INGLÉS PARA LA COMUNICACIÓN TURÍSTICA II GROUP: PROF. CARMEN RÍO Projects to be developed for the Speaking Section of the Final Exam 2008-2009 o Students must choose one of the three alternatives proposed below. OPTION A: Cruises: - You represent an operator specialised in cruises and are presenting your company’s new catalogue for the forthcoming season. - Use a powerpoint presentation as visual aid. - You must mention at least three new products, but as the star product of your catalogue you are going to talk in depth about only one given route. You can choose any area in the world, except the Canaries. - Please be creative in your choice of cruises (try not to present a conventional product). - Justify your reasons for choosing that product as your most valuable one. - Indicate clearly the target market you have chosen. - There is neither a minimum nor maximum duration for your cruise. Nevertheless, think that, in general, cruises tend to last at least some 7-8 days. Also, bear in mind that if your guests have to spend too long periods of time at sea (that is, several days in a row), that aspect could dissuade your potential clients from choosing your product. - Make clear which period/s of the year are appropriate for your cruise, especially if climatic conditions play a relevant role. - If certain prerequisites are essential (visas, vaccinations…) or if cultural/religious differences (what is termed as international etiquette) can be a sensitive topic, make sure you are particularly clear on that respect. - When developing the itinerary with the different ports of call, think that you should describe the general location (landscapes, historical monuments, museums, art galleries, shopping, entertainment, sports, attractive festivals…) but not in excessive detail. Also, make sure that you indicate the duration of your stay in each port. - Describe the liner your guests are going to travel in. Be as specific as possible in terms of cabin facilities, the same as facilities and amenities onboard and the entertainment programme. - Give a price for your product, indicating clearly the differences depending on the type of cabin chosen. Also, specify what the price does (not) include. Along the same lines, be logical and realistic, in the sense that the final price will depend on the category of the liner, the countries visited, the activities offered, etcetera. - The duration of the whole presentation shouldn’t be of more than 10’-12’, approximately.
OPTION B: Hotel project development - Working individually or in pairs. - You represent a hotel company; invent a name. It can be a large corporation operating internationally, a local one, or a family business. - You are supposed to be addressing a group of potential investors and you must persuade them that yours is an interesting investment opportunity. - Use a powerpoint presentation as visual aid. Nevertheless, be sure to include only relevant information; it is not a question of merely showing nice photographs. - Propose an area and the specific site for the hotel, explaining clearly why you think the location is a good one. It can be in the Canaries, but you can also choose any other location in the world; as a matter of fact, choosing other locations than the Canaries can be a good exercise for you and will be properly valued. Bear in mind that depending on the type of hotel you have decided to develop, there can be many different reasons (proximity to the coast/the city centre, near airport or conference/trade fair venue, close contact with nature, views, near historical site…). Also, be consequent with your decisions: e.g. a hotel near an airport may not be precisely a tranquil place, in case you are proposing “a peaceful and relaxing haven.” - Explain briefly the communications network, that is how to get to the hotel. Again, almost any kind of combination is possible: from city-centre-10-minute-to-the-airport urban hotel to a luxury resort in an isolated island of the Caribbean for which guests will have a private helicopter at their disposal. - Type of hotel, indicating category, number of beds, if it is rural, urban, for business people, or for sun and beach guests. From other subjects that you are studying in your Tourism Degree you probably know a minimum set of characteristics a hotel must have to be granted a certain category; using that knowledge can be very helpful. - Facilities and amenities both inside the rooms and in the hotel as a whole; please be exhaustive in this sense. Any kind of special activity you may offer to your guests must be included here; once more, depending on the kind of hotel you are planning, you can offer almost anything. - You will need to present a general plan of the hotel, with the basic distribution of the different facilities/amenities and of rooms. Obviously, it doesn’t need to be a professional-like plan, but the clearer and more complete, so much the better. - Refer to the restaurant service (category, nº of covers), if you think your culinary offer can be a positive selling point: you may mention the kind/s of cuisine offered or if the restaurant can be used as a banqueting facility by non-residents or can be visited by the general public, or if you cater for guests with special dietary needs. - Explain the different room rates. - Describe the general profile of your potential guests: age, socio-economic level, if they are business people or families, or retired couples, etc. Also, explain why you have decided to focus on that market niche. - Make sure you describe the financial aspects of the project in enough detail (investment needed, breakeven point, etc.) - As you can see, you must be ready to justify your decisions, so using any kind of supporting material will be necessary and properly valued (charts and tables to explain market tendencies, graphs to show the potential evolution of your business over the next (number of) years, profitability margins, etc).
- As a suggestion, try to be original and imaginative!! The typical shoe-box monster right by the sea shouldn’t be your choice. - The duration of the whole presentation shouldn’t be of more than 10’-12’, approximately. C.- Guided visit - Individual work. - You must choose any monument and carry out a “virtual” tour by means of a powerpoint presentation. - You must give a short historical introduction so as to contextualise the building/monument you are going to describe. - In the description, artistic schools/styles must be mentioned, although you don’t need to delve on them. - Use the necessary technical terminology. Nevertheless, think that your potential audience does not have to be composed of art experts, so, if you deem it necessary, introduce explanations for those technical terms. -Use your time constructively, so 10’ per monument should be more than enough.