In the last blog I wrote about how tourists often have an interest in European history of the World Wars (witness the number of documentaries made about the subject). This is one of many examples of how tourist-information texts should not necessarily just be translated, because the visitor from England, Canada or the US likely has different interests than most Dutch people. 

 In this blog I give an example text, here for the fictive place Hoeheetiedam (What’sitcalled-embankment).

• Hoeheetiedam played host to a huge numbers of Belgian refugees during World War I.  Tent camps were set up in the Onzeburgemeester Park—currently a pleasant place to picnic in the eastern part of the city—and there were enormous logistical challenges involved in the care, feeding and education of hundreds of destitute indefinite-stay guests.  

• During World War II, with the assistance of French troops, the area around Hoeheetiedam was valiantly defended against the Germans, and it remained free for months even after the Netherlands had surrendered.  During the occupation, several citizens, including Abel Verzet, worked underground to assist the Allies. Captured and executed in 1943, a statue dedicated to Abel’s memory is seen in the historical city square (Grote Markt).  This is an ideal place for shopping or to have a cocktail on the terrace of one of the many restaurants and cafes. 

• Hoeheetiedam was located on the fly route for the British Royal Air Force and thus the Germans had snipers stationed at strategic places outside the city. There is a monument next to the Vaargoed River dedicated to the many members of the air corps who lost their lives in the area. The monument is on the route of our cycling map, for further information, see….

• Finally liberated in the spring of 1945, months later than most of the Netherlands, the citizens of Hoeheetiedam were naturally overjoyed to meet the victorious Canadian troops although the feelings must have been bittersweet:  allied poor judgment had largely caused this delay.  There is a memorial commemorating the liberation at the train station, which is located close to the tourist information office (VVV). 

• Only eight years after liberation Hoeheetiedam was inundated in the North Sea flood of 1953, suffering extensive damage and killing hundreds of citizens. A multilingual film and exhibition concerning this disaster is in the Watersnood Museum located in nearby Oostdorp. 
  

With a few appropriate illustrations and links for further information, this text brings a few key historical episodes to life without going into the detail that might cause someone to “bounce“ directly back out of the site.  It also connects it to activities for the modern tourist in the same area.  This will hopefully pique a visitor’s curiosity and encourage them that there is a great deal to see and do in Hoeheetiedam so that they plan a more extensive trip than they might otherwise, and thus fulfills the primary goal of any city marketer!    

Until now I have focused primarily on the ordinary business associations. In this blog I want to look at a special breed of consumer: the tourist/hotel guest. I am regularly surprised by the haphazard nature of international city marketing here in the Netherlands. Quality English language texts are standard in Belgium, for instance, even outside of major cities.  Aside from Amsterdam, many cities with significant tourist potential in the Netherlands do little to attract guests from abroad, despite desperately needing the revenue that they would bring. Even more surprisingly, some hotels chains do not optimize their marketing; many websites even have English texts that contain elementary spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Hotel guest priority list:

Hotels typically have two main types of guests, business and pleasure. There are common detonators, with some exceptions—groups of teenagers want to party rather than to sleep; the elderly are less likely to be wifi-obsessed—most guests are looking for:

·         A comfortable, clean, quiet place to sleep

·         A place to relax and plug into (or out of) the world

·         A place to forget worries, let someone else clean, and otherwise take care of things…

In a descriptive text, therefore, these items should naturally be emphasized. Perhaps more important, however, is providing information and links in your website to indicate local highlights and events. These encourage guests to stay longer. They might even decide to tack a vacation onto their business trip, bringing those lucrative tourist dollars/pounds/yen/euros to your establishment and local area.

Don’t underestimate the breadth of the foreign visitor’s interest. For instance, many visitors are fascinated with the two World Wars and would enjoy a short description of the local history of the era around the hotel, and the existing memorials. Others want information about museums, temporary exhibitions but also a general text about the permanent collections. Other people are particularly interested in architecture and would be interested in a list of monuments. These are often already available here in the Netherlands, but generally not in English.  If a city has parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, areas of natural beauty, then a general text about them is also worth placing. Musical events and festivals are also ideal content to provide in a website, or at least a link to the appropriate site. 

This kind of free information is generally greatly appreciated by clients because you are providing the basic information, which saves them time.  Further it entices people to plan for more time in the area and in the hotel!  In addition, if being better prepared means that they enjoy their stay more, you increase the chance that they provide positive feedback. Which is, after all, free advertising and is particularly convincing for potential guests.