Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism.
It may be old age but, at the dawn of a new winter season (and yes, we are still attached to our first loves), I want to write a mantra for positive and innovative tourism. Not much, but just a routine that we could remember and that would help us remember why we fell into this demanding and exciting profession.
Something not complicated that would just go back to the basics. It would start like this:
1. WHO IS THE BOSS? WELL, IT’S THE CUSTOMER
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
We cannot forget that without customers, without tourists, there is no work, no tourism. So, we put the customer back at the center of our concerns and we do everything to ensure that they experience the destination as best as possible. Maybe he will even live an unforgettable experience, make souvenirs and the Holy Grail of Tourism…may his stay transform him…
2. The journey begins when you close the door to your home
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
The Japanese who come to France talk about the trip of a lifetime. Whether it is a long or a short stay, a trip requires preparations, planning, imagining, idealizing. It also brings its share of anxiety and stress. It is also the role of the host to reassure his client. Already to welcome him. Then to guide him with benevolence so that he realizes himself in his tourist experience.
3. What if we made it easier to reduce the carbon impact of our visitors?
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
The year 2020 must serve as a cornerstone. It is time to integrate environmental principles into the very heart of your strategy. Your promotion, your events, your territorial activity, how to make it all positive? Compensate, recreate, save, minimize, develop good practices, the methods are multiple and each case will be unique, it is up to you to place preservation at the heart of the reflection in the design of your activity.
4. International tourism requires the destination to speak foreign languages
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
There’s no point in looking for Chinese people if you don’t put in place a foreign language practice policy with your services but also with your local players. I’ll give you a tip, English is spoken by 1.132 billion speakers in the world. French meanwhile is only the sixth language spoken in the world with just over 275 million speakers. Even if it’s the official Olympic language, it still doesn’t matter.
5. The customer is lost, it’s up to us to reassure him
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
Just because you know every path in your country (I’ll let you find the reference…) doesn’t mean that your visitors have the same keen sense of direction.
He needs you, your informed advice to find his way, to know a restaurant, to know what to do when it rains, to know your daily life better in fact. Because he will often tell you, for him, you live in paradise. It’s up to you to make him discover it with your « local » eye.
6. An advertisement in the local press does not make you the new Dubai
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
Last-minute coverage in the local daily newspaper, switch to TF1 weather forecast, 30 seconds on BFM during school holidays, all the occasions are good to make you the new star of tourist destinations, finally according to them.
Do not dream, investing in promotion only works when you have something to sell. We only advertise to convert, not to have fun. And even then, remember that Booking.com’s annual budget is $800 million.
7. WHAT IF WE OPEN ALL YEAR?
Manifesto for positive and innovative tourism
The seasons are has-been. There is so much to see and do in all seasons. We don’t hibernate in spring or autumn, so take advantage of it to continue to amaze young and old. Of course, the economy is not the same, but a customer who comes out of season (a secondary resident, just in case) can also be a loyal customer who wants to experience his destination differently. Urban tourism does not stop on August 31 or April 30. Times change, we have to move with the times.
The Alps agency accompanies throughout the year a good number of territories in their strategies or their reflections that make the difference. Do you want to know our references? Contact us
You wish to organize a conference on this theme, contact us too, we will analyze your needs together.
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This article was written by François Veauleger
