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Sustainable Tourism
Business Development, Operations and Management
208 Pages
Sustainable Tourism: Business Development, Operations, and Management lays out a road map to launching and building a business in one of today’s most exciting industries. It simplifies the process and outlines real-life requirements while clearing the path to new business success in the cultural, heritage, nature, and adventure fields. Written by an eco-development pioneer, the book offers guidance on developing and implementing a comprehensive sustainable-business plan. From analyzing the market all the way through hiring and training the right people, the text focuses on the principles of both tourism and business. It prepares those embarking on new careers to tackle the complexity of sustainability issues by thinking like entrepreneurs and acting like business owners. Students and professionals can rely on this text as both a start-up and ongoing implementation reference that will stack the odds of success in their favor.
Sustainable Tourism provides an overview of exciting developments in the sustainable-tourism industry. It helps new entrepreneurs assess the viability of ideas and products against sustainable criteria. Through sequential chapters, it delivers step-by-step instructions for minimizing environmental impact, establishing sustainability practices, obtaining financing, and marketing to and reaching customers. The standards-based text also examines how the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Sustainability Guidelines shape sustainable tourism, providing a global framework from which to build the skills needed for success.
Key features include the following:
• 13 online video case studies of sustainable tourism destinations from around the world give students a global text from which to build their own businesses and provide a model for how sustainable tourism works.
• An online workbook guides learners through the completion of a business plan by the end of the term.
• An online image bank presents photos, figures, and tables from the book that may be downloaded for use in presentations.
• Forms and worksheets from the book are available for download.
• A professional development workbook, “Creating a Tourism Career from Scratch” (appendix B), is a reference for entrepreneurs starting or advancing in their careers.
Loaded with case studies, the book illustrates what works and what doesn’t when starting a sustainable tourism business. It describes how to integrate sustainability practices into daily operations, maximize the use of the web and social media in marketing, and overcome challenges in sustainable tourism. The text covers every important topic in a business start-up, including financial forecasting and analysis, customer service systems, hiring, training, and managing turnover.
Sustainable Tourism: Business Development, Operations and Management is the starting point for all who want to develop an eco-friendly product, integrate sustainability principles into their businesses, and turn their dreams into a business reality.
Chapter 1 Introduction to Sustainable Tourism
Introduction
Why Should Tourism Be Sustainable?
History of Sustainable Tourism
What Do We Call It?
Is the Triple Bottom Line a Good Measure?
Who Are the Tourists?
Sustainable Tourism Trends
Meeting the Challenge
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 2 Strategic Planning for a Sustainable Tourism Business
Introduction
What Is a Strategic Plan?
Create a Mission Statement
Conduct External Review of the Environment
Conduct Internal Review of Your Business
Set Goals and Objectives
Analyze the Market
Define Your Product
Identify and Select Viable Strategies
Implement the Plan
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 3 Sustainability Practices for Development and Operations
Introduction
Minimizing Environmental Impact
Establishing Sustainability Policies
Integrating Environmental Policies Into Daily Operations
Assessing Impacts
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 4 Industry Standards and Associations
Introduction
The Role of Tourism Standards
Global Tourism Standards
Certification and Your Bottom Line
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
Resources
Chapter 5 Marketing Your Product
Introduction
The Four Ps of Marketing
Developing a Marketing Plan
Product–Market Match
Marketing Activities
Marketing Forecasts
Monitoring and Evaluating Marketing Activities
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
Resources
Chapter 6 Web 2.0
Introduction
What Is Web 2.0?
How Social Media Is Changing Tourism
Implications for Sustainable Tourism Business Managers
Maximize Your Web Presence
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
Resources
Chapter 7 Sustainable Tourism and the Travel Trade
Introduction
Understanding the Travel Trade
The Consumer’s Relationship With the Travel Trade
The Difficulty in Selling Sustainable Tourism
Helping the Travel Trade Sell Sustainable Tourism
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 8 Marketing Partnerships
Introduction
Tour Packaging
Cooperative Marketing
Festivals and Events
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 9 Dollars and Sense
Introduction
Obtaining Financing
Financial Forecasting
Financial Analysis
Accounting
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 10 Climbing the Customer Service Mountain
Introduction
Customer Service Systems
Customer Service and Interpretation
Customer Service Problems
Qualifying Customers
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 11 Getting the Right Person for the Job
Introduction
How to Hire the Right Person
Training
Human Resource Policies
Managing Turnover
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 12 Managing Business Risk
Introduction
Loss Categories
Insuring Against the Odds
Risk Management Strategies
If the Worst Happens
Business Plan Implications
Summary
Glossary
References
Chapter 13 Business Plans
Introduction
The Need for a Business Plan
Preparing a Business Plan
Business Plan Workbook
Carol Patterson has been an author and consultant of tourism for over 20 years. She has helped numerous small business owners penetrate and advance into North American markets. She has been widely recognized for her pioneering work in tourism, winning awards for cinematography and sound design as well as her vision. Patterson is an adjunct assistant professor of adventure tourism classes at the University of Calgary. She is the author of several books, including The Business of Ecotourism, and co-author of Handle With Care: Developing a Nature Based Tourism Product in the North. She is also a Travel Media Association of Canada award recipient for the best environmental/responsible tourism feature. Her travel writing has appeared on BBC Travel and Vacay.ca among other publications.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
What to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it.
What Do We Call It?
One of the biggest debates in the tourism industry in recent history has revolved around what to call tourism that incorporates sustainability principles and who is part of it. One of the benefits to come from the development of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria is the creation of common language among tourism professionals. By describing sustainability with specific criteria for tour operators, hotels, and destination managers, everyone has a better idea of what constitutes best practices for this industry. Regardless of whether they describe their business as adventure travel, accommodation, ecotourism, educational tourism, or geotourism, tourism professionals can use these standards.
