Selling somewhere like Hull?

I was in Hull at the weekend and I sat nursing my pint and gazing over the estuary, I pondered the question;, ‘Just exactly how do you sell a destination like Hull?’

I find the idea of selling a city like Hull to tourists an interesting one, but it’s a global thing really. Cities such as Wollongong and Newcastle try to entice people away from Sydney while Lille and Metz have to try and cream some traffic off Paris. It’s really just a case of persuading people to step beyond the obvious. And some places do this much better than others.

The competition

I no longer live in Hull and haven’t for many years but I was born there and still have a fondness for the city. Although it has changed a fair bit over the years, I know it well enough to identify its strengths and weaknesses. The problem with Hull is two-fold; firstly, you actually have to be going there to get there (it’s not on-the-way to anywhere and if anything is a little out-of –the-way) and secondly, it just sits in the pack with a lot of other places If you’re going to the North of England, for a city-break you’re really better off in Manchester or Leeds and if you want to do something touristy, then go to York.

Promoting the generic

According to the website Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, Hull is’ exciting, dynamic, eclectic and entertaining’ and people who visit Hull are often overwhelmed by what a friendly place it is. Located on the banks of the Rivers Hull and Humber, Hull is a city that ‘knows how to combine a rich heritage with a fun vibrant social scene’. Hull is’ waiting to be discovered’. With all the’ ingredients for a perfect city break or day out’

Essentially, it says Hull is Ok for lots of things. Unfortunately, no-one chooses to go somewhere because it’s OK at a lot of things. this is not even a vaguely compelling reason.

Generic marketing

A visit to Hull offers the perfect opportunity to sample ‘all the city has to offer’ including 8 free museums, art galleries, The Deep and the fantastic shopping’. Are they serious...? And then there’s ‘restaurants, pubs and clubs to be enjoyed in the evening’.

Anyone who goes to Hull for just shopping needs help and while there are some good restaurants, it’s not a culinary destination. And there are a few pubs I would go a long way to avoid!

Focusing on the USP

Dwelling on the generic at will never sell. To get people to visit, you have to offer something unique; a reason to pick one place over another; it’s USPs. The propositions unique to Hull, the ones that offer a truly distinctive reason to pick Hull over anywhere else. These are the ones that should get the marketing focus.

There are four propositions that make Hull stand out. Let’s start shouting about them.

ONE: Theatre

Hull is home to John Godber`s Hull Truck Theatre Company, one of the leading contemporary theatre companies in the country. Many of Hull Truck’s performances have gone onto the West End and further afield. Laced with Northern wit and grit, Hull Truck is what’s best about the North; honest, witty, friendly, self deprecating, unpretentious.

Hull Truck has a new home in Hull; a purpose built theatre in the centre of the city,home to one of the best theatre companies in the country.

TWO: Fish

Seafaring is at the heart of the city, at one time the biggest fishing port in the country, the city still has a long maritime tradition. As well as Maritime Museum and the renovated marina, there’s a 1960s sidewinder trawler, where visitors find out what working at sea is really all about and the Ferens Art Gallery also reflects Hull`s seafaring heritage with works by Flemish Old Masters and a fascinating maritime art collection.

THREE: Rugby League

With two Rugby League teams, Hull is home to Rugby League. Rugby League really is a breath of fresh air; there’s none of the mollycoddling you associate with football, no precious egos, no diving , no prima donnas. And this isn’t Rugby for the public school boys. This is fast, exciting and wonderful entertainment!

FOUR: History & People

Hull was until (very) recently known only as ‘a Northern Town’ in Government broadcasts made through the Blitz. Quite why this was so, I’m not sure but the fact is that Hull was bombed more than Coventry and more than Liverpool and it's suffered with grace and humour.Hull is also home to William Wilberforce, Phillip Larkin oh, and John Prescott!

What about the Locals?

Hull people are very proud of their city and their heritatge, but maybe something should be done to help local people enjoy their city even more?

Maybe Hull should hold a mini expo? Maybe it should be co-ordinated so that public transport is free and attractions open for free – and, importantly, open late until 9pm or 10pm at night. Companies offering experiences like the Deep or the Ice Rink– should open their doors at half price. Restaurants should offer two for one deals. Live music venues should all host a local band on the Saturday night. Get the media involved. Think of the PR.

It’ll cost money in the short term, sure, but the long-term value could be hugely significant. It’ll give Hull a feel-good, positive, festival spirit for that weekend and the thing is; when friends come to visit, the people they’re staying with will know where to go and what to do for an action-packed weekend.

Those visitors will go off happy after having had a brilliant time and we all know word of mouth is the best marketing of all.

Banks and Bankers..

I was trying to explain the financial sector to my daughter last night and my explanation went like this...

Suppose you give me a million pounds and say, "Invest this profitably and I'll pay you well."

