7 Growth industries characteristics, part 3: Requirements

Sweden is becoming more and more unknown among foreigners, accordning to a recently published report by The Swedish Institute. “The reason for this is that the choice of countries being investigated changed compared to previous years” says Olle Wästberg, SI Director-General. “The other reason is that the competition has become tougher as a result of globalization.”

Well, there´s a shortcut to change peoples opinion about Sweden: Invite them to see for themselves. Sweden have thousands of tourism related entities, with approximately 160,000 employees all together who would be excellent hosts to guests from abroad. If only the potential guests knew, for example, where to make a mid-sweden guest house reservation, understand what´s on a swedish restaurant menu or book a swedish train ticket from home. None of it is easy today.

Which lead me to part three in our series of  “7 growth industries characteristics” – the requirements for operating on the international arena of tourism & travel.

The tourism industry has an advantage compared to other businesses: There is already an existing worldwide network of distributors eager to find new destinations for their customers. You just have to meet the requirements to be part of the game. So what are they?

1. A sales manual.

A description of the destination, not only your own business or the closest neighbourhood. Tourism is a question of cooperation. We move consumption between places. So you must be able to give sales support to your distributors on the places and experiences you offer.  A friend of mine, Neil Rogers, has put together a list of what should be included:

• Written materials that bring itineraries to life and make them sound appealing in comparison with product from other companies and destinations.  It is necessary to deliver information in well written English and other languages if the size of a particular market warrants it.
• Detailed hotel descriptions and amenity information such as bed configuration, physical activites bathroom and toilet facilities, meal times, type of menus etc.
• Information on cultural interaction as most trips are a combination of cultural and physical activities.
• Quality assurance (testimonials from clients and travel companies) and any quality schemes you are part of.
• Level of excursion, activity or tour difficulty, average distances walked, type of terrain with trail maps and destination relevant maps to give context to the itinerary.
• Whether your company and those you work with are licensed to operate and if your company carries adequate insurance for injury, accident and liability.
• Do your vehicles (land and water) have adequate safety equipment such as seat belts, fire extinguishers, emergency medical kits and are your driver or guides trained in case of medical emergencies. 

When you approach international tour operators they will most probably ask for this information. If you´ve got your ducks in a row, you´re in. If not, you´ll have to do the homework.

2. Tour Packages

 Make the experiences you offer saleable. A tour starts at the travellers home. Not yours. This opens for unlimited marketing opportunities, before, under and after the actual journeys.  Say, an average american tourist, first time in Sweden, will spend a week or two in “Scandinavia”. If you´re lucky this means Sweden. Then they´d like to see the archipelago, buy some crystal in Småland, see the midnight sun and go shopping before taking off to Alesund in Norway. Leaves 2 nights to your business. Where do you fit in?

Cooperation is the key word. When you put together an attractive tour package, look for distributors that already have your potential guests in their customer database.  Make it easier to contract you by offering a study tour or pioneer trips.

3. A Price list

See my posting on part 2, Pricing. This includes the supplements of additional services to make the whole travel solution workable. Negotiating reasonable rates with your partners/suppliers to make the tour saleable to your target group is crucial for your success. Easy said. And quite easy done.

Curt Landin

PS. Don´t forget there are high-end clients as well as budget travellers. Just to mention, Urban Nomads mongolian tour starts at USD 2 millions per person…