Steady growth in travel from U.K. and Germany
You could call it a second British invasion, but this one has nothing to do with rock ’n’ roll. State and regional efforts to target the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, for tourism dollars have drawn more and more British and German vacationers in Rhode Island.
The number of European tourists overall is on the rise, said David DePetrillo, state tourism director. They now account for about 15 percent of Rhode Island’s $4 billion-a-year tourism industry. German and United Kingdom tour operators are reporting double-digit growth – 23- to 75-percent increases in sales of New England travel packages, DePetrillo said.
The increase could be due to aggressive efforts by the state and cities such as Newport to draw foreign travelers. For the past 10 to 20 years, the state has been working alongside Discover New England, a regional tourism alliance based in Vermont, in targeting the two countries with marketing campaigns that highlight the region’s tourist attractions. Formed in 1991, Discover New England’s mission is to promote the six states as a vacation spot for domestic and international tourists.
DePetrillo said the state chose to target the United Kingdom because it is the United States’ “largest source of overseas visitors.” Proximity played a factor as well: A flight from London to Boston or New York runs about six hours.
Tourism officials have worked with tour operators – wholesalers who put together airfare, hotel and attraction packages and sell them to travel agents. Two decades ago, only two British tour operators offered New England travel packages and brochures, DePetrillo said; today about 150 do so.
The R.I. Tourism Division staff invite tour operators and travel writers to the state monthly in order to promote its attractions to foreign markets, DePetrillo said. “We work with the private sector to sponsor everything” – airline tickets, hotel rooms, meals, etc.
The Newport County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau sends sales teams to trade shows in England and Germany and goes on sales “missions” that involve visiting four and five tour operators a day to talk about “why they should be excited about selling New England,” said Evan Smith, president of the bureau.
Smith said the proactive selling technique has paid off for Newport, which for the past 10 years has seen a steady increase of foreign travelers. It was up to 12 percent of total visitors before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, she said, then dropped to 5 percent; since then, the bureau’s efforts have helped raise it back up to 10 percent.
Newport’s proximity to international gateways in Boston and New York City also has helped the city recover, Smith said, as has the weakness of the U.S. dollar compared with the euro and the British pound, which gives European travelers better value for their trips.
“We are a bargain for Europeans,” DePetrillo said.
About 331,000 U.K. tourists visited New England in 2004, up from 279,000 in 2003, said Jackie Ennis, managing director of Discover New England. About 104,000 German tourists visited in 2004, about 5,000 fewer than in 2003.
Germans are the second major target of Rhode Island’s tourism initiatives, DePetrillo said, because they get six to eight weeks of vacation per year, and “take every day.” Germans also “like an authentic American experience,” he added. “They want to see authenticity. They like natural beauty and the outdoors” – this region’s strengths.
South County Tourism Council President Myrna George said she sees European travelers at the council’s autumn “leaf-peeping” events. Fall is a busy time for Newport as well, spokeswoman Anne Marie McLaughlin said, because foreign travelers enjoy “experiencing the foliage.”
New England’s history is another draw for British and German travelers, DePetrillo said. For the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, it’s become a key attraction.
“If they’re interested in the roots of America, we can give them that,” council President Robert Billington said. “We’ll get visiting groups sometimes 30 or 40 at a time. We do very well with the United Kingdom.”
That success is partially due to a strategic partnership with the Amber Valley Borough Council in Derbyshire, England, he said. The two councils are connected by Samuel Slater, who came from Derbyshire and built the Slater Mill in Pawtucket in 1793. It was the first successful textile mill in the country, called the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.
“We promote there, they come here … it’s paid great benefits,” Billington said.
Smith said travelers from Europe also have one major advantage: They are not “weather-dependent,” and will come rain or shine, meaning guaranteed income regardless of how nice the summer is. And Germans are staying longer, he added, so they’re spending more money.
DePetrillo said the average stay of German travelers in New England has risen from 13 to 24 days in recent years. The improved health of Germany’s stock market and increasing use of the Internet for travel planning also makes it easier for tourists to plan longer trips, he said.
It’s a trend affecting all U.S. destinations, but DePetrillo said New England is seeing “more rapid growth than the rest of the country” when it comes to attracting European tourists.
“Right now, we’re very popular in Europe as a destination,” he said.
