LNA World Communications

12 Companies and organisations honoured with sustainable tourism accolade

16 February 2009 – London, UK:  The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today announced the 12 finalists for the 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. Under WTTC’s stewardship since 2003, the prestigious Awards recognise best practices in sustainable tourism in four different categories – Destination Stewardship, Conservation, Community Benefit and Global Tourism Business. A record number of entries were received this year from over 40 countries and six continents.

The 12 finalists were selected by an international team of independent judges in each of the four award categories for having successfully demonstrated sustainable tourism  practices, including the protection of natural and cultural heritage, social and economic benefits to local people,  and environmentally-friendly operations.

The 2009 Finalists are:
Destination Stewardship Award
Grupo PUNTACANA, Dominica Republic – www.puntacana.com
Heritage Watch, Cambodia – www.heritagewatch.org
South West Tourism, UK – www.swtourism.org.uk
Conservation Award
Ionian Eco Villagers, Greece – www.relaxing-holidays.com
Lane Cove River Tourist Park, Australia – www.lcrtp.com.au
NatureAir, Costa Rica – www.natureair.com
Community Benefit Award
Community Action Treks, Nepal – www.catreks.com
Ol Donyo Wuas, Kenya – www.oldonyowuas.com
Zakoura Foundation for Micro Credits, Morocco – www.zakourafondation.org
Global Tourism Business Award
GAP Adventures, Canada & Global – www.gapadventures.com
Marriott International Inc, USA & Global – www.marriott.com
Metropolitan Touring, Ecuador – www.metropolitan-touring.com

Costas Christ, Chairman of Judges said: “We have reached a global tipping point in the travel industry, as more businesses and countries realise that sustainable tourism is not only about protecting the environment and safeguarding cultural diversity, but that it is also an important economic opportunity.  The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards judging process goes beyond just what a company says it is doing in sustainable tourism. Our next phase of judging involves an on-site expert evaluation of each finalist to assess what they are doing in practice, leading up to the selection of one winner in each category. ”

“The outstanding quality of this year’s entries reflects the growing interest in the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, “ said WTTC President and CEO Jean-Claude Baumgarten. “They demonstrate the Travel & Tourism industry’s long-term commitment to responsible tourism management, protecting the natural, social and cultural environment.”

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are endorsed by WTTC Members and other organisations. They are organised in association with two Strategic Partners – Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies Conservation Foundation – with additional sponsors Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Rothschild Inc. Media partners include BBC World, Breaking Travel News, e-Turbo News, FVW, greentravelguides.tv, Grupo RBS, Mercados & Eventos, National Geographic Adventure, Newsweek, Simon & Baker Travel Review, Telegraph Media Group, Travel Daily News, TravelMole, Travel Weekly, Travel Weekly UK, TTN Middle East, USA Today and 4hoteliers. Contributors are Adventure in Travel Expo, BEST Education Network, the Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Travel International, the World Heritage Alliance, Reed Travel Exhibitions and World Travel Market.

CONTACT
For more information about the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards and the finalists, please call Susann Kruegel, WTTC’s Manager, e-Strategy and Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, on +44 (0) 20 7481 8007, or contact her by email at susann.kruegel@wttc.org. You can also check out the website: www.tourismfortomorrow.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WTTC Announces Panel of International Experts for 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards

December 10, 2008 – London, UK – The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) recently announced the Judges for the 2009 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, WTTC’s high-profile sustainable tourism accolade, in association with Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies Conservation Foundation.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are presented annually to organisations pioneering responsible tourism management and helping to improve the livelihoods of communities in host destinations through sustainable tourism development. The Awards have gained international recognition thanks to a rigorous judging process, including an on-site verification for all finalists.

Costas Christ, Chairman of the Panel and internationally acclaimed expert in sustainable tourism, said: “The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are truly a global recognition of best practices in sustainable tourism. Not only does our diverse panel of judges represent a high level of Travel & Tourism expertise, but they also represent countries from all around the world.”

