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Mark Bradley: A warm front is priceless in welcoming visitors to region
WHEN I announced to colleagues that I was going to be spending a few days in Derry on business, their expressions darkened like an English midsummer afternoon.
Such were the tones of caution, you'd think I was sending my teenage son on a work-experience placement in the narcotics division of the Mexican police force.
So when I ask my children to tell me three things about that part of the world, you can perm any of the following for their response: friendly people, great craic, nice food, Giant's Causeway and Strangford Lough. But they've never been there.
Their parents' generation would no doubt conjure up a less engaging series of images, largely arranged around their memories of the Troubles.
Perceptions of Derry may still hinder its growth as a tourist destination, but the reality of the experience proves decisive. From Europe's best-preserved city walls, to the beautiful River Foyle, my generation's perceptions were altered in an instant, while the welcome at the City Hotel was so warm it was no surprise that the girl offering it had won awards for her tourism skills.
So the news that England lags behind Ireland in the GfK Nations Brand Index (where respondents were asked to rate countries on the basis of how welcoming they perceive them to be) is a powerful wake-up call for our region.
Tourism brings 6.3bn to Yorkshire's economy and employs nearly a quarter-of-a-million people. We're in a recession, more people are electing to stay at home this summer and the strength of the pound may lead to a larger-than-normal influx of visitors. The scene is set for a morale-boosting summer, were it not for the perceptions that we're less than warm on the welcoming front.
The challenge we face was reflected in the Yorkshire Tourist Board's recent renaming as Welcome to Yorkshire.
At the launch, Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber, extolled its "beautiful coastline, fantastic countryside, stunning locations to visit, delicious food and fabulous culture" but also significantly rounded off with "all that, plus warm and welcoming people".
Because research shows that it's the quality of the visitor experience that matters. Add to that the fact that the strongest and most lasting visitor perceptions are more likely to be created by the people you meet than by the scenes you photograph, and the challenge for our region is evident.
Our Border Control people, undeniably performing a vital role, are often the first local people encountered by visitors. On the basis of my last few trips into Leeds-Bradford Airport, where we often queue on stairs (and sometimes out into the rain) to be greeted by too few agents serving too many customers, it's not a strength.
We also like giving negative messages. On a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield, we parked our car, paid our money and then read the long list of things we weren't allowed to do. No kites, no dogs on leads, no enjoying yourself (forgive the invention of the latter, but the only surprise was that it wasn't in the original list).
Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project in Cornwall, creates affection for his unique visitor attraction through the language he uses. No "keep off the grass" for him. Beneath a cartoon drawing of a large hobnail boot about to crush a daisy, it says: "Please keep to the pathways".
And then the tourist comes into contact with our customer-facing people. If you agree that we need to have our best people in front of visitors, why do we put any (cheap, unqualified) youngster in a position likely to have a strong bearing on what visitors say about their experiences?
Is it a good strategy to give visitors an indifferent experience and then expect the 6.3bn to rise exponentially? It's not just a question of being better than other regions – we need to be different. Happily, there are plenty of clues for our tourism leaders to follow.
Legoland's own research shows that while the rides and activities matter, it's their employees' friendliness and helpfulness that makes so many people want to come back. Even the cleaning staff get intensive customer service training, so that when they meet tourists, they create a lasting impression.
At Chester Zoo, a visible investment in creating "warmth" is evident. When staff enter the public area the last thing they see is a full-length mirror. It's not just about how they look, but about how important their role is in making the place a success.
Ask any visitor to describe the staff at Halifax's Eureka! Children's museum and they'll say "warm, funny, helpful, approachable, interesting, fun, happy and entertaining". I know. I've asked them. Eureka! may not enjoy the budget of Legoland, but it shares their commitment to high-quality interaction. Can we be sure that visitors to Yorkshire this summer will be using the same adjectives?
Have we the courage to invest in something different? Why not send out a "warm front" of talented regional ambassadors into our villages, towns and cities, to engage and inform? I hope so, because right now Welcome to Yorkshire's aspirations are not simply a question of regional pride. They're an absolute priority for our economy.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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