Appendix Training content of the SO-TO programme Welcome of participants – Start – Introduction – Information Duration: 1 hour. |1 Presenting the training provider: Short history, philosophy, aims and objectives, way of work. Trainee obligations (signature list of trainee responsibilities). Philosophy – introduction – project objectives. Ice breaking session to know the participants. This can be an activity of 10 minutes. The trainer can select one that they have used in the past or select one from the below list o Divide the group into pairs. Each pair has 2 minutes to ask each other about them. After the 2 minutes, they present to the group o Divide the group into 2 groups. Form two circles with the group (one inner and one outer circle). The outer circle will stay into their chair the whole time. The inner circle will rotate (move clockwise) every 2 minutes. During the 2 minutes the participants will interview each other. When the inner circle group has completed a full rotation circle, divide the whole group into 2 groups (Group A and Group B). Each person from Group A will present another from Group B and vice versa. They have 10 minutes within each group to collect information about the person who they will present to. Following the 10 minutes, each person presents the selected person to the whole group. Presentation of the specific training objectives of the programme – Discussion – trainee participation: They need to state their expectations of the programme. Question and answer session on how / if their expectations will be met. Discussion on the methods that will be used during the project delivery – common agreement needs to be met /reached «Learning contract». Every training unit is detailed described using the following structure: Duration: Target group: Aim: Training method: Language: Training content/ indicative content: Teaching methods/ proposed assessment (method, description, duration in minutes)
3.1.2 MODULE 1: Strategic business design of a tourism enterprise MODULE 1. : Strategic business design of a tourism enterprise |2
Units
Operations of a touristic company
18hours
Welcome and ice breaking session
1
Unit: 1.1.1:
The notion of a tourism enterprise / social enterprise
1
Unit: 1.1.2:
Functionalities of a tourism company (social enterprise)
2
Unit: 1.1.3:
The activities of a tourism company
2
Unit: 1.1.4:
The tourism market and competition
2
Unit: 1.1.5:
e-marketing (overall strategy)
5
Unit: 1.1.6N: National content
Social company legislation – to be developed by the national trainers. 1. Legislation 2. Processes involved in setting up of a social enterprise (individual or in groups) 3. Processes involved – possible case study identification 4. Presentationto group
5
Units
Strategic business plan
Unit: 1.2.1:
Strategic business planning
3
Unit: 1.2.2:
Strategic step by step business design and organisation in tourism companies
8
Unit: 1.2.3N:
National case studies Select 2 social enterprises in your region and discuss their business plan set up. Analyse its features (group or individual), and present.
5
16 hours
M1.1.1. Title: The notion of a tourism enterprise / social enterprise Duration: 1 Hour Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism |3 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: Understand the meaning of a tourist social enterprise, Identify the specifics of a social tourist enterprise Analyse the interrelated parameters and their values in running/managing the enterprise Perceive the notion of profit Describe the viability parameters and benefits of a social enterprise Training method: presentation, Q&A, Group work Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: What is a social enterprise? «Social enterprises are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas».1 Three characteristics distinguish a social enterprise from other types of businesses, nonprofits and government agencies: • It directly addresses an intractable social need and serves the common good, either through its products and services or through the number of disadvantaged people it employs. • Its commercial activity is a strong revenue driver, whether a significant earned income stream within a non-profit’s mixed revenue portfolio, or a for profit enterprise. Hence, although a social enterprise, the notion of profit should be visible and tangible. The strategic activity field and services provided design, should always consider return-on-investment and viability of the enterprise. • The common good is its primary purpose, literally “baked into” the organization’s DNA, and trumping all others.2 • In its early days, the social enterprise movement was identified mainly with nonprofits that used business models and earned income strategies to pursue their mission. Today, it also encompasses for-profits whose driving purpose is social. Mission is primary and fundamental; organizational form is a strategic question of what will best advance the social mission. These can also be described as some of the benefits of a social enterprise. 1 2
https://www.se-alliance.org/why https://www.se-alliance.org/why
• • •
•
Social enterprise is emerging as the “missing middle” sector between the traditional worlds of government, non-profits and business. It addresses social concerns, More efficiently than government, which no longer has the mandate or resources to solve every social problem; More sustainably and creatively than the non-profit sector, which faces declining |4 funding streams and increased demands for innovation, proof of what works and collaboration; and More generously than business, which is mandated to place pre-eminence on shareholder returns, but is also realizing it can’t succeed in a decaying world.3
As social needs continue to spike in light of shrinking government budgets, employment rolls, and social safety nets, social enterprise is emerging as a self-sustaining, market-based, business-like and highly effective method of meeting social needs.4 Social enterprises produce higher social returns on investment than other models. On one hand, they produce direct, measurable public benefits. A classic employment-focused social enterprise, for example, might serve at least four public aims: Fiscal responsibility — It reduces the myriad costs of public supports for people facing barriers, by providing a pathway to economic self-sufficiency for those it employs. Public safety — It makes the community in which it operates safer, by disrupting cycles of poverty, crime, incarceration, chemical dependency and homelessness. Economic opportunity — It improves our pool of human capital and creates jobs in communities in need of economic renewal. Social justice — It gives a chance to those most in need.5 A social enterprise can be a tourism enterprise; hence, the above applies to it. There is no particularity in sector division but different sectors can be represented through a social enterprise. Understanding the Tourism Industry Imagine a tourist came to your local area, what activities can they do? Where can they stay? How might they find out about these facilities? Can they be part of a social enterprise? Yes they can. Social entrepreneurs can either expand existing services to include tourism activities such as the below, or start new enterprises completely focusing on the below. Tourism facilities referring to: • Accommodation services • Attractions • Ancillary services 3
https://www.se-alliance.org/why https://www.se-alliance.org/what-is-social-enterprise 5 https://www.se-alliance.org/what-is-social-enterprise 4
• • •
Transport facilities Retail travel providers Tour operators
Impact of a Tourism Industry Sector |5 Over the last century the popularity of tourism has grown enormously. As the popularity of travel has grown, so has the tourism industry's importance as a source of economic development and employment. Tourism now makes a significant contribution to employment and economic growth in many countries around the world. Due to its rising importance, many people have begun to recognise the social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts tourism produces. Finding a balance between economic development and any negative impacts that result from tourism has become a key challenge for the tourism industry. Impact Economic Benefits
There is a growth by over 500% in the last 25 years in tourism industry. The most important economic impacts results from spending by tourists from other countries, commonly known within the tourist industry as inbound tourists.
Social Benefits
Tourism creates benefits for tourists as well as for the communities that tourists are visiting. Employment Tourism brings great social benefit to the employment opportunities. The tourism industry-as most tourist enterprises-is service based and therefore provides a great number of employment opportunities. In the areas that the tourism industry is very important, often constitutes the major form of local employment Pleasure Through tourism, people have the chance to : • Broaden their horizons • Relax • Establish new relationships • Deepen existing relationships These are the reasons why tourism is growing popularity.
Environmental Issues
Environmental impacts through the tourism development are related to: •
Environmental pollution
Impact • •
Land and resource degradation Land clearing
A common problem for popular tourist destinations is land and resource | 6 degradation. The demands of infrastructure on land can be quite substantial. Marinas, beach walls, removal of natural vegetation from coastal areas and high rise buildings being built too close to the sand line change ocean currents which leads to the erosion of the coastline. This most seriously impacts wildlife that uses coastal areas as breeding grounds. When tourists travelling, demanding a high standard of living. That fact results in the consumption of a large amount of resources and in turn the creation of significant amounts of pollution. How pollution is dealt should always be a major concern in any tourist development as the poor handling of pollution matters will eventually detract from the appeal of the tourist destination. Land Usage Issues
A further issue in tourism is either land access or usage. When a tourism development excludes the local community from participation, often the hostility between tourism developers and local citizens arises. Such situations occur in the Bahamas where entire island resorts are closed from the local and surrounding communities. All food, fuel and labour are imported to these resorts and all revenue is repatriated outside. The local community receives no benefit from the tourism development. The more the local area is involved in its tourism industry through ownership and supply of resources, the less likely conflict is to arise. The second issue related to land is how appropriate it is being used. When tourists are highly attracted to scenic landscapes many tourist developments occur in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Competition is often being caused for land and disagreements concerning its usage. Some local communities, for instance, argue against tourism developments claiming that the hotels and other facilities tourism developments will ruin the beauty of the attraction. This is sometimes a legitimate concern as some of the world's most beautiful attractions have been spoiled by poorly planned tourism developments.
Cultural Change
Cultural change often becomes significant issue when tourists come into
Impact contact with communities with distinct cultures. Tourism offers the opportunity for individuals to witness and sometimes participate in different ways of living. Interaction between tourists and local communities can give an area a cosmopolitan feel and promote | 7 cultural exchange. From this, tourists are able to leave an area feeling enriched, having benefited from their contact with the local community and attractions. The local community may also benefit, as revenue from tourism enables them to support their traditional way of life. Many problems maybe also caused, between local communities and tourists through interaction. Problems frequently arise when the habits and social customs of tourists conflict with those of the local culture. For example, if the local culture prohibits public displays of affection between couples, tourists doing so may offend local sensibilities. For instance, tourists drinking alcohol and introducing other habits to a community that did not indulge in these things prior to tourism can also cause tension. Tourism has the largest impact when it induces local communities to change from a traditional way of supporting themselves to a tourist based form of support. For example, a farming community may decide that there is more to be gained from retailing artefacts to tourists than farming a crop. Finally, this can result in the displacement of traditional forms of living for a more tourist centred lifestyle. In a similar way, wealthy tourists may lead younger members of a community to question the value of their traditions and rituals On the other hand, tourism offers local communities the opportunity to earn extra income and to raise their standard of living. Sometimes, this may be far more important to a community than any loss of tradition that occurs in the process of catering for tourists.
Teaching method / proposed assessment Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
General aspects of social enterprise and tourism industry and tourism enterprises
20
Discussion
Do the students know any social enterprise?
10
Group work
Each group identifies the positive and negative impacts of tourism sector. Positive impacts might include: • Economic benefits • Social benefits Negative impacts might include: • Environmental degradation • Land usage issues • Cultural change problems
30
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M1.1.2 Title: Functionalities of a tourism company vs. social enterprise Duration: 2 hrs. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism |9 Aim: 1. Perceive the common functions of enterprise in diverse fields 2. Analyse the structure of large tourism enterprises 3. Describe the value of functions of a tourism enterprise 4. Understand the position of the social tourism enterprise in the tourism market 5. Identify the field of interrelation of the enterprise and its environment Training method: presentation, Q&A, discussion, case study Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: Managing a tourism enterprise . Tourism is one of the most diverse and vibrant industries in the world. Currently, an enormous number and variety of enterprises offer products and services to help travellers who are as diverse as the businesses which serve them. Similar to any other enterprise, a social enterprise should be considered to have the same managing structure. Organisational Structure. Understanding how an organisation is structured will help you to understand how decisions are made within an organisation and who is entitled to make them. When considering the organisational structure of an enterprise you may wish to consider the following: • How big is the organisation in terms of profit, personnel and cash flow? • How many levels of management does the organisation have? • Is the enterprise represented in a number of locations or just one location? • Is the enterprise a partnership, a public company or a private? There are various ways an organisation can be structured. An organisation may have a shallow structure with little distance between the senior decision makers and operational staff, or, hierarchically with considerable distance between senior decision makers and operational staff. Typically, the way an organisation is structured depends on its size, ownership and geographical diversity. For instance, tourism enterprises that are publicly owned, geographically diverse and employ many people are normally structured hierarchically. In tourism enterprises – similarly also in social tourism enterprises, which are privately owned and employ a small number of people, one or two people may be responsible for a whole range of tasks that board members, senior managers and line managers complete in
larger organisations. This allows individuals working in smaller tourism organisations to develop a broad range of skills, however, it can also be a very demanding and stressful. Finance and Administration in Tourism. One of the key challenges for every organisation involves managing its resources. Some large organisations are fortunate enough to have all | 10 areas of their enterprise reasonably well resourced. Large hotel chains may, for instance, have well-resourced marketing, employee development, customer service, and maintenance and finance sections. Conversely, in smaller tourism enterprises, resources are often limited and one or two people may be required to do all of these tasks. Likewise, in smaller ventures necessity often determines where resources are allocated. For example, a tour operator may need to devote substantial resources to the maintenance of equipment before any resources can be devoted to other areas of the business such as marketing and promotion. Finance. The way an enterprise's finances are managed plays a key role in determining its ongoing viability. Individuals responsible for the finances of a tourism venture, often called financial controllers, need to ensure that: • The enterprise has sufficient funds to meet its short term obligations • Prices are set to make the enterprise profitable • Expenditure is controlled • The enterprise fulfils all of its relevant legal obligations Cash flow. Cash flow management is to ensure that the organisation has sufficient funds to meet its short term commitments. Many businesses are facing cash flow problems. For example, a cash flow problem can arise when an enterprise sales, buts it receives payment long after the sales occurred. The enterprise has not funds to pay for its ongoing expenses until it receives payment from creditors. Covering fund shortages between the times a sale is occurs and when payment is received is a common problem confronting financial controllers. Seasonality in the tourism industry creates problems to the cash flow. For instance a beach resort is likely to experience highly varied cash flow positions throughout a year. In summer, the business is likely to receive great amounts of incoming funds, making the cash flow position very healthy. During the winter the business has limited incoming funds. The financial controllers in such enterprises need to manage the business's funds so that it doesn't encounter any short term fund shortages when incoming funds are low.
Pricing. When an enterprise want to ensure that it will make a profit, all tourism ventures need to have pricing structures that incorporate all of the costs the enterprise incurs to gain sales and deliver services. For example, a tour operator may incur an enormous variety of costs in promoting and delivering a service. Costs might include transport, fuel, staff, accommodation, venue admission, and food. | 11 Financial controllers need to factor these costs into their pricing structure to ensure that all costs are accounted for in their price levels so that profit can be earned. This can often be difficult, as many costs may be variable and/or dependent on the number of customers that require services. Due to the difficulty of calculating some prices, it is often recommended that financial professionals participate in the process of setting prices. Expenditure. Financial controllers are also responsible for controlling the enterprise's expenditure. Good financial controllers explore every method of reducing the cost of the goods and services they acquire. This helps the company contain costs and maximise profits. Controlling costs also allows an enterprise to offer competitive prices. Some areas of the tourism industry are very price competitive. The transport sector is a good example. To offer customers competitive pricing without risking the viability of the enterprise, many transport companies exercise tight cost control. Legal obligations. Tourism enterprises often face a number of legal issues related to safety and industrial relations. Many tourist operations take on responsibility for the safety of those using their services and facilities. This is true of the accommodation, transport, tour operations and some of the attractions sectors. Responsibility for the safety of their clients compels tourism enterprises to ensure that their facilities and practices are safe. Poor safety can expose an enterprise to charges of negligence, criminal prosecutions and a poor reputation. Administration. All tourism organisations require effective administration. Typically, the administration department of a tourism enterprise handles matters related to: • Pay • Rostering • Sick leave • Employee record keeping • Organisational record keeping • Internal communication Tasks such as organising pay and rostering can often be very difficult. For example, because nearly all tourism operations are open seven days a week, making sure there is sufficient staff to run the operation can be a very challenging task. Administrators also need to ensure that the awards and conditions regulating employment in the tourism industry are complied with. Awards are set levels of minimum wages and conditions and are legally binding on both employers and employees.
