Page 211 - Tourism The International Business

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they will pass it along in that most effective of all communications situations: direct, one-to-one personal
communication.
More structured efforts also exploit the advantages of face-to-face communication. Tourism leaders often have

programs of meeting privately with key influential people on a regular basis. In other instances, personal contact
has been effective in membership drives or fund raising efforts where supporters agree to quotas of new members
or contributions. This is often a particularly effective method for reaching those who have recently allowed their
membership or support to lapse.

Mass communication
Face-to-face communication is the most effective mode since listeners have an immediate opportunity to
respond, question and clarify. Unfortunately, the time available for this task is never as great as the need and part of
the task must be accomplished through the use of mass communication.
Opting to use mass communications involves trading off effectiveness for efficiency. Admittedly, the message is
not delivered as effectively and completely by mass means. Yet, it is efficient in that larger numbers can be reached
for a given allocation of time or money.

In discussing mass communication, it is conventional to distinguish between advertising and publicity.
Advertising. Advertising differs from publicity in that advertising is paid for while publicity is free. The most
obvious use of advertising is the purchase of space in newspapers or time on radio or television. An alternative is
the publication of newsletters or brochures.
Media advertising seems to be used less frequently than other modes in public awareness programs. The amount
of information that can be conveyed is limited, the relative cost is high and the amount an organization can afford is
frequently viewed as being so small as to have a negligible impact.

In the communications program, paid advertising seems best adapted to one-shot efforts such as countering
specific criticisms. Since the use of public resources to influence the public is politically sensitive, a tourism
organization may not wish to pay the cost from its own funds. Often it will be advisable for the organization's
officials to coordinate campaign that is underwritten by one or several members.
Brochures and newsletters are more frequently used since their relative cost is low and larger amounts of
information can be included. Examples include:
• information sheets and newsletters for distribution to the general public;
• newsletters for members or members of sponsoring organizations such as a chamber of commerce;

• brochures describing the benefits of membership to prospects.
Public service spots made available by radio and television stations resemble both advertising and publicity.
They are like publicity in that the time is free, like advertising, there are costs involved; the advertiser usually must
prepare, or pay for the content. These can be valuable if they are offered at times when desirable audiences are
available. Otherwise, the organization may find itself in the situation experienced by one federal agency.
The department was prohibited by Congress from using paid television advertising, and relied entirely upon

public service time. They still had to pay the considerable cost of preparing and distributing commercials. A study
revealed that, since few were watching, the total cost per viewer worked out to be greater than if the organization
had purchased prime time.

Tourism the International Business 211 A Global Text