II. Main Cultural products 5. Nature Section 5.4: Marketing/Promotion

5.4.1. Advertising Media

Advertising and becoming known are the key points in the importance acquired by natural environment and in its capacity to become a cultural tourist resource. For this purpose, the following tools are useful:

Telematic resources

• Websites. The website of a natural area is currently one of the main sources of information, where a great number of people use the internet to obtain information of all types. A multilingual character will ensure more visits and will make it easier understandable for the possible foreign tourists.
• Social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. There has been a spectacular increase in the use of social networks in recent years; thus, companies, organizations, etc. have joined them. They constitute an important means of becoming known and reaching people throughout the world.
• Mapping viewers. Interactive places where the user can view the territory with different appearances, the information being georeferenced. The inclusion of information about visitors’ centres, places of interest, etc. provides information to the possible visitors.

Physical Resources

• Leaflets. This is a traditional means of dissemination, which, although it reaches a smaller number of persons, provides very valuable and useful information when the visit is carried out, as it can be consulted any place and at any time. The information can be general, about the environment, or address the visit of a path or particular place, which involves explanations about access, difficulty, time, etc.
• Guidebooks of the zone. Books with a variety of information about a specific region. They generally include data about the natural environment, the activities to be carried out, museums and other information centres, general services, excursions, etc.
• Children’s books. Specific publications for the younger visitors.
• Didactic plans. Material prepared to facilitate the interpretation of the surroundings for the visitors providing knowledge, awakening motivation and generating interest for the natural environment.
• Articles in the press or specialized magazines. These provide information that may either be general, about a zone, or may focus on a specific route or point. Depending on the publication, it may provide scientific data.
• Advertising campaigns. These are carried out at specific times and for a specific duration, such as a time prior to the summer season, with the intention of attracting tourists that visit the zone during the following vacations. The resources to be used are diverse, both physical and of other types, as well as the public to whom they are addressed.

Activities organized

• Guided visits. These are visits in which a specialized person directs the journey, providing information about the place visited and its interpretation.

Section 5.4: Marketing/Promotion

5.4.2. Promotion Through Sustainability