Bahamas to assess online marketing impact on arrivals

The Bahamas Tourist Office in the UK has linked up with London-based advertising agency Fox Kalomaski to assess the impact of online-marketing on arrivals through customs and immigration data.

The Bahamas Tourist Office in the UK has linked up with London-based advertising agency Fox Kalomaski to assess the impact of online-marketing on arrivals through customs and immigration data.

Fox Kalomaski chief executive Gary Jacobs said the agency’s customer relationship management (CRM) system would allow the tourist office to“evaluate all its marketing activity in terms of return on investment,” with data and communications managed by a desktop tool known as The Vault.

Jacobs said: “The Bahamas Tourist Office has around 20 data sets covering potential visitors.” These range from visitors to the website to those entering competitions. “All these people have registered an interest to have a conversation of sorts. We are able to segment the activity and carry on the conversation in an appropriate way.”

Data cleaning would ensure individuals only appear once on the database, said Jacobs, and data sourced at points of entry would allow the tracking of individuals’ activity. Jacobs said: “Sometimes there is a two-year gap between a visitor’s first contact with us and their arrival, so it’s useful to be able to track their contact over time.”

The product also has a business-to-business (B2B) function, with Fox Kalomaski able to approach specialist diving or wedding tour operators with specific data.

However, the Bahamas Tourist Office will continue to pursue a multi-channel approach. “Online still has its limitations when it comes to building brand awareness and the Bahamas has a lower awareness in the UK than other Caribbean destinations,” said Jacobs. “There will always be a place for offline.”