Know the marketing mix (the 4 Ps) of a travel and tourism organisation - Travel and Tourism - page 189

stories for t h eir readers. The department uses a PR agency to ensure that journalists are kept informed of
new tourism developments. On an annual basis, Isle of Wight Tourism aims to gain £1 million in value in
press coverage. In r e cent years, the department has been successful in providing locations for fi lm and TV
programmes. These pr o jects play a vital role in projecting the Island's image and bring in extra business for
tourism operators while fi lming takes place.
Exhibitions
Isle of Wight Tourism leads a substanti a l exhibitions programme, working with tourism businesses to ensure
the Isle of Wight is profi led at key cons u mer and trade events in the UK and overseas.
Publications
Isle of Wight Tourism handles all advertising and editorial material for the full range of guides, maps and
leafl ets produced by the department. Distribution is ha n dled by a warehouse facility on the Island, sending
out over 5 million items of print every year. Isle of Wight T o urism Sales Department generates over £1.2 million
in advertising revenue from members each year. These fun d s support the development and distribution of
existing publications and the introduction of new material. Sponsorship from outside organisations is also
sought to support the wide range of publications.
Visitor call centre
Requests for information by telephone are routed to the Island's call centre operation, which deals with
more than 125,000 enquiries from potential visitors every year. Reques t s range from ordering publications,
to enquiries about ferries and advice on resorts.
Tourist information centres (TICs)
The Island's six TICs play a fundamental role in the Island's front-line service to vis i tors, with over half a million
tourists passing through their doors every year. In addition to handling enquiries from visitors, the TICs also
offer a ticketing service for events, merchandise and gifts, leafl et displays and an extensive range of Island
books and products.
Marketing in partnership
Isle of Wight Tourism, working with commercial tourism partners, spends in excess of £500,000 targeting
key market segments. The details of each campaign are worked out 9 months in advance and include all the
well-established marketing techniques, including press advertising, posters, newspapers, televisio n , online
advertising and pull-out features in national newspapers.