Oh dear, a state tourism organisation stuffs up its iPhone app information!
A report in The Telegraph last week says that the South Australia Tourism Commission has been pointing tourists in wrong direction, through an iPhone tourism app that links visitors to services on the Fleurieu Peninsula services, that are actually on the Eyre Peninsula.
Oh dear, what a lesson to be learnt, that when providing tourism information on line, you have to get it right or suffer the very embarrassing consequences, but you would think a State tourism organisation as the supposed destination specialists would get it right, especially when you consider how many highly paid bureaucrats they have working on these things!
The Telegraph says that the GPS guide to the Fleurieu, south of Adelaide, includes a list of accommodation venues, including the Marina Hotel, which oh dear, is actually in Port Lincoln on Eyre Peninsula,
Opposition tourism spokesman David Ridgway jumped on the bandwagon in the Tele and I have no time for that, saying the app was “sending visitors up the garden path”, adding, “Once at the Marina, according to the app, you can stay at the Marina Hotel, enjoy Calypso Star shark cage diving, Adventure Bay Charters and swim with the tuna,” and, “Because apparently the app thinks you’re now at Port Lincoln, not on the Fleurieu Peninsula.”
It appears that Tourism Minister Gail Gago told state parliament all the government’s tourism apps were being updated, but perhaps too little too late, with visitors now potentially totally confused!
The Tele also says South Australia tourism also came under fire in April after Media Watch revealed it has been paying celebrities to tweet about Kangaroo Island, and Tourism Australia has also been criticised over its new TV commercial, which showed a couple walking along a beach where alcohol is banned on Kangaroo Island with a bottle of wine and also on a beach with seals that are protected and visitors are asked to keep away from!
Oh dear guys, the lesson is clear that the world of providing information on the internet is somewhere you have to get it right, provide accurate information or suffer the embarrassing consequences!
A Report and Industry Insider Commentary and Opinion by John Alwyn-Jones, Global Travel Media Special Correspondent
John, this is just another example of marketing before really being ready. Do we care for our customers, or as it appears sometimes that we only pay lip service. We have enough issues competing with the rest of the world for international tourists, we are a long way away and very expensive to travel too and within Australia. The one difference we could make is service, Customer Service to be exact. However again we only appear to offer this lip service from all levels of government and hospitality operators. They talk about standards, accreditation and quality of services, but not a word about service. Service and especially customer service is a cornerstone and a main pillar of hospitality and tourism, unless we get really serious about this and focus on achieving excellence in customer service then we are just wasting our marketing dollar.