One significant trend noted at the recent AITO meeting was the decline in influence of the mainstream media. Tour operators used to crack open magnums (magni?) of champagne if they spotted a feature about one of their products in a national newspaper.
While it might still cheer the marketing department on a Friday afternoon, a couple of members told me the end result these days is often no more valuable to their business than taking out a classified advert.
Figures today show a continued decline in newspaper sales, but equally significant is the reader’s decreasing trust in newspaper content.
This is another compelling argument for travel operators to engage directly with the public and ramp down on pricey PR press pitches.
Tags: public relations, reputation management, press relations, travel
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