EU Tapestry

The declining situation of the Romanian tourism over the past years determined by multiple complex factors is considerably due also to the power quality of the services including the transportation. The problems are mainly focusing into three areas:

* infrastructures and law inforcement
* tourists education and travel behaviour
* public transport services

Solving these issues is constrained by the large number of actors ivolved and the need for high resources. The tourism problems are allready to complex to be solved on short range with simple solutions. One of the solution could be the increase of the usage rate for public transport inducing positive effects on environment and passenger safety, areas aimed to be improved by our projects.

Why a national and local education / information campaigns? Becuase there are many strategies determining the increase of public transport usage by the tourists among which two proved to by appropriate for the operators:

* quality significant increase as a harrd measures category
* change of the travel behaviour and habitts as a soft measure category

The first category of measures is assuming a large finnancial resources allocation, while the second one is less consuming. Also the soft measures are more likely attractive for other possible supporters as travel agencies, environment protection organization, political actors. The sinergy possibilities of the joint promotion and educational campaign for the public transport can easily determining efficient partnerships.

Campaign objective and targets

This campaign mission is to influence the travel behaviour of the tourists toward and within the tourism areas of the Black Seaside and also to increase the tourists awareness on the problem they cause by car usage, assuming the need of action on two levels:

* influencing the potential tourists befor their trip to the Black Seaside, by a national campaign
* influencing the tourists at the Black Seaside by a local focused campaign

The second level duced the choice of the pilot area for this campaign and the most appropriate proved to be Constanta area with is linked resorts, Mamaia, Eforie Nord and Eforie Sud.
The main attibutes of the area are:

* the obvious sesonality of the tourists flow, with an increase of arround 1 mill. Persons between June and September every year (4 months a year)
* insufficient transport infrastructure for the summer season assaulted? by auto-tourists
* large air pollution due to cars, mainly used by tourists.

In this context, off season, at the national level, the target audience is the urban population of the main cities, owning a private car, as potential tourists and the “auto-tourists” located at the Black Seaside during the summer season.

Actions

The partners will have to act in two periods before and within the summer season (june-september)

Pre-season actions are aiming to identify and reach the target audience befor the trip:

* data collection on the target audience – potential tourists
* focus-group organised in the main tourists supplier areas of the country
* partnership with travel agencies
* posters distribution all over the country at the travel agencies and public transport means
* mass-media talks
* web page
* attending the tourism events as fairs, conferences.

During season actions are aiming to reach the target audience during the trip and to change their current travel behaviour at the Black Seaside and for the next year. The action principles are:

* direct contacts and aproach of the new tourists
* new aproach of the old tourists that have been already reach a a promo activity in the previous year

The action will be similar to those on the national level:

* open worshops and focus-groups
* partnerships with the travel agencies
* maps, posters and leaflets distribution
* partnership with local and national mass-media

Action period

The main campaign will last effectively two years aiming to continue the local partnerships actions. It will be preceded by a before-campaign evaluation, it will join a during-seasonal campaign evaluation and it will be followed by an after-campaign evaluation.

Expectations, evaluation

The partners expectations are not only to reach the objectives but also to determine the limits and the barriers of such a communication campaign for the tourists. Also an important result will be developing effective communication techniques together with developing worldwide long-wide evaluation best practices guide. Effectively the evaluation will start befor the campaign will be going with it and will continue after the communication and marketing campaign end. The evaluation of the campaign effects will estimate qualitative and quantitative factors:

* qualitative effects as the change of tourists, media, political factors, travel agencies attitudes and opinionsconcerning public transport
* quantitative effects as change in the public transport revenues, increaseof the number of tourists arrivaing by traing etc.

The data collected should be comparable in time and space (with other test sites) and will aim to influence and modell next pro-public transport campaign.

Pending campaign results

The partners succeded to construct the Web page, to organise a focus group in the main tourists supplier area – Bucharest- and also to distribute nationaly two posters and localy a map and two posters at the travel agencies, hotels, parkings, high way entrance in Constanta region. The first poster image was based on modern rolling stock and was less successfull than the second one based on cartoon.