Products and Services. There is an enormous range of tourism services currently available. Some tourism organisations offer a broad range of products and services, while others may only provide one. For example, a holiday resort will normally offer a great variety of services including dining facilities, accommodation facilities and tour operations. Services and products within the tourism industry are offered at a range of quality and price levels. Normally high quality services are expensive and poor quality services are cheap. When a service is expensive consumers expect the quality of the service to be high. When this is not the case consumers are normally disappointed and unlikely to use the service again. Where a service is reasonably priced the service provider has the opportunity to exceed client expectations and, as a result, build a loyal customer base. Regardless of the services provided, each tourism enterprise is confronted with the challenge of maintaining the quality of its services. One of the most common ways to respond to this issue is to develop service standards. Service standards are forms of regulation that dictate the way a service should be delivered. These may either be written in a policies and procedures manual or exist as an unwritten expectation within an enterprise. Management Style. Effective management is a key element in any successful tourism organisation. In examining the management of a tourism enterprise you should consider the following questions: How many managers are there within the organisation? Do managers have broad ranging decision making power or strictly defined power? What is the general style of management? How do managers provide feedback and communicate to staff? Individuals working in a tourism enterprise need to make numerous decisions each day. Decisions may relate to purchases, staffing, policy and or long term strategy. The way managers handle these decisions has a significant impact on the way an enterprise is run. In large organisations decision making power is often explicitly defined. Many large organisations, for instance, use job descriptions and organisational charts to define the decisions different individuals are responsible for. This helps provide clarity and reduces the chance of confusion when major decisions need to be made. Smaller organisations, in contrast, tend to have less structured decision making processes whereby decision making power is implied from the way the organisation is run day by day. Management style also concerns the way managers influence the atmosphere of a work place. Some managers, for instance, create a relaxed atmosphere in which staffs have the freedom to act independently and express their individuality. In such a situation the manager shows great trust in employees to follow standards and act professionally on their own initiative. Other managers may create a more controlled atmosphere in which strict standards are applied and employees undergo close scrutiny.
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There is no perfect form of management, as some management styles are more suited to some situations than others. For example, in a situation where staff has very little experience, a supervisory management style may be more appropriate than an open style. Teaching method / proposed assessment
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Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Structure of large and medium tourism enterprises
15
Case Study
Choose a tourist enterprise in your area and make a case study analysing : Organisational structure Finance and administration Products and services Management style Competitors
60
Discussion
Based on the previous case study and the presentation do you believe this kind of management is effective in a social tourism enterprise;
45
M1.1.3 Title: The activities of a tourism company Duration: 2 hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 14 Aim: 1. Understand the aim of the social tourist enterprise from a managerial perspective 2. Describe the activities of the tourism enterprise 3. Analyse the organisational phases of the actions of the enterprise 4. Evaluate the enterprise operation in the competitive framework and economic crisis. Training method: presentation, case studies, activity Language: multilingual Training content / Indicative content: Profile of Tourism Industry. Developing an understanding of the activities of a tourism company is the first step towards developing a broad ranging Tourism Industry knowledge. Accommodation. One of the key sectors of the tourism industry is the accommodation sector. This is also a usual agro-tourism peripheral activity found in various European countries. Accommodation facilities tend to act as meeting points for tourists and places from which tourists can share information and plan activities. For example, many hotels provide activity desks from which tourists can plan outings. There are various standards of accommodation available throughout the accommodation sector. These range from basic facilities such as shared dormitories to luxury facilities such as deluxe suites. Accommodation providers include: Hotels Motels Resorts Hostels and guest houses Private houses Home stays Holiday units Holiday farms Apartments Caravan and camping sites Accommodation is also provided to tourists both at their destination and during transport to their destination. Forms of accommodation that are available for tourists during transport to a destination include hotels in airports, rail stations and coach terminals. Tour operators
have expanded their services providing accommodation packages and are in position now to bilaterally come to agreements with large hotels to create tourism packages. Attractions. There are two kinds of attractions, the natural and the constructed. Natural attractions include parks, rivers, beaches, mountains and reefs. The flora, fauna, terrain, | 15 animals and views associated with natural phenomena offer experiences of enormous appeal for many tourists. As a result, tourists will sometimes travel extraordinary distances to experience natural attractions. Constructed attractions occur in many forms, sometimes in conjunction with natural attractions. At some level all constructed attractions are based on a form of human organisation and will. Areas that may be considered constructed attractions include: Cultural and heritage exhibits and buildings. These offer tourists the opportunity to explore history and different ways of life. Artistic venues. These offer tourists the opportunity to experience art including fine art, music and dance performances. Wildlife reserves. Zoos, animal sanctuaries and wild life parks are all examples of wildlife attractions. Theme parks. They offer tourists the opportunity of new experiences. Euro Disney is one example of Theme park in Europe. Adventure activities. Para-gliding, trekking, canoe-kayaking, underwater sport activities are all examples of adventure activities. Meetings and conferences. Trade exhibitions and industry body gatherings are examples of these. Meeting and conference based tourism is a growing sector of the industry. Entertainment and sports. Events such as track & field, football, basketball, grand finals and major concerts act as major attractions for tourists. Shopping and Nightlife. Some cities are renowned for their nightlife and/or shopping facilities. This can act as a major attraction for some tourists. Greece is well known for its non-stop nightlife. Both constructed and natural attractions, act as major stimulants for the use of tourism services. For instance, a Formula One Grand Prix attracts a variety of people from across country and internationally. Tourists attending the Grand Prix often require the use of accommodation, transport and hospitality facilities. In this way, the Formula One Grand Prix stimulates the use of services in the tourism industry. The environment in which a social tourism enterprise wishes to be active is of key importance. An analysis of the environment, benefits, services and products it can offer will finalise the service provision catalogue of the new or expanded social tourism enterprise. Similar to the information above, if the surroundings or environment offers attractions, whether they are natural or commercial, and then social tourism enterprise can compete to other commercial tourism enterprises.
Ancillary Services. Ancillary services are services that work to support tourism activities. Ancillary services help tourists both critical and non-critical. For instance, ancillary services help tourists to convert money, protect their health and obtain holiday memorabilia. Ancillary services include: | 16 Souvenir stores Duty free shops Rental facilities Foreign exchange facilities Guide books Tourist information services Tourist insurance The above, if the environment has not already arranged for this, can be re-created through the collaboration with the local society. Many small cooperatives who have expanded to provide social tourism packages, have come to agreements with local retailers, artists, handicraft associations etc, to provide ancillary services. Tour operators, whether incoming tourism or outgoing tourism can analyse the environment and based on the offer, propose complete tourism packages. Transport. Transport services allow tourists to move from one area to another.Transport services are often offered at a range of levels and standards. These services include: Airlines Coaches Railways Shipping lines Vehicle rentals Where transport is available for tourists, the development of other forms of tourism infrastructure such as accommodation facilities becomes viable. A major industry body providing statistics and research related to the use of air transport by tourists is the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It is common that tour operators, hoteliers and business people in the sector, cooperate and offer diverse transport services to cater for client needs. Retail Travel. Retail travel sector acts as a distributor to travellers. It distributes products and services that are being offered by tourism industry enterprises and they include access to transport, accommodation, tour operator packages and attendance to attractions. Due to their distributive function, the retail travel sector can be seen to occupy an intermediary position linking tourists to sectors of the tourism industry. Many tourists will use some form of retail travel enterprise when organising their travel. For instance, an overseas traveller will often use a travel retailer to book accommodation in, and a flight to, their destination. However, when the online retailing, however expands, the
importance of retail travel may be diminishing as travellers are now able to deal with tourism vendors directly. This is the reason why following ICT development is critical for the tourism industry. Retail travel industry may also promote tourism products, provide guidance for purchasers, and organise and plan travel activities. These activities are important to many potential | 17 travellers and may help to ensure the ongoing viability of retail tourism enterprises. Tour Operators. Comprehensive tourism packages are being offered by tour operators and include not only accommodation, but also transport to and from port, airport or other destinations. Tourists are benefited by the tour operators because they are coordinating the logistical aspects of their travel for them. This helps the decision making process to be more short and easy to be made. Moreover, by offering a total package of services for a single price, tourists are helped by the tour operators in order to control the cost of their travel. In addition, many tourists enjoy organised tours because travelling in a group provides company and the chance to meet new people. Over recent times many types of theme based tourism packages have become available including, safari, surfing, motor cycle, Latin dance, art, environmental and cycling packages. Tour operators sell their packages directly to the public. Tour wholesalers sell their packages via retail travel enterprises. The terms tour operator and tour wholesaler are often used interchangeably within the tourism industry. Teaching method / proposed assessment Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
The activities of a tourism company
20
Case Study
Working in groups develop a personal tourist report that describes: Some the favourite places you have travelled to Your most enjoyable travel experience Activities you like to do when you travel The standard of service you require when you travel and your budget
60
Discussion
Select a tourism destination in your country and study the different tourism related activities in there. Notice the positives and negatives.
40
M1.1.4 Title: The tourism market and competition Duration: 2 hrs. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 18 Aim: 1. Define the tourism market and size 2. Analyse the parameters of international tourist environment affecting the enterprise 3. Understand why managing a tourism enterprise must adjust its activity style towards a social-cultural environment / approach 4. Estimate the influence parameters of both national and international tourism environments in the functioning of a tourism enterprise Training method: presentation, presentation with Q& A, brain storming, case studies, role playing, group work Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: The tourism market. Travel & Tourism, one of the world’s largest industries, outperformed the global economy in 2012 and grew faster than many other notable industries such as manufacturing, financial services, communications and retail. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) economic research, in 2012, Travel & Tourism grew its total contribution to GDP by 3% to US$6.6 trillion in GDP (a rise of US$500 billion year-on-year) and increased its number of jobs by five million to 260 million. For the first time, one in every 11 jobs in the world is now supported by Travel & Tourism. WTTC is predicting the Travel & Tourism industry will expand its total contribution to GDP by 3.2% in 2013, faster than the 2.4% predicted for global economic growth. The industry is expected to support nearly 266 million jobs this year and again outperform many other industries. Tourism is everyone’s Business. When Tourism is properly managed, everyone gains. Tourism can be especially important in regional areas because it diversifies the area’s economic base and expands the employment market. In its broadest sense, the tourism industry is the total of all businesses that directly provide goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure and leisure activities away from the home environment. (Volume 1: A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, http://www.visitgloucester.com.au/EveryonesBusiness.aspx)
Visitors International National Regional/local
Spend on‌ Petrol Transport Entertainment Events Accommodation Shopping Meals Others
‌The tourism industry pays for Administrative expenses Advertising & promotion Capital assets & replacements Commissions Entertainment Food & beverage Gas & electricity Legal & professional services Merchandise Petrol Rates & charges Rent Repairs & maintenance Transport Wages
Which benefits everybody Accountants Architects Bakers Banks Builders Bus & car hirers Chambers of Commerce Chemists Crafts people Cultural groups Electricians Engineers Entertainers Farmers Film developers Gift shops Interpreters Laundries Market gardeners Marketers Manufacturers Marine dealers Mechanics Newsagents Nightclubs Petrol stations Pilots Plumbers Postal workers Printers & designers Restaurants & cafes Real estate agents Retailers Shopping centres Travel agents Truckies Waiters Wineries
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The tourism system: It is more than necessary, before a tourism product is developed, to understand how the operation of the tourism system. The diagram shows the components involved. | 20
The consumer: The consumer is the most important part of the tourism system because the consumer is the reason tourism products and services exist. Everyone working in tourism must ensure that the consumer is considered first and foremost in all business and planning decisions. Consumers spend their money and leisure time in many different ways. If they choose to spend their money on a holiday, they generally begin by setting a budget, deciding on the period of travel and considering the types of activities they would like to do while away. Then they select a destination, decide how they will travel there and make reservations accordingly, through a travel agent, wholesaler, over the internet or directly with a tourism operator. The travel experience: The travel experience depends on the way the consumers travel to the destination and the experiences they have along their way. Transportation may include air, car, boat, coach, train, motorbike, hiking or a combination of all the above. The way of travel affects the type of the experience, for instance, flying to a destination provides a different experience than driving. It is very bad for the destination when the transportation options, the links and the supporting services are limited or below standard. Many issues are affecting the quality of the travel experience, such as the variety of attractions, the facilities and the available en route accommodation; the road quality and signage; and the frequency of transport services.
The holiday experience: By the time consumers decide to take a particular type of holiday, they have expectations of the experience they will have. This could relate to the quality of accommodation, service and food, or the range and cost of activities available, variety of shopping, coffee shops and restaurant opening hours. Their satisfaction will depend on the combination between the | 21 initial expectations and the final impression. Marketing a business: It is referred as the constant process by any successful business use. It includes activities such as market researching, consumers and products; developing the business and products; developing the skills of personnel; and promoting, advertising or working with the media to raise awareness of the product to generate sales. Marketing is often described as consisting of four elements, known as the four Ps: product, place, price and promotion. Product refers to the physical attributes of the product, branding and packaging. Place is about distribution – the agencies, channels and institutions used to give consumers easy access to purchase the product. Price must meet both the needs of consumers and the needs of the provider. Promotion is the means by which consumers are made aware of destinations, products or services, to help them choose their holiday. Promotion can involve a range of media, including internet, websites, print (magazines, newspapers, brochures, and direct-mail), television and radio. Consumer decision-making: The diagram that follows depicts the process consumer’s work through when deciding to take a holiday. It is important to understand this process because it influences all stages of the tourism system model, especially marketing and promotion.
Consumer needs: What does really consumers need to do during their holiday, is the opportunity to take time out from their everyday life, whether it be for a restful break in scenic surrounds or to engage in extreme sports in rough terrain, whether the traveller is on their own, with a partner or friends, or in a large group. Awareness: Sometimes consumers may recognise their need for a holiday, some others may not. Advertisement about a holiday destination, product or service can motivate consumers to recognise they need a holiday as well as raise awareness among potential consumers of the choices available. Motivation: If the consumer is aware of a destination, product or service and has a positive feeling about it, they are more likely to be motivated to visit. Planning/decision: Consumers decide about the destination, the way to get there and what to do by getting there, by considering the promotional information. Satisfaction: When a product delivers what has been promoted, the consumer is likely to feel satisfied and remember a quality holiday experience, and the tourism provider will feel satisfied too. Word of mouth: Consumers share memories of their holiday experiences with friends, family and colleagues. Word of mouth raises awareness about the destination, product(s) and service(s) with potential consumers. Competition: Nearly every enterprise competes with other enterprises for customers. In examining the way a tourism enterprise relates to its competitors you may wish to consider the following questions: Who are the organisation's competitors? How do their products and services compare with those your organisation offers? What is their competitive advantage based on? How do they compete or cooperate with their competitors? An enterprise's competitors normally consist of those organisations that offer similar products and services to the enterprise, within the same geographical area. A competitive advantage is made up of a feature or set of features that an enterprise excels in and is used to compete with other tourism enterprises. A competitive advantage might be based on an enterprise's: Location Prices Quality History
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Trading hours Additional services Ongoing dedication is required to maintain a competitive advantage over a sustained period. For example, an enterprise that bases their competitive advantage upon the quality | 23 of their services needs to remain dedicated to quality in order to sustain this advantage. When a competitive advantage begins to fail, an enterprise's ability to compete for customers diminishes. This may lead the enterprise to transform itself in order to seek a new competitive advantage. As well as competing, many tourism enterprises cooperate with one another. Tourism enterprises often cooperate to promote their local area or to develop packages that incorporate a variety of services provided by a number of enterprises. For example, a number of accommodation providers in a certain location may come together to fund a campaign to promote the tourism facilities in their area. Cooperation offers tourism enterprises the opportunity to achieve greater outcomes than any single enterprise would be able to. This in turn aids the overall development of the tourism industry. Cultural environment – social tourism aspect To be successful in the tourism field while opting for a social tourism enterprise, the locality of the environment is crucial. Being able to identify, analyse and evaluate different parameters, will aid you in adjusting your management style to fit the purpose. The activities and services you will select to provide as part of your enterprise will affect / or base: The cultural approach you will have in your enterprise, The clientele you wish to attract, The cooperation’s and collaborations you will seek to elaborate to provide the tourism packages, The advantages the environment has to offer Your company profile and marketing strategy. It has been experiences that start up social tourism enterprises change focus or alter their services and tourism packages offered following a few years in operation. They identify and analyse past year’s experiences and according to economic, social and clients received, modify their activity style and provision. There are many parameters, both national and international, influencing the tourism environment ranging from the economic crisis (current in Europe), to funding schemes available nationally hence, expansion options, to change of customer behaviour and even natural causes. A social tourism enterprise operating in local or regional level need to
understand how it can be influenced and how it can overcome or take advantage of, any possible problem or opportunity that can appear. Teaching method / proposed assessment | 24
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
The tourism market and the tourism system
20
Activity
Simulation of the decision making process for different destination randomly picked by each student
60
Case Study
Analysis of the completion of a tourism enterprise in the area where the course is offered.