Some of the terms related to sustainable principles are described in table 1.2. If you look at the definitions, you will see notable differences; for example, nature-based tourism is distinguished by the setting and does not focus on the ethics that are inherent in responsible tourism. Geotourism broadens the principles of sustainability to include the sense of place. Community-based tourism places more emphasis on the involvement of people from rural or economically marginalized areas and less on the type of product.
Many of these differences revolve around scope, but at the heart of these definitions are several common themes:
- Minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts of travel
- Maximizing the economic impacts for host communities
- Providing a meaningful experience for the traveler with educational opportunities or chances to engage with local people
- Involving local communities in the planning of tourism
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516741_ebook_Main.png
These themes are consistent with the principles of sustainable tourism described earlier. So it can be assumed that each contributes to a more sustainable tourism industry.
Sustainable tourism is developed and operated in a way that meets the current needs of travelers and host communities without compromising the requirements of future generations. This book includes the research done for the related fields of ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure travel, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, and others as each builds toward sustainability. The broader scope will give you a better understanding of the travelers seeking these experiences, the levels of visitor satisfaction, and other aspects of tourism development and operation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
How you should measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Assessing Impacts
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives. Travelers who have been asked to assess the industry's effectiveness at adopting sustainability practices rate it as poor. CMIGreen's Green Traveler Study in 2009 found the travel industry's sustainability practices need work. The study found that "too many travel companies are doing little or nothing to minimize their environment impact; other businesses' highly touted recycling and conservation efforts were viewed as superficial ˜greenwashing'" (Roth 2010).
If you don't want your efforts labeled greenwashing, you must determine which performance indicators relate to your business, acceptable standards, and a way to measure them. For most businesses, this means selecting indicators of energy use or waste generated. Monitoring change to wildlife populations or environmental conditions can be undertaken if you own or lease large tracts of land, but in most cases, this work is done by government land managers.
If you are working in a tourism business, try the assessment shown in figure 3.2. Rating high in all areas is a sign that your organization has already thought about its environmental policies and practices. If your organization did not rate as well, continue to look for ways to improve. Remember that as more businesses adopt sustainability practices, the standard expected by travelers will increase, and your efforts must keep pace.
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758a_ebook_Main.png
http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/143/E6014_516758b_ebook_Main.png
Make sure to tell your clients about your sustainability practices and the results of your monitoring. Many tourism operators neglect to mention their good work or believe that consumers do not notice. Not every traveler will be interested in your green practices, but for others, it could be the deciding factor in placing a reservation.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.
Match products with the markets identified in a marketing analysis
As you build your operating practices, consider how you will measure the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives.
Product - Market Match
Looking at all the possible products you can offer gives you a better chance of matching these products with the markets identified in the market analysis. One of the most important steps in the marketing plan is the product - market match, a marketing process that matches the possible products you can sell to the market segments most likely to purchase them. For an example of a successful product - market match, watch the video "Marketing to Photographers" at the end of this chapter.
In your strategic plan you identified the products you are capable of offering to the traveling public. You also identified the market segments you would like to target. Now you bring this information into your marketing plan to find the best matches between your capabilities and your prospective customers. If your research indicates that most tourists coming to your area are couples looking for a relaxing weekend retreat, you would not want to offer a weeklong tour filled with scheduled activities. Instead you would focus your efforts on weekend packages that might include fine dining, bird-watching, and sampling homemade jams from local farmers at afternoon tea. Or you might have an abundance of bird life but no accommodations for large groups. This could mean you develop a product for one-day bird-watching trips or multiday trips with stays at small inns or bed and breakfasts. An example of a product - market match is shown in figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2 Product - market match.
Based on information from Canadian Tourism Commission 2012
One product might appeal to more than one market segment, as you can see in figure 5.2. If you are short of money, you might decide to focus your marketing on the products that reach the most market segments. The two-day birding package in figure 5.2 would appeal to couples who want to relax, nature photographers, and casual bird-watchers. You could promote this product to three market segments in your early years and expand your marketing to the other product - market matches as your bank account increases.
By organizing your market segments and the products you are able to deliver into product - market matches, you can see what you can sell and to whom and the best marketing strategy for reaching your target market. Your marketing strategies and activities will likely be different for each market segment, although there is often overlap. Your market segments may also be other businesses, for example, companies offering tourism experiences to their employees for team building or as a reward. Market segments consisting of businesses require different marketing strategies; for example, you would only approach the organizer, instead of every person taking the tour. This can make marketing more cost effective, and for this reason, many tourism businesses find corporations, social clubs, and associations to be attractive market segments.
Sometimes people get confused while determining their product - market matches and label everyone as a potential customer. As described in the strategic planning process, you group customers into market segments so you can focus your business activities. This does not mean you will not be thrilled to see a customer from the other side of the globe if you are focused on school groups within a two-hour drive, but that person is the gravy, as opposed to the targeted market segments that form the meat and potatoes of your business. If you find you are getting a lot of clients from outside your targeted market segments, you might have overlooked a segment in your market analysis or are filling a travel need you were not aware of. In either case, revisit your product - market match to see whether you can include this new market in your plans.
To bring the concept of product - market match to life, take the Ecochallenge "What Kind of Traveler Are You?" The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) uses the explorers quotient (EQ) quiz to identify market segments. You, too, can take the quiz to determine how you would be classified. Think about what types of tourism experiences or products you prefer. The CTC uses the EQ quiz to match travelers' needs to the products Canadian tourism businesses offer. Once travelers have taken the quiz, they can follow links on the CTC website to products that might suit them. Although this is a highly sophisticated version of a product - market match, you should apply the same concept as you develop your marketing plan.
Learn more about Sustainable Tourism.