natural features, including weather, would make them revisit the same holiday destination. This is a full 7% lead over the Dutch in second place. Coming in tailed off in this category are the people of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. A lousy 24% rated natural features, which makes one wonder what would entice a Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian to go on holiday anywhere. Or perhaps they mistook the Eurobarometer question for the Eurovision Song Contest and gave the answer as "Serbia".
Reassuring for Spain and therefore Mallorca among all this barometering is that Spain is the most visited country. And given that the Brits are so important to the local tourism industry, it might be noted the UK is Eurobarometer champion in the quality of accommodation as a reason for revisiting a destination category. 48% of Brits are happy with accommodation, while the Estonians are the least happy, a miserly 12%.
Where the Eurobarometer does get interesting, and trust me that it does, is the bit about how holidaymakers come to make decisions about where to go on holiday and what influences this decision. What do you think? A TV ad perhaps? A magazine article? Both do, but to nothing like the degree that you might think. The most important influence is personal recommendation. 52% of respondents are swayed by the views of friends, colleagues or relatives. A mere 7% are influenced by either a TV ad or by something in a magazine or guidebook.
If this isn't a persuasive case for the power of word of mouth over other forms of promotion, it would be hard to know what it is. And it is the combination of word of mouth and technology that makes for a powerful means of tourism selling. We're back of course to social media and to how they are defined.
40% of respondents also say that an internet site influenced them. Of this 40%, you can be pretty sure that Trip Advisor or something similar was one of these sites. It differs from the obvious social media, but Trip Advisor is very much a part of broader social marketing via the internet or mobiles. And its recommendations are from those who travellers don't know personally (as are its recommendations to avoid a destination).
The conclusion from this is clear. Forget the expensive TV ads. When it comes to tourism promotion, harness the power of word of mouth and the media which enable it. This is the barometer of the change in how holidays are chosen. And it is a change across the whole of Europe.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The barometer has been updated for the modern marketing era. It is now what used to be called a survey. And in keeping with modern times, the barometer has gone European. The European Commission's "Eurobarometer" not only has 27 member-state points on its changing-conditions compass it also has those for wannabe EU members, for couldn't-care-less, not-about-to-be EU members (Norway) and for members that have no chance of being members as they are not European (Israel).
The thirty-four member and non-member states have been surveyed - sorry, barometered - as to what their people think about tourism. The Commission does this each year, which is good of them, and no one of course takes any notice of the results. Oddly though, the 2012 barometer might just demand slightly more attention than usual.
Most of it is almost totally pointless, as in, for example, the discovery that 48% of respondents the length and breadth of the European Union and other parts of Europe as well as parts that aren't Europe go on holiday for rest and recreation. Well, not entirely pointless, as what are the other 52% doing?
You will be able to amaze your friends with the knowledge, as I am being good enough to tell you, that the Czechs, with a huge 65% of the vote, come in at number one in saying that natural features, including weather, would make them revisit the same holiday destination. This is a full 7% lead over the Dutch in second place. Coming in tailed off in this category are the people of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. A lousy 24% rated natural features, which makes one wonder what would entice a Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonian to go on holiday anywhere. Or perhaps they mistook the Eurobarometer question for the Eurovision Song Contest and gave the answer as "Serbia".
Reassuring for Spain and therefore Mallorca among all this barometering is that Spain is the most visited country. And given that the Brits are so important to the local tourism industry, it might be noted the UK is Eurobarometer champion in the quality of accommodation as a reason for revisiting a destination category. 48% of Brits are happy with accommodation, while the Estonians are the least happy, a miserly 12%.
Where the Eurobarometer does get interesting, and trust me that it does, is the bit about how holidaymakers come to make decisions about where to go on holiday and what influences this decision. What do you think? A TV ad perhaps? A magazine article? Both do, but to nothing like the degree that you might think. The most important influence is personal recommendation. 52% of respondents are swayed by the views of friends, colleagues or relatives. A mere 7% are influenced by either a TV ad or by something in a magazine or guidebook.
If this isn't a persuasive case for the power of word of mouth over other forms of promotion, it would be hard to know what it is. And it is the combination of word of mouth and technology that makes for a powerful means of tourism selling. We're back of course to social media and to how they are defined.
40% of respondents also say that an internet site influenced them. Of this 40%, you can be pretty sure that Trip Advisor or something similar was one of these sites. It differs from the obvious social media, but Trip Advisor is very much a part of broader social marketing via the internet or mobiles. And its recommendations are from those who travellers don't know personally (as are its recommendations to avoid a destination).
