Trends - the rise of rail travel
Globally consumer travel behaviours and values are shifting.
We have been talking about slow travel for years, but like many things, covid-19 has accelerated consumers desire to take things more slowly, and as an industry and marketers many are clambering to catch up.
So what is slow travel? It’s about slowing down, taking the time to embrace the journey as much as the destination. It’s about catching a train rather than a plane, and not coming home from a holiday exhausted.
Research out of the UK is suggesting people are taking longer trips less often, the journey increasingly part of the holiday experience, and train travel continuing to gain modest market share.
With flights throughout Europe relatively short, many travellers are asking if they would be better environmentally and financially to travel by train.
Emissions from long distance rail is 20 times less than a commercial flight, with lawmakers in France exploring banning short-haul internal flights where train alternatives exist to reduce carbon emissions.
To further amplify interest in train travel and the environmental benefits, the European Union have claimed 2021 as the Year of Rail, further building consideration of train travel as an alternative to other transport types.
While the EU campaign is building on a solid base of customers, it is reaching a new target market with a narrative around being ‘green, safe and smart'. The campaign is positioning train travel as innovative, a transport solution for the future and the socially responsible transport option when travelling though Europe for business and leisure.
Around the world, tourism will continue to undergo transformation as consumer behaviours and values shift. Slow travel and a renewed love affair with train travel based on being green, safe and smart is just one the changes we are seeing and opportunity for the future.
Each month Roadmap Strategy will explore an emerging trends in marketing and tourism. Subscribe to our enewsletter at roadmapstrategy.com.au to keep in touch.
EU Year of Rail promotional video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAlD_79XmfA
Roadmap Strategy can help you navigate the future
Roadmap Strategy is a Marketing Partner agency based in South Melbourne.
We can help you with your marketing and brand strategy, or a completely outsourced marketing solution including creative, branding, social media and advertising.
We also offer marketing mentoring for CEO’s, marketing leaders and their teams to help build your business’ marketing muscle.
We’d love the opportunity to discuss the best way to help you achieve your business goals, by helping you as little or as much as you need.
Alison McDowell
Director, Roadmap Strategy
Growing your market share in a recession
Did your business successfully adapt your product, your channel to market, and maintain and attract new customers over the past two years? McKinsey & Company recently reported 75% of consumers switched to a new store, product or buying method during the pandemic.
With a bumpy ride forecast for 2022, and we grapple with a recession, businesses need to continue to adapt and adjust to their customers needs as we navigate the future.
While Roadmap Strategy are strong advocates for having a long term vision and plan, we encourage you to regularly check in on your plan to ensure you are still on track, or you need to adjust your path forward.
Consider the following
1. Do you need to adjust your business goals?
2. Have your customers’ needs changed?
3. Does your product need to be adjusted?
4. Can your marketing effort deliver better results?
Easy cost savings are in marketing – however ruthless cutting marketing spend is a mistake, and one that you will likely pay for in the long term, and maybe never recover from. Brands who stop advertising (go dark), loose their share of voice in the market, their customers forget about them and move to alternative brands.
On the flip side, businesses who maintain or grow their advertising spend during recessions not only set the company up to survive the recession, but they thrive in the period that follows.
This result has nothing to do with the recession, it has everything to do with advertising share of voice. Simplistically, if you are the only brand in the market advertising and promoting yourselves, your brand becomes the only brand in the segment for the consumer.
While during the recession it is likely you will experience a reduced return on your advertising investment, you will likely increase market share, and once the economy improves your chance to maintain market share is strong.
However, if you go dark, you risk a competitor or alternative product grabbing your customers attention, and the place in their heart that you once owned.
We can help you navigate the future
Roadmap Strategy is a Marketing Partner agency based in South Melbourne.
We can help you with your marketing and brand strategy, or a completely outsourced marketing solution including creative, branding, social media and advertising.
We also offer marketing mentoring for CEO's, marketing leaders and their teams to help build your business' marketing muscle.
We'd love the opportunity to discuss the best way to help you achieve your business goals, by helping you as little or as much as you need.
Alison McDowell
Director
Recognising excellence in tourism
The Victorian Tourism Awards represent an industry framework for peer recognition which fosters a culture for business development excellence and innovation.
Operating for over 30 years, more than 4,000 businesses have entered the awards. This year, for the first time VTIC have released a list of our 2021 Victorian Tourism Award finalists.
Well done to all the businesses who entered this year’s awards, and congratulations to the finalists
Finalists – 2021 Victorian Tourism Awards
*Please note: the above list does not include individual categories (29-30-31).
Our founder, Alison McDowell has been a judge for the Victorian Tourism Awards for the past seven years.
A tourism veteran, Ali is passionate about understanding what visitors value, and working with destinations and businesses to understand how to adapt and connect with consumers and visitors to achieve their business goals.
Alison is an experienced and multi-talented marketer across private, franchise, mutual and not for profit industries that include tourism, travel, accommodation, conservation, attractions, membership, events, agriculture and engineering.
Her corporate career has involved Director of Marketing, Communication and Digital Strategy for Zoos Victoria and National Marketing Manager for BIG4 Holiday Parks, giving me a strong background in complex brand strategy, target marketing and membership strategy, stakeholder engagement, and innovation and technology driven performance improvement.
Alison earned a Masters of Commerce (Marketing) and a Graduate Certificate in Competitive Systems and Practices (LEAN), is a Judge for the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards, Co-Founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip, and a past Industry Board Member and Acting Chair for Business Without Borders for Swinburne University of Technology.
To discuss your needs and how Roadmap Strategy can help your business, give Ali McDowell, our Founder a call on 0411 135 317 or email alison@roadmapstrategy.com.au