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“Timing is everything!” How many times have we heard that in our lives? The saying can apply to ANYTHING: career, personal life, stand-up comedy as well as an effective marketing campaign. What do you do when bad timing is out of your control? Do you continue to market a brand that, for the time being, is associated with something negative?
We have been watching the political turmoil in Egypt for weeks now. Tourism contributes an average of $11 billion per year to Egypt’s economy and accounts for 12% of the country’s workforce. Aside from the historic attractions of the region, Egypt has developed a solid reputation as the Caribbean of Europe – investing in all-inclusive resorts along its coastline.
Expectedly, Egypt’s tourism is losing money. Resorts don’t fill up to capacity and cruise lines re-route ships to neighboring countries, raising a valid counter argument: while Egypt’s tourism suffers from the riots, what countries stand to benefit? Turkey, another popular vacation destination among the European travelers expects to see a 3 million increase in it number of visitors in 2011. Turkish tourism has grown 16% in the last three years alone and 2011 promises yet another
Spike for it.
In a recent Reuters story, Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram said that unlike last year’s ash cloud, the regional unrest would not stop guests holidaying.
“What will probably happen is people will say, ‘we won’t go to Egypt, but we do want a holiday’. Turkey is a growing destination with a lot of all-inclusive product, while Spain is also seeing a resurgence this year.”
Within the next few months, we are likely to witness additional marketing dollars pumped into promoting vacation destinations, including Mediterannean and Caribbean. The unfortunate events in the Middle East have opened a window of opportunity for other destinations this holiday season.
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