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1.Ecotourism Development and Marketing        Aaltje van Zoelen, Выступление на Конференции по туризму,  Хабаровск, май 1999г.     My name is Aaltje van Zoelen. Today, I talk both in my capacity of my own company, Far East Development and in the capacity of Director of the U.S. office of IAITO. First of all to put this into proper perspective, let me say a few brief words about my involvement in Russia as they relate to the subject of this discussion. My background before my involvement in Russia, includes five years as U.S. Director of sales for a well known expedition cruise company. In this capacity, I promoted the company to other cruise and tour companies, special interest groups, such as museums and zoos, travel agents and individuals. From this base of contacts, I build my base in Russia.  During the past nine years, I have traveled widely through the region and have worked with many different tour companies in many different regions. My company is a small company, just like many of you. It does not have a lot of capital to work with, and yet in cooperation with my US and other foreign clients, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, various cruise lines, such as Hanseatic, Society Expeditions, TCS Expeditions, we have contributed almost a million dollars in tourism revenue overall. I would like to share with you what it takes, how long and how it functions. Bu first I like to share with you some statistics.  A United Nations report of tourism (copies are available) published recently, states the following.  · The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, sought especially by developing countries o boost foreign investment and earnings. · The number of people traveling internationally is expected to increase from 612 million in 19967 to about 1.6 billion by the year 2000 and earnings from international tourism will rise from $443 billion in 1997 to more than $2 trillion by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization. Industry groups cite research showing that in the year 2000, travel and tourism will generate, directly and indirectly, 11.7 percent of global GDP and nearly 200 million jobs.  One of the fastest growing trends in the tourism industry is adventure travel. It is proven that one-half of Americans (98 million adults) have taken and adventure vacation in the past five years. About (46%) took soft adventure vacations, such as skiing, sailing and horseback riding trips, while 31 million (26%) took hard adventure vacations, such as mountain, climbing, sky diving and cave exploring. Obviously the Russian Far east as a whole, has enormous potential in the future. Bur most important now is the question how does one access this market, what and how long will it take and how do I, as a small or medium size tour company participate in these efforts. The following is just a small, very broad overview of what needs to happen.  Establish presence, expertise and reliability In order to understand the process you need to put yourself in the shoes of a foreign tour operator. A client, specifically one that returns over and over again and buys the tour operator’s product, represent a considerable investment which includes: funds spend on media advertising, brochures mailing, overhead, etc. When choosing some one to cooperate with in another country that investment needs to be protected. So when they look for a partner they look for reliability, years of proven experience and excellent communication skills. And preferably an exciting product which fits into the already existing product mix.  In practice than in order for you to be considered you have to have all these assets. And not only do you have to have them, they need to be visible to the client.. One of the most difficult parts is that you have to make yourself known by yourself, while in many other counties of the world, this is the job for a state or government tourism board. For a small or medium size company that seems almost to be too high of a burden., but it is not impossible.  Added to problem with visibility is the fact the foreign media without in fact checking the accuracy of what they print and show, pictures Russia as unsafe, lacking basic necessities and modern conveniences.  This needs to be chanted to a more positive image of its vast natural resources, its incredible fascinating cultural heritage and its unparalleled hospitality.  · Changing the media, requires different methods such as: · Placement of positive articles about measures put in place to protect tourists in Russia · Rebuttals of any negative press with positive images and data · Creation of human interest stories · Familiarization trips For all this to happen, which cost money, you need to cooperate You need to cooperate to push your local government to pay attention to the potential of tourism and its economic impact. You need to cooperate to push them to create and allocate funding to change the overall media presentation. To perhaps add a small hospitality tax on hotel rates and services to aid in this process.  Then you need to cooperate between tourism companies. Find a mix of product that makes sense and to which each company can contribute some funding to access the market. An operator of a lodge, can work with a company which provides boat tours to , for example indigenous villages. A museum works with a tour company and a hotel to provide a cultural package, etc.  What is the fastest way to success, or as we say in America how can I get the loudest ban for my back? We can rank access in several different fields.  · Access and cooperation with specific tour operator - limits your market  · Access to tour operators, special interest groups who have similar product mix -the same expense, but more opportunities  Working with tour operators rather than the individual market is less costly, because they do the marketing for you. You approach the company with a specific program, they accept it and put it in their brochure. They , in turn also take care of the marketing expenses which may include such things: as mailings, presentations and media and press releases Access means finding the right person, in the right company at the right time. This does not take much money, but research and patience. There are many lists on the Internet which provide information on the various companies, a couple of them are: The Eco Tourism Society www.ecotourism.org SIT Travel Link www.sitravel.com Conventional l sources are: The Official Tour Operator Directory Five Pen Plaza  New York, N.Y. 10001 212-290-7355 212-290-7288 and membership in Society’s like  The Adventure Travel Society 6551 S. Revere Parkway, Suite 160 Englewood, CO 80111 Phone: 303-649-9016 Fax: 303-649-9017 e-mail: adventuretravel.com And then starts the most difficult and most expensive part. The building of a relationship.  We have found that the only way a small company can afford and be successful in these efforts is to find a partner marketing company which has already established relationships within the market. Not only does one avoid the costs of travel (it might be nice, but is expensive), the time to invest in building the proper trust, but also a company which takes the time and effort to educate the market for you.  It must be taken into account, however, that marketing takes time, even if you have the relationships. This has to do with media, tour operators interest (driven by clients), marketing time (usually 18 months0, etc. In total one would need to set aside at least five years for your product to have name brand recognition.  This is in fact the reason why we established the IAITO, US office.  The individual market Your best bet for entry into the individual market is through Web Site marketing. Not only is this an efforts standing by itself, but it also feeds into the tour operator interest.  Web Site marketing can be done through a number of sites in the US such as  the Green Travel Network www.greentravel.com Nature Travel com www.naturetravel.com Interserve Travel www.interserve.net JourneyQuest www.journeyquest.com IAITO www.iaito.com Web Site marketing can include a variety of things, from just a listing to your own web site or a linkage. Costs are minimal but you need to be sure that your product is adequately featured and that the market the Web Site addresses is appropriate. Costs are minimal but again results take time - one t tow years for individual bookings.  These are just a few tips on marketing an eco tourism product. One of the things I would like press more than anything. You will not get any customers by waiting for them. No matter how wonderful your product, company and brochure are: if they do not get into the hands of the traveler, you are wasting your time, energy and money. It will take time (lots of it), it will take persistence (at least five times before any one will answer if at all) and it does take money. Cooperation, is the key to the game.  Aaltje van Zoelen President Far East Development US Co-Chair Ad Hoc Working Group Director - IAITO US Office  They do not provide, however, the most expensive part of marketing which is the contact name and the relationship that goes with it.