Airports and Tourism Boards: Best practices for supporting talks with carriers

In the second of six articles that will help destinations and airports gain a better understanding of how to develop successful air services, Gavin Eccles, Professor of Aviation at Universidade Lusófona, will address how airports and tourism boards must work closer and uncover what constitutes a strong business case to a carrier when seeking them to fly to your airport/destination. 

Gavin’s previous roles have included development in British Airways, as well as consultancy projects for United Airlines, American Airlines, Qantas, and supporting the development of low-cost airlines to touristic destinations. Gavin has held a Board Position (CCO) at Portuguese airline, SATA International, and has been the advisor to the Board of Visit Portugal on air connectivity.  

As a Professor, Gavin is responsible for programs spanning the commercial aspects of aviation and airports and works closely with Aeroclass on executive courses bringing DMOs and airports together for tailored learning programs that support route development for destinations. 

Over recent decades, air travel has dramatically boosted tourism. Airports, which are obviously central to the aviation industry, have played a significant role in this. They’re more than just transit points; they now actively promote international tourism.  Airports have not only expanded travel options but have also been instrumental in developing tourist services, shaping our travel experiences. They serve as vital drivers that bring tourism to life. Join us as we explore the role of airports in tourism and connecting the world.

Gateway to adventure: The role of airports in tourism

Airports have transformed from being simply transit spots into an essential part of the tourist industry. They’re central to marketing destinations, on the understanding that concrete and runways alone won’t attract travelers and airlines. In this competitive field, airports not only serve tourists but also work to draw them in. They focus on marketing not only within the terminal, but also to airlines. They showcase a destination’s unique attractions, helping airlines to see the potential for profitable routes.

Passengers are also vitally important, as airports aim to leave a good impression and spark their curiosity. Additionally, airports play a vital role in improving the accessibility of tourist areas, acting as a crucial connection that swiftly and conveniently makes otherwise remote places accessible.

Boosting local economies: How tourism benefits from airport development

Airport development benefits tourism in several ways. Firstly, it improves accessibility by creating new routes and connections, attracting more tourists, and supporting the local tourism industry. It also enhances the first impressions of arriving tourists.  Moreover, airport development promotes airline competition, resulting in more affordable airfares, increasing demand and encouraging more tourists to visit.

Airports often become hubs for various transportation options, making travel more convenient. Economically, airport development creates jobs in construction, operation and the broader tourism sector, stimulating local economies and benefiting hotels, restaurants and cultural attractions.

Airline partnerships: How airports collaborate to improve tourist access

Collaborative efforts between airports and airlines are a cornerstone of enhancing tourist access. Their collaborative endeavors encompass diverse strategies designed to render travel more convenient, cost-effective and enjoyable for tourists.  First and foremost, such partners collaborate closely to establish new flight routes and increase the frequency of existing ones, effectively improving connectivity to favored tourist destinations. Airports often sweeten the deal for airlines with incentives like reduced landing fees and marketing support, ultimately benefiting tourists.

Joint marketing ventures are also a standard feature of airport and airline cooperation. These encompass advertising campaigns, online promotions and travel packages, all designed to simplify the planning and booking process for tourists. Through this joint effort, airports and airlines market their regions effectively and attract more visitors.

What tourism boards know that airlines want to know

Both airlines and airports have access to a great deal of data. Whether it’s from their own knowledge base or industry tools, they already know on paper whether a route will work or not. But does that tell the whole story?  Although conversations about new routes have traditionally taken place between airlines and airports, today more and more new route opportunities are being presented by the Destinations Management Organization, and such parties are becoming involved in order to increase the attractiveness of the destination to airlines.  Moreover, a new airline route ticks plenty of boxes for a tourism board too, so why wouldn’t they want to be involved in developing those routes?

Airlines know a great deal about routes and connectivity. In fact, by the time an airline comes to meet with an airport, they will almost certainly be confident that, on paper at least, the route should work. However, they are still likely to be touting for business around a number of airports, so what can tourism boards do to sway their opinion?  Plus, tourism boards are bringing great insights on potential passengers for the airline and prospective route – particularly qualitative insights on search and sentiment, and data on spending patterns and stay statistics.  As such, the tourism insights are building on the airports’ information to support a more convincing business case.

Insights at the local level are a strong proposition to carriers and need to be implemented to the case. Similarly, the international offices of the DMOs can also help with talking to the travel trade and tour operators in the source markets to understand how they would see a proposed new route connecting to the destination. So, combining past data, which is often what airports are collecting, and future insights that tourism teams hold, makes for a great mix, and indeed the two are complementary.

Building the business case to the carrier

Remember, airlines have the same access to historical data on passengers, and insights on the direct and indirect passenger numbers, that airports have. As such, what can airports and tourism boards do together that allows for synergy? ‘The whole is greater than the sum of the parts’; meaning that a business case needs to bring the historical pax trends with futuristic understanding of what is being searched, booked and reviewed. If we know what has happened, and have insights into what might be, maybe we are ahead of our airlines in what we can present as a successful business case?

Without a doubt, airlines like the historical data and numbers on direct and indirect traffic flows, but there’s no point in trying to replicate the numbers that they already have at their disposal. So, what can we offer that makes for new thinking?

Catchment Analysis: (at the source destination) – Demographics of the potential tourists, income levels, etc., Who are you looking to attract, and what interest is this for the airline?

Passenger traffic: (inbound to your destination) – What do you believe to be the schedule for the carrier, and why? By providing some insights into the period (all-year, summer, winter, etc.), what do you believe demand could look like?  Any potential ideas on load-factors?

Fares analysis:  Based on the catchment and pax traffic discussion, can you provide any insights into fare levels to be achieved by the carrier? What are some of the competitor destination benchmarks, and can we share price insights from this?  What might be the difference your destination offers to carriers when they look at their average fares?

Route Analysis:  How do you see the flight?  Mostly tourists coming from the airport destination (what we call P2P – point to point traffic), or is there potential for passengers to connect beyond the airport, via a route that has connections and feed traffic?

Market Insights:  If a tourism route, then explain the offer – hotels, seasonality, prices, new hotel projects, etc.).  Tell the airline your story and build in a new vision of search data. How are people seeing the destination?  This section is for you to inform.
The key is to have a robust business case and ensure that both airport and destination are working together to present the offer to the carrier. This creates a unique opportunity to really sell the attractions and the benefits of the local area, which will undoubtedly help to convince that airline that selling tickets on their flights is going to be easy. Plus, the reality of serving the route is grounded in strong quantitative, as well as qualitative, insights.

This second article has tried to show how airlines and airports can work in close harmony when pushing for air services developments, plus the benefits of analysis that showcases new insights on why the carrier should fly. Next month, we will look at how airlines think – in particular, what is on their minds when considering a new route.The post Airports and Tourism Boards: Best practices for supporting talks with carriers appeared first on AeroTime.

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