Building your business by attracting more international business

The Euro is up. So is the Canadian dollar. Asian countries such as China and India are growing increasingly prosperous, and with prosperity comes a larger tourist class. With so many indicators pointing abroad, it only makes sense for motor coach operators to broaden their horizons when prospecting for business. After all — America is a good deal for foreign travelers.

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the number of international visitors to the United States increased 15 percent in the first three months of this year over the same period in 2007, and the 2007 travel surplus was twice that of 2006. That doesn't mean that international visitors have been flooding in over the last couple of years. The United States' share of international travel was actually lower in 2006 than it was in 2000, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization, though overall number of visitors in 2006 was about the same. Nevertheless, international visitors spent $86 billion in the U.S. in 2006, more than they spent in any other country in the world.

So what can an operator do to attract more foreign business? As with any market, the people who have the most success are generally those who know how to establish ties, work their connections and market their businesses.

Playing to your own strengths

Many operators use their own ties to particular communities to build up a foreign-born clientele. Jayson Susman, fleet operations manager of Allstar Limo in Florida, says the company has a strong relationship with a large sports camp that brings in athletes from all over the world. Peter Kim, owner of Skyliner Travel and tour Bus Corporation in Astoria, New York, regularly carries Asian groups to Atlantic City. And many Spanish-speaking operators end up serving Spanish-speaking groups from all over.

Relying on foreign business to even out the seasons

Looking to foreign markets isn't always about the sheer strength of their currency. Sometimes it can be a good strategy for dealing with seasonal slowdowns. Though summer is not generally Florida's high season, EZ Bus does good business with a market segment that doesn't seem to mind the heat — youth trips originating from South America. "It's their winter," explains Velez. Many groups come in celebration of their daughters' 15th birthdays. Like many operators, EZ Bus also serves cruise ship lines, which attract travelers from all over the world year-round.

Expanding one's horizons

EZ Bus is making a concentrated effort to attract a bigger Asian market. Velez. "Just by its sheer size and number of people, Asia will be big. It's not huge in Florida yet, but we're looking at who the key players are."

Velez says that finding the right people to talk to, whether about Asia or musician transportation, is largely a matter of doing research and picking up the phone. Having strong contacts helps.

Getting around

Express Transportation in Orlando does a full-court marketing press to attract more of the European and other foreign clients that have been so important to the company's business from the very beginning. President and owner Marcello Machado says his sales force attends tourism trade shows and directly markets to attract foreign groups. "It's all about contacts," says Machado. Though he says his company started working with foreign groups for a variety of reasons, the fact that many foreign currencies are strong right now does help to protect his business.

John Hall Alaska is another operator who is known for attending travel shows far and wide all summer, selling groups on the company's super-luxurious tours of America's northernmost state.

Figuring out what international customers want

Operators in major tourist destinations generally know what groups want to see — theme parks and other famous attractions. But even operators in less obvious markets can give international visitors something many of them want — shopping. A recent Washington Post article tells of European visitors flying into the nation’s capital not so much to gaze upon the White House but to hit the malls to stuff their suitcases with bargain-priced designer duds and the like. Operators that can effectively market shopping trips to foreign groups might well clean up.

Think big picture

Experts point out that the United States is the only major country that does not have an advertising or marketing plan for attracting visitors from foreign markets. Many in the industry are trying to change that, and a couple of bills are working their way through Congress committees. The bills call for the establishment of a marketing arm that would create ad campaigns and hopefully draw more visitors to the United States.

Operators in other parts of the U.S. may want to take a cue from New York City. The city has been promoting itself as a travel destination for foreign visitors, and the effort has perhaps paid off. Foreign visits were up 22 percent in 2007, according to the Commerce Department. For operators in even small markets, a meeting with the local commerce club, mayor or regional tourism authority might just pay off big — in Euros, loonies or pesos.

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