顾问在《纽约时报》旅行展上获得第一手澳大利亚的反馈
by理查德·德·安布罗西奥(Richard D'Ambrosio)/
Approximately 24,000 consumers file through the two-day New York Times Travel Show every January. For three New York area travel advisors who specialize in Australia and New Zealand, it was a golden opportunity to take the pulse of traveler sentiment about future tourism to the region.
“I think everyone who was asking about Australia mentioned the fires immediately,” said Diana Hechler, of D Tours Travel, in Larchmont, New York, and one of the trio working a booth for Qantas.
“大火肯定是消费者方面的重点,尤其是许多人与该主题进行对话,”佛罗里达州梅特兰的Malihini Travel的旅行顾问Kaytee Fisher说。
The widespread bushfires have even caused Authorities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to declare a state of emergency for the southern region of Canberra, calling it "the worst fire threat to the territory in nearly two decades", according to a report by the BBC.
澳大利亚和新西兰的专家赫希勒说,这三名顾问扫描了500多个徽章,并在1月25日(星期六)和1月26日星期日与大约400人交谈。
“There was widespread awareness of the situation over the past few weeks, with most consumers expressing concern and sorrow. The first question, routinely, was, ‘How are the koalas doing?’” said Hechler.
她说:“他们的担忧和最初的看法是,澳大利亚不是他们现在可以去的地方,因为大火对每个人都是危险的。”
当他们互动时,旅行者问:“火灾状况如何?您推荐多少时间参观?飞多长时间?我该如何提供帮助,您是否有链接供最佳组织提供捐款?”Boomerang Escapes的所有者Lisa Wood Rossmeissl说,位于新泽西州Old Bridge,也是一位经过认证的澳大利亚专家。
“大多数在周末与我交谈的人要等到今年8月或以后才能访问,因此他们真的没有看到这是一个问题。大多数人只是担心并为此感到悲伤。”
赫希勒说,一些贸易展览会的参与者报告说,他们已经改变了去澳大利亚的计划,但作为目的地,澳大利亚兴趣很高。一位摊位游客,一位年长的绅士,在他经过并叹了口气时看着我们的横幅,对我说:“我想拜访澳大利亚30年。”我建议他现在就做梦。”
Afterwards, Hechler used that example with other booth visitors. “I told them, ‘Don’t let 30 years pass like the man I just talked to did.’”
费舍尔个人客户“,而锅icked about the whole thing, but went through with their itinerary and had a great time. That was a great anecdote to pass along to the concerned potential travelers at the show.” Yet others, Fisher said, “weren't as easily convinced, but seemed open to hearing more about the reality of the situation in Australia.”
When they did receive pushback, Hechler and Fisher left most of the persuasion to Wood Rossmeissl, who estimated that more than 75% of the attendees she spoke with brought up the fires. “Mostly, they wanted to know if it would affect travel, and they had questions about the air quality. Truth be told, the air quality there now is just as good, if not better, than the air quality here.”
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Over the entire weekend, Wood Rossmeissl received skepticism from only two people. “As I explained to most, though, my information wasn’t coming from the news, but that I have contacts and friends on the ground who send me daily updates. I feel they are a much more reliable source than the media sensation,” she said.
“Lisa did an excellent job of talking about where the fires were, and more importantly, were not,” said Hechler. “That is, most of the areas where first-time visitors would travel to were not affected by the fires, with the exception of Kangaroo Island.”
三人的“去”评论是指出大多数旅游目的地都没有受到影响。beplay银行卡赫希勒说:“悉尼,墨尔本,大堡礁都可以旅行。”
“Consumers were very receptive to our commentary about the limited scope of the fires and the fact that tourism dollars will be very helpful in assisting recovery,” said Hechler. Tradeshow attendees also appeared to appreciate “having a knowledgeable travel professional advise them about and assist them in visiting Australia (as well as New Zealand and Tahiti).”
伍德·罗斯梅斯(Wood Rossmeissl)说:“我只有一个人说他们现在不会访问。”大多数人准备谈论今年和2021年的计划。”
伍德·罗斯梅斯(Wood Rossmeissl)试图提醒贸易楼级与会者,并强调“整个国家都没有着火。大多数旅游景点,大城市和许多未触及的州。她说,最好的帮助方法是今年在那里旅行,并添加了标签“ #holidayhereshisesyear”。
伍德·罗斯梅斯(Wood Rossmeissl)说,她预计在接下来的几个月中,计划会议“有很多”纽约时报旅行秀的与会者。她说:“去年在演出中与我见面后,我有一个人甚至让我出去,说她已经准备好今年了。”
“I feel that part of my role this weekend was to educate the traveler, and I feel the three of us did a good job, not only for the situation in Australia, but for New Zealand and the South Pacific,” Wood Rossmeissl said. “They are truly amazing destinations and I believe we expressed that well to the consumers