Are you in a winning tourism team

Michael Moore, the famous American author, once asked his (American) readers: “So you think you´re clever? OK, who´s the president in Mexico? See… Most people in other countries knows who´s leading the country next to them”.  A quick glance at the Swedish incoming tourism market shows that, with a few exceptions, everybody´s basically promoting the same recipe: a dash of Stockholm, sweetened by an archipelago cruise, some crystal glass shopping in Småland and possibly spiced up by a night at the Ice Hotel winter time.

If you´re a standard tour operator or travel agent that´s fine with me. They are great first time in Sweden-experiences. But if you´d like to offer outstanding tours and this is what you suggest to your clients, I would say you´re on the wrong track.

Creating outstanding tours in Sweden is simply a question of cooperation but, honestly, how well do you really know those who are taking care of your clients in Sweden? And why would you cooperate more with them than just buying the ordinary tours?

Well, 1 + 1 = 3. Two approach angles are better than one. You complement each other, which improves your chances to close the deal with your customers and you get better sales results. When you get to know someone you also support each others in times of trouble and share the joy in happy days. You get inspiration, have fun at work and, more importantly, you´ll learn a lot, which improves your competence and sales ability. Your customers get a better service and quality, you get more customers, more money and hopefully a better life.

From my experience, there are a number of distinctions for non-functional teams:

• Watched communication
  If you speak up about something, you´re quickly criticized
• A lack in disagreement
  Actually, a degree of disagreement is good for business. In a team it must be allowed to express different opinions. Winning teams can handle it. Losers can not.
• Unwillingness to share information
  You keep some “secrets” to yourself. It might be good to you, but not to the team. And in the long run, you´ll most often end up being dumped. Tourism is teamwork.
• Low level of trust
  In tourism you can´t control everything. You have to rely on others. Double checking details is good, but if done repeatedly the wrong way you might rub a few feathers. Trust me…

So, what´s the characteristics of a winning team? I would say there are a number of trails leading to the road of success:

• A common vision and goal
  Do you and your Swedish supplier see the same picture of the future? Where are you heading within a couple of years?
• An identity as a group
  Are you talking about “we” and “them” or are you and your suppliers the same “we” ? Which one? Are you included in their “we” or is there a gap in between?
• Each member has a clear role within the group
  Do the people at your suppliers company understand what you´re expecting from them and do they realize the importance of their contribution to your tours?
• Clear and obvious “game rules” (routines, responsibilities, behavior)
  Tourism is a chain of services provided by a number of people at the same time it´s consumed by the guests in a series of moments of thruth. Successful tourism companies delivers. What they promised. Consequently, everyone involved must know exactly what to do, how and when. Do you?
• A high degree of motivation
  Tourism is about exploring and experiencing. You´re actually selling something that doesn´t exist (yet). It´s something that will be produced later, upon arrival of the guests. Thus, the staff involved has to be engaged and motivated to convey a sense of feelings and emotions for the destination or program you´re promoting.

The swedish tourism entrepreneurs I´ve met are a bunch of nice chaps, so why don´t you give a few of them a call just to get to know each other. It´ll boost your business and you´ll get a new friend or two.

/ Curt Landin