Low
cost airlines - make or break for you?
You
would have to have been living in a cave, or had your passport
revoked not to have travelled with one of the low-cost
airlines that now crowd our skies.
This article takes a look at how low-cost airlines have changed
the way we travel forever. As well as creating new and previously
unheard of destinations that are now hot favourites, British destination
managers clearly have to think about how to compete.
According to Tourism News, from 1998 to 2003, thanks in part to
RyanAir and easyJet, low-cost intra-European air traffic grew by
600 percent, compared to just 10 percent growth for full-service
airlines. Europeans who previously used airplanes only to cross
the ocean are now taking them to visit friends and relatives, hunt
for new homes in the sun, and turn the E.U.’s theoretical
freedom of movement into a reality.
Not even high fuel prices and rising competition — factors
suppressing current low-cost carriers' profits — seem to
faze those pushing today's start-ups.
Joshua Marks, a 29-year-old Harvard Business School graduate, technologist
and airline consultant, is teaming up with airline-industry veteran
Ken Carlson on a start-up called for now, SkyLink Airways, is typical
of the type of entrepreneur ready to take on the challenge. Its
plan: low-fare international service, beginning with a route between
the Baltimore/Washington airport and London's No. 3 airport, Stansted.
The new carrier, which expects to get its government operating
certificate this spring, will announce a new name to avoid confusion
with another company.
With over seventy no frills airlines now operating across the European
continent, Barcelona is not the only destination suffering from
increased competition. Perhaps you have already been to Poznan,
or Olbia, or flown to Vienna via Bratislava for a weekend break?
I even know of people who fly to unlikely sounding destinations
just because they have never heard of them. This is all good news
for these cities, because they now have a steady stream of would-be
fun seekers knocking on their doors looking for things to buy.
The bad news for British destinations is that these potential
leisure seekers are not spending their pounds in Britain, but abroad.
At first glance, the playing field is not level: why does it cost
more to go by train from York to London (over £100 if you
book late), than flying to Nice for the weekend (for as little
as £20) where the sun will be shining? There is also the
glamour factor of boasting to your friends that you have just “popped
over to Reykjavik, Prague or Oslo” for the weekend. What
chance does Warwick, Brighton or London have?
How can British destination managers compete?
I
wouldn’t
recommend starting a no-frills airline, or giving up just yet.
Here are a few suggestions that may inspire you:
We
tend to think that the airlines are just full of escaping Brits,
jetting
off for their weekend breaks abroad. What we perhaps don’t
appreciate, is that the airlines are very keen to have seats full,
in both directions. You could ignore the domestic market altogether
and simply target those hip and happening visitors from the 45-odd
European destinations served by low cost airlines.
Lobby
your regional tourist board (RTB) to work with these airlines.
May
sound obvious but I know of at least one tourist board covering
a major airport that doesn’t bother to work with it…
There is anecdotal evidence that hordes of Spaniards descend on
Wales during the summer months to enjoy their golf without the
oppressive heat of Spain. The Welsh are offering golfing packages,
weekend breaks and links with specialist tour operators at www.golf.visitwales.com.
You
might want to work directly with the airlines, finding out which
operate
you’re your local airports and helping them
fill their in-flight magazines and websites with well-placed editorial
and competitions.
Perhaps
you’d prefer to work to develop the domestic market
to counter the competition from those overseas destinations? Since
9/11 most tourist boards have focused more effort on domestic marketing
but it might still not be enough – you may have to lobby
your RTB.
1. Promote the lesser-known parts of your destination to domestic
markets looking for adventure and new places to discover.
2. Visitors often take weekend breaks to rest and get away from
the rat-race, so promote spa or relaxing based weekends.
3. Think of themes, such as romantic breaks, great restaurants,
sport or boutique hotels as hooks to hang your communication.
4.
Or you could just play dirty and remind everyone how awful it
is to have to
be at the airport for that 5am check in and that
we all speak English, after a fashion…
Low-cost
airlines are here to stay, so let’s start to work
with them, like we would any national carrier or operator that
has the potential to bring thousands of visitors to our cities
and destinations across Britain.
Mary Tebje
mary@tourismleisure.org
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