40
M1.1.5 Title: e-marketing Duration: 5 hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to | 25 start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism Aim: 1. Know the definition of online marketing 2. Define the differences between traditional marketing and online marketing 3. Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of online marketing 4. Use the different types of online marketing Training method: presentation, case study, group work Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: Marketing and distribution It is important to choose the right distribution channels to enable your product to reach the market effectively. You may be confused about where your product best fits into the tourism distribution system. The highly competitive nature of the tourism industry demands that tourism operators have excellent marketing skills. Most tourism operators work with three distinct groups: 1. consumers 2. trade, for example, travel agents, wholesalers, ITOs, government tourism agencies, online travel agents 3. other industry and sector associations or professionals, for example, local VIC’s, RTO’s, similar tourism operators, media, public relations and tourism consultants, industry suppliers, etc. As a tourism operator, ensure you: know your market(s) by understanding and analysing all available research data, develop a marketing plan that is achievable and includes details of your product, especially “brand” differentiation, key selling points, promotional mix (advertising, public relations and other promotional activities) and distribution channels (wholesalers, network, RTO’s, other operators, direct mail, internet, consumer shows, etc.) have a competitive pricing policy developed to consider costs of production, distribution and commission. Are you seeking a competitive pricing policy or quality product price? regularly analyse and monitor marketing activities
What is distribution? Distribution is the variety of channels that are used to extend the promotion and sales of your product. Distribution channels are the means by which you reach your customers. Efficient product distribution will facilitate product sales in advance of their actual use. This | 26 is particularly valuable if your target markets include international visitors travelling on a structured prepaid itinerary, or domestic travellers who prefer to confirm their itineraries prior to travelling. Through advance sales you have the opportunity to plan ahead. The smaller operators do not necessarily use distributors to sell their product and sell directly to customers. If this applies to you, consider that you can improve sales and profitability by expanding the number of distribution channels selling your product,. Distribution channels are dependent on target markets. Your options for distribution include working with distributors, such as wholesalers, or using promotional material and/or a website to spread the word about your product and generate sales. Choosing the right distribution channels Analysing which distribution channels will be the most profitable to your business is crucial. Ask yourself: How do your target markets currently purchase your type of product and how do you go about establishing a relationship with these distributors? What sort of costs will be incurred by using these particular distributors? Are these proposed distributors familiar with your product? If not, what are the costs involved in developing product familiarity? Are these proposed distributors enthusiastic about your product? Are they potentially good sales ambassadors? Do they handle products provided by your direct competitors? What sort of incentive can you offer a distributor to encourage sales of your product, for example, a sales incentive scheme or “over-ride” commission Traditional distribution channels The most cost-effective means of increasing sales, as opposed to direct sales between you and your customers is the use of distributors as your business grows. Three types of traditional distributors exist, that play an important part in servicing customers. These are retail travel agents, wholesalers and ITOs (inbound tour operators). If someone wants to cooperate with these partners, their product must be established, well regarded and commissionable. Retail travel agents (retailers) Retailers are either based in the same country or outside and provide customers with an accessible place to book or enquire about travel products. These agents usually provide a shop front office for customers in shopping centres and local town centres.
Wholesalers Wholesalers provide retailers with travel packages comprising two or more products supplied by different operators. These packages are put together in brochures, which are then distributed to networks of retail agents for display in their travel agencies. Wholesalers can also sell directly to customers. Wholesalers that provide packages for the inbound | 27 market are generally based overseas. Inbound tour operators (ITOs) ITOs, sometimes referred to as ground operators or destination management companies (DMCs), are national-based businesses that negotiate contracts directly with tourism operators on behalf of international wholesalers. They are responsible for the production of itineraries for international travellers. Direct sales through the internet Nowadays everyone has open access to internet, and it has an important role not only in the planning but in the decision process. The most popular activities through internet is the planning and the booking. Due to researches, more travellers searching in internet in order for them to decide they final destination. Online travel sales are growing at an explosive rate, with consumer travel sales in the United States hit $103 billion in 2012, up 9% from 2011, according to comScore6 data. It is the first time the sector has topped the $100 billion mark. Air travel sales alone reached $66.5 billion — accounting for nearly two-thirds of all travel spending — up 10% from the previous year, the research firm said. Hotel Reservations was the second largest category at $19.4 billion. Other online sales have outpaced enormously the growth in online travel bookings for many reasons, such as: In order to aid the selection, it provides access to extensive information; availability to understand the choices; convenience of booking online (from home and out of business hours); and the perception of price advantage. Internet presents some great opportunities for tourism operators to promote their product, but before developing an online presence, consider the following: how will your clients will reach you? who will provide in developing and maintaining a website? how will you manage your website to be accurate and relevant ? how will you encourage our presence to online travel providers? There are three key potential uses for the internet. Each presents significant opportunities; each presents challenges that will need to be addressed. 1. The internet as a marketing tool
6
http://www.comscore.com
The internet offers the travel industry opportunities to market destinations, products and services. In the last years, the tourism industry experienced the Internet developing to the number one research tool for travellers7. 83% of travellers are using the Internet to plan their holidays online. The way in which travellers researched travel online differs as 60% researched an upcoming trip, 45% researched a trip on the basis of seeing an online ad and | 28 43% brainstormed or started thinking about a trip. Search engines are the primary starting point for travellers’ search for a holiday. 2. The internet as an information tool The internet is a unique tool for travel research, planning and decision-making. If you create a website, it is really useful for the necessary accurate and relevant content on it and any other sites that include your business information. 3. The internet as a purchasing tool If you give the customers the opportunity to make transaction on your site, you may provide an additional distribution channel for customers to book or buy travel product and finally you have an extra advantage. If you want to develop a competitive product in a challenging price and promote it through distribution channels in order to meet market needs, you have to act professionally. transactions on your own website via an online booking system allocations to other online sellers such as www.expedia.com, www.tripadvisor.com and www.lastminute.com In both cases, the cost and the resources must be considered. What activities form e-marketing? Often E-marketing, is referred to as “online marketing” or “Internet marketing” and it is the suite of online activities that you can pursue to promote and improve your business’s online visibility. Just like search engine optimisation, e-marketing is crucial as it will give your website all the chances to succeed and bring you customers. Most of the E-marketing activities rely on a solid website to which the consumer will be directed to establish contact with you. E-marketing techniques include activities such as: • Partnering and clustering • Media releases • Banner advertising • Email marketing • Pay per click (PPC) 101 • Social media for tourism • Customer reviews and TripAdvisor 7
http://etc-digital.org/digital-trends/consumer-behaviour/consumer-trends/
• Blogging • Videos for my website Not all online marketing activities should be conducted concurrently, but relevant ones should be selected and trailed. The Benefits of E-marketing | 29 The benefits of e-marketing are wide-ranging: • Delivery of massive amounts of information in a user-friendly way • Brand-building is a more recent benefit, made possible by the rapid spread of broadband connections, allowing users to experience dramatic imagery and animation, as well as enhanced communication and interaction • Two-way interaction between the Destination Management Organisation (DMO), suppliers and customers, and between customers an other likeminded customers. These interactions apply at all stages of the ‘customer journey’, a cycle of thoughts, decisions, and actions by the visitor before, during and after their visit
• •
•
•
Online purchasing is joined with promotional activity Cost-effectiveness in conveying information and products on sale directly, cheaply and at short notice to prime prospects, through the web, e-mail and mobiles The opportunity to cooperate with offline marketing activities so that a both way relationship to be driven, web to brochures or telephone, telephone to web etc The facility to build integrated partnerships with other bodies, official and commercial, throughout the industry and outside it. Partnerships may work at many levels: Sharing market intelligence within the industry Promoting the DMO’s marketing opportunities and operating cooperative marketing schemes
•
Gathering product data, via data feeds, and by hosting product data entry forms that suppliers can use to provide and update their information New joint product development An integrated and coherent approach to branding of the destination achieved jointly by national, regional, and local tourism organisations and by their public and private stakeholders Partnerships may also be interactive partnerships of customers who have shared interests, such as golfers or walkers The ability for DMOs to engage with customers on a one-to-one basis, but also to use ‘one-to-many’ activities.
Teaching method / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Marketing and distribution
30
Group work
Each group picks a destination and tries to find what kind of e-marketing activities are taking place. Then each group presents the findings in the class and a discussion is following.
120
Presentation
The Benefits of E-marketing
30
Case Study
How to achieve success in marketing? Trainer has to choose a destination and prepare the case study
120
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M1.2.1 Title: Strategic business planning Duration: 3 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 31 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Understand the importance of business planning 2. Describe the main aims of the strategic business plan 3. Describe the differences of a successful and not successful tourism business 4. Assess the existence of strategic business planning 5. Discuss the factors of everyday business and their reality 6. Cite your opinion about the benefit of strategic business planning 7. Assess the characteristics of the strategic business plan and their value in the development of the social tourist enterprise Training method: presentation, case study, discussion Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: The reasons for planning In the business environment, planning is essential. There are a variety of situations that need a business plan. While planning may not prevent some things going wrong, most of the things that do go wrong in business are the result of bad planning, or no planning at all.
Is it worth starting a business? Maria has saved €10,000. She's all set to invest this in starting a new business when a friend who's good at accounting helps her do a cash flow forecast and a return on investment calculation. Together they work out it would take three years of operating to make this investment worth €11,000. The same €10,000 in a certain managed fund for the same time is projected to be worth €13,000. Maria still decides to start the business. What possible reasons might Maria have for going ahead with the business idea? What would you do? Discuss your ideas with other learners and see what they think.
Start-up A new business idea needs to be clearly shaped before it is brought to life. The owner has to be focused and the partners and other stakeholders need to be in agreement over the goals of the new business. Anyone who puts money into a new business should be sure it has a precise purpose and a good return can be reasonably expected. Proper planning helps all | 32 this to happen. Case Study George is a good friend and comes to you one day wanting money. He says it's to start a business selling hot dogs and drinks to people on the popular local beach. Sounds good to start with, but then you ask what happens when it's a cold day or a cold month, George shrugs. What about selling sunscreen, hats and other things people might need on the beach? He doesn't seem interested in that. How many people visit the beach every day? Do they usually take their own food? He shrugs again. Does he know if the local council has a law against vending on the beach? He says he hasn't asked. He only needs â‚Ź20,000 to get the cookers, chillers, trailer and a week's supply of hot dogs and drinks. It doesn't sound like he's planned very far ahead. How would you feel about lending George â‚Ź20,000? What is a business plan? A business plan prepares what will happen next. Take stock of time, resources and consequences of your actions and you've done a plan. A business can operate without a formal written plan, as long as the managers and staff all understand the goals and direction of the operation.
A recorded plan leaves no space for any kind of misunderstanding. There are so many things to account for in a good plan, it is usually best to write them down concisely. For the purpose of this unit, a business plan is a document that seeks to describe the goals, resources, timeframes and consequences of operations of a social tourism enterprise. Different types of business plans and purposes Business plans are written for different purposes. The content of a business plan will depend on the purpose for which the plan is being written. Some of the different purposes are listed below.
Strategic plan A strategic plan includes not only the mission, but also the goals and objectives of a business. It sets the broad strategic direction leaving the finer details to other types of plans used mainly by managers to stay focused on the bigger picture. Tactical plan A tactical plan deals with specific actions in marketing, production, finance and general resource management that can realise the goals of the strategic plan. It is used to respond rapidly to strategic needs and changes in the business environment. Feasibility study A feasibility study is a research report into the viability of a particular business idea. It is used mainly as a preliminary step before more complete planning for new or expanding businesses takes place. Venture capital plan A venture capital plan helps clearly the investors who are seeking high returns from the business. The plan must focus on risk versus reward, especially highlighting marketing potential of a new or expanding business concept. The readers of this plan want to see how high the return on investment could be. Bank funding applications Bank funding applications require a plan that highlights for bank managers the financial stability of a business. Historical trading figures are most important. Many applications for new business funding are overlooked by banks because they lack this information. Conservative financial planning is the basis of successful bank applications. Strategic planning The market leaders in tourism take the time to plan. Planning enables you to determine a vision for your business, to anticipate problems, identify opportunities and react quickly to market changes. Business and strategic planning is a basic component in the success of any business, no matter the size or the sector. Tourism businesses need to be able to effectively plan and respond to changing conditions over time, to compete in this increasingly complex and competitive market. Many researchers have shown that a lack of effective business planning is one of the most important needs of small to medium size tourism businesses (SMTEs) today. Tourism sector is an industry based on services, that the costumer must consume in the place they are “produced� rather than the other way around. This creates unique challenges for all the tourism businesses. Research has highlighted some of these challenges which tourism businesses need to have seriously in mind, during their planning processes:
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Seasonality of demand including low, high and shoulder seasons and even weekly fluctuations in visitation; Understanding visitor market characteristics and demand; Understanding external trends and influences that can impact on a business; Sourcing a trained and professional workforce; | 34 Lending arrangements and taxation regimes which are not always conducive to SMTEs; A lack of government understanding and/or recognition of the value of tourism in some areas; A failure to recognise the potential benefits of industry clusters and collaboration; Industry fragmentation and a proliferation of membership organisations; Scattered and difficult to locate business research information Planning for risks and crises Single use nature of assets such as accommodation facilities have limited alternative uses; and High capital intensity and ongoing fixed costs to operate the business and continue to meet market demand.
Business and strategic planning are cyclical in nature and regular review and monitoring needs to be undertaken. Business planning should be undertaken on an annual basis while a strategic review of the business should be undertaken at least every three years.
Getting assistance In establishing and developing your tourism business, whether as a social tourism enterprise or a regular tourism enterprise, you will require the assistance of a number of different people and organisations. The organisations and services listed below will give you a good starting point. | 35 You may need to speak to or meet with these people more than once as you develop a better understanding of the industry and your business. To be clear on what you have to do, it is better to invest your time before you start operating your business. However, if you have already started your business it is never too late to contact these organisations to ensure you have all the information you need. When considering utilising the services of any organisation, you may look for referrals from trusted colleagues or contact the organisation’s existing clients. This allows you to verify the organisation’s credibility, professionalism and expertise in the areas in which you are seeking their assistance. Make sure you get an estimate of the costs involved prior to contracting their services. Accountant or financial adviser These professionals can predict your running costs, cash flow, turnover requirements, etc., and determine if you have sufficient funds to invest or how much you will need to borrow. They can help you to financially manage your business, your tax requirements, develop your budget and build your business for the future. Bank manager or financial institution Be able to talk about your current financial situation and your business plan with your banker financial institution. Make sure that your bank or financial institution offers you the best support. Are there credit facilities available, what’s the cost and can you borrow funds from them? It is wise to take your business concept to more than one of lending institutions. You will get experienced comments on your proposal and you can save money on fee, etc. by shopping around. Legal adviser You should consult legal advisers in order to make contractual or legal arrangements for your business, such as lease agreements, contracts etc. Running a business that deals with clients can leave you vulnerable to legal action from a dissatisfied customer. Your business status will determine your legal responsibilities (for example, sole proprietor, partnership or proprietary limited) and a legal expert can advise you regarding your rights and responsibilities. Tourism consultants They have extensive local knowledge and can help you by offering a variety of skills and experience in product development, marketing and operational management.
