The annual convention for the TMI was held in Bournemouth in October 2016, at the new Hilton hotel that sits between the town centre and the historic shoreline. Stephens Scown were invited to educate TMI members on the pitfalls of the upcoming change in data protection.
Tom Moore, solicitor in our IP and IT team attended and presented to members. Here he gives his round up of the convention:
Change was something of a theme for the convention, with focuses including the changing habits of tourists who ‘destination shop’, the changes brought by Brexit and the changes hoped for in the future – the change brought by succession.
One stand out message was the importance data is playing in the attempts to attract and retain visitors. This is broader than just the data held by one establishment.
Expedia gave examples of the data which they share with their sister companies along with the anonymous information they can obtain from visitors to their myriad of sites. This can be pulled together to create powerful insights as to who is likely to make what purchases and, neatly, how to capture customers lost by other sites – e.g. they managed to establish that there was a market for an Airbnb like offering, but where you didn’t have to share the space with property owners. So Expedia created it, a booking website called HomeAway.
While businesses with access to huge amounts of data are getting smarter, it was also interesting to see that the general ignorance of many stretches further than you’d expect – an insight into the workings of overseas tourism and the attractions of Flanders was one which highlighted a little geographical ignorance in the room. Could you confidently point to Mechelen on a map? And know what to expect when you get there? It was fascinating to see that while many associate Flanders with World War II (and data shows that the majority of visitors from the UK travel there primarily for that purpose), Flanders is a vast area, incorporating a variety of cities and towns and has so much more by way of food, drink and culture to offer.
Staying with the theme of data, both two facts were shared; 2016 has seen the most holiday makers staycationing in the UK and (admittedly, without a data backed source) Cornwall is the busiest it’s ever been.
Many point to political and social instability in the popular overseas destinations, terror attacks in France, a weak pound and, of course, Brexit. A few delegates dared to suggest it had been the dry and warm (but not too hot) summer that the UK has experienced that did the most to persuade holiday makers to ditch the plane or ferry in favour of train or car.
Regardless, the message was clear – tourism, one of the biggest revenue producing business sectors in the country, is here to stay and should continue to grow. That growth depends on the savvy businesses making hay while the sun shines; looking at alternative attractions for out of season tourists, using data to identify trends and, of course, keeping their customers happy!