Byron Kalies

First appeared in ‘Action Network’ (U.K).

There’s been a considerable amount of publicity concerning the tourist industry in recent months – not all of it favourable. There’s been the fear regarding climate change, fuel prices and security for a start. Carbon emissions have also been high on many people’s agenda and the industry has had a particularly difficult time often being seen as the pantomime villains taking much of the blame for the world’s problems.

Yet people still seem to be keen to travel and a recent estimate has the industry expecting a 4.3 per cent a year growth over the next decade.

This year’s World Travel Market looks set to be a lively event attempting to address the diverse elements of the industry. This annual four-day travel industry event for all the buyers and sellers in the tourism industry takes place at London’s ExCel and runs from 12 to 15 November. It brings together worldwide buyers and sellers from every sector of the industry. Last year 46,945 travel industry professionals participated at WTM 2006 representing 202 countries and regions.

The tourism industry seems to be one of the few industries actually getting on and addressing some of the serious concerns and finding practical ways of dealing with them. As an example of how seriously the tourism industry is taking their responsibility is that the World Travel Market (WTM) is making 14 November 2007 World Travel Market World Responsible Tourism Day (WTM WRTD).

This emphasis on responsible tourism was instigated in 2002 at the Cape Town Conference of Responsible Tourism in Destinations. At this conference a declaration for Responsible Tourism was developed the outcomes of which will continue to be developed at this year’s WTM WRTD. Amongst the incentives the Cape Town Conference looked at for responsible tourism was; minimising negative economic, environmental and social impacts; involving local people; providing more enjoyable experiences for tourists, and encouraging respect between tourists and hosts.

The premise of the WTM WRTD is to build on these initiatives and help drive more responsible behaviour by the industry and the public. The hope is to encourage people to take responsibility for making countries and destinations more sustainable. The one day programme will consist of a variety of seminars and debates looking at the issues involving responsible tourism. Some of the topics already planned include water, carbon offsetting and poverty.

This isn’t just a talking shop however. Over the year there has been a wide range of responsible tourist initiatives started. Examples of projects already in place include;

Association of Small scale Enterprise in Tourism (ASSET). This project aids seventy small tourist businesses in Gambia by helping local people in tourism jobs;

Rural Organisation for Social Elevation (ROSE). This initiative, based in India, is a not for profit organisation that uses a volunteer-based tourism programme to enhance the health, education and quality of life for the rural poor;

Tribes. This was an early tour operator programme that was set up to specifically promote holidays which would benefit local people, wildlife and the environment.

There are a number of major International organisations involved in initiatives that support communities throughout the world. Some of the sponsors for these programmes include Singapore Airlines, Marriott International, Avis and the Tata Group.

The WTM WRTD is running on 14^th November 2007 as part of the 26^th annual 4 day World Travel Market travel exhibition. This event is the largest travel trade experience in the world and last year produced some truly staggering statistics.

For instance, last year visitors to the event spent over £28 billion worth of business. At last year’s event there were a total of 22,481 visitors amongst a total of 46,945 total participants. There was also over 3000 members of the International press present. In addition there were over 5,600 companies exhibiting with a roughly 50 – 50 spread of participants inside and outside the UK.

Like last year’s successful event this year’s event is running under one roof at ExCel London, the international exhibition and conference centre, situated in London Docklands.

This year sees a boom in an unlikely new trend – food tourism. Holiday makers are now choosing where to visit countries because of their tummies, not their tans, the bhajis not the beaches.

Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism association says, “The last 5 years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are marketed and it’s all because people are demanding authentic experiences.”

Long Travel, a specialist in rural Italy and Sicily travel reports that 85% of its clients now ask specifically for food advice when booking. Whilst Chicago, who would claim to have led the revolution by appointing Judith Hines as director of culinary arts and events eight years ago, feels that millions of tourists now come for the food festivals. These festivals include the 11-day taste of Chicago. This festival in July sees over 3.5 million people consuming 70,000 pounds of ribs and a quarter of a million slices of pizza.