Tourism operators Come in contact with operators in similar or complementary businesses. They can be proved valuable. | 36
Teaching methods/ proposed assessment Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Discussion
Is it worth starting a business
30
Case Study
Start-up
30
Presentation
What is a business plan?
30
Discussion
Getting assistance
90
M1.2.2 Title: Strategic step by step business design and organisation in tourism companies Duration: 8 Hours – trainer divides the hours into 4 hour sessions or 2 hour sessions. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 37 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Describe the main steps involved in setting up a business plan for a tourism enterprise, 2. Understand the tourism market development, 3. Understand the diversity of the tourism product. Training method: presentation, group work, group presentations, discussions. Language: multilingual Training content / indicative content: Introduction This Tourism Business Planning Guide outlines twelve “steps” to address as part of your business planning efforts. The following should be considered, when using this document to complete your business plan: • Material presented in the previous section is used as a base for each section of the guide. Each step should be completed in the order presented. • In the beginning of each step, there is a statement of purpose and some background information, followed by questions designed to lead you through the process of writing a business plan. What’s Unique about Tourism Development? It’s different to develop a tourism business than developing a more typical retail or service operation. There are important things about tourism development: Changing trends make difficult to define the target market. Seasonality of demand. Peaks and troughs; high and low seasons. Unpredictable weather. Consumers have varying expectations. Longer-term market development. Very few new tourism businesses achieve maximum capacity usage in the first years of start-up. High fixed costs. Many tourism businesses have a high fixed cost component. Co-operative nature of competition. Because tourism businesses are often located in a tourism destination region, they often work collaboratively to promote their destination. Single use nature of assets. Accommodation facilities in particular have limited alternative uses for the asset.

Highly capital intensive. Many tourism businesses require large up-front capital investment.
There is a variety of tourism products. They may involve extensive land development and the construction of several buildings such as a resort hotel. On the other hand there are | 38 tourism businesses which own no land and few, or any, buildings, such as river rafting operations. There can be a scale of tourism developments from a small owner operated boat rental outfit to a multi-million dollar four-season resort. Business Plan Presentation Tips and Organization The final draft of your business plan should be organized as follows: Title Page 1) Table of Contents 2) Executive Summary 3) The Company a) Goals and Objectives b) Products and Services c) Management Team d) Human Resource Plan 4) Industry and Market Analysis 5) Project Schedule 6) Operations Plan 7) Green Plan 8) Marketing Plan 9) Financial Plan and Projections 10) Critical Risks and Assumptions 11) Appendices The length of a business plan should not exceed 30 pages. There should be appendices which can include background and supplementary materials. Appendices may include photographs, site plans, appraisals, permits, and resumes of key employees, personal financial statements, organizational charts, market analysis data, letters of intent and legal agreements. Ensure that your project is presented in the best possible manner. Be positive: highlight the strong points and downplay the weaker ones. You should not ignore weaknesses because the reader gets the impression that you are not able to identify shortcomings. As soon as you describe the identified weaknesses and critical risks, outline the steps that you will take to minimize their effects.
Step # 1 - Conduct Initial Market Research The purpose of this step is to establish a clear understanding of the following: • your proposed product experience • your potential customers • your business environment | 39 The following five steps should be undertaken when conducting your marketing research: 1) Clearly define the problem to be researched and establish the need for information 2) Determine sources of data 3) Design research strategy and collect data 4) Analyse data 5) Develop conclusions Define the Project • What are the components of your tourism business (e.g. is it a restaurant and minigolf or a natural history museum with no other amenities)? • What additional services will you offer (e.g. guided tours, hiking lessons, centralized reservation system)? • What other facilities and infrastructure will need to be in place for your project to succeed (local housing for staff, medical and financial services, and upgraded access road)? • What unique product experience(s) will you provide to the consumer? Determine Demand Be informed about how many people there are, the arrival day, which they are, which place they come from, what their needs and wants are and what the nature of the demand for your tourism business is. How many? When do they come? • Know how many tourists travel in the vicinity of your proposed site and what the seasonal variations in this travel are. Also, find out if there have been any changes in these travel patterns over the past few years and what the projected trends for this travel are. • Detect how many tourists purchase similar product experiences in other geographical areas and what the historical and projected trends for these purchases are. Who are they? Where do they come from? Tourists can be described by their geographic, demographic and psychographic characteristics. What are their needs and wants? • Discover if the tourists have been looking for any experiences visiting the area and what the projected trends are. • What experiences do tourists purchasing similar product experiences want? What are the historic and projected trends?
What is the nature of the demand for your tourism business? • What are your primary and secondary target markets? • Determine the percentage of the market segments you expect to attract and the change that there will be as your business gets more established? • What are the spending patterns of your potential customers? How much do they | 40 spend and what do they spend it on? How sensitive are they to price increases or decreases? • Find out if you can develop sufficient demand for off seasons or you will scale down or close operations during these periods. If you think that your original proposal is feasible, as soon as you complete your market research, then you can proceed to: Step #2 - Develop Goals and Objectives Step #2 - Develop Goals and Objectives The purpose of this step is to: • establish realistic, achievable goals and objectives for your tourism business • assess the feasibility of your project in relation to stated goals and objectives The terms “goals” and “objectives” are often used synonymously. However, there is a subtle difference in meaning. Goals are long-term, open-ended results which a business seeks to achieve. Objectives are immediate-term targets to be achieved within a specific time frame. Outlined below are examples of business goals and some of the objectives necessary to achieve them. Goal
Objective
Maximize Profits
• Increase sales by 10% per annum. • Maintain expenses at 2012 levels.
Minimize Environmental Impacts
• Reduce waste by 15% in 2014 and 10% in 2015. • Increase use of recycled
Increase Customer Satisfaction
• Reduce staff turnover by 20% this year. • Match competitor’s price for bicycle rentals immediately.
Business goals and objectives • Be able to know if any of these goals and objectives are contradictory and if you can increase profits and decrease environmental impacts at the same time. • Find out if these are consistent with your personal goals and objectives. Find specific, measurable and realistic goals and objectives. When the first step of your plan has been completed, you can assess the viability of your project given your stated goals and objectives. Decisions that should be made:
You should proceed with the proposal in its present form and revise your project in order to achieve your goals and objectives. On the other hand, you should leave the venture, choose another career and invest your savings where they can earn a more acceptable rate of return. Step #3 - Develop an Organizational Form and Human Resource Plan The aim of this step is to set up a legal business form or entity and a human resource strategy for your venture. Develop a Human Resource Plan In the beginning of a business plan should be taken into account the human resource requirements. Tourism businesses are service-oriented businesses. Their success depends on the excellent rendering of service. Personnel costs are very important, because most tourism enterprises are labour intensive. Lack of experienced staff is a very significant problem for tourism operators, especially in rural areas. The most difficult part is attracting, training and retaining quality employees. Use the following in developing your human resource plan: • Know the number of staff members that you need and how many of these are parttime, full-time, seasonal, supervisors and office staff. How are these requirements projected to change over the next three years? • What are the skills, training and education requirements for each of these positions? • Notify other qualities that are required for each position. For example, you can determine that significant qualities for waitresses and waiters are an ability to perform well in a fast-paced environment and desire to work directly with public, an outgoing personality, or that your maintenance supervisor requires a mechanical aptitude and strong problem solving skills. • Plan how to attract staff from other locations, if the local job market is not adequate for your personnel needs. • Find out the way that you will recruit staff and what the costs associated with recruitment are. • Be able to know if there are enough housing, transportation, medical, financial, educational and recreational facilities for your employees and their families in the local area. If not, find a way to ensure that staff remains employed with you. • How will you provide employees with an orientation to the organization’s goals, objectives and values as well as their specific roles and responsibilities? • How will you evaluate employee performance? How often will employees be evaluated both informally and formally? • How will you compensate your employees (salary, hourly wage, profit sharing, bonuses, staff discounts)? • What training and development policies will you implement? • What career opportunities will you offer your employees?
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• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your staff? What are your own strengths and weaknesses? • What outside expertise will you use (e.g. accountants, lawyers, consultants)? • How much do the salaries and other compensation for your employees cost annually? What are your costs associated with recruitment, training and | 42 development? What salary will you be drawing? What are the total human resource costs? • What aspects of your original proposal need to be modified as a result of completing this action step? Step #4 - Develop a Project Schedule The aim of this task is to set up a timed plan or project schedule for your proposed tourism business. Starting a new business is a complex task. It is not enough to simply set the completion and opening dates for your tourism business, Intermediate check points for each stage of development must also be established, because all components of the project are inter – related. Continuously monitoring progress will minimize cost overruns and ensure that your project is completed on time. A continual comparison of progress versus cost versus technical performance is essential to sound control of project operations. A significant planning tool for setting these checkpoints are Gantt charts. Each activity or component is assigned a block of time for completion and is monitored within that segment. The start and completion of each activity is time-related to the other functions to be performed. Progress can be monitored easily allowing for quick responses when corrective action is required.
Step #5 - Develop an Operations Plan The purpose of this step is to describe the physical necessities of your business operation, such as the physical location of your business, facilities and equipment that you require. Information about inventory requirements, suppliers and partnerships/alliances should also be included into the operations plan. | 43 Consider the following questions in developing your operations plan: • Will you use outside expertise and what exactly? For example, accountants, lawyers, consultants? • Be able to know the hours and days of operation: Outline what days of the week you will be open. Is the business seasonal? • List the types of insurance your business has and include both property and liability insurance. • Front risk management practices: Plan how to reduce risks such as an unexpected change in the weather or if a customer is injured. • Cash/credit handling: Will you be accepting all of the major credit cards? Will you accept debit cards? Cheques? Cash? • Procurement: What will your buying policy be with your suppliers? Step #6 - Develop a Marketing Plan The purpose of this step is to: • complete a comprehensive marketing plan for your tourism business • project the costs associated with your marketing efforts and project sales revenues To separate successful from unsuccessful business an important factor is marketing.. Companies that make the customer the focal point for all basic business-planning and decision-making are successful. Objectives should be established and the business operated with the sole purpose of making and selling what the customer wants, in the way they want it, when and where they want it, and at the price that they are willing to pay for it. This is especially important for tourism businesses as the experience is so often the product. All your great ideas are combined by a marketing plan or strategy, which relates them to the goals and objectives of the company, its strengths and weaknesses, the way in which the customer buys the nature of the competition and the company’s resources. A marketing plan is designed to provide the following: • a set of marketing and financial objectives for a specified time period. • the marketing activities necessary to meet these objectives. • a detailed plan of action to put the program into effect. • contingency or alternative plans in the event that the marketing environment or the firm’s resources change. • procedures for monitoring and evaluating results.
To develop a marketing plan or strategy, follow these steps: 1. Select Your Target Markets 2. Establish a Marketing Program a. Product b. Price c. Promotion d. Partnerships e. Place f. Packaging g. Programming h. People 3. Establish Sales Projections 4. Monitor Results 5. Take Corrective Action Answer the following questions prior to completing your marketing plan: • What are your primary and secondary target markets? • What product experiences will you be offering? • How will you differentiate your product from those of your competitors? • What are the elements of your pricing strategy? • Which promotional tools will you use in marketing your product? In what joint marketing efforts will you engage in? • Where will your product experience be located? What hours and days will you be open? • Who would make good partners in your area to offer a variety of different packages to your customers? • What are your sales projections? What assumptions have you used in making these projections? • How will you monitor marketing results? • What are your contingency plans? • What on-going marketing research activities will you undertake? • What are your annual costs? • Who will be responsible for the marketing function? • What aspects of your proposed business need to be changed as a result of the development of your marketing plan? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing plan? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competition?
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Step #7 - Develop a Green Plan The purpose of this step is to develop a green or sustainable tourism plan for your business. A green plan for tourism businesses makes good sense and is an opportunity to outline your sustainable tourism practices. You should focus on the environment, how we protect it and our social obligations in a community. Performing and developing a successful green plan | 45 can have a positive effect on your bottom line. In the green plan section of your business plan, notify how you will address social and environment obligations in your area (e.g. as volunteerism, recycling and alternative energy sources). There are many good reasons for implementing a green plan: • You can reduce costs by thousands of dollars through recycling, waste prevention, reuse and energy and water savings. • There can be preservation of valuable community resources. Environmental efforts will help promote clean air, clean water and less dependence on landfills. • It could bring good publicity, which may have as a result an increased business from a growing customer base seeking to patronize environmentally friendly businesses. • Good business, communicates to your staff, customers and local citizens where you stand on your environmental and community obligations. A successful green plan will identify and evaluate opportunities to improve your operation’s green performance such as: • There could be a recycling program for materials that are used in an office(e.g. paper, plastic and glass bottles, cardboards etc.) in order to reduce office wastes. • Excess prepared food can be donated to shelters and non-profit agencies. • Guests can also help in the implementation of your green plan by re-using linens and towels during their stay, use only the needed water, turning off the television and the lights when they leave their room. Ask yourself the following questions as you work through your green plan for your tourism business:8 • How will you communicate your green plan to your employees and guests/ customers? • How will you monitor the success of your green plan implementation? • How will you maintain your green plan over the course of the year? • Will you choose to buy from a supplier that also has a green plan? (e.g. less packaging, recycling of packaging, e-mail instead of paper mail).
8
http://www.albertacanada.com/2-Business_Planning_Guide.pdf
• What opportunities exist to install/replace/repair furnishings and fixtures with environmentally efficient products? • How can you reduce the amount of litter your business will create? • How can you participate in the community where your business is located? (e.g. involvement with non-profit community organizations, fundraising for a good cause, | 46 volunteer activities during the off-season). Step #8 - Develop a Financial Plan The purpose of this step is to: • canonize financial projections for the construction and operating phase of your project • establish a financial plan for your tourism business Lack of financial expertise is the most significant reason for the high failure rate in new businesses. There should be developed a working understanding of financial management techniques including financial planning, analysis, projections, monitoring and evaluation prior to making commitments. Also, the services of a qualified accountant and/or other financial experts to supplement your knowledge should be employed. The basic purpose of financial planning is to ensure that the business’ resources are used wisely. A financial plan should include the following: • A set of financial goals and objectives for a specified time frame. • Financial projections prepared separately for the construction/start-up phase and the operating phase. • A plan of action to accomplish these goals and objectives. • Contingency or alternative plans. • Procedures for monitoring and evaluating results. The goals and objectives established for the company in Step #2, the organizational form and human resource plan established in Step #3, the project schedule developed in Step #4, the operations plan developed in Step #5, the marketing plan developed in Step #6 and the green plan developed in Step #7, must be taken into consideration when developing your financial plan. Your financial plan, objectives, projections, action plans, contingency plans, and procedures for monitoring and evaluating performance must flow logically from, and be consistent with, the analysis prepared in previous sections. Only then will you be in a position to determine the feasibility and viability of your proposed tourism business. To develop a financial plan, follow these steps: • Establish your financial goals and objectives.
• Financial projections must be developed for the construction and start-up phase of your business. • For the operating phase of the business should be developed financial projections. • Financial statements should be analysed. • Develop a plan of action to accomplish these goals and objectives. | 47 • Procedures for controlling, monitoring and evaluating results should be established. Answer the following questions prior to finalizing your financial plan: • What are your financial goals and objectives? Are these consistent with those developed in Step #2? If not, what changes need to be made to achieve consistency? • Who will be responsible for controlling, monitoring and evaluating financial operations? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of your financial plan? • Do you have sufficient cash equity to invest in the business to meet the requirements of your banker and or other equity investors? • What aspects of your proposed business need to be changed as a result of the development of your financial plan? Step #9 - Assess the Project’s Viability The purpose of this step is to: • determine whether the business is really viable • whether changes are needed – either to the initial concept or to the financing arrangements So far, the focus has been on determining the feasibility of your proposed tourism project. As it was mentioned in the introduction to the Guide, to be viable the project must also demonstrate independence; it must survive and be self-sufficient. Viability is determined by comparing the results of each task and, most importantly, to the goals and objectives outlined in Step #2. The following questions are designed to assist you in making this viability assessment: • Was there adequate demand for your product experience by the market research that has been done? Are there any future prospects indicating a continuing interest in your product or service? • Will your marketing plan successfully capture this demand? Are there sufficient projected sales levels to cover projected expenses? Can profits and positive cash flows over the long term be generated by your business? • Are the projected profits, cash flow and demands on your own time and resources compatible with your personal and business goals? Will the business generate a sufficient return on your equity investment?
