Dr. Neil Hair

An article in the Times caught my attention this morning which acknowledged for the first time that visits to the US by Euro and Sterling wielding tourists were down 17% since 2001. What was startling about the acknowledgment is that the blame has been placed squarely at the feet of customs officials at the boarder. Which got me thinking about my own experiences - especially that of 1997 when I first arrived into JFK on board a British Airways flight. The experience was rather terrifying to say the least. For me it was the first time I had ever seen someone asking me questions about my status whilst CARRYING A BLOODY BIG PISTOL. No cordial greetings of 'welcome to the United States' for me. No sir. Then my family made trips which proved equally distressing (my mother bless her shares the name with several high profile criminals it seems - you know where this went) - and Im not even going to start mentioning my wifes tales - we'll be here all day. The point is, the basic principles of marketing can be applied just about everywhere and should start the moment a tourist arrives. Next time you get off a plane re-entering the States pay special attention the ways in which you are marketed to (or not as the case may be). The tactics the airports are to employ leave me skeptical. In fact I think a three year old could identify more welcoming means. In my experience the Red Coats are more aggressive than the customs officials (paid less, often resentful of the presence of dollar wielding foreign customers). The most effective means of reducing the stress lies with the officials themselves surely. Now for a tale of promise - two places have consistently welcomed me to the US in a much more positive manner - LAX and Newark. Both times the officials seem just a little bit happier to have you there and it makes all the difference. A smile. A welcome. A little bit of ad libbing ('what book do you use for your internet marketing class Mr Hair?') that sort of thing. Only that way does the important storytelling of the homeward bound foreign traveler start with - you should see the skyline in NYC and not - I'm never going again after the way I was treated in the airport. 17% is a huge number. Especially where there average traveler spends over 3000 dollars per trip going directly into the US economy. Marketing see - its the future of everything.