Welcome to Britain

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Welcome to Britain!
September 2007
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DCMS 2012 Tourism Strategy

• Research shows that Britain has a great image but
  lags in the welcome we give international
  visitors. UK occupied top position on the
  Nations Brand Index but only scores 14 out of
  40 on the Welcome score.
• So there is scope for improvement and we must
  therefore start at our airports, ferry ports and
  international rail stations where many visitors
  are unhappy with their first experience of
  Britain

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Welcome to Britain

• What is it?
• WTB is an initiative led by VB to up the British
  welcome both now and in the lead up to the 2012
  Games
• Who are engaged?
• A number of key industry stakeholders, including
  those involved with ports of entry, hospitality,
  attractions, transport etc.

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What will the WTB group do?

• The Welcome to Britain Group will develop a
  Welcome Charter committing the tourism and
  hospitality sector to the highest standards of
  service and more accessible facilities

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DCMS Tourism Strategy 2012

• Ports of entry are being improved
• Immigration staff are being uniformed and trained
  to be more efficient
• Faster tourist visa processing will be provided
• Customer service skills are being improved
• Accommodation and tourist facilities will be more
  accessible for travellers with disabilities
• All this will be delivered through-
• Developing a new Welcome Charter for the Tourism
  and hospitality sector, linking in improvements
  in customer service training
• A commitment to improving accessibility through
  facilities, training and up-skilling
• Sharing best practice

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How important is each of these factors when
thinking about a country for a holiday?
rating importance as Extremely / Very
VB Brand Tracking 2003
Base Total Sample (all markets N5518)
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Welcome!

• Why is WELCOME so important because.?
• Brand Britain needs to be more than just a
  brandand needs to promise the best British
  welcome
• And the best visitor satisfaction
• And elicit more word of mouth referrals from
  satisfied holidaymakers.
• How does Britain perform re WELCOME?
• Perceptions are worse that the reality of the
  destination so we need to work to close that
  gap.
• Compared to other destinations we have work to do
• Strangely we are seen as friendly, but not
  necessarily welcoming.
• Improving on the touch-points
• We need to work together to build a better
  British Welcome?

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Where can we help?

• Getting more customer feed back by placing a
  welcome question into your surveys where
  appropriate
• Give us good news stories that we can play
  through our media teams worldwide
• Gather welcoming imagery that we can add to our
  VB Britain on View Welcome to Britain image bank.
• Commit to upskilling front line customer service
  staff

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Perceptions of Britain
Positive .. First Impressions count!
Perceptions of transport, customer service and
value for money ALL affect perceived WELCOME
Negative Impressions impact!
NBI Wave 2 2006
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What Italian families think about British people
Reserved and Unemotional
Hooligans/Barbarians
Creatures of habit
Restrained during the week BUT Excess over
the weekend
Untidy bad hygiene
Kind well mannered
Good sense of style and humour
Rational and pragmatic
Italian Families Qualitative Research 2006
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And the Indians think

• While there is a clear desire to visit Britain,
  there is no
• particular interest in talking to the local
  Brits as part of the
• experience - more about seeing Britain than
  meeting Brits
• They are fairly neutral to the British
• a bit stiff, reserved, polite, helpful when asked
  
• but not friendly or forthcoming
• But the Brits can also seem arrogant which links
  to feelings of racism and colonial history
• Britain has ruled the world a long time ago
  they still carry that attitude people are not
  friendly but then that is to be expected
• British people and the welcome do not seem to be
  a barrier or a motivating factor

Qualitative India Research 2006
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Customs and Immigration

• Common view that wherever you go Indians are
• more likely to suffer racism generally
• Particularly hassle at immigration and customs at
  ports of entry
• Britain as the former colonial power may be seen
  as worse
• Some feeling that Britain resents Indian success
  via globalisation and outsourcing

Emotionally I feel a vacuum with London. 1 ½
hour at immigration at Heathrow.. Delhi is a
dream in comparison
Qualitative India Research 2006
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Welcome around the World.

• The UK is in 14th place for being a country where
  the people would
• make you feel welcome Canada is 1st!
• Americans think we are the most welcoming.
• Argentines and Germans have the lowest perception
  of the UK for welcome.

Nation Brands Index W4 2006
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Friendliness

• Despite the perceived lack of welcome, when it
  comes to
• wanting someone as a close friend, the people of
  the UK are in
• 3rd place Canadians are 1st.
• An improvement of 3 places compared to W4 2005
• The Americans and the South Africans would most
  like to have
• someone from the UK as a close friend

NBI W4 2006
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What will the Charter encapsulate?