Judith Hines explains “Food certainly helps boost tourism. Whilst cultural events like theatre might be a good hook for tourists, it won’t appeal to all; the attraction of food is universal.”

It seems that the whole world is coming to London in November to exhibit. From the United States in particular there seems to be a small invasion. There are exhibitors from Alabama to Washington, Iowa to Oregon, California to Virginia and most places in between. An unusual trend this year comes from USA in particular and concerns the rise in tourist companies dealing in different means of transportation within the country. There is an increasing number of exhibitors here that will be helping people get across, through and around the United States in a variety of fashions.

For example, there’s Liberty Helicopters. This is a well established company, started in 1985, based in Manhattan that offers sight seeing tours or charter flights across the North East of America. There are a number of tours available around New York

Then, if you fancy going further inland there’s Travel Oregon. This enterprise is co-ordinated by nine local commissioners appointed by the Governor of Oregon. The enterprise brings together all aspects of travel and tourism in Oregon. The range of information available to travel around the state is certainly well coordinated. Apart from the different methods of transport there are features on where to stay, what to see, what to eat, as well as access to weather and road conditions.

There are a number of family-owned bus and coach companies expanding into tourism. Some of them such as Lamers Bus Lines from Wisconsin and All Aboard America! from Arizona are fairly new to the tourism industry. There does seem to be the feeling though that this is a dynamic part of the industry and diversity seems to be the way forward.

A company from a similar , family-owned, family-operated background but now fully immersed in the tourism industry are Northwest Iowa Transportation Inc. The name conjures up images of solid, Midwest, blue collar workers and having been established in the 1970s in Des Moines and Fort Dodge that was it’s purpose – coach and bus transport around north West Iowa. However over the past decade or so it has diversified into tours and tourism. In 1993 the first international tour to Australia and New Zealand took place and from then on it has expanded and diversified.

Last year there were tours to places as diverse as Hawaii, Japan and Antarctica and this year there are tours scheduled to include the Amazon, India and the Galapagos islands.

It seems that WTM is the catalyst for some of these smaller companies to expand. Another of these USA coach operators, Escot Bus Lines from Orlando, Florida, has found the WTM experience of immense benefit, as Brian Scott, Vice President explains;

“This will be the 5^th time we have exhibited at WTM. As a result of the efforts in these early years we developed relationships and partnerships with many other transportation and touring companies. So much so that we have now launched the Global Passenger Network with over 20 other member countries. In short WTM has expanded our horizons exponentially in terms of who we can now reach. WTM has made the travel world seem so much smaller and more accessible.“

First appeared in ‘CIO’ (U.K.)

It started as an idea to explore trolleyology. Not the trolleyology as defined in the United States – “making judgements about people from their shopping”. In the US version it’s become very popular and widely discussed as a means of matching and dating. Would you go out with someone who only bought ‘value’ or ‘standard’ range products?

The trolleyology I was interested in was the psychology of supermarkets. This is an exploration of the way supermarkets seduce customers with their cunning use of music, colour, product positioning etc. I had discovered a number of interesting aspects; For instance did you know that most supermarkets are designed with the entrance on the left to encourage shoppers to walk around the store in a clock-wise direction which feels more comfortable and natural? Or that there’s a company that sells canisters of coffee and bread smells to pump through the air-conditioning. I also found out that aisles had curved ends to make sure the customer’s eye never leaves the produce.

I found that the choice of music could be extremely problematic for supermarket psychologists. Research shows that slow instrumental music means people spend more time in the store. This is usually a good thing and something supermarkets encourage in other ways – lack of windows to block out reality which often makes people unaware of the time. However the willingness to purchase decreases when this type of music is playing. So, it’s a tough decision. One other piece of research showed that when a supermarket played French music more French wine was sold, and when they played German music more German wine was sold.

So, having discovered a fair amount on the various old-fashioned techniques supermarkets use to get the maximum amount of money out of customers I thought I’d look at the new battlefield – the web site.

