A Plan with a vision,
“Experience it!”Without emotion, there is no
experience!
Sustainable Cultural Tourism For Palau
Continuous flow of visitorsRepeat visitorsMore money spent per visitMore jobs createdCommunity acceptance of
roles
What is meant by “Sustainable Tourism?”
Special interest travelers who rank the arts, heritage and/or other cultural activities as one of the top five reasons for traveling.Travelers who engage in cultural tourism visit the following:
Art galleries, theatres and museumsHistoric sitesCultural events, festivals and fairsArchitectural and archaeological
treasures
What is meant by the Cultural Tourist?
Collaboration is essential between the community and tourism to ensure that tourism efforts are sustainable for the long term.
Today’s cultural travelers are not only better traveled but better educated than any previous generation of travelers. They expect more from their travel experiences – making quality and authenticity more important than ever before.
Things to know
The cultural tourist is younger, wealthier, more educated, and more technologically savvy than those of 10 years earlier.
Are more likely to have graduate degreesAre more likely to travel longer
Ages 18 to 34 are more apt than “Matures” aged 55 + to want trips where they can “learn” something (75% vs. 63%)Baby Boomers (ages 35 to 55) are most likely to participate in culturally related activities.
Things to think about
Getting involved does not mean publishing a brochure or launching a new website i.e. “promotion” is actually the final step!
It is important to know what you have and what you want to share with visitors. Then match it up.
More things to know
Challenge
How to make tourism growth not imply the destruction of cultural values and qualities.
Assessing,
Planning,
Preparing
Marketing
Steps to “success!”
Assessing,
Planning,
Preparing
Marketing
Step 1
Museums
Villages
Galleries
Ethnic Restaurants
Special Events andCraft Fairs
Fishing
Assessing Assests
Artists and Craftspeople Exhibit Works of Master
Artists like Charlie Gibbons and Sbal FranciscoStory boards and story telling
Legends: Uwab a story about a legendary giant
Surech ma Tulei is the story about two
loversMelechotech-a-chau is a
legend about a giant with…
Assessing Assests
Traditional lifestyles (dance, music)Omengat
Rock Paintings
Monoliths (a whole quest by itself)
Terraces
Assessing (Cont.)
Battlefields and Japanese occupation - Peleliu is probably the most preserved battlefield in the
Pacific occupation
Natural Resources
Rock Islands
Undersea life (diving, snorkeling)Birding (great special interest)KayakingHiking trails (stone paths)
Assessing (Cont.)
Visitor Services:LodgingRestaurantsShops (indigenous or locally
made story boards, etc.)Infrastructure:
Information center open every dayPublic restroomsSignageCollege
Assessing (Cont.)
While the missions of the various organizations are different, can all agree on common ground for developing a cultural heritage tourism partnership?
What can and will each organization contribute?
Are the financial resources required available?
Challenge
Assessing,
Planning,
Preparing
Marketing
Step 2
Who?
How?
Plan & Organize
Articulate specific steps to accomplish measurable goals and
objectives
Outline the budget and the allocation of funds
Identify responsible individuals or groups
Calendar of benchmarks
The Plan should…
Who do you want to target?
General group tours (scuba, and special interest groups like birders, rock
paintings, etc.)Families
Adult couples
From where? When?
Who?
First Step – Database
Learn as much as possible about visitors
“The Market”Learn as much as possible about asset resources
“The Product”
The Plan
How to capture?What information should be collected?
How to keep it updated?Identify resources – Inventory of assetsSources: local historian, arts council, newspaper editor, chamber of commerce, TV station, etc.Artists – studio toursStory telling – settlement, legends (story boards) HistoryMuseum archives: photos, videos, artifacts, legends
Database Information
Special wholesale tour rates
Who is target customer?
Asset mapping – a way to see if attractions and visitor services can be combined into a cultural
itinerary
When would visitors not be welcome at events?