• Britains/VBs Brand values
• Simplicity and credibility
• Inspirational, positive messaging
• A promise to improve on our identified touch
  points
• The promise to provide exceptional and world
  class customer service
• Better provision and care for visitors with
  special needs
• A commitment to better and more training skills
  passport ..
• Best Practice from within the UK and around the
  world
• A commitment to address sustainability and
  climate change
• A positive legacy from the Games

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Welcome Touch Points

• Pre-Visit
• Contact with Government other related bodies
  (e.g. UK visas, British Council, VisitBritain,
  telephone, email, website, admin processes, etc)
• Contact with websites, holiday and accommodation
  guides
• Press articles/travel features on destinations -
  TV Media
• Travel Agents retailers off line and online
  i.e. tripadvisor
• Contact directly with accommodation providers,
  tour operators, transport companies
• On board trains, planes and ferries
• VIP handling
• Low Cost Airlines (should not mean low
  standards)..
• Clear ticket pricing (i.e. including in taxes
  etc) offering best value for money tickets etc.

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Welcome Touch Points

• Arrival / Departures Ports of Entry
• Immigration Officers at Passport Control /
  Customs officers/ Presenters at Ports of Entry
• Customer service around procedures at points of
  exit/check-out
• Ferry/Flight delays lack of information for
  passengers
• Baggage delays
• Insufficient information points and signage
  easy to leave a port etc.
• VIP handling fast track facilities
• Transiting passengers handling (both air and
  cruise etc)
• Lost Baggage and delayed baggage
• Onward transportation (bus, train, ferry, tube,
  taxi, hire car, etc)
• Customer service from retail staff at points of
  exit and entry

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Welcome Touch Points

• During Visit
• Accommodation (range quality - reception,
  concierge, housekeeping, restaurant, bar,
  problem-solving, etc)
• Activities attractions
• Hotel check-in / check-out desks
• Retail Shops, Restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs
• Transportation, taxis, trains, tube, car hire,
  ticket inspectors etc
• Conventions/Meeting Venues Bureaux the
  business traveler experiences
• Tourist Information Centres opening hours
• Clear signage to and from ports, on motorways,
  roads, in towns, parking etc
• TV - Media Press online and offline
• School groups / foreign language students
• Facilities for disabled visitors
• Inadequate Toilets and facilities at motorway
  service stations
• Inadequacy of Customer Feed Back/complaint
  forms/boxes
• VIP handling

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The visitors WELCOME journey
Borders Immigration Customs (HMRC) BAA/Shopping
BAA/Airport Environment British Ports Baggage
Handling Onward Transportation Transferring
Passengers Baggage Handlers VIP Greeters General
Greeters Information Points
Tourist Information Centres VisitLondon Regions
Nations Tourism for All, Forum for the
Future Police Transport (Taxis ATOC TFL
Ferries Buses Car Hire) Accommodation Restaurants
/Pubs Motorway Services Toilets Friends
Relatives
FCO, British Council, VisitBritain, UK Visas,
Travel Agents Media, TripAdvisor,
Lastminute.com, Rough Guides, UK Inbound etc
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Overcoming Welcome Touch Points
Positive interaction with custom agents
Ferry Port Airport Layouts improved
Friendly honest taxi drivers
It is really very simple
Customer service staff willing to solve problems
Smiley efficient hospitality staff
Good experiences at ports of entry arrivals and
departure
British people taking an interest visitors in
their community
VB Inspiration to Travel 2007
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So what can we do

• Welcome campaign needs to be targeted at people
  with
• first-line contacts with visitors from
  abroad, particularly
• Airline/Port Staff
• Overseas travel agents
• Web site hosts Fromer, Best Hotels etc.
• Customs/immigration agents
• Taxi drivers, Hotel concierges
• Local people

• Any campaign should help Brits understand the
  value of making visitors feel welcome.

VB Inspiration to Travel 2007
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Understand.

• A welcome campaign must be understood as part of
  a
• larger "experience architecture" rather than
  just some
• glib words uttered by customs agents and hotel
  staff, a plaque on the wall etc i.e have a nice
  day sincerity is vital.
• Welcome messages need to start in their own
  country,
• through positive media, websites PR imagery
  etc.

VB Inspiration to Travel 2007
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Things to think about

• Need to deliver world class customer service
• The way a welcome campaign is positioned and
  presented to the public
• A welcome campaign needs to be fully integrated
  across all VB/parnter activity- dealing with both
  perception and reality
• The initiative needs to make visitors FEEL
  welcomed, which will have positive knock-on
  effect

VB Inspiration to Travel 2007
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A good example of welcome.
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Competing Destinations

• South Africas Welcome Campaign
• New Yorks Just ask the Locals
• Germanys World Cup Campaign rolling out the red
  carpet
• Frances Smile Campaign

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Finally, some considerations

• Were in this together. NOT getting the Welcome
  right will cost us
• not only our reputation globally, but will hit us
  in the purse.
• this is a team effort to . UP. Britains
  Welcome by-
• Overcoming the stereotypical perceptions of
  AUSTERITY that still exist and may linger amongst
  potential visitors replacing perceptions with
  reality
• Defining a British welcome if possible?
• Impressing our visitors with a British Welcome
  from the first hello to the last Goodbye .
• Engaging wider Welcome research through facebook,
  blogging getting some quick and dirty data
  ahead of formulating our Welcome messages i.e.
  find out what the customer actually wants.
• Engaging visitors to tell us even just ONE
  experience or story to tell of the extra mile /
  the British friendliness (the hidden treasure)