Vermont tourism

I went to a boarding high school in Winchendon, Massachusetts three years ago. After I decided to come to Vermont for college during my senior year in high school, many people asked me why I choose to come to Vermont. I was a little hesitate to give an answer, but I usually said it is a quiet and safe place so that I would spend more times focusing on my study, even though I know Vermont is a boring place for teenagers.

Before I went to high school in MA, I am originally from Tianjin, the fifth largest city with a population of 15 million people in China. After I came to Vermont, I often ask myself why I think Vermont is boring. Finally, I realized that Vermont “could” be a boring place especially for those teenagers, who come from a big city and get used to urban life, rather than I say Vermont “is” boring for every teenager because Vermont really has a lot of excited places waiting for younger adults to explore. At this point, I start to love Vermont because here are a lot of things that I could not even have an opportunity to do in China.

Since our class, Wilderness Photography, is cooperative with Vermont tourism, we had to listen to a presentation from Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing. However, after this presentation, I became more interested in Vermont because that was my first time to understand Vermont further since I came here.

At the beginning of the presentation, every student believed that the field which can bring the biggest economic benefits to Vermont is tourism, but it is not at all! Medical care is actually the biggest part that benefits Vermont. Tourism is just at fifth position, so Vermont starts to devote the field of tourism in order to strengthen Vermont’s economy by developing tourism.

Mission Statement

“To promote Vermont’s travel, recreation and cultural attractions, as well as the state’s goods and services, in coordination with public and private sector partners, to a global audience, and to do so in a manner consistent with the values and traditions of the state for the economic benefit of all Vermonters.”

(from Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing)

It is very clear to see its purpose from a marketing’s view. What Vermont currently wants is more and more travelers.

Every product has its own target markets, including tourism. Especially for tourism, it is not like a real product that every customer can buy from the market because Vermont is the “product” itself. Vermont’s primary target markets should be depended on its geography because  there are many larger cities nearby it such as New York City, Boston and Montreal, a driving range of 300-500 miles.

Obviously, the biggest advantage of Vermont is nature and outdoor activities and that is also what travelers come for. During winter times, Vermont is usually the first place for people to choose for skiing in Northeast. As we mentioned about skiing, Vermont should also have some potential international target markets such as european people who like skiing and local beers, especially travelers from Germany.

However, every product has its advantages, but it also has weak side. Vermont is definitely not the only place that people can chose for skiing in Northeast, and there are truly some huge competitors nearby it such as Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, notably NH is a tax free state.

SWOT analysis for Vermont 

Strengths: •Natural beauty

•Quality products

•Food & beverage scene

•Variety of activities

•Uncrowded/low traffic

•Within driving distance

Weaknesses: •Cell coverage

•Lack of nightlife

•Lack of transportation options

Opportunities: •Lower gas prices

•Canadian pass-through (1.5 million crossings/year)

•Emerging markets: China, Australia

Threats: •Climate change

•NE competition

•Lack of Tourism funding

•Aging population

•Weather

•People are time-starved

(information from Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing)

The Changes in Vermont Tourism's Website

The first time that I knew about Vermont tourism was when I was a first-year student at Saint Michael’s College, which is located in Colchester, Vermont. Because I like hiking and I know there are a lot of sources for hikers in Vermont, I went to Vermont State Parks’ website to check where I should go for hiking. The website was not very interesting to me because it was in an “old fashion” style, and I did not that much time browsing the website. 

However, the second time that I heard about Vermont tourism was in my Wildness Photography class. My professor told us that Vermont Tourism established a new website that specifically focus on travelers coming to visit Vermont. Vermont tourism also renamed their website as “Vermont Vacation.” 

This new website is very attracted because it uses a lot of effective pictures to catch audience's eyes and attentions. To have absorbing pictures for a tourism website is very important. When I first opened this web, I was trying to look all of the pictures first and then checked the information. Some people might not have been to Vermont or have any experience of adventure before, but they might start getting interested after they saw those beautiful pictures. 

Another great thing about this new site is that the home page has a lot of signature’s activities in Vermont. That is exactly what people are looking for when they travel to Vermont. Secondly, I really like the pages of “things to do” and “town & regions,” especially it divided by fours seasons in “things to do.” Since the fours seasons are very contrasting in Vermont, it is good to let our tourists know that skiing is not the only thing they could do in Vermont. Nevertheless, when I was browsing the old Vermont tourism’s old website a year ago, I did not even want to spend much time on it.

The old website

The old website's link: http://www.vtstateparks.com/

The new website

The new website's link: https://vermontvacation.com/

I can tell that Vermont tourism spent a lot of time on its new site, and this website did a really good job on visual attraction. The homepage actually gives people enough information to explore. If I were a tourist to Vermont and opened the homepage, the activities in homepage would be the first things I am looking for. That is exactly what a travel needs and wants. 

In addition, this website is easy to navigate for me because there are not a lot of options on the top bar of the interface and there are only four sections. When I was browsing this website, I also felt that my attention and direction were lead by those pictures. For people who have not been to Vermont, the pictures are the only way to communicate with them and convince their eyes. In my view, these pictures are properly used to deliver the information. 

I think the website is designed very well because it really looks like Apple’s official website, a big picture with couple words of explanation. Personally, when I am browsing a website, I wish the website could be as simple or clear as possible. The picture itself could give me enough assumption and information without a lot of explanation.

The website's top bar

The website also did a good job on customer-managed relationship that means the officials built a relationship with customers via today’s digital medias and interact each other. What social medias this site uses are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Twitter, which already has 18.5k followers. 

Additionally, whatever people are doing in modern times, we like using electronic devices to do anything such as navigating, checking restaurants nearby, shopping, watching games and etc. I also tried to open this site on my cellphone and tablet, and it just fits more on the cellphone and tablet and becomes easier to browse.

How to socialize with Vermont Vacation