• Is management sufficiently expertised to operate this business successfully? In other case, have you obtained commitments from outside professionals to supplement management skills? Is experienced, trainable staff readily available for nonmanagement positions? • Can you secure the necessary debt and or equity financing for your proposed | 48 project? Do you have the necessary cash equity to contribute towards the project to meet your lender’s requirements? Step #10 - Outline Critical Risks and Assumptions The purpose of this step is to: • Outline the opportunities and successes, as well as the risks and weaknesses in the market • Develop contingency plans within your marketing strategy You had to outline the assumptions underlying your projections together with the rationale for using these assumptions in previous steps. Often the rationale is simply reliance on reputable sources such as published third party studies by consultants, Statistics authorities, or other reliable organizations. The underlying assumptions used in your business plan should be summarized for the reader in a separate section. The probability of the occurrence of unfavourable outcomes is risk. In a separate section should be included the major risks facing your proposed business operation. Define the critical risks (for example competitor’s actions), estimate the probability of their occurrence, and describe what contingency plans you will adopt to decrease the negative effects of these risks. Once you have identified the risks, you are now better able to develop tools to reduce, prevent, control, eliminate, or transfer risk and manage change. Outline contingency plans for your marketing strategy (product, place, price, partnership, promotion, etc.), and define the plans that will be adopted if your goals and objectives are not being met (e.g. if your competition significantly alters their marketing strategy or if a measurable change in consumer behaviour is identified). Step #11 - Write an Executive Summary The purpose of this step is to develop a summary of your tourism project that previews the main points of your business planning for the reader. An executive summary is an integral part of any business plan. Potential investors or lenders often use the executive summary as an initial screening tool when evaluating a project. A well written, concise executive summary, highlighting all the salient points contained in the business plan, can serve as a valuable marketing tool when approaching lenders or investors.
The executive summary should be completed as the last step in the process and appear at the front of the business plan. The content of the summary should be presented in the same order as in the business plan itself. Keep the executive summary short – at the most, three pages in length. Step #12 - Edit and Organize the Business Plan Your business plan should be organized as follows:9 • Title Page • Table of Contents • Executive Summary • The Company o Goals and Objectives o Products and Services o Management Team o Human Resource Plan • Industry and Market Analysis • Project Schedule • Operations Plan • Green Plan • Marketing Plan • Financial Plan and Projections • Critical Risks and Assumptions • Appendices You should review the results of each task and correct any unconformities among the plans. Write the first draft of your business plan taking into account the editing and presentation tips contained in the introduction section of this Guide. A second, third etc. revision may be necessary to produce a satisfactory business plan. Consider having someone else review your business plan to catch any errors. Remember to review and update your plans on an annual basis. One important consideration is to conform to national criteria and rules when social enterprises are concerned. In many European countries, funding schemes exist which dictate some managerial aspects i.e. administrative and accounting rules; hence, the financial part of your business plan should consider those.
9
http://www.albertacanada.com/2-Business_Planning_Guide.pdf
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Teaching methods / proposed assessment Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Project group work
Each group (3-5 persons) pick a business idea and starts 360 step by step to develop the business plan
Presentation
Key points in business plan step by step development
40
Group presentation
Each group presents its business plan to the classroom
80
M1.2.3 National content – Business plans Select 2 social enterprises in your region and discuss their business plan set up. Step 1: Try to find 2 social enterprises in your region. If you cannot, search on the Internet or other bibliography to find business plans of social enterprises. Alternatively, you can invite representatives of social enterprises to your class. Step 2: Discuss their business plan, analyse it and identify the steps taken to create it. Step 3: Finalise the session by asking your class, how they would update the selected business plans to include additional services or products for the forthcoming year. Step 4: Have them present their findings in class. Total duration: 5 hours Following the end of Module 1, the trainer can make a small summary of what has been taught, discussed and hence, close the module before continuing to the next one. The trainer can ask for help from the participants and create a 1 hour session to close the module through asking specific questions related to the taught learning objectives. All answers can be written down on paper and posted on the classroom walls for references.
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3.1.3. MODULE 2: Managing a Social Tourism enterprise MODULE 2. : Managing a Social Tourism enterprise (30 Hours) | 51
Units
E-tourism applications
Unit: 2.1.1:
Definition and characteristics of e-tourism
2
Unit: 2.1.2:
The impact of e-tourism in tourism demand
2
Unit: 2.1.3:
Profile of the Manager (skills/competences)
2
Unit: 2.1.4:
Sensitisation - target group
1
Unit: 2.1.5N:
National content :suggestions Identify 2 social tourism enterprises (or use previous ones) and a. Identifythemanagerialstructure b. Identify the local environment i.e. where they operate and what the advantages of the area are c. Identify the clientele they are targeting d. Identify the products and services they offer (if possible conduct an interview with them through telephone or F2F), and how they are set up to compete in the market.
5
Units
E-marketing applications
Unit: 2.2.1:
e-marketing and online marketing
3
Unit: 2.2.2:
Social Media
1
Unit: 2.2.3:
Performance e-marketing and public relations
1
Unit: 2.2.4:
Electronic distribution intermediaries and the tourism product
1
Unit: 2.2.5:
Tourism marketing blog / promoting services and products
3
Unit: 2.2.6N:
A. Health & safety: norms of health and safety applied to tourism enterprises to protect clients and staff. B. Use the previous 2 social tourism enterprises you have selected and identify the marketing features of their marketing plan. Discuss advantages and disadvantage for this.
12hours
14 hours
2
3
M2.1.1 Title: Definition and characteristics of e-tourism Duration: 2 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 52 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. understand the importance of e-tourism for tourism businesses 2. reviewing the importance of online information 3. evaluates the use of the Internet for business purposes 4. Analyse for the self-service through internet Training method: presentation, case study, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: What is eTourism E-tourism digitizes all the processes and value chains in tourism, hospitality, travel and catering industries that enable organisations to maximise their effectiveness and efficiency. E-tourism takes advantage of extranets for developing transactions with trusted partners, intranets for reorganising internal processes and the internet for the interacting with all its stakeholders. Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world and it is based on information. Information and Communication Technologies and basically the Internet are the most efficient ways to disperse any kind of information. 10 The structure and the principles of tourism industry have been changed by the use of the internet. Some of the advantages of e-tourism are the more successful communication with the customers, the raise in reservations and sales in general and the reduction of seasonality. The consumers-tourists are now capable of directly accessing accurate information, of communicating with the suppliers and finally getting the best price. Tourism industries became more competitive due to the emergence of the internet as it introduced transparency, pliability, speed and multiple choices. The customer can choose a destination, compare prices and complete financial arrangements without difficulty, by using Information and Communication Technologies. ICT and Internet provide the tourism industries with innovative and useful tools that can increase their presence in the global tourism market.
http://www.academia.edu/6832181/Etourism_The_use_of_internet_and_information_and_communication_technologies_in_Tourism
Portals such as the Destination Management Organization (DMO) present dynamic tourism offers online. A solid background for tourism industries to use and make its reservations, and not only, through the Internet is provided by online reservation systems. E-marketing and e-management of costumers’ relations are other useful tools. Equally useful tools are Global Distribution Systems that play the role of the mediator | 53 between the agent and the enterprise by offering tourism services. What e-tourism includes11 • E-commerce and E-marketing • E-finance and E-accounting • E-HRM • E-Procurement • E-Strategy • E-Planning • E-Management Outcomes of E-tourism12 • It revolutionises all business processes, the entire value chain as well as the strategic relationships of tourism organisations with all their stakeholders. • It takes advantage of intranets for reorganising internal processes, extranets for developing transactions with trusted partners and the internet for the interacting with all its stakeholders • E-tourism increasingly determines the competitiveness of the organisation and therefore it is critical for the competitiveness of the industry in the longer term. Drivers for e-Business in Tourism • Economic necessity • Rapid advancements in technology o Reduced cost o Ease of access • Rising consumer expectations o Time poor o Overcame fears regarding security Benefits of ICTs for Tourism • Allow small businesses to compete internationally • Dispose of unwanted inventory o E.g.: lastminute.com o These systems pose problems as well
11
http://www.goodfellowpublishers.com/free_files/fileEtourism.pdf www.cs.nott.ac.uk/.../E-Tourism%20Lectur...
12
• Consumer can now package their own product but does require effort hence agents still used. Also someone to blame if there are problems. • Changed the structure of the industry o Many intermediaries have gone or have been swallowed up as part of vertical integration | 54 • Internet great for brand enforcement, enlargement and expansion o Clutter now becoming a problem. • Can set price in real time to help manage demand • Sophisticated yield management to maximise profits o Initially only airlines o Then hotels o Now open to smaller operator • Sophisticated ICTs allow organisations to predict and target consumer needs o Differentiate product for different consumer groups o Foster relationship management & marketing o Loyalty programs Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Definitions of e-tourism
30
Discussion
Benefits of e-tourism
40
Case Study
Trainer selects a case to be analysed related to etourism. The internet or national tourism board association has related information. • Presentation of the case study • Divides the class into groups if needed • Each group discusses the questions posed by the trainer • Each group presents to the others their discussion and analysis findings.
50
M2.1.2 Title: The impact of e-tourism in tourism demand Duration: 2 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 55 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. describe the factors affecting tourism demand 2. understand because of new data the need for adaptation of tourism products and services in these 3. rationale for the development of on line tourism services 4. reviewing the reasons for preference of tourists Internet services 5. value the contribution of new technologies to exchange information for customers Training method: presentation, own work, individual presentation, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: Consumer trends In 2012, the Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) market continued to grow relatively stable even though the banking crisis hit Europe quite hard in the previous years. In 2013, global sales are predicted to grow by 5.1 per cent to 2.57 trillion Euros. Especially the emerging markets are investing heavily in latest technologies and IT systems with a positive impact on the overall industry. The drivers of growth are the emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil. However, in Western European countries the opposite is occurring as sales are stagnating or even shrinking. Mobile adoption is trending and results in the large growth in the telecommunications industry. Emerging countries are investing heavily in IT and the importance of access through a variety of devices from laptops, to mobile and tablets is absolutely crucial for the future development of ICT markets worldwide. By 2020, the ICT demand will double and is forecasted to grow to about 50%. China is then predicted to displace Japan as the second largest ICT market. In Western Europe, the Euro crisis already has a negative impact on ICT growth and is predicted to lead to very low growth rates. Germany’s ICT growth is however predicted to be an exception that might stabilize the European ICT market Future of technology By 2020, the ICT demand will double and is forecasted to grow to about 50%. Travel products and services will increasingly be booked through mobile before and particularly during a holiday trip 57% of business travellers access the Internet through their mobile devices.
There are a lot of changes in consumer behaviour throughout the years. Travellers from all over the world will rely more heavily on modern technology for travel and will adapt their travel behaviour in the future. This will concern especially the use of information and when buying travel products and services. Travellers’ decision will be influenced by personal | 56 information and recommendations through commercial websites and social networks. Mobile devices will provide an enormous access of information. People will be able to book travel services through mobile devices before and during a holiday travel. Regarding tourism, there is a search for new experiences: this means consumers are looking for something that is authentic and real where travellers can interact with local communities in the destinations. Technology can increase the transparency of holiday destinations and its travel products and services (ITB 2013). Consumers spend more time using online than traditional media. We come to this conclusion looking at the time they spend online. People worldwide actually spend around 5.6 hours of that on digital, with an average of 10.7 hours of consuming all kinds of media. The times spend on digital will only further increase, with more consumers using digital media. Travel booking According to recent research from comScore, almost 183 million internet users in Europe visited travel websites in March 2013 (comScore, April 2013). Priceline.com was the most visited website, attracting 31.4 million unique visitors. TripAdvisor followed closely with 25.7 million and then Odigeo with 14.1 million unique visitors during the month of March 2013. In addition, visitors to the websites of Deutsche Bahn and Groupe SNCF accessed the highest number of pages during March 2013 out of the websites surveyed, namely 24 and 23 pages per visitor, respectively. TUI Group followed closely with an average of 21 pages per visitor, followed by Travora Media with 17 pages per visitor (comScore, April 2013). During November 2012, 42% of European internet users visited a travel site, spending an average of 23.4 minutes on these sites (comScore, January 2013). Users from the UK spent the longest amount of time on travel sites, with an average of 40 minutes per visitor per month; almost double that of the overall European average. In second place came the Netherlands, with visitors spending an average of 33 minutes on travel sites, followed by France with 28.1 minutes and Belgium with 25.1 minutes during the month studied (comScore, January 2013). In an interesting new trend, Europe’s online travel shoppers in France, Germany and the UK are beginning to use fewer websites when making their travel plans. They prefer to stick to a tried and tested group of trusted websites (PhoCusWright, September 2012). In 2012, there is an increased percentage of Europeans that shop online travel, who used only 1-2 websites to shop for travel products. The percentage is 41% in France, 30% in Germany and 37% in the UK. Compared to the previous year, a smaller amount of travellers in each market visited three sites or more.
Perhaps due to the economic downturn affecting most of the region, greater numbers of European travellers chose to stay with friends and family in 2012. In addition, less complex trips required a smaller amount of travel shopping across a smaller number of providers. The range of transportation brand choices in this area of travel planning is far narrower than | 57 that of hotels, with relatively few available options among airlines and rail operators. When travellers choose between their preferred and non-preferred websites, by eliminating the last ones, are getting more efficient in their online planning and booking journey (PhoCusWright, September 2012). According to research, a large amount of European travellers are aware of their habitual travel planning and booking behaviour. In addition, increasing numbers of travellers (up 4% across the markets in 2012) have indicated that they have formed travel-planning routines. When it comes to that all-important booking phase, more than three quarters of European travellers book their holidays online, according to research from British Airways. For Europeans, their first choice of researching and booking travel is internet, wherever their destination is. This compares to just 13% 10 years ago, when internet access was less widespread. Only 18% of travellers will use a travel agency to book their trips this year, while 5% said they would book by phone. For the sake of comparison, ten years ago 65% booked their holiday in person and 22% used the phone (British Airways, March 2013). According to research, 57% of European consumers are purchasing travel online, while 23% are still using travel agents. These figures have decreased from 28% a year ago. On the mobile side of travel purchasing, 16% of consumers are using mobile devices to make their travel bookings. That figure increases to 18% among the 18 – 35 age group, and is as much as 33% among business travellers. When it comes to influencing consumer choices, 66% of consumers regularly follow deals and promotions, while photos influence 55% of consumers and 33% are influenced by recommendations, especially those from friends (Travel Daily News, April 2013).
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Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Method
Description
Duration (minutes)
Presentation
Consumer trends and Technology
60
Activity
Students sharing experiences using internet for booking travel. The trainer can divide this into two 30 min sessions. In the first session the students can search on the internet trips and travel package deals, make notes and in the 2nd half, discuss with the group their findings and what they thought were explicit packages, targeted packages to specific target groups etc.
