guiding the travellers i where do i start?
TRANSCRIPT
A theoretical and empirical overviewTAW S I F U D O W L A , 2 0 1 6
G u i d i n g T H E T RAV E L L E R SW h e r e d o I s t a r t ?
Tourism + You“Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
TOURISTSPersons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited
TOURIST GUIDEA person who guides visitors (Tourists) in the language of their choice and interprets the cultural and natural heritage of an area (place) which person normally possesses an area-specific qualification usually issued and/or recognized by the appropriate authority
World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA)
A tour guide is an individual in a front-line position who leads participants (individual or groups) on tours, ensures that itineraries are followed, provides commentary in an informative and entertaining manner, and creates positive experiences for tour participants
Canadian Tour Guide Associations (CTGA ) of BC
Tourism + You
So What’s TOUR?TOUR is a product is what one can buy?
TOUR is an experience is what one remember? Exceptional tour goes beyond the time travellers are with you. Planning and delivering exceptional tour requires considering the entire traveller lifecycle, from the moment they think about travelling until they are sharing stories, photos and videos at home or online.
Personalization is key to a great tour EXPERIENCE
E X P E R I E N C E ?“L ive this moment; this moment is L ife”
Experiential EconomySo
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Expe
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. Gilm
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Economic DistinctionsEconomic Offerings
Commodities Goods Services Experiences
Economy Agrarian Industrial Service Experience
Economic Function
Extract Make Deliver Stage
Nature of Offering
Fungible Tangible Intangible Memorable
Key Attribute Natural Standardized Customized Personal
Method of Supply
Stored in bulk Inventoried after production
Delivered on demand
Revealed over a duration
Seller Trader Manufacturer Provider StagerBuyer Market User Client Guest
Factors of Demand
Characteristics Features Benefits Sensations
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Experiential Travel COMMODITIES are things we
extract from the ground and sell in market.
GOODS are the physical, tangible items we make from commodities, that when sold, generate a higher price point.
SERVICES use the commodities and goods to offer differentiated options to customers.
EXPERIENCES incorporate commodities, goods and services and use these as elements in developing tourism offers that are designed to create lasting
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Experiential Travel
Desig
ning
Mem
orab
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Expe
rienc
es
Theme the experience
Harmonize impressions with
positive cues
Eliminate negative cues
Mix in memorabilia
Engage all five senses
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Explorer Quotient (EQ)EQ is an innovative market segmentation tool comes from the science of psychographics.
Dem
ogra
phic
sAgeIncomeGenderFamily StatusEducational Level
Psyc
hogr
aphi
csPersonal beliefsSocial ValuesWorld View
An evolution of the traditional field of demographics
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Crafting a memorable tourist experience
• Know your guests
Step 1
• Know your community and region
Step 2 • Think
about the types of experiences Step 3
• Choose a theme or story
Step 4: • Plan the
experience
Step 5
• Establish the flow with the itinerary
Step 6 • Deliver
and evaluate the experience
Step 12
“Be Different or Be Dead. Value is the immunization factor. When there is no difference in value, people buy on price alone”
Roy Osing (author), 2009
Step 7: Select partners, suppliers and experience providers Step 8: Think about market positioningStep 9: Set the selling price Step 10: Marketing and communication Step 11: Prepare the team and pilot the Experience S
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STEP 1: Know Your TRAVELER
Authentic Experienc
er
Cultural Explorer
Cultural History
Buff
Personal History Explorer
Free Spirit
Gentle Explorer
No Hassle Traveller
Rejuvenator
Virtual Traveller
9 Major Traveler Groups Worldwide
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Who are we looking for?So
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THE FREE SPIRIT13% OF THE GLOBAL MARKET
Something of a thrill-seeker
Travel to satisfy their infinite need for the exciting and the exotic Like the best of everything and enjoy the company of others (YOURS) who feel the same way Have a lot of energy and want to see and do everything
Young, or young-at-heart. Travel for the thrill & emotional charge of seizing Travel for the thrill and emotional charge of seizing the day
Group tours and rigid plans are not for them
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CULTURAL EXPLORER12% of the Global Market
Seek constant opportunities to embrace, discover and immerse themselves in the entire experience of the culture, people and settings of the places they visitNot content to just visit historic sites and watch from the sidelines
Participate in the modern-day culture as well
Strike up conversations with locals, attend cultural festivals
Go off the beaten track to discover how people truly live
Group tours and rigid plans are not for them
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THE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCER9% of the Global Market
Appreciate the beauty of natural and cultural environmentsEnjoy using all of their senses when they explore
Really get to know the places they visit
Adapt to personal challenges and risks, figuring out how to make the most of every situation Fully immersed in their travel experiences
Group tours and rigid plans are not for them
EXERCISE : What's your travel type?STEP 1TAKE A QUIZ
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STEP 2SAVE YOUR
TRAVEL TYPE
STEP 2MATCH YOUR TRAVEL TYPE
@ EQ PROFILE
Based on your Experience Appeal and Travel Behaviours,please discuss about the 10 activities you’ll be most interested at as a tourist within Metro Vancouver
Vancouver Activities List
STEP 2 (A): Know your community and region
Assets: What makes your community special? Why do people like to live here? What do they do that visitors may be interested in seeing, learning about or engaging in?
