SAMOA FOR REAL Industry Workshop, August 9th, 2013

Why are we here?

• To work together with existing institutions and agencies to:

– Generate more benefit to Samoa and our business from our actions as Hosts

– Attract, engage and serve more guests

– Especially those who value who we are and what we offer as Samoans in Samoa

AGENDAPART ONE

Come together as a groupFocus and ApproachAssumptions

PART TWO

How did we get to this point?Why do we have to do things differently?The Future Revisited

PART THREE From product to experience to place

Why did YOU show up?

• Name and Business• Preferred contact phone:

• In one sentence explain why you showed up today – the main reason:

I showed up because……

What shaped me?

• Experienced what happens when you take a place out of a people

• Sick at heart.

Hopedale, Labrador, 1967

Lady Skidoo Champion, 1967!

There’s a bigger reason for being here

It’s not just your:• Business survival and prosperity• Economic independence - personal and national

BUT• A future for our children• Your identity as Samoans • Identity and PLACE

The Challenge for beautiful places• Too much success and the place

can become congested and worn

• Too little recognition and appreciation of your worth and it will be taken from you

• Tourism is everybody’s business & responsibility

• You must create your own future Bali, pre-electricity & tourism,

1973

Where are We?

“You can’t know who you are, until you know where you are.”Wendell Berry

What’s at stake; your future identity

The world needs the Samoan point of view

Where are We?

What does it mean to be Samoan?

How does this sacred earth define you?What is your role and responsibility as hosts?

What does this place mean to you?

What is Samoa’s unique signature?

Samoa’s brand is your collective identity

Our Practical Focus

1. Finding ways to increase yield and spread the benefits of tourism more widely

2. Yes, we have an immediate sales requirement3. But we also have to have larger goal - to come

together behind a shared vision of a tourism economy that’s robust, resilient and “owned” by all Samoans and that nurtures our Samoanness.

4. Fear of making your payments might push you into action but the larger goal will help you go the distance.

Be Prepared!• For something different – Some poetry, story telling, even a movie or two– Engage all of you– This is not a dry planning exercise!

• To identify and question some unexamined assumptions– What baggage are you bringing along on this

journey? – Why are you in business?

We’re in the relationship business

• We make people happy

• The currency – emotion

• Their currency connection

• We heal – make people whole again

ASSUMPTION # 1

The Biggest Sign of Success

Money in the bank = a departing customer who wants to hug you!

Purpose + Passion= Profit

We’re in the fantasy fulfillment business but we can’t and won’t succeed with everyone.

ASSUMPTION # 2

ASSUMPTION # 3

• Success is not about attracting visitors but the right visitors

• And who is the right visitor? • One who values what we value• So who are we and what do we

value? • That’s your brand personality

ASSUMPTION # 4

• Tourism is the one business where you can’t go it alone BUT where each of us can make a difference

• Tourism is not an industry • It’s a network, a community• We’re interdependent• Collaboration is essential

ASSUMPTION # 5

• There are no heroes to come and rescue us

• It’s up to each of us together

• And that means learning and sharing what you discover

• Time for a poem?• Why a poem?

Allegiances It is time for all the heroes to go homeif they have any, time for all of us common onesto locate ourselves by the real thingswe live by. Far to the north, or indeed in any direction, Strange mountains and creature have always lurked – Elves, goblins, trolls, and spiders – weEncounter them in dread and wonder. But once we have tasted far streams, touched the gold,Found some limit beyond the waterfall, A season changes, and we come back changed But safe, quiet, grateful. Suppose an insane wind holds all the hills While strange beliefs whine at the traveller’s ears, We ordinary beings can cling to the earth and loveWhere we are, sturdy for common things.

A Captivating Story

Use our Wayfinding Skills• Curiosity and a desire to

find a better land• Ability to observe nature

closely and respond to the signs without judgment

• Patience• Tenacity• Focus on a positive vision

of the island you want to find

Glimpses of the Future

• PRESENT - 2013 • FUTURE - 2062

I’m feeling down, there just aren’t the visitors we need, monthly receipts are down and what used to be shoulder seasons are not seasons. The few tourist we get have been complaining about the litter, the dogs and there not being enough to do. We’re starting to get more groups just wanting to hang out on the beaches and party. I really don’t know what we can do to change things. I wish for a sign that it all turns out right!!

I just just got the call to come and give you some idea of how things turned out ………….

RE-CAPMembers of the Inner Circle are asked to share what they heard from the future and what might have surprised them.

Thankyou for “Being the Change”

• PRESENT - 2013 • FUTURE - 2062

Tells the future what it was like getting things together.

I also came to thank you for what you did to turn things around. Just how did you get started and what did you do?

RE-CAPMembers of the Outer Circle are asked to share what they heard from the present

How did we get into this situation?

Understand the dynamics of changeTourism is young - adolescent

Tourism is also very, very complexFew barriers to entry

Limited investment in learning

HostsGuests

Markets

CHANGE FORCES

HostsGuests

Markets

CHANGE FORCES

1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 134,000Ebb & Flow

HostsGuests

Markets

CHANGE FORCES

1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 134,000

Samoa gets 134,00047,000 stay in hotels32,000 are on holiday

HostsGuests

Markets

CHANGE FORCES

1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 120,000

Samoa gets 120,00047,000 stay in hotels30,000 are on holiday

2013 1848 rooms2014 2150 rooms

To operate profitablySamoa needs to attract90,000 – 120,000

Why is marketing a destination both different and difficult?

• Discretionary – it’s a choice• The forces that control traffic are beyond your control & volatile• We have to move the customer• The experience can’t be pre-tested• The experience can’t be returned• The experience is often unknown• Tough for hosts too – time & space specific inventory is

perishable• Costly to find, reach and attract guests• Hence lots of INTERMEDIARIES

HostsGuests

Markets

Before the Great Unravelling

HostsGuests

Markets

Before the Great Unravelling

• Globalisation• Internet• Low Cost Airlines• Cheap travel became a right – power now in the hands of

the customer• Fragmentation – special interest tourism• Climate change shifts awareness• 2007 and the big jolt • Shift in values • Social Media

CHANGE FORCES

The Experiential Traveller

CTC VIDEO

KEY TAKEAWAYS • Experiential travel involves learning about something

by doing something with people who live at the place you are visiting

• Visitors talk about experience one way. They talk about the meeting with the host and their personality much more because it involves a connection

• Developing experiences doesn’t have to involve huge investments or lots of cash

Enriching the Experiencework is theatre and every business a stage

Enriching the Experienceappealing to the whole person

Enriching the Experiencestimulating all the senses

Brainstorming Experience• Think of every method or ways of transporting, accommodating or

feeding customers• How is Samoa’s uniqueness expressed?• How can you stimulate all the senses?• What could make the experience more memorable?• What could make the experience more valuable? • What changes need to happen to make these improvements happen? • What’s the potential to create other businesses that serve or support

these experiences?• How can these activities be designed with low to zero impact on the

environment?• How will these actions be see to benefit a wider range of Samoans?