The conclusion from this is clear. Forget the expensive TV ads. When it comes to tourism promotion, harness the power of word of mouth and the media which enable it. This is the barometer of the change in how holidays are chosen. And it is a change across the whole of Europe.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
I Know What I Like
The internet’s strength is its weakness. This is no more apparent than when it comes to recommendations. They are available for everything, a cyber extension of the traditional testimonial of the printed advert and media: worldwide web word of mouth. A personal recommendation is every bit as powerful as an advert alone or the superlatives of a brochure. Which brings me to holidays. Planning a holiday nowadays has taken on the guise of researching for a degree. Source material, be it recommendation or other, is to be sifted and interpreted. Which bar, which restaurant, which excursion, which hotel, which resort, which country?
The bar or restaurant recommendation is hardly critical. It is also generally very useful, even if it is subjective: it facilitates decision-making once in the resort. If it turns out not to be to one’s taste, the investment has not been great. A resort on the other hand. As with all recommendations, the resort recommendation can be both for or against: it has the power to persuade a purchase or to deter.
Recommendations are subjective, an expression of personal taste, attitude or experience. They can also be prejudicial. Recently I read a remark in response to an enquirer who was looking for advice on resort choice in Mallorca. The remark concerned Alcudia. It went something like this: Alcudia is a single long street with a bridge, and bars few are far between. It misrepresented not only The Mile (to which the description applied) but also the whole of Alcudia. The enquirer seemed to take the non-recommendation at face value. I thought about correcting this impression, but I stopped when I realised I would have been responding to something which had offended me. It was as though my territory had been invaded. And herein lies the rub. Take a different example. Magaluf. Nowhere in Mallorca arouses a greater divide of opinion. There is no grey with Magaluf. Get a negative comment about Magaluf, and there is a howl of protest, defending the place. Territorialism and defence. It is as though one’s territory or choice has been attacked – the choice of where one lives, works or chooses to go on holiday. The leap to defence is a basic instinct.
In the case of some recommendations, there is a sense of “I know what you’ll like”, despite the fact that the one doing the recommending has little clue as to what the other person really likes or dislikes. It can stem from the same mindset as the need to defend: it is essentially the same side of the coin.
A holiday is a hefty investment. The recommendation is very useful, no question about that, but the choice cannot or should not be based on one opinion or on limited information. The strength of the internet lies in the breadth of opinion, the weakness – if it is allowed – lies in the subjectivity and prejudice that can inform opinion.
To matters political for those of who have been following the Unio Mallorquina succession issue. Surprise, surprise, Miquel Nadal, having dropped out of the running, complaining that he could not work with other runners, has been named the new president, and his rivals, including Alcudia’s mayor, Miquel Ferrer, have secured senior roles, Ferrer as secretary-general. Politics: the same anywhere.
QUIZ
Yesterday – David Cassidy, and the original was by The Young Rascals. Today’s title – the line continues “and I know what I like”. Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The bar or restaurant recommendation is hardly critical. It is also generally very useful, even if it is subjective: it facilitates decision-making once in the resort. If it turns out not to be to one’s taste, the investment has not been great. A resort on the other hand. As with all recommendations, the resort recommendation can be both for or against: it has the power to persuade a purchase or to deter.
Recommendations are subjective, an expression of personal taste, attitude or experience. They can also be prejudicial. Recently I read a remark in response to an enquirer who was looking for advice on resort choice in Mallorca. The remark concerned Alcudia. It went something like this: Alcudia is a single long street with a bridge, and bars few are far between. It misrepresented not only The Mile (to which the description applied) but also the whole of Alcudia. The enquirer seemed to take the non-recommendation at face value. I thought about correcting this impression, but I stopped when I realised I would have been responding to something which had offended me. It was as though my territory had been invaded. And herein lies the rub. Take a different example. Magaluf. Nowhere in Mallorca arouses a greater divide of opinion. There is no grey with Magaluf. Get a negative comment about Magaluf, and there is a howl of protest, defending the place. Territorialism and defence. It is as though one’s territory or choice has been attacked – the choice of where one lives, works or chooses to go on holiday. The leap to defence is a basic instinct.
In the case of some recommendations, there is a sense of “I know what you’ll like”, despite the fact that the one doing the recommending has little clue as to what the other person really likes or dislikes. It can stem from the same mindset as the need to defend: it is essentially the same side of the coin.
A holiday is a hefty investment. The recommendation is very useful, no question about that, but the choice cannot or should not be based on one opinion or on limited information. The strength of the internet lies in the breadth of opinion, the weakness – if it is allowed – lies in the subjectivity and prejudice that can inform opinion.
To matters political for those of who have been following the Unio Mallorquina succession issue. Surprise, surprise, Miquel Nadal, having dropped out of the running, complaining that he could not work with other runners, has been named the new president, and his rivals, including Alcudia’s mayor, Miquel Ferrer, have secured senior roles, Ferrer as secretary-general. Politics: the same anywhere.
QUIZ
Yesterday – David Cassidy, and the original was by The Young Rascals. Today’s title – the line continues “and I know what I like”. Who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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