Where are some unique, less-travelled places to go that locals know but visitors may not?
Are there any iconic people, places, celebrations, festivals and events that draw visitors regularly?
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STEP 2 (A): Know your community and region
What types of musicians, artists, chefs, dancers, cultural groups, writers, poets, etc. live in your community?
Are there any underutilized buildings, trails, community centres, legion halls, etc. that could be interesting places to host a group activity?
Are there any non-traditional tourism business people who could become involved with tourism, such as fishermen, farmers, golf course greens-keepers, carpenters, instrument makers, etc?
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STEP 2(B): Know VancouverMore than 9.3 million people visited in 2015
Contributes approximately $ 6.1 billion to the Metro Vancouver economy annually
Provides over 66,000 full time jobs
Generates approximately $14.6 billion in revenue
STEP 2(C): Know Tourism Vancouver
Dine Out Vancouver
Festival*
Push Festival*
Vancouver International Wine Festival.
Cherry Blossom Festival
*Internationa
l Jazz Festival
*Bard on the
Beach
Vancouver Pride
Festival*
Celebration of Light
Fireworks*
Pacific National
Exhibition
The Vancouver
Opera*
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
*Arts Club Theatre
Company
365 Days a Year Destination
STEP 3: Experiences that make sense for us
When the traveler leaves, what do you want them to be talking about? What pictures do you want them to be posting to Facebook? What do you hope they will be writing about on TripAdvisor? For the community partners who will help you develop and deliver the
experience, how do you want them to feel about involvement after the guests depart?
What did guests enjoy most about interacting with you? What could be done to enhance the experience next time?
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STEP 4 (A): Choose a theme or story : UNIQUELY CANADIANS
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Stories also are a great basis for developing an experience. As Marty Yaskowich of Tribal DDB says,
“Not everyone’s a storyteller but everyone has a story”Stories and storytellers can really anchor a traveler in a community because storytellers…
Have characterAre uniqueConnect on an emotional levelPersonalGreat for marketing
In formal
Witty
Authent ic
STEP 4 (B): Choose a theme or story : UNIQUELY CANADIANS
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connect people, places, the past and present have characters/ time line that people can relate to evolve over time and can be shared can be told in ways that bring guests into the story,
creating connections and personal attachments change with every storyteller who brings his or her own
special version to the audience are powerful at triggering emotions that lead to future
decision making
Storytelling makes a great foundation for creating experiences and bringing them to life, plus it opens up the door to creative thinking. People love it. It’s so much more real than just hearing someone talk about. i.e. Stanley Park is best urban park in the world (Not enough)…So YOU and your STORY should:
STEP 5 (A): Plan the experience : UNIQUELY CANADIAN
5 Un
ique
Sel
ling
Prop
ositi
ons (
USP)
Vibrant Cities on the Edge of Nature
Award-Winning Local Cuisine
Connecting with Locals
Personal Journeys By Land, Water and Air
Active Adventure Among Awe- Inspiring
Natural Wonders
A Signature Experience is an exceptional travel experience designed and delivered by us, the qualified Canadian-based tourism businesses.It is engaging, immersive, hands-on and connects travellers to the special people, places and cultures in a community or region.Signature Experiences invite visitors to discover, learn and enjoy Canada in ways that are personally relevant and aligned with their motivations to travel. The experience must appeal to one or more EQ segments, be aligned with one ofCanada’s five unique selling proposition,and meet a set of criteria that define a signature experience.