The judges on the Finalist Selection Committee for 2009 are:

Dr Peter Burns, Professor, Centre for Tourism Policy Studies, University of Brighton
Tony Charters, Principal, Tony Charters & Associates
Erika Harms, Executive Director of Sustainable Development, United Nations Foundation
Marilú Hernández, President, Fundacion Haciendas del Muno Mayas
Dr Janne J Liburd, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark & Chair, BEST Education Network
Brian Mullis, President, Sustainable Travel International
Mahen Sangkhrajka, Chairman, Big Five Tourism and Expeditions
Kaddu Sebunya, Director of Program Design, Africa Wildlife Foundation
Mandip Singh Soin FRGS, Founder & Managing Director, Ibex Expeditions (P) Ltd
Jamie Sweeting, Vice President of Environmental Stewardship & Global Chief Environmental Officer, Royal Caribbean International
Albert Teo, Managing Director, Borneo Eco Tours
Michelle White, Director of Sustainability, Indigo Books and Music Inc

This internationally acclaimed panel includes representatives of both the public and private sectors, as well as media and academia. Its members will review and select a shortlist of finalists in each of the four Award categories to move to the second stage of the judging process, during which on-site inspections will take place. Following the third stage of judging, a final Panel will choose the winner for each category.

Members of the Winners’ Selection Committee are:

Costas Christ, Chairman of Judges, Tourism for Tomorrow Awards
Graham Boynton, Group Travel Editor, Telegraph Media Group
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, World Travel Market & Just A Drop

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are endorsed by WTTC Members and other organisations. Sponsors include Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies Conservation Foundation, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Rothschild Inc. Media partners include BBC World, Breaking Travel News, e-Turbo News, greentravelguides.tv, Meltwater News, National Geographic Adventure, Newsweek, Telegraph Media Group, Travel Weekly UK, USA Today and 4hoteliers. Contributors are Adventure in Travel Expo, BEST Education Network, the Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Travel International, the World Heritage Alliance, Reed Travel Exhibitions and World Travel Market.

CONTACT
For more information about the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, please call Susann Kruegel, WTTC’s Manager e-Strategy and Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, on +44 (0) 20 7481 8007 or contact her by email at susann.kruegel@wttc.org. You can also check out the website: www.tourismfortomorrow.com

Elena del Valle, principal, LNA World Communications

Photo: Cristian Lazzari

Elena del Valle, MBA, principal of LNA World Communications, was featured in the October 2006 issue of Hispanic Trends magazine in a Marketing Gurus feature. She was one of four national experts addressing Latino oriented marketing strategies. The magazine dedicated a page to each expert including a profile of their professional expertise and addressing marketing issues relevant to the Hispanic communities.

Other experts featured were Jessica Pantanini, COO, Bromley Communications; Federico Subervi, Ph.D., professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University; and Teresa Soto, president and CEO, Market Solutions. 

An article in which Elena del Valle, president, LNA World Communications was interviewed and featured prominently was published in the July 28, 2006 edition of The Boca Raton News.

Gold Coast PR Council ”How to Reach and Pitch Hispanic Media”
September 19, 2006  Boca Raton, Florida            

Carlos Alfaro, editor, Hispanic Trends and Elena del Valle, editor, HispanicMPR.com

This month’s lunch meeting of the Gold Coast Public Relations Council will focus on Hispanic media. During the September 19 meeting, the editors of three Hispanic publications and one website will discuss “How to Reach and Pitch Hispanic Media” with public relations professionals at The Atrium in Boca Raton.  Editors Elena del Valle of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations.com, Carlos Alfaro of Hispanic Trends magazine, Em Mendez of La Palma, and Debbie Ramirez of El Sentinel will explain their editorial operations. The cost for lunch is $15 for members and $20 for guests.

Gary Schweikhart, co-founder and president, Gold Coast PR Council

“Lunch meetings of the Gold Coast PR Council give our members a chance to meet and network with media decision-makers. With the growing influence of Hispanic media in South Florida, this will be a valuable opportunity to find out important information, such as deadlines and the way in which the editors like to receive pitches (by phone or email), even something as important as to whether or not they accept press releases written in English or should we have them translated into Spanish first,” said Gary Schweikhart, co-founder and president of the Gold Coast PR Council. “This is really a great opportunity to get one-on-one with some key editors, so the next time one of our PR professionals call the editor of these Hispanic publications, they  can say, ‘Hey, remember me?  I met you at the Gold Coast PR Council lunch, and do I have a great story for you…”

“How to Reach and Pitch Hispanic Media” will be divided into three segments. From 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. attendees will have an opportunity to network; from 12 to 12:15 p.m., there will be lunch and organizational announcements; and from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., there will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session.

The Gold Coast PR Council is an independent group of public relations, marketing and communications professionals from Palm Beach and Broward counties. The Gold Coast PR council holds networking and educational lunch meetings, such as this one, on the third Tuesday of every month. More information is available online at GCPRC.com  — Sergio Carmona

This article was published with permission from HispanicMPR.com.

