Richart Ruddie has been a secret weapon for governments looking to restore the travel industries reputation after the pandemic. Today he runs a brand and reputation management company that helps individuals and corporations improve their image in the digital sphere and has worked with celebrities, athletes, prominent business people, lawyers, public relations firms and now major government ministry of foreign affairs to help come up with creative ways to attract visitors back to their countries as the pandemic starts to subside.
The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has without argument hit the tourism sector the hardest. Countries that rely on tourism for a significant part of their income have been severely impacted by the cessation of almost all tourist activity which has affected all aspects of the hospitality sector including airlines, hotels, tour operators, and restaurants, among others, leading to a significant loss of revenue and jobs.
In response, global tourism destinations are seeking to revive their reputation as a safe place to visit as the pandemic finally abates and vaccines against the virus make inroads. It is no surprise that Richart Ruddie an owner of one of the biggest digital marketing agencies has been approached by a number of governments and their tourism boards to help improve the reputation of the tourism industry given his wide experience in creative marketing in the online space over the last decade.
Using his digital marketing savvy and online public relations expertise, Ruddie has been working with a number of countries' foreign affairs ministries to communicate to the traveling public how these countries have applied strict safety protocols to combat the spread of the virus and have helped them restore the trust of the traveling public for their tourist destinations. By using strategic search engine optimization techniques he has placed positive tourist destination information high in the search results when people search for locations in the countries he has helped while redacting, removing, and replacing results that may be false, fraudulent, or hurtful to a countries tourism.
One technique he uses, for example, is to use Google's features to display results that lead to articles, press releases, and reviews that emphasize the safety of tourism activities in the specific locations that people search for. Recently The Times of Malta & Ireland's top digital site featured Ruddie for his work in the public relations industry.
Countries that have used his services so far have already started to see a recovery in their visitor numbers and are excited about the bright future of travel as the pandemic fades into being a distant memory. By enhancing their image and reputation as safe destinations in online searches, countries have the potential of attracting those returning international travelers to their locations and helping with their economic recovery. A good reputation as a safe tourist destination translates to a competitive advantage in a very difficult market and tourist boards that are proactively marketing their country's leisure destinations will have a significant lead on others when the market recovers.
Ruddie's company, through the digital services they provide, can improve a country's outlook to investors as well as tourists. Investors want to put their money into a country that is regarded as Covid-safe and that has a positive reputation. By working with Ruddie and managing their public relations, governments realizing the value of a good reputation in the eyes of the online world and how it can translate into tangible benefits.
