Management

 

What Does a Tourism Manager Do?

A tourism manager, also referred to as a tourism marketing manager, is in charge of procuring sales of tourist packages as well as arranging tour packages for clients. The role of a tourism manager is very fluid and capitalizes on the talents of the individual professional. Tourism and hospitality tend to take a hit during economic recessions, so it is important that a tourism professional develop outstanding sales skills to entice people to pay money for exciting vacations around the world.

The marketing aspect of tourism jobs involves creating innovative programs that attract visitors to a new locale. Marketing programs could include developing media content on a website which highlights the advantages of a specific tourist attraction. Bolstering local convention centers and marketing their benefits to prospective trade conventions, shows, and conferences could also be a another development program for which a tourism manager is responsible.

One very important aspect of a tourism manager's job is to keep track of metrics and analytics which clearly show the state of tourism agency's sales and marketing efforts. Monitoring how many tourists visited an attraction, how many used the tourism agency's services within a specific period of time, and how much money these clients spent are all part of the records that the tourism manager keeps. This analytical data can be used to make projections on future marketing programs and to direct changes on how best to approach prospective clients and tourists.

Advertising efforts may also be under the purview of the tourism manager. Writing search engine advertisements is often an effective way for a tourism management office to make tourists aware of its tourist packages and services. Other online advertisement collateral may include banner ads, video ads which feature tourist attractions and activities, and attractive copy which hooks customers with descriptions of exotic locations and interesting excursions.

Communication skills are vital for a tourism manager. Tourism managers use the art of persuasion to secure tourists for various vacation packages. They must also know how to appeal to business leaders and owners who rely on tourism to increase their profits and keep their stores or services running. Communication between these different factions requires grace, openness, and a friendly disposition, no matter the circumstances.

As far as education is concerned, most positions will expect an applicant to have at least a high school degree. Professionals with a bachelor's degree, especially one in tourism and hospitality or a related field, are highly favored. These tourism professionals are more likely to secure tourism jobs at the managerial and executive level.

 

Silencing Environmental Criticism

The forcefully expressed views of environmental scientist Dr. Mike Joy are obviously beginning to influence public perceptions about the hollowness of our tourism advertising. Why else would the political, corporate and the conservative media be moving in unison like a pack of hungry wolves to try to silence him and by extension others who are prepared to whistle-blow the hypocrisy that stands for our tourism industry PR.

Perhaps it’s the timing of Joy’s questioning the political and commercial deceit of the 100% Pure NZ campaign that Tourism NZ is piggy-backing off the Hobbit release with its $10 million campaign “100 per cent Middle-earth, 100 per cent Pure New Zealand”. Perhaps it’s the temerity of Joy’s questioning no less than the Prime Minister and Minster of Tourism, the apparently unchallengeable John Key to face up to the vivid contradictions that exist between his economic and environmental portfolios. Perhaps it’s the fact that Joy’s research points to our largest primary industry (and industrial lobbyists) – dairy farming – as the main reason behind the last decade’s dramatic collapse of our fresh water ecosystems.

Whatever the reason, there seems no doubt that there is a concerted campaign to discredit Dr. Joy that holds just short of accusing him of treason. Yet his critics have consistently failed to address the actual scientific findings upon which his opinions and statements are based. The issue doesn’t seem to be whether he is right or accurate, but whether he is unpatriotic, disloyal, selfish or even mentally unbalanced. Yet none of this criticism actually examines the facts that underpin Joy’s public utterances.

Those who are interested in reading these facts rather than ignoring them can find them in Dr. Joy’s excellent article “Watering Down the Image” published in the Ecotourism Guidebook, Organic Explorer NZ last year. There, we find (without having to wade through pages of statistical analysis) that in almost every measure the state of our environmental diversity is indeed, catastrophic.

It may be that one of the main reasons for the current attempt to discredit Mike Joy, is that he places the blame for this predation of our environment squarely on the politicians and their cosy relationship with the dairy farming industry. He points out, for instance, that the escalating degradation of our lakes and rivers coincides precisely with the move towards intensive dairying that has taken place over the last 20 years.

Dr. Joy is to be commended for his civic courage in confronting such entrenched and powerful political and corporate interests, instead of being vilified as a threat to our tourism industry. We live in an electronic age. The news that New Zealand’s lakes and rivers are significantly polluted cannot be contained through repressive political pressure on hard-working and conscientious researchers. Indeed, coupled with the country’s abysmal environmental record in other areas it is clear that the environmental genie is already out of the bottle.

Given its mute responses to this widespread environmental deterioration, it’s hard not to conclude that the Government doesn’t actually value our tourism industry and the revenue that it generates (currently contributing NZ$23.4 billion a year to New Zealand’s economy and employing, directly and indirectly, almost 1 in 10 New Zealanders). This is an important industry to protect – but not by covering up rather than cleaning up the threats to its long-term survival. Our current economic development policies are creating, rather than solving our tourism problems. The long-term economic health of our important tourism industry can be achieved only by taking seriously the views and findings of researchers like Mike Joy and implementing new and environmentally sustainable policies.