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STEP 5 (B) : Experiential Travel
Grea
t cus
tom
er
expe
rienc
es
exceeding physical and emotional expectations
differentiated by stimulating emotion
enabled through inspirational leadership
and facilitated by culture
designed from the outside in, rather that
the inside out
an embodiment of our brand
“Seeing the sights is no longer enough.Experiential travellers want to venture beyond the beaten tourist paths and dive deeper into authentic local culture, connecting with people from other cultures in deep and meaningful ways, the arts, architecture and music, cooking and food, sports, adventure and nature, language, history, economics and literature, philanthropy and a desire to “give back.” More than ever before, people are travelling their passions.”
Joe Diaz, Co-founder Afar Magazine
Experiential travel involves a customer-centric approach to planning travel, communicating with visitors and delivering programs that are aligned with what visitors are interested in experiencing
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STEP 5 (C) Experiential Travel
Experiential packaging and programming begins with: What makes our community special (e.g. people, places, stories, traditions,
activities)? What memories do we want our visitors to leave with? What traveller interests are aligned with what we have to offer? Who do I need to collaborate with to craft a relevant, engaging visitor experience? Which experiential programs exist, or could be developed, to form the foundation
of a package or elements of a package? How can the experience be personalized? What unique, authentic and local treasures can be celebrated, showcased or
engaged in?
“Experiential packaging focuses on choreographing a series of
encounters, interactions and moments that are revealed over time to evoke emotions and leave travellers with
lasting memories.”
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STEP 5 (D) Experiential TravelS
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STORY TELLING
Be true to our personality
Remember what makes us unique
Keep it simple
Say it with feeling
For Story ideas surrounding Vancouver please check Tourism Vancouver’s M E D I A K I T
Step 6: Establish the flow with the itinerary Set the itinerary with meticulous attention to detail and personalize it: Consider where guests have been and where they will be going relative to your
experience. Time the experience in small increments. If it is a two- hour program, think in 10-
to 20-minute intervals; if it’s a full day, then 30- to 45-minute increments. Allow time for transitions between places, activities, guest delays and to let people
meet and connect. Break down each experiential component into small, simple pieces and ensure
that every detail is thought through. Think about “positive cues”—elements in the environment that reinforce the
experience. Review all safety matters, plan for them and have a contingency plan. Consider weather and have backup plans Consider if any guest limitations could impact the experience, such as fear of
heights, physical or auditory limitations, dietary restrictions, etc.
“Pay attention to detail. When you charge a premium, you must ensure the smallest details are taken care of. The importance of this can’t be overstated in planning, delivery and follow-up”.S
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STEP 12 : Deliver and evaluate the experience Set the stage for people to meet each other and to make personal connections
straight away to increase their comfort and create the atmosphere. Provide any information guests need up front. Have a plan to ensure their
psychological comfort can be set. Deliver the program as planned but be flexible and adapt the delivery to adjust
to how the visitors are reacting and engaging with the activities. Pay attention to detail en route—remember special things guests say and work
them into the conversation. Have a post-guest communications strategy in place Monitor what is said (WOM) about your company in your guest book and on social
media Connect with suppliers and people who delivered the experience to get their
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Sources and References
Canadian Tour Guide Association of BC www.ctgaofbc.com
Destination Canada http://en.destinationcanada.com
Tourism Vancouver www.tourismvancouver.com
World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations www.wftga.org
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) www.unwto.org
Photo Credit: TawsifS t a y i n t o u c hE m a i l : t a w s i f _ d o w l a @ o u t l o o k . c o mL i n ke d I n : www.linkedin.com/in/TawsifDowla