Superstorm Sandy will most likely end up in the history books as one of the most costliest storm to date, with an estimated economic dent of $71 billion, eclipsed only by category 3 Hurricane Katrina's $141 billion.
These economic shockwaves are felt disproportionately among tourism-related businesses that rely on a steady influx of tourists to survive, especially during the warm summer months.
The mass amount of negative PR - from images of devastation to articles laying bare the region's continuing struggles for both businesses and homeowners - has affected the public perception of the economic vitality of the area.
Tourists are not likely to visit traditional seaside destinations for summer fun if the areas aren't ready for business - and even if the businesses are actually open and ready, they face an international battle in the media to prove that it's business as usual. The negative value of these images are very real, and very emotional. For an example of this, look no further than NY Relief's celebrity-filled PSA.
While these sorts of productions certainly pull at the heart strings, they also reinforce the negative imagery surrounding the storm to the population-at-large.
This sort of PR challenge is not unique to Sandy - it happens with every large disaster, especially those affecting regions that rely primarily on the tourism industry as their economic engine.
After Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill, the New Orleans and wider Gulf regions suffered terribly from the drop in tourism-related revenues. On that front, the New Orleans CVB, the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Company and Peter Mayer Advertising came together with Expedia Media Solutions to build a marketing campaign touting the still-standing virtues of the area.
This immediate slide due to the avalanche of troubling media coverage was slowed by a steady and cohesive marketing campaign to turn things around as far as the public's perception of the area. In fact, rather than simply stem the tide of decreased revenues, the promotional campaign actually increased tourism to the city by an impressive amount.
Peter Mayer was kind enough to share the results of their joint efforts:
The overall goal for the oil spill response campaign was to prevent any decline in visitation to New Orleans due to the oil spill.
Because the situation was so dire, we never anticipated any significant growth during this time—our primary concern was to keep visitation level. However, the response to the campaign was overwhelming. We saw dramatic increases in nearly all of our key performance indicators, including:
Total visitation: rose by almost 10%, from 7.5 million in 2009 to 8.3 million in 2010.Total visitor spending: rose by 24%, from $4.3 billion in 2009 to $5.3 billion in 2010.RevPar: rose 26.8%, from $48.07 in Q3 of 2009 to $60.97 in Q3 of 2010.Hotel occupancy: rose 20.5%, from 51.3% in Q3 of 2009 to 61.8% in Q3 of 2010.Average daily rate (ADR): rose 5.2%, from $93.70 in Q3 of 2009 to $98.61 in Q3 of 2010.OTA (online travel agent) bookings: rose by 16.5% from 2009 to 2010, exceeding pre-Katrina levels.
For the post-spill promotional campaign, Expedia Media Solutions contributed marketing support as part of their own relief efforts. Reflecting the above numbers in a case study, Expedia demonstrated just how wide-reaching the promotion was:
These are some very impressive numbers, especially the 150% lift of likelihood to visit New Orleans. The numbers most certainly look appealing to Sandy-stricken DMOs working on campaigns aimed at reducing the storm's impact on the high season of summer travel.
Other organizations are also looking for help in their promotions. For example, the restaurant industry also faces some serious recovery challenges. Marilou Halvorsen from the New Jersey Restaurant Association:
Currently – the most important thing our restaurants need to let the our customers know that NJ is open for business. It has been a long road to recovery – and there are still areas and business that need help, but every day more and more of our restaurants are open.
We need an active marketing campaign. We have asked the state to appropriate money to invest in a image/ad campaign. It is important to our state. Tourism is the 3rd largest industry in NJ and the restaurant industry is the largest private sector employer in NJ – employing 311,000 people.
Expedia is again contributing to the recovery efforts for a major national disaster, offering marketing support and an advertising dollar match to DMOs in the 8 states and District of Columbia affected by the far-reaching Sandy.
The 1-for-1 match gives DMOs an added boost to their marketing spend, allowing them to increase the impact in a big way - especially given the rapid approach of the vital peak summer season.
Noah Tratt, global VP of Expedia Media Solutions:
"With this program, the tourism organizations supporting the hurricane-stricken states, cities and communities have the opportunity to drive awareness and revenue to local businesses by attracting travelers to the region.
"Our goal is to ultimately alleviate some of the economic pressures that the communities are feeling, and allow them to showcase the attractions that either weren’t affected or are ready to welcome tourists again."
The impact of disasters on tourism is likely only to increase alongside population growth and the rising density of urban centers. And with tourism revenues growing globally, hitting $1.1 trillion in 2011, the corresponding impact of disasters on a region's economic vitality is potentially astronomical.
DMOs and other marketing entities in affected states should contact expediamedia@expedia.com for more information.
NB: Sandy image courtesy of Shutterstock.