Local Tourist Boards

Love them or Hate them? 

In the UK we have national tourist boards foe England, Scotland and Wales. The question you need to answer is whether you should join and enjoy the benefits they offer or not join and take care of your own marketing, bookings and publicity.

The first thing to look at is what it will cost to join and what the ongoing charges will be. Next, visit your local tourist information centre to see how well it is run, whether the staff appear knowledgeable and more importantly whether they have actually heard of your location and get many requests to find accommodation in the locality.

If they will answer, find out how many establishments they have on their register now compared to a year ago.

It is important that you do not rely on them to secure your bookings, rather use them as an additional source of booking requests.

Remember also that if they take a booking on your behalf you will be charged a percentage by them and also your new guest will have to pay a fee. Far better if all of that came into your pocket.

If you are located in a tourist hot spot and there is a local tourist centre it may well be that you can rely upon them a bit more to secure bookings. Only you can decide.

Only you can decide if joining your local tourist board is a good thing for your business.

Our opinion? Don't waste your money. It can be better spent on marketing your business in a way that provides more tangible results.