5 Things to know about the Chinese Market for the Small to Medium size tourism business

For the last two years, Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has been leading the parade celebrating the emerging markets for tourism businesses.  Of these new markets, the spotlight is brightly shining on the Chinese traveller.

At numerous conferences and AGMs, a speaker will tell us what we need to do to prepare – including cooking Congee, preparing special teas, creating a Chinese website and being active on the Chinese social network, Weibo.  They tell us that without creating a suitable environment for Chinese tourists to book and experience New Zealand, we’ll miss out on the “golden goose of tourism”.

Heck just today they are proclaiming that the Chinese visitor numbers just topped the US numbers but what does it really mean for your business?

Here are the top five things we believe you need to know about the Chinese Market:

1.       The Numbers

Currently the average stay for the Chinese visitor is three days. These visits are usually shopping focussed bus tours which are combined with a trip to Australia.  So although their arrival numbers may be growing rapidly – they are short stays that often only visit Auckland and maybe Rotorua.

TNZ’s goal is to increase the average length of stay to 8 days in the next 3 years.

Currently there are 500 top end FIT Chinese visitors to New Zealand per year.

2.    The Agents

The New Zealand and Chinese governments have created what is called the “Approved Destination Status” (ADS) which is a code of conduct.  Any inbound agent that would like to work with the Chinese visitor must apply and be approved. Currently, there are 27 ADS inbound agents – the list is available on http://www.tourismnewzealand.com.

One of your best chances to gain business through the Chinese market is to work with one of these accredited agents.

3.     The Potential

I don’t think anyone can doubt the future potential of the Chinese market. The size and the great wealth found in this market means that in time the New Zealand tourism industry in general will benefit greatly from the Chinese visitor.

4.     The Preparation

The Chinese market has unique needs, so preparation is necessary. Having the appropriate food, especially breakfast is important. We all like to have something familiar for breakfast – after all!  Learning correct greetings and etiquette of gift giving, the concept of Guan Xi, having slippers in the room, providing Union Pay credit card facilities and other services are necessary….in time.

5.     The Last Point

It will be 3-5 years before the FIT Chinese market begins to make a difference that will felt by most owner operated tourism operators in New Zealand.   For today, concentrate on giving the best customer experience possible to your current market, keep the testimonials flowing and enjoy sharing your unique tourism experience with each and every customer.  Keep reading and learning so you can be ready when the time comes to host the Chinese traveller.

The Cruise Ship Market –  Beyond the Negativity

In recent years the cruise ship market visiting New Zealand has developed considerably with larger numbers of ships and visitors than ever before choosing to visit our shores in their floating hotel.

The recession is one reason this has come about –  with the combination of competitive deals on offer by the cruise ship companies and the attraction of having all meals included it makes for an easy and more affordable holiday. It’s a trend happening worldwide that we need to work with and not fight against.

The coach tour market in particular has been significantly affected with large downturns in their bookings, which in turn impacts on tourism businesses that have traditionally worked hard to attract bookings from this market and have built strong relationships with drivers and guides on their route. While accommodation providers and tourism activities not based near a cruise ship port miss out on this market altogether.

But beyond the negative impact of this shift in how tourists visit New Zealand, what are the positives for our industry and what strategies can we use for this new era for tourism?

• Areas with port facilities have to improve their infrastructure and services around cruise ship visits to ensure visits run smoothly – not only is it the physical ports that may need upgrading but also transport while visitors are ashore, booking offices to help them plan a day on land, plus food and hospitality options that are affordable with a range of choices on offer. Food stalls and markets set up just for the duration of the ship visit are a good example of this. Out of town vendors can plan to come to these markets to take advantage of these visits. You personally may not have overall control over these things but you can help to drive your local council and business associations to be creative and plan for these things.
• Tourism operators should be thinking about how they can offer special events or attractions based on their core activity to suit cruise ship passengers – can they offer day trips with transport included to get the ship visitors to them? Or can they bring their attraction to the cruise ship visitors? For example a cultural attraction based in Rotorua may plan to offer a “mobile” cultural show in Tauranga while ships are in port.
• Operators should aim to work with the New Zealand based inbound tour companies that have been contracted for planning shore excursions – they will want to pre-book the ship passengers on tours and so will be keen for options available that work in well with the timing of ship visits
• For those businesses that simply don’t have a product to get bookings from cruise ship visitors will need to become even more effective at attracting the FIT market. Coach tours may no longer bring those big numbers to your door each week so your marketing strategy needs to include attracting the individual travellers via a variety of mediums. Don’t give up on those coach tour companies though, continue your relationship with them – they will be strategising ways to get some of their market share back so you need to hang in there with them.
• Hotels should be looking at how they price their inhouse hospitality options – travellers may be attracted by cheap room rates but don’t eye gauge them with exorbitant food and beverage bills, they can’t help but compare this to a cruise ship package…

A lot of cruise ship passengers are often not seasoned travellers – they have chosen a cruise ship package because it’s an easy way to travel and have a holiday – but getting a positive taste of New Zealand while in port will no doubt attract a certain percentage of them to plan a trip back on land rather than just skirting the coastline…