It was interesting and paralleled three of the main principles of trolleyology. Firstly the experience is designed to be as pleasant and easy as possible – people are more likely to spend money if they’re happy. Secondly people are encouraged to stay online for as long as possible – while they are online they’re more likely to be spending money and finally people are persuaded to buy the products the retailer can make the most money from – often own label products .

I looked at all the major retailers and found very little difference in the ‘tactics’ used. The first screens tend to be the equivalent of the ‘transit zone’ in supermarkets. The transit zone is that ‘dead’ area for selling where the baskets and information is kept. Shoppers need this space to acclimatise to the store. It’s a similar process on the websites. The supermarkets establish their credibility and trust and make it feel safe to shop. One of the key aspects of this is the logo. Logos are interesting. Most sites have a logo that emphasises solidity like TESCO or ASDA. Others adopt a solid minimalist approach combining strength with a modern look e.g. “YOUR M&S”. Others go with that symbolism then add a statement in computer-fashioned handwriting, e.g. Sainsbury “Try something new today”. This aims for the solidity combined with old-fashioned values. The logo design combined with the safe, solid colour scheme is designed to put the shopper at ease and develop a sense of trust.

Colours aren’t just chosen at random here. There’s a great deal of thought and philosophy going on here. In Eastern philosophy colours correspond with the seven energy centres (chakras) of the body and have powerful meanings. Consciously, or subconsciously these tie in neatly with many of the colour schemes. For instance, Morrison’s have a different colour design for each aspect of their website;

For the section on ‘stores and services’ the green colour represents heart and love, ‘special offers’ are yellow representing emotions,

violet represents spirit and vitality for ‘new store openings’,

orange represents endurance for ‘company information’.

The blue that dominates Tesco and other websites represents strength, dignity, calm and trustworthiness. Navy blue in particular is reliable and responsible. It appeals to the older audience and reduces blue pressure. Offers are frequently in red which emotes aggression and is attention grabbing. It can increase the heart rate and blood pressure.

Many stores ‘Christmas’ website areas are in direct contrast to their traditional colour scheme. Waitrose incorporate a great deal of chocolate brown which represents an affinity with nature. Whilst Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer feature a rich red design which in Western culture suggests feelings of sophistication and is meant to be welcoming.

Once you start shopping and get through the initial screen and into the shopping area you’ll find the exciting items first – i.e., at the top left corner of the screen. The first area you come across on the Tesco site is intriguingly labelled . Leaving the introductory screens you’re bombarded by rich reds, images and offers and ‘Christmas’ (standing out in red from the other white labels). Having recovered and perhaps picked up a few bargains its back to the more mundane blues of the groceries shopping.

Firstly there’s the login screen – nice and straightforward. Then there’s another ‘transit zone’. There’s lots of reassuring black text and a photograph of a nice ripe red strawberry. From the top and from the left Christmas again features extremely large. In the top left corner – ‘Everything for Christmas’.

Clicking on this and you’re back to the rich reds and mouth-watering photograph of brie, grapes and a strawberry. There’s a lot of help to sort everything out for you. This is known as ‘clustering’. In a supermarket you would tend to have the pasta section with pasta, of course, pasta sauces, pesto, tomato puree, colanders, everything including the salt you may need for cooking. On special promotions you may even get wine, Italian music, etc…

Click on < Christmas essentials > and you get the clustering (in spades). On the ‘Don’t forget’ list you get 41 items not to forget including toilet tissue, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding, batteries, turkey foil and Whiskas Pouch Chicken in Jelly. Incidentally there’s an interesting feature on the Christmas pages called the ‘present selector’. You type in who it’s for (for him, for her, for kids)) and how much you love them (under a tenner, £10 -£19, … over £100) and press ENTER. Typing in ‘for her – under £10’ shows you all the options at all the prices. ‘For him - over £100’ gives all the options as well. It panders to the feeling that you’ve had some choice – taken some control. It’s an illusion really.

