Design and Develop

Description of the project and the local area

Information available about the target group:

Research Impact Second residents for the Coastal Tourism (2016)

Needs assessment during focus groups in June 2017

Westtoer has a large experience of working with the local authorities and with the private touristic providers. Nevertheless, they have no experience with social innovation processes in the area.

Assets and resources

The knowledge center (Kenniscentrum) of Westtoer conducted a research towards second residents. It offers insight in the consumer behaviour of second residents. This research concluded that there are several opportunities to rise the occupancy by creating extra facilities, informing about novelties and activities and that they show a strong interest for the weather forecast.

Besides that, Westtoer has experience in organising focus groups with users and service providers and possesses a strong network with the touristic service providers and local municipalities.

Geographical setting

The project includes the 10 coastal communities at the Belgian coast over a length of 67 km: Knokke, Zeebrugge, Blankenberge, De Haan, Bredene, Oostende, Middelkerke, Nieuwpoort, Koksijde and De Panne. The goal is to address a communication strategy towards “second residents” in general and not in one specific municipality. It is difficult to target specific sites, since second residents are very widespread in the communities.

Current situation

The project and the goal of reaching them specifically is new. Westtoer hasn’t set up a campaign or communication plan to reach second residents in te past. Some municipalities have installed communication channels and tools to reach them (magazines in Knokke, K-pas in Koksijde, Privilegepas in De Panne), but they are very specifically targeted towards second residents in one municipality.

Demand

Flexibility: second residents want to decide themselves when they participate. They don’t want to enter into an agreement to participate e.g. on a weekly base.

Being active: participants expressed that they wanted to join a local cycling or hiking club, but not being able to participate on a current base retain them.

Involvement: participants would consider to be a volunteer and to get to know their neighbours

Expansion

Are you planning to expand an already-successful project with a different population or in a different setting? Please describe your reasons for this and what information you used to inform your decision?

Information capture for your project

Firstly, it is essential that Westtoer involves the municipalities to detect also their needs in terms of communication coast-wide communication. The municipalities follow the point of view that they want to keep the second residents as much as possible in their own community. Westtoer will share the presentation of the impact of second tourism with them and involve them strongly in the communication strategy towards second residents.

Questions to be asked:

a. How do the municipalities interact with the second residents?

b. How do they have insight in their behavior?

Reasons to cooperate:

c. How can we persuade the second residents to come more often?

d. How can we engage them to stay in their own community and spend more?

Secondly, Westtoer feels the need of a more indepth-knowledge of the needs of second-home owners. They will try to reach and assemble them via the local municipalities (knowledge of local societies).

Acceptability

We organized a focus group with second residents in 2017: it was very difficult to gather second residents: we worked even with a specialized recruiting agency.

We made flyers to engage second home owners to participate in the focus groups, but we had no reaction.

It is very difficult to involve second home owners or tourists in stakeholdermeetings. Second home owners are only on specific time at the coast and if they are, they wan’t to be disturbed or involved in focus groups. Tourist are not open to participate in focus groups, when they are on holidays.

Adaptation

Some local municipalities already provide a card for second residents: we don’t want to compete with municipalities.

Westtoer received feedback from the local municipalities that second residents choose particularly for 1 community, creating a coast wide fidelity card doesn’t support this idea.

Is there a need for a fidelity card? Second home owners do come to the coast, is there a need to persuade them even more?

Key stakeholders and relations

The first step is to involve the municipalities to detect their needs in terms of communication coast-wide communication. The municipalities follow the point of view that they want to keep the second residents as much as possible in their own community.