So I go out onto the street and hand out cash randomly to passers-by. I give everyone I meet ten thousand pounds each. In return, each scribbles out an IOU for £20,000, payable in five years.

I then come back to you and say, "Look at these IOUs. I have generated a 20% annual return on your investment." You, in return, are very pleased and pay me an enormous commission.

So now I have a large pile of IOUs, which I now call my 'assets'.

So I use these "assets" as collateral to borrow even more money. I then lend this out to even more people or sell them to others like myself who do the same. I also buy insurance to cover me in case the borrowers default and I pay for this with the same IOUs (or assets).

And so it goes on, with each new loan becoming somebody's asset on which to borrow yet more money.

So I make a huge bonus as the total face value of all the assets I've created is now fifty times that of the original £1m

But then one day, the first batch of IOUs becomes due.

But the person who scribbled his name on the IOU can't it pay off right now. And in fact, lots of the borrowers can't.

So, I try to hush this up for as long as possible, but soon everyone get suspicious and you want your original million pounds back.

I try to sell the IOUs and their derivatives that I hold, but everyone else is suspicious too and no one buys them. The insurance company tries to cover my losses, but it can only do so by selling the IOUs I gave it.

And so finally, the government steps in and buys up all the IOUs, bails out the insurance company and everyone else holding the IOUs and all the derivatives stacked on them.

Their total value is way more than a million dollars now but I and my fellow entrepreneurs retire with our profits and everyone else pays for it.

I understand a team of high-profile executives from the 'Welcome to Yorkshire' tourist board have been in secret talks to try and bring the 2016 Tour de France to HULL!

According to the Hull Daily Mail, a team led by the tourist board visited the Paris offices of the Tour's organising committee to present the region's bid to see Hull as one of the locations for the Grand Depart – the opening two days of the race.

I'm not sure that any economic impact would be quite as significant as that claimed by a 'spokesman' for the Tourist Board, who states that for Hull to be part of the tour would be a major boost for the region and that "tens of millions of pounds" would be spent by visitors snapping up hundreds of hotel rooms and visiting pubs and restaurants, but it would certainly be a major coup for the region if they can pull it off.

The route submitted for consideration proposes Leeds city centre as the starting destination from which the 22 teams would weave their way to the Yorkshire Dales, head east to Scarborough and the coast, via York and the North York Moors, before dropping south to Hull and finally to Sheffield.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome To Yorkshire, also says "The economic impact for Yorkshire will be tremendous and we will do everything we can to make sure the event comes here".

"Yorkshire is a world-class destination experienced at successfully hosting world- class events and we believe it will provide the perfect backdrop to the world's greatest cycle race."

Apparently Yorkshire's bid seems to have been positively received by the organising committee at this stage .More talks are due to take place next month and the Tour organisers will visit the region to see the proposed route.

Tourism power in action

We all know that tourism drives job creation and increases prosperity in local economies. Tourism also has a direct affect on poverty reduction and an indirect affect on increasing health and human services; i.e people prosper they can afford a better diet and health care.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization ranks tourism in the top three categories for economic development, “demonstrating that travel can play a vital role in helping developing economies mature.”

Indeed, already more people are traveling to developing countries. Last year, the 48 least-developed countries saw the number of tourists rise from 6 million to 17 million, and tourism revenue rise from $3 billion to $10 billion.

That’s a massive increase while still a small percentage of international travel as a whole. (124 million people travelled internationally in just the first two months of this year).

The UNWTO predicts the total number of international travellers this year will rise 5%, with Chinese travellers spending more than ever. The American, French, and now the Chinese spend the most while travelling, according to the UNWTO. Nearly $1 trillion per year is spent by international travellers, the UNWTO says.

Imagine if more of that money went to developing countries.

Travelling to developing countries is the same as investing in the developing world. The returns instead come in the forms of local products, services, and lifetime experience.

Egypt is seeking tourism dollars again and sees visitors as key to its economic recovery. “As the leading foreign exchange earner and representing one in every seven jobs, tourism is a crucial factor in Egypt’s economic recovery,” Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said at a recent U.N. meeting on tourism.

Tourism power is an untapped resource in the world economy. Choosing where to travel and how to spend money when we are there is often considered fun. But looked at another way, from a business and economic perspective, those choices can have major consequences.

In the developing world, tourism accounts for almost half of total service exports. Increase those dollars and place them in sustainable development programs, which the U.N. is encouraging, and soon improvements can be seen in education, the environment and disease reduction.

“Responsible and sustainable tourism allows destinations and companies to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and on cultural heritage while maximizing its economic and social benefits,” the UNWTO says.

Moreover, it creates empathy. When people travel and see conditions in disrepair or people living in poverty, there is a desire to help and lend assistance. Of course there are charitable institution throughout the developing world and there are financial investments to be made in companies that operate or trade with developing world partners, thereby increasing economic recovery. But there is something special about taking money out of your own wallet and handing them to a person in need while getting a local product or service in return.