Selling the 'Sizzle'

OK... so you have read my ramblings and history lessons, but the JTB managed to attract visitors by appeasing or stimulating their minds with beautiful images and slogans. They have also offered excellent Hospitality-this of course will distract visitors from the grueling social instability and economic problems that the country faces on daily basis.

According to Wilcox et al in the book Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, Travel PR involves 3 steps:

- Stimulating the public’s desire to visit a place
- Arranging for the travelers to reach it
- Making certain the visitors are comfortable, well treated and entertained when they get there
- Most recently they added– protecting the travelers’ safety

Well when it comes to stimulation the JTB has got this one hands down. All those beautiful photos in magazines, all those tempting ads and campaigns definitely have an impact, wouldn’t you say? However, I really began to wonder if all these messages, songs and slogans really stimulate over 3 million people all over the world to visit Jamaica.

'The right messages alone can’t make people suddenly decide to take a special interest in a distant country with which they have no particular connection: simply flooding the media with more true facts about a country is certainly ineffectual, possibly counter –productive and in any case probably impossible '(S. Anholt ,2003, p.106).

I totally agree with Anholt’s argument. What about all those PROUD (for emphasis) Jamaicans waving the flags high for all to see….even when it’s uncalled for?

Well the people of the country has also been doing some PR as well I mean we can’t give JTB all the credit now. Word of Mouth publicity is known to be one of the best and most effective, after all self-praise IS recommendation….well only in advertising, PR is a bit more sophisticated, and charming. But self praise does count for something in the case of tourism in Jamaica. Many Jamaicans migrate and they form alliances, they marry people from different cultural backgrounds, and influence people’s attitudes, and do encourage them to visit. Hearing great tales from the ‘horse’s mouth’ may even have a bigger impact than those carefully ‘orchestrated’ strap lines.
Oh! and when it comes to arranging for traveler’s to visit, what better airline to take than the ‘Most Beautiful ‘Bird’ in the sky’ - Air Jamaica. Jamaica’s premier Airline. Boy oh boy! Tourists are able to plan and design their own holiday package via the visit Jamaica website which is laced with only the best, and I might I add, ‘value for your money’ hotels and packages. Jasmine Dotiwala recalls her Jamaica experience on the Voice Online Website and just a quote from her:

‘…we raced bob sleds; and then, my favourite: We zipped through the rainforest on ariel overhead wires! I was buzzing! Next, we went swimming with dolphins and then, we did something I didn’t even think was possible: We took horses into the ocean for a swim, with us on their backs! The next trip was to Montego Bay where we were spoilt by Wayne Sterling and Michael Williams from the Jamaica Tourist Board as we stayed at the grandest hotel ever: the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton’

Need I say more?

Last, but not least protecting the tourist’s safety. Ok that should be quite easy, maybe JTB will get you a Body guard if you wish… who knows. The JTB’s idea of protecting the safety of tourists is to give them a long list of do’s and don’ts which I don’t believe is very effective. Who is really going to remember a five page list of DO’S and Don’ts while on vacation? This is something I believe the JTB needs to put more effort in.

References

1. Anholt, Simon Brand New Justice: How Branding Places and Products can Help the Developing World Revised Ed. Elsevier Great Britain 2003

2. The Voice Online: Dotiwala, Jasmine Keeping it Gully http://www.voiceonline.co.uk/content.php?show=14103 [Accessed Jan. 6, 2009]

3. Wilcox, Dennis, Glen Cameron Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics 8th Edition. Pearson Education Inc. USA 2006.