How can a fantastic place like Vilnius with its 500,000 plus inhabitants and Lithuania with its 3 million plus inhabitants have a smaller tourism budget than a mountain village in Norway of 450 people?

Text: Thomas Danielsen

I am sitting in Apvalaus Stalo Klubas (Round Table Club) in Trakai writing this article. It is a beautiful spring Sunday and the sun is shining from a clear blue sky. There are still some ice flakes left on the waters in front of the wonderful Trakai Castle. It is still too cold for sitting outside, but I have a fantastic window table overlooking the castle. There is a mix of tourists and locals inside the restaurant. On my right there is an old couple from Germany and to my left a young Lithuanian couple staring deep into each other’s eyes and holding hands.

As I am soaking in this wonderful and romantic atmosphere, I find myself filled with ambivalent feelings. I simply love this place and I have spent many hours looking at this castle. I am thinking how sad it is, that there are not more people who get to experience this unique ambience and this "one of a kind" view. My ambivalence goes towards the fact that the Lithuanian tourism sector - of which I have been a part of for 7 years - is suffering to such a great extent, while there are so many great experiences to be had here.

I think it is a paradox that a country with so many treasures within the "tourism sector" is haunted with such poor leadership. >From what I see (or do not see), the people in charge of Lithuanian tourism obviously have no idea what they are doing! They simply lack the understanding and knowledge of tourism as a product and as a concept! This, combined with no budget at all (yes, apparently, the tourism department has no budget for tourism marketing), goes to show the poor management and understanding of this important sector. After all, the tourism sector is in fact one of the biggest sectors IN THE WORLD, if not the biggest. This fact being neglected does not only sadden me, it scares the living daylights out of me!

The tourism marketing budget of Lithuania (not counting whatever money Lithuania receives from EU for such purposes) is 0 Euros, 0 Dollars and 0 Litas.

Now let me give you some food for thought:
For a period of 6 months from October 2009 to April 2010 I had a consulting job as destination director in a small mountain village in Norway called Hovden. Hovden is predominantly a winter destination and the tourism is mostly centred around one "small" mountaintop (1183m) with 5 large ski lifts and a lift capacity about 3000 people per hour. There are 3 hotels and 2 apartment hotels in addition a range of cottages, both for private use and rentals. This mountain community of 450 people has various challenges related to their situation, ranging from how to attract more tourists in the summer season, to socioeconomically challenges such as how to attract people to settle down here. During the winter season, this little mountain village explodes in the number of people living or coming here for shorter or longer stays (weekend breaks, seasonal workers etc). On the weekends between November and April the village grows into as many as 10 000 people. The local government realized decades ago that in order for them to simply survive as a community, they had to put their efforts into what they were given - a mountain suitable for skiing! This was in 1966-67. Now fast forward to present day - 2011. The realization that tourism is extremely important has turned this little spot "in the middle of nowhere" into a tourism paradise. And here is the punch line; this little spot called Hovden - hardly visible on a map - has an annual tourism budget of more than 1.1 million euro!

The question resounding in my head is this:
How can a fantastic place like Vilnius with its 500,000 plus inhabitants and Lithuania with its 3 million plus inhabitants have a smaller tourism budget than a mountain village in Norway of 450 people?

If any bright mind out there is now thinking "well, Norway is a very rich country and they can afford stuff like this", then I simply answer back that it is a known fact that in order to make money, you need to spend money! This is called marketing. And to further underline my point, I will give you a free 30-second lesson in business, economics and marketing:

If you spend money marketing Vilnius/Lithuania (mind you, based on a proper, professional strategy, branding and long term objectives!), you will get an increased inflow of tourists to the country. With increased flow of tourists, the bus companies transporting tourists will need more drivers to transport them from A to B. The hotels will need more staff in order to maintain a certain level of service. The restaurants and cafes will need more waiters to cater for the increase in clients. The guide companies will need more guides to show the tourist the city/country. The shops in Vilnius will need more staff to service the increase of customers. The spas will need more therapists to deal with the increase of clients. The airport will need more baggage handlers. All of these companies will eventually need more accountants and more administrators.

By now you should get my point!

But just to point out the obvious:
More tourists require more people to be hired in the tourism sector directly (travel agencies, bus companies, hotels), as well as in the various sectors benefitting from an increase of clients/tourists in general (like the retail sectors for example). With more people hired, unemployment will go down (a benefit for the society), tax payments from both private people and companies will go up (increased government revenue), restaurants will need more products from the farmers, bus companies will need more gas from the gas stations. The list goes on and on...

Despite the fact that this is an extremely simplified economic model, this is how the (macro) economy works. (Those geniuses who thought that increasing VAT on hotels from 5% to 21% would increase governmental revenues, need to buy a book called ABC of economics).

I am still sitting in the Round Table Club in Trakai. The old couple have left, but a bus full of Italian youths stopped by and took some photos, bought a take away pizza and some bottles of water and left. They were speaking very vividly about the castle, how beautiful it is and how amazing this place is. This is my point; Vilnius, Trakai and Lithuania excite people! They are willing to come to the country and SPEND MONEY, their hard earned cash, their disposable income (disposable income, Mr. tourism boss man, is the amount of income left to an individual after taxes have been paid, available for spending and saving"). This is really not rocket science! In order for people with disposable income to come and "dispose" of their cash in Lithuania, they need to know about Lithuania and Lithuania needs to be accessible (am I the only one who finds it strange that Lithuania does not have a national flag carrier?). Stop thinking that China is an important market for Lithuania tourism! It is NOT! How about focusing on the markets 1-2-3 hours away which coincidentally both share historic links with the region and has a culture for travel abroad and have high disposable income (No, not Russia, but Europe and Scandinavia)!

The paradox remains. A village in Norway of 450 people far outperforms Vilnius of 500,000 people and Lithuania of 3 million people by any measure!

As a final note I want to express that there is a distant light in the tunnel, a glimpse of hope with the new Mayor of Vilnius, Mr. Zuokas. Despite the different opinions about his previous periods as mayor, he seems to have some understanding of how "things work". And to his return to power, I wish to present him with a challenge. Mr. Zuokas, you have at your power the chance to create, what is in my opinion, the most interesting job in all Europe within the tourism sector. This is the position as Destination Director of Vilnius Tourism (Visit Vilnius, Vilnius Tourism Agency, Vilnius Convention Agency, Destination Vilnius or whatever you may choose to call it). The fact of the matter is that with the right team and a "slightly" higher budget than today, Vilnius and Lithuania could change a lot. But please, should you take this challenge, do not hire any of your friends or whoever is willing to work for the lowest wage or someone corrupt! Hire someone with the proper knowhow, intelligence, experience and motivation. And please, do give him/her a budget with clear goals, clear expectations and clear requirements. You are free to give me a call! The editor has my number!

I want to express that there is a distant light in the tunnel, a glimpse of hope with the new Mayor of Vilnius, Arturas Zuokas. Despite the different opinions about his previous periods as mayor, he seems to have some understanding of how "things work".