Specific themes
Develop tour Itineraries
Build a “consensus” in the community that supports cultural tourism
Bring in all the “movers and shakers”
Local government involvement– Additional leadership and funding
Outside organizations and people who can supply additional expertise and resources
Human Resources
Newspaper – write guest editorials TV – interviews and news coverage Surveys – send out to local residents
asking for opinionsBrainstorm cultural tourism
strategiesOrganize visits to other regions that have
cultural programsBring in speakers who have been successful in how to achieve results
Building a “consensus”
Create a cultural tourism “mission”
Don’t underestimate how long it will take to achieve financial viability and reach new
markets
Self surveyWhat are the greatest cultural opportunities?What are the greatest challenges?Note: lack of internet access in hotels a severe limitation,signage – needs improvement
Five year goal, 18 month goal with measurable results
Mission
Financial Resources - Long term goal is stable funding
From where?Public fundsGrants and loansDuesAccess fees to databasesOther
Economics
Assessing,
Planning,
Preparing
Marketing
Step 3
How to make Palau hospitable to visitors?REMEMBER: Visitors take home memories. Much of the pleasure of a trip comes from how the visitor is treated.
How to make Palau’s history, culture and natural resources EMOTIONAL
to visitors?How to make Palau’s physical resources
physically available to visitors?Pilot ProgramWalk ThruEvaluation
Prepare, Protect and Manage
Cannot be purchased individually or locally
Be able to accommodate 10 to 20 individuals, who are:Well traveled, highly educatedInterested in “specific” themes (diving, art, birding, eco, etc.)
Note: “the Special Interest” may not have anything necessarily common to Palau (e.g. a quilting group)
Wide range of agesLow cancellation ratesNot rate sensitiveHigh value on sustainable tourismSold directly through tour operatorsGuide Book for tour operators
“TA DA”, Something “Special”
Assessing,
Planning,
Preparing
Marketing
Step 4
Develop a multi-year, many tiered marketing plan
Goal: Reach specific target markets
Marketing
Gather information
Create database and restricted access to it
Create Image Library
Interface with infrastructure in Palau
Create “Package” Plan elements
Market to tour operators and special interest groups
The “Experience it!” Plan
Baby BoomersBorn between 1944 – 1963
Note: this group likely still employed!Generate highest travel volumeSpend more on trips than other age
groupsBest travel packages:
Special Interest, Family travel, Cultural,
easy to purchase packages
Specific market targets
Cultural Heritage TravelerOlderMore affluentBetter educatedSpend moreStay longerNot always motivated primarily by cultural
heritage activitiesVisit museumsEngage in more activitiesSold through tour operators either as group
or independent package
Market targets (cont.)
Mature TravelerAge 55 or olderStay away from home longerHigh discretionary incomeHigh potential for growth (baby boomer
market)Sold as “group”, “soft adventure”, or
“special interest tours”
Market targets (cont.)
Solo Travelers – Not a primary target!
One fourth of US travelers vacationed by themselves in the past three years
Explore at own paceSold thru independent tour
itineraries
Market targets (cont.)
Public RelationsPress kitEducational tours for travel
writersImage library
AdvertisingCompelling message and
supporting visualsAppropriate media
Components of Marketing Plan
Graphic MaterialsImage package that can easily be
transferred to graphic materialsLogoWebsitePrint brochures (who is the audience?)Develop and print “special” itinerariesPromotionsTravel industry showsConsumer trade shows
Components (cont.)
Possible “Experiences”Village visit to Anguar withMealDancingStory telling ( and cultural sharingOmengat is different, how?)
Overnight on PeleliuBattlefield tour following day
When they get here…
Home stay
Fishing day with local fisherman
Museum behind the scenes visit with artifacts and story telling
Turtle hatching visit on Kayangle
More possible "Experiences"
“Much more can be accomplished by working together than by working alone.
Successful cultural heritage tourism programs bring together partners who may not have worked together in the past.”
Experience it!
Much of this presentation has been drawn from materials
supplied from “Cultural Heritage Tourism” by Heritage Tourism Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation - Used with permission.
Special thanks to the family of Megan for inviting me to her Omengat and Motol’s family for the Omengat photograph of her sister.
Peleliu photographs from WWII Multimedia Databasehttp://www.worldwar2database.com/ with permission
Aerial photographs by Vanessa Overton
Storyboards and bird stamp photos from the web
All other photography by Mick Hutchins
Acknowledgements
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