M2.1.3Title: Profile of the Manager of a social tourism enterprise Duration: 2 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 59 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. To understand the value of intentions of the entrepreneur 2. Describe the key factors of the intentions of the entrepreneur 3. Reviewing the characteristics of the profile of the tourism entrepreneur 4. Assess the social impact of the company in relation to the profile of the entrepreneur. Training method: presentation, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: Introduction In an enterprise it is very important to identify how many people and which positions are needed for the enterprise to be successful. It depends on the size of the business how many people are going to be needed. In general, it is very important to have employees that have the right skills to perform the job. Lack of trained people in the community with knowledge of tourism operations is a significant reason for communities to be unable to develop tourism related products in the area. For example the most common: • Lack of knowledge on how to price the product: This is one of the main causes of failure because the prices of the services such as tours and food are done arbitrarily. For example, when determining the cost of a lunch sometimes they count just the cost of the ingredients but no other important things such as gas, cleaning products, water, etc. The price of the lunch ends up being much lower than the actual costs and the business loses money. • Lack of knowledge to properly negotiate with tour operators: Tour Operators often want to bargain so that they can make as much profit on their tours, especially with community people. They can also make the arguments that if they bring volume (a lot of people) that the community should lower the price. A person, who knows all the costs of the tour and the minimum price that a product should be sold, is needed in the operation in order to makes decisions on giving discounts. • Lack of management skills supervise staff, guide them with their roles and responsibilities and resolve conflicts: Communities often function like large families since everyone knows everyone else. However, the enterprise must remain a professional and the Manager of the enterprise needs to be able to supervise staff
by delegating appropriate responsibilities and resolving conflicts when they occur, even if they are related to the staff member. • Lack of experience in being the public face of the business: The Manager is responsible for the entire business, both its successes and failures. He is responsible for fixing and making sure that the clients are happy, when a problem occurs. This | 60 Operations and Management course is designed to provide training on these and other topics, especially to communities that have inexperienced people with tourism. This training will help you deal with all of these challenges when the business is launched. The Manager The Manager should have certain characteristics in order to perform his/her job. It should be a person: • Outgoing and not shy since they have to be able to talk with upset clients and sort out any problems that might occur. • That has the respect of other community members because the Manager is the boss and needs to be seen as an authority. • Has to be known for their integrity, honesty and leadership within the community. • It also has to be someone who likes hard work, because in the tourism industry people have to work weekends and holidays. The responsibilities of the Manager are: • To receive reservations and coordinate the logistics for the services to be provided. • To manage the community staff and make sure they are performing their roles and responsibilities. • To welcome the guests and make sure everything is ready by the time the services are provided. • To write the sales and income reports on monthly bases and present it to board of directors. The Manager will work in order to put together the management structures to administrate the community enterprise.
Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Profile of manager
60
Discussion
Participants discuss what they think is most important for their national environment and possible target group, the skills and competences of a manager. Trainer writes all on a board as key words and discusses with participants
60
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M2.1.4 Title: Sensitisation of target group Duration: 1 Hour. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 62 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Understand the importance of target group identification 2. Understand the need to select methods of promotion depending on target group 3. Be aware of market research methods 4. Know how to apply market search results Training method: presentation, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: Target marketing People from diverse backgrounds with varied interests, tastes and priorities are included in the mass market of tourism. In order to identify customers who are likely to be interested in particular products, this market should be decreased into smaller, with more specific objectives. Segmentation of customer characteristics allows suppliers to effectively tailor their products, marketing and promotions to attract new and repeat business. When one considers setting up a social tourism enterprise, the clientele that will be targeted is of extreme importance. Social tourism connotes to people coming from either a disadvantaged background or people with disabilities (health for example).Knowing what to expect and how to treat them is of essence since they may be re-occurring clientele to your business. Target marketing generally involves:13 • analysing your business by the types of visitors who are most likely to enjoy your product; • identifying existing and potential markets within the larger mass market; • evaluating existing and potential markets in terms of size, disposable income, potential growth, wants and needs; • customising products and/or services to suit the interests and needs of the identified market segments; • selecting methods of promotion that reach and appeal to target markets; • and ensuring there is an effective method of promotion distribution. 13
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• Analyse your local environment. You should notify the needs and expectations of potential customers, if you are starting a new business. The leisure interests, spending habits and travel patterns of your potential customers should be thoroughly researched. This is very significant. Without an existing | 63 customer base this can be difficult. However, useful information can be obtained by investigating the operations and the clientele of similar businesses in your area or in other areas who have done similar things. Extracting the right information Your business’ market analysis can be undertaken by experts. Depending on time and budget constraints, this may be a viable option for both new and existing businesses. It is easy to direct this research yourself, if you are an existing operator. The simplest method is to survey previous, current or potential customers over the phone or in a written questionnaire. Those methods demand a standard set of questions that are easy comprehensible, quick to answer, easy to return, and simple to analyse. It is useful to provide an incentive to complete the survey, such as a discount or giveaway, in order to encourage participation. Market research provides information that can influence product development and sales. By extracting the right information, you can determine: • The markets most suited to your product. Try to include customer characteristics, such as age, socio-economic background, lifestyle choices and personal values. • The origin of these markets. Discover your customer’s origin (country, state or town) in order to target your promotions. You can easily record these details by noting postcodes or country of origin within the survey or at the time of sale. • Customer travel style. The way you tailor, package and promote your product is influenced by whether your market travels independently, with family members or friends, or in a tour group. All these forms of travel have different product preferences, time and cost limitations. • Customer budgets. It is significant to consider customer’s travel expenditure priorities, disposable income and perceptions on value for money in order to price your product or package. • Customer transport choices. Consider working with a transport operator, if you are thinking about packaging your product. You can find the operator that will be your most profitable package partner, by knowing the popular transport modes which use your customers. • How best to work co-operatively. Many visitors will not travel to a particular location simply to visit one attraction, but can be lured to the area if there is a collection of activities available. You can create a more attractive product, if you cooperate with other local operators in order to make a package for your region. This is
usually where social cooperatives providing tourism packages operate. The cooperation feature is extremely important since enhancing, promoting and marketing the local produce and topical advantages (environment, culture etc.) creates the necessary network of contacts that will help you initiate new services and product deals. | 64 • Customer satisfaction. Surveying customer perceptions of your product provides information that can be used to improve product quality and/or eliminate unpopular or unprofitable products. Make sure that your product is represented in the best way possible, by checking constantly travel review sites (e.g. www.tripadvisor.com). You can, also, ask for customer feedback on your website. • Effective promotional tools. Carefully appraise content regularly read by your target market. Ask the customers where they found out your product in order to know if your current methods are effective. • Extent of repeat visitation. The product development decisions and promotions strategy can be influenced by knowing the proportion of customers currently return, or intend to return. You should stay in touch, because customers change spending habits and priorities constantly. Find out how these changes can affect your business and try to meet the current trends. Applying your research results A need for a new product or modification of an existing product, to establish or maintain business demand may be brought up by the market research. Any noticeable increase or decrease in product demand can be explained by study of customer satisfaction levels, if you are an existing business. Examples of product development options that may apply to your business include: • training staff to improve customer service techniques • improving the standards and quality of your existing product • creating special additions or incorporating an unexpected component to your product to appeal to particular markets • diversifying your product to interest new markets • cooperate with local associations who work with your selected target groups, • and creating special language edition brochures, guides and signage. This is particularly relevant to businesses targeting international markets. Product development can boost market position and create a competitive edge. So think about your strengths and concentrate on developing experiences that your markets prefer. Test new ideas on a sample group first, to determine customer reaction. Avoid making drastic changes until you are sure your clientele will like your new direction.
Teaching methods/ proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Sensitisation of target group
20
Discussion
Trainer raises the question related to target groups related to social tourism. Discussion on possible social tourists in the local area and which types of tourism packages can be delivered / offered to them.
40
M2.1.5: National content: study of two social tourism enterprises Suggested duration: 5 hours Identify 2 social tourism enterprises (or use previous ones from previous units) and a. Identify the managerial structure b. Identify the local environment i.e. where they operate and what the advantages of the area are c. Identify the clientele they are targeting Identify the products and services they offer (if possible conduct an interview with them through telephone or F2F), and how they are set up to compete in the market.
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M2.2.1 Title: Online marketing / e-Marketing Duration: 3 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 66 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Describe the concept of online marketing. 2. Explanations of the value of online marketing for social tourism business 3. Distinguish the parameters for implementation of e-marketing techniques 4. Give examples of combining marketing techniques Training method: presentation, discussion, individual work, individual presentations. Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: Online marketing The purpose of online marketing is to exploit the internet and other forms of electronic communication to communicate with target markets in the most cost-effective ways, and to enable joint working with partner organisations with which there is a common interest. The traditional methods of communicating with customers are permeated by internet and interactivity. So the challenge for tourism enterprises is to develop the infrastructure, the skill sets and the content to exploit the new opportunities through multiple channels, offline and online. They are likely to lose ground to their competitors, if they are unable to do this and to add value in the services they provide. The Benefits of E-marketing The benefits of e-marketing are wide-ranging:14 • Delivery of massive amounts of information in a user-friendly way • Brand-building is a more recent benefit, made possible by the rapid spread of broadband connections, allowing users to experience dramatic imagery and animation, as well as enhanced communication and interaction • Two-way interaction between the Destination Management Organisation (DMO), suppliers and customers, and between customers other like-minded customers. These interactions apply at all stages of the ‘customer journey’, a cycle of thoughts, decisions, and actions by the visitor before, during and after their visit
14
Source: TEAM, Tourism Consulting (2007)
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• •
•
•
•
Joining promotional activity seamlessly with online purchasing Cost-effectiveness in conveying information and products on sale directly, cheaply and at short notice to prime prospects, through the web, e-mail and mobiles The opportunity to work in harmony with offline marketing activities so that traffic can be driven in both directions, web to brochures or telephone, telephone to web and so on The facility to build integrated partnerships with other bodies, official and commercial, throughout the industry and outside it. Partnerships may work at many levels: Sharing market intelligence within the industry Promoting the DMO’s marketing opportunities and operating cooperative marketing schemes Gathering product data, via data feeds, and by hosting product data entry forms that suppliers can use to provide and update their information New joint product development An integrated and coherent approach to branding of the destination achieved jointly by national, regional, and local tourism organisations and by their public and private stakeholders Partnerships may also be interactive partnerships of customers who have shared interests, such as golfers or walkers The ability for DMOs to engage with customers on a one-to-one basis, but also to use ‘one-to-many’ activities
Overview of E-marketing Techniques E-marketing offers the realistic potential to reach a far wider audience than ever before. `It encompasses a wide range of activities, and there are many techniques in use.
Overview of the different e-marketing techniques at each stage of the ‘customer journey’
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Working in Partnership The task of e-marketing can be shared, and it is vital to find strategic partners or to consider outsourcing to achieve a number of benefits: • Meet the trend towards ‘total lifestyle service’ by working with a group of complementary product and service providers • Acquire expertise • Spread costs and risks • Reach the maximum potential customers
Nowadays, technology helps operations working in partnership to merge each other’s content and functionality to achieve a better experience for the user. This practice is known as ‘mashing’. It is common in tourism, most obviously in making use of Google’s mapping. (ICT) departments should work together, for partnerships needed within the DMO as well within the organisation, marketing and information and communication technologies. ICT | 69 should advise, organise the systems, and help to spot ICT trends and opportunities and marketing should take the lead on defining requirements. 7 Keys to Successful E-marketing The following table sets out 7 key areas for action in e-marketing that should be part of every tourism marketing plan. This table is followed by another one that identifies the technologies required in order to implement action in these areas. 1. Reach as many potential customers as possible Key methods are:15 • Use of traditional media to drive customers to the destination website(s) for fulfilment • Search engine optimisation • Reciprocal links to the sites of partner organisations • Distribution partnerships: using online intermediaries to get your product in front of far more consumer eyes than you can reach through your own site • Compliance with guidelines for ensuring ease of use of the web by people with accessibility limitations (visual, audio and physical) 2. Maximise the lifetime value of customers, by maintaining the relationship via CRM CRM is an essential process, which is supported by ICT systems, in order to DMOs understand the needs and decision making processes of their target markets, satisfy them and attract them back through every point of contact. Objectives include:16 • Keeping enquirers interested with personalised information during the lead time to conversion • Attracting visitors back • Encouraging and facilitating recommendations to others • ‘Co-opetition’: working with your (apparent) competitors 3. Join the social networking revolution, facilitating user-generated content
15
http://www.academia.edu/6505454/Handbook_on_Emarketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_Handbook_on_E-marketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_ISBN 16 http://www.academia.edu/6505454/Handbook_on_Emarketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_Handbook_on_E-marketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_ISBN
In social network, someone can find people who exchange information, views, images etc. on the web. Travel is a prime focus, but it is not a new. Sites, such as Trip Advisor and IgoUgo have been around for years. Major new players (e.g. Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Flickr, google plus, blogs, podcasts etc.) brought the explosion nowadays. | 70 There is the prospect of more extensive destination content than has ever been possible for DMOs to gather. It is a challenge to DMOs, but also an opportunity.17 • • • •
How can DMOs themselves be part of the revolution? Can they use social networking to project and protect the destination’s brand? Should they try to compete with, or can they partner with, the big players in social networking? How can its value as an instant form of customer satisfaction research be maximised? How can they encourage it and make it available at the right moment to potential customers?
4. Maintain high quality content An essential asset for any destination is high quality content. A significant key area in which a DMO can add value by serving a tourist with the right information at the right time. Most DMOs have websites for particular market sections. For example, data and content need to be maintained day-by-day by different players. DMO and the entire travel industry should share content, which must be coordinated. DMOs require a plan and a structure to obtain the right content, including user-generated content, supported by a good content management system. ICT provides the opportunity to import content and data from specialist providers, rather than reinvent it. 5. Create a compelling website experience Primary considerations for destination websites are:18 • The balance of content between the motivational and the practical (information) • Site functionality key factors are: – Technical performance – Navigation – Interactive searching – answering enquiries dynamically – Travel and schedule planning (including itinerary and route planners, diary planners,
17
http://www.academia.edu/6505454/Handbook_on_Emarketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_Handbook_on_E-marketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_ISBN 18 file:///C:/Users/1/Downloads/1212_attachment_10___handbook_20on_20e_marketing_20for_20tourism_2 0destinations_20(2008)%20(1).pdf
• • •
and recommender systems) – Access to third-party services, such as weather forecasts, surfing or skiing conditions, and transport information Look and feel Usability | 71 The identity and trust conveyed by the destination site
6. Evaluate and benchmark performance, demonstrating return on investment One of the primary requirements for DMOs at the present time is to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of websites. Methods include:19 • Web analytics and metrics – data on the way your site is used • Online surveys of users – reasons for using the site and reactions to it • Expert audit and evaluation • Laboratory testing • Online experiments 7. Ensure effective electronic distribution of information to visitors ‘en route’ and in the destination There are increasing opportunities for DMOs and others to distribute information and bookings electronically to visitors travelling to or within the destination. There are two broad areas:20 Via visitors’ mobiles, PDAs, MP3 players, and in-car devices Through outlets ‘on the ground’ – notably internet cafés, hotel reception areas and bedrooms, shopping malls and petrol/gas station ‘Location-based services’ using satnav are already used to push specific information and offers to willing recipients in particular locations – interpretation, as well as sales. These developments will have major implications for existing walk-in, telephone and printed information services within destinations.
Supporting technologies required to implement the ‘7 keys’21 Reach as many potential customers as possible 19
•
Search engine optimisation and paid-for search engine marketing
http://www.academia.edu/6505454/Handbook_on_Emarketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_Handbook_on_E-marketing_for_Tourism_Destinations_ISBN 20 http://www.academia.edu/ 21 http://www.academia.edu/.../Handbook
•
Distribution partnerships: web delivery and reporting systems to deliver content from product databases and the content management system | 72
•
CRM systems and e-mail marketing campaign management systems
•
Social networking software to enable UGC and customer-to-customer Interaction
Maintain high quality content
• •
Structured product database systems Content management system
Create a compelling website experience
• • • •
Content management system Geographic information system (GIS) Really simple syndication (RSS) Hosting, bandwidth and maintenance to match best practice
•
Site performance measurement using web analytics tools Online user surveys Laboratory testing
Maximise the lifetime value of customers
Join the social networking revolution, facilitating user-generated content
Evaluate and benchmark performance, demonstrating return on investment (ROI)
• • • •
Ensure effective electronic distribution of information to travellers and visitors
Wide area network Wi-Fi provision SMS information and booking services to mobiles • Mobile websites • Satnav services • Podcasting • TV channel(s) for visitors
Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Online marketing
60
Discussion Individual work
Participants search on the internet for one marketing activity, they present it and discuss how they would set up a marketing activity for their potential selected target group.
