Tourism Marketing Embraces Competitive Intelligence

Washington, DC — Faced with multi billion dollar risks, Investors, Hedge Funds and property developers are turning to the ComLinks tourism and geopolitical intelligence team in Washington, DC to evaluate their investments, potential acquisitions and forecast the viability of resorts, hotels, real estate developments and rate marketing of destinations.

With the shifting economic outlook causing concerns in many areas of real estate development they need the “Heads Up” to potential growth areas, and areas of concern. At the same time they are seeking a simple “Marketing & Investment Rating” for the properties and destinations so they can compare choices for investment and patronage. This rating system even extends to the choice of venues for conferences and meetings for major corporations.

“The size of potential investment funds available for leisure, retirement, hospitality and entertainment over the next ten years is making a lot of Wall Street Traders see huge bonuses,” reports Alan Simpson, President of Communication Links, Inc. one of the world leaders in Tourism Intelligence. “The geopolitical scenarios, Chinese investment, and the potential for a major slip in the value of the Dollar has made investors see windfall profits, or the potential for devastating losses. Add to this 70,000,000 US Baby Boomers retiring with an estimated $40 Trillion of inherited and accumulated wealth and you have a major investment boom or bust.”

Both Washington and Wall Street welcome the “Marketing & Investment Rating” to measure the efficiency of marketing destinations and resorts to show the level of performance in selling to potential clients and visitors. With the current debate over allocating scarce tax dollars to rebuilding the Gulf Coast politicians see this as a good metric for influencing allocation of funding. This also appeals to international investors, particularly from the Far East who see a need for metrics to be applied to the decision to invest. The days of “Build it and they will Come” are over.

Developers have realized that the geopolitical scenarios from the Strait of Hormuz to distant elections impact the sale of Condos in Miami or Houston, the viability of Theme Parks and the entire entertainment and hospitality infrastructure. Many indicators show the traditional lucrative sources of investment, Europe and South America, for Florida and other US “Hot Spots” are beginning to dry up. With China now being the No. 4 economy with several hundred billion dollars available for investment many tourism and real estate marketing organizations need to rethink their priorities and targets.

States and Cities are becoming interested in the application of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) and evaluating Tourism and Economic Marketing is regarded as a priority for the application of this Competitive Intelligence. The ComLinks team draws from the experience of LTN, (LeisureTime Network) which has maintained a leisure and tourism newsroom since 1992. The LTN files portray the “Good, Bad and Ugly” of tourism PR and marketing, not seen by managers and investors. Local and State Legislators have shown keen interest in creating a metric to evaluate their allocation of resources for effective tourism and economic marketing, seen as the lifeblood of many shrinking communities as manufacturing jobs disappear overseas

The ComLinks team monitors tourism and geopolitical news from around the world and advises clients and newsrooms from Beijing to New York.