Back to the . As with the physical supermarket first impressions are vital. In a store it’s fresh fruit and vegetables. Online it’s fresh fruit and vegetables. The first screen has that perfect red strawberry sitting in a bed of text.

Click on and you get a photograph entitled ‘PURE INDULGENCE ‘with some gorgeous looking steak dish (well to some – missed me with this one being a vegetarian). Still, clicking on this image gives you lots of ideas for ‘Scrumptious starters’, ‘Mouth-watering mains’, Delicious desserts’ and ‘ Delightful drinks’. All with extremely attractive meals and designed to assault your taste buds.

Supermarkets are designed so that the essentials are scattered to different locations at the back of the stores. This forces shoppers to walk through the more exciting (higher mark-up) aisles. The basics are available and listed on the left hand side, but are grouped with other items. For example bread is in ; vegetables are in .

Looking at the process of buying and comparing price can be extremely complicated. For instance, looking on the Sainsbury’s site for apples the first three items were;

‘Mr Men organic apples £1.99 / unit (£2.84 / Kg)’

‘Sainsbury Apple and grape bites £0.54 / unit (£0.68 / 100 g)’

‘Sainsbury Apples, basics £0.69 / unit (£0.09 each)’.

It’s nice to see the concept of confusion marketing has extended to this area of the internet already.

I digress. Buying a loaf of bread can’t be too difficult though can it? Clicking on a very interesting sub-menu pops up. It has at the top. Then it seems to be in alphabetical order for a while – , , , etc. However right at the eye-catching bottom of the list, where the reading finishes and the eye lingers, is . It’s a similar pattern for other items in the Fresh Fruit category. Finest* is Tesco’s own quality (and I would guess) their high profit range.

Anyway let’s try to ignore that range and go for boring sliced white bread < Bread- Sliced Loaves> . Another choice appears including < Standard White Bread> and .

Value (25p) sounds really cheap so I choose that one. Clicking on the text to give an image and the picture is of an unloved, squashed, not very nice-looking loaf of bread. Let’s try standard (43p). .No image available. Why is that I wonder? Is standard white bread so rare in Tesco’s they can’t find one to take a photograph of? Unfortunately there’s no information either. I must say the ‘more information’ on all sites I looked at is really mixed. Sometimes, on Tesco, Waitrose especially there’s excellent information on nutritional values, descriptions, etc. Waitrose even recommend what else you should buy to go with your selection – How thoughtful of them. However often there’s no information at all.

Back to the bread. I can’t choose standard as I can’t see what it looks like and it reminds me too much of ‘average’ in school which means anything but average. Also, there may be an American watching and studying my purchases for ‘trolleyology’ purposes.

(choice of 17) is basically brand leaders – Hovis, Kingsmill, Mothers Pride (82 p a loaf or so). Looks good. A nice picture and lots of information on ingredients, storage, usage, nutritional values.

Now for (choice of 3 Tesco products and 5 others). – Hovis (94 p) so it must be better.

Scroll down and find Tesco finest* crusty white bread (82p). Super premium for the price of premium and it’s the finest – Better buy it quick.

So, even though you’re able to buy anything without leaving the comfort of your computer desk chair you’re not safe from the same old tricks and techniques shopkeepers have always used to get you to part with your money. It’s not even any subtler, which, I guess is some relief. Unless it’s so subtle I haven’t spotted it?

A: Why don’t you give us your thoughts on the music of 2006?

B: What a good idea;

Coda (2005)

“We’re on the one road / Maybe the wrong road / It’s the road to fuck knows where”

Consider the following; an intelligent, but fucked up, individual suddenly becomes the “coolest person in the world”. Not only that but he gets “the most mesmerising woman on the planet” as a devoted girlfriend. What else could a person want? Oh yes, why not write and play some of the best, most original music heard for a long, long time with echoes of TS Eliot, The Smiths, The Clash… There is a downside however as the individual seems to have lost all links with reality, is despised,ridiculed ( and adored) in equal measure and seemingly on a collision course to be dead before his 28th Birthday.