120
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M2.2.2 Title: Social Media Duration: 1 Hour. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 74 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Determine the contribution of social media, the development of tourism businesses 2. Reviewing users' ability to manage themselves, to their advantage the content of social media 3. Report cases of communication through social media traveller 4. Compositor necessary use of social media by tourism businesses. 5. Appreciate the travel information and help in the final decision of the customers providing the websites of social media. Training method: presentation, individual work, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: What is social media and social networking? The term social media is defined as “the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio” by Wikipedia. But it is more than a new way of communication. It concerns an entire online environment that is built on people’s contributions and interactions. By using “social networking” is achieved the communication in social media. Groups of people are connected together by these sites. They replicate in an online environment the behaviours that people have in an offline environment (e.g. being part of an association or a special interest group). The online environment is extremely well suited to networking, as it doesn’t involve location or time constraints. Anyone can participate from anywhere at any time. An excellent strategy has proven the leveraging of social media to market tourism products. Although, you will have to be involved in order to get the rewards for you and your business. Why can’t I avoid them? Be careful, if you don’t want to start creating your own social media content. We recommend you at least monitor what is being said about you online as anyone can say anything about you on the Internet. If you stay passive, you might lose business.
How much time will I need? It is important that you do not jump the different steps and you take time to immerse yourself and be a spectator. First you should consider engaging in the social media networks listed in section 2a):22 | 75 • Give yourself 30 minutes to one hour to set up your account per social media network (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor) • First watch and “listen” (a good way to start is to conduct a search on your destination and/or your keywords) • Then aim for one hour each week per social media network • When you feel ready, start creating your own content. How can I get involved? Social media networks are to the online world what an association is to the offline world. They are the meetings, exchange of information and knowledge that quarry from you being a member of the association. The only thing you will only get out of your association is what you put in. The same applies to social media networks. If you are a small or medium operator, you can focus on quality instead of volume. Therefore, it may be easier to offer a high level of individual customer service than larger operators. This individual, one on one relationship is also the core component of a successful social media strategy. You should therefore consider engaging in social media to gain competitive advantage. Let’s have a close look at the steps you should take to become successful in social media. There are 5 steps and you will need to start at the bottom of the ladder.23
Inactive
Spectator
Joiner
Critic
Social media (online) Examples
Creator
Association (offline) Examples
Inactive: “ I am not involved in any manner”
I don’t use social media. I have never looked at a blog, have I am not part of the never opened YouTube, and association. have no idea what a podcast is.
Spectator: “I watch but haven’t joined”
I have searched for videos on how to play the guitar on YouTube but I don’t have my
22 23
I am thinking about joining the local chamber of commerce and have done some initial
http://www.bresnehan.com/assets/28_-_Online_Social_Media__Marketing.pdf http://www.docstoc.com/docs/99961750/Social-Media-For-Tourism
own account.
research, read some of their material, and know who to contact.
Joiner: “I joined but I am not very active”
I have now signed up for a Facebook account, I know the basics but I haven’t really explored all it has to offer.
I am now a member of my local chamber of commerce but haven’t attended a meeting yet.
Critic: “I am an active member and voice my opinion”
I have started to upload photos to Flickr and left comments on other people’s photos.
I have attended a few meetings, met some other members and we chatted about relevant topics.
Creator: “I am the owner”
I have now set up my own blog, or made my own videos and posted them on YouTube.
I have become heavily involved and became chairperson or even started my own association.
As a conclusion to the above comes that you can’t expect successful outcomes from social media if you don’t follow the steps and are only using them as a means to an end. Just like being part of an association, business opportunities will eventually arise but they are secondary. You need to be willing to genuinely participate and make a positive difference in social media. Social media networks relevant to tourism A one size fits all strategy is not suitable since social media come in different shapes and forms. The following steps will help you identify the social media networks that could be beneficial to your business.24 1. Join different social media networks and become active for a few months at least to reach the “critic” level mentioned above). 2. Identify your target market and how they behave online and which social networking tools they use. The majority of travellers use YouTube, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps. However, there are many more networks you could be leveraging off. Start by asking your customers which online social networks they belong to and seek advice from professionals such as your local tourism association. 3. Create content in these social media platforms to offer your target market your product in a shape and form that they are likely to respond to. 4. Entice your target market to visit your website or contact you so that they book your product. This step is very important, as it is the one that will turn leads into bookings. Your website will need to be professional, up-to-date, and provide all the
24
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information your target market will require for them to convert their interest into a booking. Which social media networks do I need to consider for my business? There are key social media networks that you need to consider as they could help you | 77 successfully market your business online and distinguish yourself from your competitors. All the social media networks listed in this section are free to use and embeddable, which means that they can be placed within the content of your website. They will therefore appear twice: on their respective social media sites and on your website, therefore creating a link between the two. YouTube www.youtube.com Is a site where you can share videos with more than 100 million users. More than twenty hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. You need to create quality short videos about your property or tour, preferably showcasing guests experiencing your product. An important task to understand is that YouTube is a site where consumers talk to consumers. Consumers don’t generally like nor trust advertising. So, it is needed you to make your video look real, and not an ad for your business. Show some quirky facts, whatever can captivate the online viewer. Think outside the square. For instance, if you are a bed and breakfast and you happen to also offer fine dining, why not film yourself or your partner cooking up a storm in your kitchen? It is significant to remember the social media ladder explained above, before you start posting your videos. Follow all the steps. Although, before you start creating your own content get an idea about YouTube. Google maps Online maps are interactive. This signifies that you can go to http://maps.google.com and key in your destination, or a type of business in the search field (such as wineries near Athens) and the website will return your results on a map therefore allowing you and your customers to make your own itinerary and print it. Maps are such a successful tool that people now use them as a search engines for locations. On maps is available a wealth of information (apart from directions). The user will see photos, videos, customer reviews, contact details, and even other places of interests that other users have added on the map.
Facebook www.facebook.com Is a social networking site with over 700 million active users every day worldwide.25If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is | 78 those 35 years old and older. Largest in the world. Facebook was first used by university students to keep track of their university friends but is now used by all age groups. Steps to a successful Facebook action plan:26 1) Create a Facebook account: www.facebook.com 2) Then start identifying the “Facebook groups” and “Facebook pages” of interest to you and your business. To do so, use search bar on the top right of your account and search for topics that match an interest that ties into travel or into your business offerings (e.g. bushwalking, whale watching, wine, art, etc.) 3) Join these groups or become a fan of these pages (you can do so on the group or page itself) and participate. 4) When you feel ready, consider establishing an online profile for your business and region by setting up a Facebook group or a Facebook page. Ensure you give a lot of information on your group or page, including photos, videos. You can also set up an Event related to your group or page. For instance, if you were a bed and breakfast in PisoLivadi, Paros, Greece, why not set up a “Friends of PisoLivadi” or “Stay @ PisoLivadi” group or page. You will not only be able to post text to your group or page but also add photos, videos and links to your site. Promote your group to your past and new clients using your newsletter as well as all to other Byron Bay tourism businesses and you will soon see a growing community. You will then be able to send emails to all your group members using Facebook, or invite them to events. Facebook also offers the possibility to display ads (paid for service) and target them to your market directly. For more information on Facebook ads: www.facebook.com/advertising . Facebook ads are well worth considering as part of your online marketing strategy.
25
http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts (accessed December 2013) http://www.bresnehan.com/assets/28_-_Online_Social_Media__Marketing.pdf
26
Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Method
Description
Duration (minutes)
Presentation
Social media over view
30
Discussion Individual work
Participants search for 15 minutes on the internet for a tourism social media marketing activity (blog, Facebook page etc.). With the trainer, they select one (i.e. a FB page) and go through its main features together/in class.
30
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M2.2.3 Title: Performance e-marketing and public relations Duration: 1 Hour. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 80 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Reviewing the role of media and public relations. 2. Compare the traditional way to search for holidays with this Internet. 3. Give examples of traditional methods of marketing and public relations using internet tools. 4. Describe the process of creating interesting media content. Training method: presentation, case study, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: Public relations and the media27 An effective way to promote your business to targeted worldwide audiences is public relations activity. Editorial coverage is a valuable mechanism generated by public relations activity. It can position your product, destination and business as a desirable, not-to-bemissed experience and a key part of the visitor experience. Public relations activity can result in editorial exposure in targeted, credible third-party outlets, which offers legitimacy and considered comment by a reputable source. A journalist will usually produce stories as a result of first-hand experience of their subject matter or via carefully angled news stories generated by a professional practitioner. Which are the media? Media are the ways through which information is transmitted to a large audience. They used to include print newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. But, nowadays, they also contain digital media and social networking sites. Print, TV and radio journalists should deliver objective reporting. Unless they have been identified as a columnist or write for the opinion page, in which case they are employed to provide a personal view. A journalist’s personal experience at a location or with a product is reflected on most travel stories. So they usually reflect the writer’s point of view. New media and web 2.0/3.0 28 New media is a term that refers to digital, computerised or networked information and communication technologies.
27
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Web 2.0 and 3.0 reflect the emergence of community-driven websites that emphasise sharing content rather than owning it. Termed user-generated content (UGC), can be presented in the form of either a blog (weblog) or vlog (video log). Well known sites include Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, but a vast range of other blogs can be found, housed within a site or authored independently. Most traditional media, including metropolitan news press, magazines and television programs have online versions of their content with many now incorporating Web 2.0 applications into their content. These outlets invite interaction with the reader, unlike the static online version of newspapers and TV programming. Bloggers write online journals, usually with a specific area of interest. Their primary motivation is to share experiences rather than expertise. Unlike traditional journalists, they are not held to an enforceable ethical standard and often write opinion-based rather than factual copy. The nature of digital media means an emphasis on immediacy. Media materials must be relevant and timely, as readers seek information from not just their PCs but also from portable devices such as laptops and smartphones and tablets, regularly checking for updates. News angles for digital media need to be breaking – not three weeks old – because there is no production delay with these outlets. Digital media outlets have to work hard to keep their readers coming back for “new” news. Whereas traditional media reach large audiences, digital and social media can deliver your message to a more targeted audience, possibly offering a greater chance of conversion. Creating strong media content The ability to generate positive media coverage is fundamental to establishing and maintaining your reputation as a business entity. Media coverage is generated in a variety of ways and is usually conducted via a strategic public relations campaign. A strong public relations campaign should include a range of elements, including:29 traditional targeted media relations activity, which targets print, broadcast and online media. The purpose is to communicate your experience or product via a story idea, media release or multimedia kit and should include images and/or footage; online media strategy targeting social networking sites; inviting media onsite to experience your product first-hand; a press conference to announce a major new initiative; a media stunt; celebrity endorsement activity; a media or consumer event; 29
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and a consumer promotion that includes a product prize offer
Identifying story angles30 Identify your unique selling point or media angle. It could be your location, a specific environmental element, the history, a personality/chef or a specific experience. | 82 Investigate unusual and quirky angles and ideas, for example, a New York hotel received worldwide media coverage when they offered “blackberry thumb” massages to all their guests upon check-in. Different types of media have different needs. For example, a print journalist will be looking for different angles to a TV journalist, who has a strong need for visual content. Deliver new and credible elements about your product. Don’t try to invent ideas that can’t be delivered. Media releases They are the most common form of communication with media and they are often your introduction to the media. Tips for producing effective media releases:31 Identify key messages and ensure you deliver them early in the release. Keep your media release to one page and make it easy to read. Use your lead paragraph to sell your idea. Include “who, what, where, why and how” in the lead paragraph, and contain the word count to 25 words or less. Use clear and concise language and don’t overuse adjectives. Present the release on letterhead, identify it as a release, date it and provide a contact for follow-up. Ensure your sentence structure is clear and simple. Provide one idea to a sentence. Avoid technical terms, jargon and acronyms. Provide quotes from a credible spokesperson who can be contacted at any time. Use spell check! Ensure you proofread the release and have at least one other person read it before distributing. Make sure you have included the correct contact details – name, email and/or postal address. If sending the release as an attachment, ensure it is a ‘Word’ document that can be edited. Copy the lead paragraph of the release into your approach email, so the journalist can make a decision on the relevance of the attached media release. Provide quality images at a minimum of 300dpi, or provide a contact for images.
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Media kits They include many tools that can help a journalist to produce an article about your product. It should look professional and doesn’t have to be expensive. You can deliver your media kit in an online format and in a hard copy. A good media kit might include:32 | 83 a news release highlighting your unique selling point; background or profile on your product or experience; image CD; maps, for example, for trails or walks; fast facts, outlining key angles (no more than one page long); contacts and links to websites for additional information; and a gift or gimmick that represents your product and experience, which will grab the attention of the receiver. Images33 Provide high resolution images at a minimum of 300 dpi (standard reproduction quality). Consider engaging the services of a professional photographer to create images of your product that will enhance it and show it in a contemporary light. Reserve some of your best images for editorial use. Ensure images are copyright free. Be sure you have a signed talent release form from all talent appearing in the images and that publishing credits are clearly stated. Measuring success It is not just about column centimetres to get a story published. It has to do with story placement, image, headline, tone and story content. A full page story about a bad holiday experience will not help your business. In order to trace the exposure of your media, you could engage a media clipping service. They can provide you with a daily, weekly or monthly clipping summary across a range of media, using keywords. Due to high cost and it should really be undertaken only if running a significant media campaign. On the other hand, an alternative with no cost is to set up a Google Alert for your product name. It can be a useful tool, although it is not as comprehensive as a commercial clipping service. Go to www.google.com/alerts. A choice you have is to ask a journalist to send you a copy of the story. But remember; journalists often don’t see the final copy as it goes through sub-editors and copy layout, as well as the editor.
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http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/archived-items/Tourism-Business-Toolkit-VOL2Chapter7.pdf 33 http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/25/132/616
Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Performance / public relations
30
Discussion Individual work
Importance of media for communication and public relations
30
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M2.2.4 Title: Electronic distribution intermediaries and the tourism product Duration: 1 ½ Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 85 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Identify the role of tourism/product intermediaries and distribution. 2. Understand the need to create electronic intermediaries / distribution channels. 3. Give examples of distribution channels. 4. Highlights the diversification of tourism business to well-established distribution system tourism products. Training method: presentation, brainstorming, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: What is distribution? Distribution is the variety of channels used to extend the promotion and sales of your product. Distribution channels are the means by which you reach your customers. If the product is distributed efficiently, the product sales will be facilitated in advance of their actual use. This is particularly valuable if your target markets include international visitors travelling on a structured prepaid itinerary, or domestic travellers who prefer to confirm their itineraries prior to travelling. You get the advantage of being able to plan ahead by advance sales. As regards smaller operators, they usually sell directly to customers. So, they don’t necessarily use distributors to sell their product. If this applies to you, consider that you can improve sales and profitability by expanding the number of distribution channels selling your product. There are some costs involved with the establishment of a business link with distributors. They aren’t usually upfront costs. But they are incurred after a sale is made. This is commonly known as a commission and is classified as a distribution cost. The use of a combination of distribution channels to sell your product can contribute to improved bookings and, ultimately, increased profits. Distribution channels depend on target markets. Working with distributors (e.g. wholesalers) or using promotional material and/or a website to spread the word about your product and generate sales are included into your distribution options.