“Reaching America’s largest minority requires cultural understanding,” an article written by Elena del Valle, principal, LNA World Communications, was published in the Summer 2006 newsletter of the Southern California Chapter of the Marketing Research Association.

The article, published on page two of the six page newsletter, appeared just after the president’s message. In it, Elena outlined the importance of understanding culture in targeting Latino consumers. She also discussed five basic steps marketers can take to develop Hispanic oriented efforts.

An article about Hispanic media relations written by Elena del Valle, president, LNA was published in the July/August issue of The Publicity Hound newsletter.

“What to do when Hispanic media call” outlines the reasons to consider responding to a Hispanic media inquiry and the steps to take to maximize the chances of a positive outcome. 

The Publicity Hound is a national subscription newsletter published by Joan Stewart in Port Washington, Wisconsin. It provides readers information on how to use free publicity to establish their credibility, enhance their reputation, position themselves as experts, sell more products and services, promote a favorite cause or issue, and position their company as an employer of choice.

Boca Raton, FL – HispanicMPR.com (http://www.hispanicmpr.com/ ), a forum for the exchange of information and ideas on Hispanic marketing and public relations, will offer Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association (HMCA http://www.hmca.org/ ) members a 15 percent discount on its newly launched line of Hispanic marketing and public relations audio recordings until July 31, 2006. Information on the product line is available online at http://www.hispanicmpr.com/resources/hmpr-products/

HispanicMPR.com recently launched the first ever series of downloadable audio resources about targeting Latinos with marketing and public relations tools. Initial offerings include presentations by experts and leaders in the field such as Federico Subervi, Ph.D., professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos and co-author of the chapter titled “Latino Media: A Cultural Connection;” Michele Valdovinos, vice president of research and marketing, Phoenix Cultural Access Group and co-author of the chapter titled “A Snapshot of the U.S. Hispanic Market;” Dora O. Tovar, M.P.A., president, Tovar Public Relations and contributing author of the chapter titled “Hispanic Public Relations and Its Emergence as an Industry;” and Elena del Valle, principal, LNA World Communications and contributing author of the chapter titled “Cultural Understanding Key to Effective Media Training.”

Started as a weblog for the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book (Poyeen Publishing, $49.95), the HispanicMPR.com website and companion podcast provide a place for readers and authors of the book, subscribers and visitors to connect, discover the latest Hispanic market news and updates and listen to expert interviews and presentations in an audio format.  Visitors may read updates and listen to podcast recordings on podcast announcements and the website audio player which appears under the heading “Podcast” or download them for convenient listening on their MP3 or iPod players.

The Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book provides 435 pages of information, case studies, graphics, market data and opinions based on the experiences of nineteen U.S. Hispanic market experts. Seventeen practitioners and two university academics, contributed fifteen chapters to the book, which benefits the Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association (HMCA), a volunteer driven nonprofit professional association dedicated to Hispanic marketing excellence.

Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations

Boca Raton, FL – HispanicMPR.com, a forum for the exchange of information and ideas on Hispanic marketing and public relations, launched a Resources Section featuring its eponymous book and the first ever series of downloadable audio recordings on Latinos and how to reach them effectively with marketing and public relations tools. Resource product prices range from $49.95 for the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book to $129.95 for two recorded presentations in a CD set. Details are available online at HispanicMPR.com

Initial offerings include presentations by experts and leaders in the field. Michele Valdovinos, vice president of research and marketing, Phoenix Cultural Access Group, and co-author of a chapter titled “A Snapshot of the U.S. Hispanic Market” and Elena del Valle, MBA, principal, LNA World Communications, and editor of the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book present  “Hispanic Market Overview.” Dora O. Tovar, MPA, president, Tovar Public Relations, and contributing author of the “Hispanic Public Relations and Its Emergence as an Industry” chapter presents “The Next Step: Secondary Latino Markets.”  Federico Subervi, Ph.D., professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos and co-author of the “Latino Media: A Cultural Connection” chapter and del Valle, contributing author of the “Cultural Understanding Key to Effective Media Training” chapter present “Latino Media and Hispanic Media Training.”

Started as a weblog for the Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book, HispanicMPR.com provides a place for readers and authors of the book, subscribers and visitors to connect, discover the latest Hispanic market news and updates and listen to expert interviews and presentations in an audio podcast downloadable format.  Visitors may listen to podcasts on the podcast announcement page and the website’s audio player which appear under the heading “Podcast” or download them for convenient listening on their MP3 or iPod players.

The Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations book provides 435 pages of information, case studies, graphics, market data and opinions based on the experiences of nineteen U.S. Hispanic market experts. Seventeen practitioners and two university academics, contributed fifteen chapters to the book, which benefits the Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association (HMCA), a volunteer driven nonprofit professional association dedicated to Hispanic marketing excellence. For details on the book, visit HispanicMPR.com 

by Simon Sinek

As published in April 17th, 2006 issue of BrandWeek

Simon Sinek, founder and CEO of SinekPartners

Photo courtesy of Simon Sinek

If advertising is so effective, why don’t ad agencies advertise? PR firms tout themselves in releases. Event planners throw their own parties. E-marketers use the Internet. These folks all believe in the effectiveness of their disciplines. Do ad agencies disagree?

In an increasingly cynical age of advertising and mass marketing, modern ad agencies work hard to reinforce the value of their product with their clients. “Studies” are whipped up to prove the effectiveness of the medium. And when client budgets are tight, agencies will provide data to show the importance of advertising in a down market. But this “do as I say, not as I do” mentality raises a suspicious eyebrow.

More than advertising, agencies rely quite heavily on pr. Getting mentioned or singled out in Brandweek, Adweek and other prominent newspapers and magazines supports an agency’s ability to drum up business.

When Donny Deutsch took over leadership of the agency his father started, he tried to drive new business with a full page ad in the New York Times. The ad was ineffective at helping Deutsch attract clients. Deutsch abandoned his own product and hired high-priced pr mavens at Rubenstein Associates to raise his profile. And it worked.

In their own defense, agencies may point out that they operate in a business-to-business environment and their product is more effective in a business-to-consumer landscape. But the argument holds no weight because agencies routinely pitch and promote the value of ads to b-to-b clients, too.

If agencies hype the importance of branding campaigns for public companies to enhance their image among investors, why is it that Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP don’t support their brand images on Wall Street?

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the four holding companies spent a total of $3.7 million to promote themselves in the U.S. in 2005, down 15% from the $4.4 million they spent in 2004.

Considering that agencies recommend their clients spend 10% of their revenues on marketing, the big four are spending .01% of their combined $29.3 billion in global revenue. Mull that for a second or two.

David Ogilvy once admitted, “99% of advertising doesn’t sell much of anything.” He was right. Fact is, most ads today are ineffective. “Effective” advertising can communicate the relevance of a company or product in a buyer’s life, resulting in a visceral response to the message. Most advertising, however, does not create such value (there is some truth behind the old CFO joke that advertising is always on the “L” side of the P&L).

Companies that can quantify a rise in sales when they advertise and a decline when they don’t aren’t necessarily producing effective long-term value. A large contributor to such a correlation between ad spending and sales is based simply on raising awareness. Fact: consumers are more likely to buy a product they’ve heard of vs. one they haven’t. Politicians know this and work hard to build better name recognition.

So if agencies aren’t advertising, why should anyone else? Deutsch built his business without an ad campaign spare that one ad. So have Starbucks, Google and countless others. Two years ago 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, one of America’s fastest growing franchises, relied heavily on pr to sell 50 franchises. They spent only $1,800 in ads versus the hundreds of thousands of dollars other franchisors spent to accomplish the same results.

In truth, it’s what’s in the advertising that is not working. Ad agencies are doing a poor job creating messages that affect long-term value for their clients. Along with the media in which it exists, advertising has been commoditized. Most agencies struggle to justify their own value in a sea of sameness. While they try to sell their clients on their “unique perspective” and their ability to balance “creative and strategy,” other marketing tactics like buzz marketing and targeted pr are delivering long-term, measurable results for marketers and further eroding any perceived value advertising enjoyed.

Competition and apathy have left agencies struggling to define themselves. That’s ironic for an industry that claims to be full of creativity and objective perspective. Their Faustian resistance to use their own product contributes to the slew of press predicting the fall of advertising and the rise of pr, buzz marketing, product placement or whatever fad is next in line to steal some of advertising’s once mighty thunder.

Agencies should ask for help to get that message out and inject a spark back into the business. That would help build far more credibility with clients to use the product they sell. If you disagree, feel free to take out an ad to convince your clients I’m wrong.

Sinek is founder and CEO of SinekPartners, a New York consultancy that helps companies inspire employees and customers to action. He also teaches at Columbia University’s graduate program in strategic communications. Contact: simon.sinek@sinekpartners.com.