In some quarters, there is a debate regarding the merits of music versus lifestyle. Bill Hicks gives the definitive answer; “I want my rock stars dead! I want them to fucking play with one hand and put a gun in their other fucking hand and go “I hope you enjoy the show!” Play from your fucking heart!
Bill Hicks would have approved of Pete Doherty

Review of 2006

“Oh there ain’t no love, no Montagues or Capulets
Just banging tunes and DJ sets and
Dirty dancefloors and dreams of naughtiness”

It’s not difficult to do great music. You need 3 basic ingredients – banging tunes, eloquent lyrics and a little dash of attitude.

Imagine a band of talented, raw, hard-working, working class teenagers coming out of a deprived city in England with a potential genius leader. If you’re thinking Beatles you’ve got the vibe but you’re 40 years out. Substitute John Lennon for Alex Turner and you’ve got it. If you’ve been put off by the hype surrounding them – get over it and listen to the music. You’ve got to love a band that can call their follow up record ‘Who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?’ and consistently refuse to give interviews or appear on Top of the Pops and the equivalent. Get on the bandwagon immediately before their second proper album comes out. The hope is that it’ll be terrific. History tells us that this is rarely so (more examples to follow). We can only hope, and pray.

This year, as with many years, the phenomena has been that ‘difficult second album’. Or, more precisely, that ‘difficult next album to the successful one after you’ve finally got it together’. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I offer you; The Streets, Keane, Athlete, Snow Patrol. The one notable exception being Muse. It’s sad.

The main thrust of artists with something to say this year are female – Shakira, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse. They seem to have something in common - banging tunes, decent words and attitude. It’s not a female trait though. Others females breaking one, two or all three of these simple requisites would include Courtney Love, My Chemical Romance, J Lo, Madonna.

Madonna falls into another category this year, again. This would be the ‘artists who are dead but have forgotten to lie down’ group. Let’s hope 2007 is the year Madonna lies down with friends U2, Take That, Dave Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Oasis, Eminem, Bob Dylan, Sting, the Who, Elton John, Paul Weller. They’re a lot like your father singing at a wedding. It’s embarrassing for you, for them and for everyone watching. Please stop. There is a sign as to the exact moment you enter this category – When the crowd give you a standing ovation before you do anything – it’s time to grab a pillow and sleep.

Someone I’m constantly worried about and who is nearly, nearly, nearly moving into this category would be Morrissey. In terms of his music - so far, so good. However, with every new release I get a little more anxious. Morrissey, if you could stop soon before you end up like Bono it would save me a lot of stress. The problem is that he’s on the cusp of the ‘popular / not too popular’ spectrum. If you’re ‘not too popular’ (with a loyal fan base) you can get away with it. Let me explain; if you have the talent, the real talent and the right “it’s my job” mentality you can go on forever getting better and surviving. Stand up Lambchop, Wilco, Eels, Belle and Sebastian (although I was worried for a while last year), Trash Can Sinatras, Tindersticks. They’ll never make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but will go on and on making music – because it’s what they do.

Of the rest it goes without saying that I’ve no time for boy bands, girl bands, X factor winners (or losers), film stars turned music stars (except Juliette Lewis who really seems to have gone for it) James Blunt and Robbie Williams. As Bill Hicks would describe it;
“When did mediocrity and banality become a good image for your children? I want my children to listen to people who fucking rocked.”

In the ‘I missed the boat completely’ category I’d have to place The Kooks, Gnarls Barkley, Johnson and a whole bunch of female singers called Nora, Mary, Natasha, Justin or Alicia. Just don’t get it. They “say nothing to me about my life”.

On a positive side there has been a mini-cult of uncynical ‘happy songs’ that I really like – Hal, Zutons, Fratellis, Feeling, Automatics. It’s a one-off and like all sugary things you can only take so much, but they worked for me.

Two questions for next year – will the Arctic Monkey be able to retain and channel the energy? And will the Devil give Pete Doherty another 12 months? I’m betting the answer is ‘no’ to at least one of those questions.