Choosing the right distribution channels Analysing which distribution channels will be the most profitable to your business is crucial. Ask yourself:34 How do your target markets currently purchase your type of product and how do you go about establishing a relationship with these distributors? | 86 What sort of costs will be incurred by using these particular distributors? Are these proposed distributors familiar with your product? If not, what are the costs involved in developing product familiarity? Are these proposed distributors enthusiastic about your product? Are they potentially good sales ambassadors? Do they handle products provided by your direct competitors? What sort of incentive can you offer a distributor to encourage sales of your product, for example, a sales incentive scheme or “over-ride” commission? Traditional distribution channels The most cost-effective means of increasing sales is often as your business grows the use of distributors, as opposed to direct sales between you and your customers. Also, it is a better option for filling large numbers of beds or seats, or bringing in better patronage during low season periods. Three types of traditional distributors, that play an important part in servicing customers, can be detected; retail travel agents, wholesalers and ITOs. To work with these partners, your product must be established, well regarded and commissionable. Working as a social tourism enterprise, distribution channels needs to be carefully selected and targeted to promote your business. The social nature, the locality and the size of your business will determine the possible strategic cooperation of distributors. Retail travel agents (retailers) Retailers are either national or international and provide customers with an accessible place to book or enquire about travel products. These agents usually provide a shop front office for customers in shopping centres and local town centres. If you are a retail travel agency who opted for social tourism, you have the opportunity to promote your business / additional tourism packages, through the shop front office. If not, once you have an established social tourism package, you can create a cooperation with such agencies to promote your services. Wholesalers Retailers are provided with travel packages comprising two or more products supplied by different operators by wholesalers. These packages are put together in brochures. Then, they are distributed to networks of retail agents for display in their travel agencies. 34
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Wholesalers can also sell directly to customers and there are, also, wholesalers that provide packages for the inbound market. The last ones are generally international. Inbound tour operators (ITO’s) Sometimes, they are referred as ground operators or destination management companies | 87 (DMCs). ITO’s are businesses that negotiate contracts directly with tourism operators on behalf of international wholesalers. Their responsibility is to develop itineraries especially for international travellers. ITOs provide a complete, priced travel schedule tour program that is marketed to customers through international wholesalers and travel agents. They usually coordinate itineraries about 12 months in advance, so if this applies to you, you will need to plan ahead. If you as a social enterprise have created a network of collaborators i.e. other social enterprises in your area, you can promote through the ITO’s, specific packages. Direct sales through the internet A significant part in travel planning and decision-making processes of customers is worldwide access to the internet. Among the most popular online activities in major ecommerce markets are travel booking and planning. Research indicates that more travellers investigate their travel options online. Online travel sales are growing at an explosive rate, with consumer travel sales in the United States hit $103 billion in 2012, up 9% from 2011, according to comScore35 data. It is the first time the sector has topped the $100 billion mark. Air travel sales alone reached $66.5 billion — accounting for nearly two-thirds of all travel spending — up 10% from the previous year, the research firm said. Hotel Reservations was the second largest category at $19.4 billion. The growth in online travel bookings has outpaced other online sales for many reasons, including:36 access to extensive information to aid selection; perceived availability of choice; convenience of booking online (from home and out of business hours); and the perception of price advantage. The internet presents some great opportunities for tourism operators to promote their product, but before developing an online presence, consider the following: how will your target audience find you? who will provide design advice and programming skills to develop and maintain a website? how will you manage the ongoing accuracy and relevancy of your website? how will you enhance your presence, including third party online travel providers?
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http://www.comscore.com http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/25/127/576
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As a social tourism enterprise, the Internet can prove to be your strongest marketing tool and a way to distinguish your business from those of your competitors. The European tourism trend tends towards experiential tourism hence, current tourists seek to experience various activities in the host country ranging from agro-cultural, to culture to extreme sports. | 88 There are three key potential uses for the internet. Each presents significant opportunities; each presents challenges that will need to be addressed. 1. The internet as a marketing tool The internet offers the travel industry opportunities to market destinations, products and services. In the last years, the tourism industry experienced the Internet developing to the number one research tool for travellers37. 83% of travellers are using the Internet to plan their holidays online. The way in which travellers researched travel online differs as 60% researched an upcoming trip, 45% researched a trip on the basis of seeing an online ad and 43% brainstormed or started thinking about a trip. Search engines are the primary starting point for travellers’ search for a holiday. 2. The internet as an information tool It is an excellent tool for travel research, planning and decision-making. It is important to stay compelling, up-to-date accurate and relevant content on it and any other sites that include your business information, if you create a website. A choice you have is to create a network of collaborators online through your website allowing an extensive offer of tourism services and packages. For example, if you provide lodging, your collaborators can offer culinary experiences, cultural trips etc. 3. The internet as a purchasing tool If there are available on your site transaction facilities, you get an advantage by providing an additional distribution channel for customers to book or purchase travel product. Also, competitive product, pricing, promotional and distribution strategies to meet market needs should be developed. You need to service customers in a timely and professional way. Direct sales on the internet can take two forms:  transactions on your own website via an online booking system  allocations to other online sellers such as www.expedia.com, www.tripadvisor.com and www.lastminute.com In both cases, consider the costs, resources and security measures involved.
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http://etc-digital.org/digital-trends/consumer-behaviour/consumer-trends/
Teaching methods /proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Intermediaries and distributors
30
Discussion
Participants discuss their experiences on using the Internet to search and select tourism packages.
30
Brain storming session
Participants brainstorm to elaborate on strategies to create / use intermediaries for a social enterprise
30
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M2.2.5 Title: Tourism marketing blog Duration: 3 Hours. Target group: tourist operators, social enterprise start-ups, cooperatives, people wishing to start with social tourism, existing tourist companies who wish to expand into social tourism | 90 Aim: When you will have completed the unit you will be able to: 1. Reviewing the competitive advantage of using blogs for tourism businesses. 2. Set up a blogging strategy. 3. Identify and analyse the effects of blogs for marketing purposes. Training method: presentation, individual work, presentation, discussion Language: multilingual Training content/ indicative content: What really are blogs and blogging? (The trainer can start by asking this question to the participants to get their initial responses) Blogging is one of the most effective forms of e-marketing. This tutorial will review what blogs are and provide guidance on how to embrace blogging for your business. A blog38 is a website designed in the format of an online journal, which features many posts or articles. Each article should include a title, graphics, photos, videos, and often followed by readers’ comments and each blog article has its own web address. Blogs can be maintained by individuals, groups and businesses. Their authors are called “bloggers�. Aim of blogging The most important purpose of a blog is to share thoughts with the rest of the world. The manner knowledge is shared amongst experts has been revolutionised by blogging. From recent research know that 60% of people now turn to the Internet when they need to address problems and issues. A small percentage up to 25% turn to traditional media and even less to libraries or other sources. In an offline environment, one had to rely on encyclopaedias and research articles published in magazines. On the other hand, blogs are regarded as a significant market research tool. They provide an unlimited source of up-to-the-minute information which conveys what the world thinks, discusses, vets, encourages and bans. Blogs are the biggest resource of user-generated content. Just like websites or customer reviews on Trip Advisor, they get indexed by search engines. They even have their own search engines! Benefits of blogging As a business owner, blogging will allow you to:39 38 39
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• Establish yourself as an authority in your niche • Engage your customers • Engage in dialogue with peers and increase your knowledge • Discuss industry and business matters • Anyone can set one up in less than 15 minutes, for free and become a blogger. Blogging is excellent for my business’ health Blogging is a way to advance the world’s knowledge of your industry, develop a personal connection with your clientele and befriend search engines Advancing the world’s knowledge and connecting with my clientele40 Think about how many times you wanted to contribute your expert knowledge to your industry and beyond. Maybe you have been able to provide insights based on your experience at local tourism meetings, or on the other hand you experienced frustration because nobody wanted to listen to what you had to say? The solution to all these is setting up a blog. You will be able to communicate with peers and potential clients. You will be heard. The blog will give you and your business an exposure you would have never imagined. Taming search engines Your blog can advance your search engine rankings, since each post is made of short, judicious and topical content. Search engine crawlers (or robots) will continuously come and visit your site for more relevant content. You are going to be more popular online and the amount of people who are going to link to you, is about to increase. Setting up a blogging strategy When you run a tourism business, blogging should be part of your online strategy. It is an excellent manner to increase web content, grow your organic visitors and develop your brand. You should set up an individual blog about your product and the experiences that you offer, if you are able to spend 3 to 5 hours a week to blogging. Link to it from your website and vice versa. When your time is restricted, you should cooperate with other members interested in your area and set up a joint blog. Define a “who blogs when” calendar with your team in order to maintain a constant flow of information on your blog. Setting up your blog When you are ready to set up your blog you will have to choose a blogging platform.
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Free, hosted solutions These are good to start with, however they can be restrictive as their hosting is outside your control. Should you wish to move your blog to a more flexible blogging platform you will have problems redirecting your users.41 | 92 • Blogger (www.blogger.com) is Google’s blogging platform. It is a very simple way to get started and your blog will be hosted on Google’s servers. • WordPress.com (www.wordpress.com) is similar to Blogger. Your blog will be hosted on Wordpress’ servers. More flexible solutions, hosted on your server • If you intend to take blogging seriously, WordPress.org (www.wordpress.org) is a better solution than the two above. The blogging platform is free, all you need to do is to organise hosting. Writing the content Below are a few tips to get you started:42 • Your focus should be on sharing news about your product and your region. Tell stories, discuss visitor experiences, surroundings, unique facts and other engaging content • Remember to use pictures, videos and hyperlinks. Write short paragraphs • Do not “sell” your establishment or service using your blog (so ensure there is NO callto-action) • Set yourself a blogging schedule • Empower your staff to blog • Promote your blog on your website • As a blog really is a website, focus on your keywords and implement search engine optimisation principles to encourage search engines to visit and crawl your blog posts Blogging has become an art of its own. If you want to learn more about blogging, search for blogs about blogging and learn from the experts.
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http://www.bresnehan.com/assets/30_-_Blogging_Online_Blogs_SEO_Markeitng.pdf http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Industry%20Development/Tourism%20Ekit/V.06.10%20Tutorials%2024-33.pdf 42
Teaching methods / proposed assessment
Duration (minutes)
Method
Description
Presentation
Blogs
30
Individual work
Participants search on the internet for a social tourism blog
30
Presentation
Participants present the blog to the class and provides a short description (2 min)
30
Discussion
Trainer and group discusses the effect of a blog to market a social tourism enterprise
30
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M2.2.6 National content: Health and Safety and Marketing plan features. Duration: 5 hours A. Health & safety: norms of health and safety applied to tourism enterprises to protect clients and staff. | 94 a. Suggested study time: 2 hours b. Suggested content / study material: i. health and safety rules and regulations related to specific packages you wish to create for your selected target group i.e. disabled people, ii. collaborating with disadvantaged groups of people i.e. blind and how to treat them/dogs iii. infrastructure rules for tourism facilities B. Use the previous 2 social tourism enterprises you have selected and identify the marketing features of their marketing plan. Discuss advantages and disadvantages for this. a. Suggested study time 3 hours. b. Suggested content / study material: i. Selection of 2 social tourism enterprises through various sources ii. Short presentation of them by the trainer – overview of activities iii. Discussion and individual work on: identification of their target clientele, identification of marketing activities, and identification of marketing identity. The trainer can select the amount of time to spend for both sub-units. Following the end of Module 2, the trainer can make a small summary of what has been taught, discussed and hence, close the module before continuing to the next one. The trainer can ask for help from the participants and create a 1 hour session to close the module through asking specific questions related to the taught learning objectives. All answers can be written down on paper and posted on the classroom walls for references.
3.1.4. Organising and developing the programme Scientific organisation of the program – working group. According to the holistic and systemic approach used by the SoTo training group during the implementation of the vocational training program, the scientific organization is depicted in | 95 the following manner: Project manager: partner responsible for the training programme Trainer: appointed by the project manager and partner organisation. The trainers are responsible to learn about the programme, know the content and train the trainees for the 100 hour session. Trainee: invited to participate by the partner organisation forming part of the target group. The trainee will follow the 100 hour training programme in the manner suggested by the SoTo programme. In the end, the trainee will receive a certificate of attendance. Administrator: belonging to the partner organisation who delivers the training course to the participants. The administrator will be responsible for all communication between the partner, the trainer and the trainee. Trainer’s profile: The trainers selected to teach the SO-TO training programme should preferably have some of the following features: A. Have been trained by a trainer who participated in the Train-The-Trainer seminar in Athens, Greece on October 2013, B. Have experience in vocational training of adult learners in subjects such as tourism, entrepreneurship, and / or social tourism, C. Have interest in delivering the SO-TO programme.
3.1.5. Project work: Training course project work description
Project work – duration 40 hours. Participants of the SO-TO training course will learn how to set up a social tourism business. The trainer should have knowledge of the tourism market and related tourism products, as well as knowledge of business administration in the context of competition and globalization.
Description on specific project work Task 1(12 hours) - Market Research: Market research aims to discover existing, active competition in the field of social tourism businesses. It should focus on identifying competitors’ products and services offered, clientele focus. Part of the research should focus on the internal and international market. Based on the results of the market research participants proceed to the second stage. Investigation of the Legal Framework rules, regulations and recommendations for the setting up a social tourism enterprise. Task 2 (8hours) - Feasibility Study: The feasibility study regarding the identification of the market conditions for the creation of a social tourism enterprise. The results of the first survey will contribute significantly. The feasibility study aims to explore the opportunities and possibilities through the analysis of the current demand, the existing supply, but also the projections related to the developments in the wider business environment. Methods and techniques: market research Analysis of statistics Utilization studies and surveys Task3 (10hours) – Outline of the business plan: business development strategy that translates the intended development of the environment of the tourism market. Strategic objectives that translate into long-term and short-term goals. Proposed actions to achieve the business plan through prioritisation and scheduling. Identification of the expected results. Task4 (5hours) - Specifications of the investment: selecting the sitting of your business (derived from the market research and competition analysis). Collect information related to the place of investment (existing infrastructure). Description of the planned investment (facility area, jobs, etc.) Budget and financing of the investment: for example in the case of Greece there are subsidies from infrastructure funds or from the Development Law. The entrepreneur may
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also have own equity to cover part of the investment. The investment can be facilitated by the fast track process. For establishing and installing the infrastructure of the enterprise, funds are required for the building, technical infrastructure, technical installations, mechanical equipment, furniture and other equipment. | 97 The financing scheme of the investment includes equity, building or land, foreign / third funds as loans, grants etc. The operational costs relate to the estimation of staff costs, employer fees and contributions to pension funds. (you need to consider that due to the nature of the social enterprise, according to the laws of the various countries, there may be exemptions) The entrepreneur has to calculate the budget for the estimated expenses and income for the operation of the business. In case of loan for purchase of equipment, the depreciation rate needs to be calculated. Task 5 (5hours) - indicators In the framework of the expected results, the entrepreneur should implement certain indicators to determine the ROI, including: • capital performance indicator • total investment performance indicator • Services performance indicator • Repayment period performance indicator Following the indicator process, the entrepreneur should implement the sustainability indicator for the investment in order to establish/ calculate the business growth potential and sustainability aspect. Finally, the entrepreneur should analyse the added value resulting from the pricing policy (invoicing of services provided), as well as the staff costs, third party costs, bank interest, depreciation costs etc. Note: Trainers can use word or power point presentations for the business plan. Participants can be divided into groups, and each group can work on specific topics to analyse and summarise in the end with the help of the trainer. The description above can also be presented in the form of a case study. Total project work: 40 hours
References Digital Culture and E-Tourism: Technologies, Applications and Management Approaches, MiltiadisLytras (Author, Editor), Patricia Ord贸帽ez de Pablos (Editor), Ernesto Damiani (Editor), Lily Diaz (Editor) Global Hospitality and Tourism Management Technologies, Patricia Ord贸帽ez de Pablos (Author, Editor), Robert Tennyson (Editor), Jingyuan Zhao (Editor) Handbook on E-marketing for Tourism Destinations, World Tourism Organization and the European Travel Commission Tourism Business Planning Guide, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies, Charles R. Goeldner and J. R. Brent Ritchie, 12 edition (September 2011)
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