Singapore Knows BOGOF Is Not Enough
Merlion Park Singpore
I think it was back in the 80s when BOGOFs first appeared. The idea of Buy One and Get One Free seemed to catch the imagination of consumers and marketers alike. I was working at Kuoni Travel at the time and I can still remember those first “2 weeks for the price of one” deals going down a storm with customers.
Here we are some 3 decades on and BOGOFs are as part of the scene as discount Sales. So much so in fact that, during these challenging times, in my opinion any travel industry marketer trying to rally support for their product or service with a BOGOF alone is on the road to nowhere.
In my post First Night Free Hotel Stay In Singapore With SIA Holidays! I highlighted collaboration between an airline, a tourist board and an airport authority that has gone beyond BOGOF. (Incidentally I apologise for simply posting a Press Release: it was through expediency rather than laziness – it was a very busy week!).
More destinations in Asia should be tackling the declining tourist numbers in a similar collaborative fashion. Traditional marketing channels and tactics are not going to be enough at a time when individual disposable income is under so much pressure.
The travelling public want to know not only that can they secure a deal, on say an air ticket or a hotel room, but also that their pound, dollar, euro or whatever will stretch far enough to allow them to take a vacation rather than staying bunkered-up at home.
Surely one reason for the popularity of All Inclusive vacations is the fact that the customer knows in advance just how much he or she is going to spend: it helps with budgeting.
How useful then to know that on a Singapore Airlines holiday your following costs are covered:
Free airport transfers
Free transport around the city
Plus:
There are discounts available on entrance fees and guests qualify for a 50% discount on Food & Beverage at participating hotels.
I am not on any kind of commission from Singapore Airlines and I am not suggesting that one of their holidays is necessarily right for you: I am merely postulating that the concept is a sound one. We consumers are no longer going to have our head’s turned by a discount here or a BOGOF there: the travel industry will have to do better than that during these challenging times and in my opinion collaboration is the key.
