Stop looking for the key to success in the wrong place.

A Touristologist on holiday ? No way! Like a cinema director going to the movies, like a magician enjoying some magic trick… you can’t stop thinking, looking for the good moves, detecting the bad ones… talking about the bad… time flies but one usual mistake repeats over and over. 

Some people working in the field of tourism seem to have made a promise that they never would lock for a new international customer. They patiently would wait until someone brings the tourists to them, then they would offer a good service and everything would be great! So, they focus on the service that they have to provide and expend all their budget improving their installations (a new SPA, a covered swimming pool,…) and let communication and commercialization in the savvy hands of big intermediaries, big search engines, big social networking sites or the new group buying and flash sales sites.

 It doesn’t matter if year after year, they see the same results… less price, less margin, higher dependency on others to listen/talk/sell to their customer. It doesn’t matter if they get customers basically focused on the price… They are stuck in the idea that others have to bring the tourist. 

They are looking for the key of success where they are used… I’m sure you know the story about a man who is searching for his car keys under a streetlight (paraphrasing… a hotelier or tourist destination relying on mass tourism). A Touristologist happens along, and after appraising the situation, asks the man where he had last seen the keys. The man points toward a dark alley. Then why aren't you looking over there?" asks the exasperated Touristologist. The man calmly replies, "Because the light is better over here." 

I strongly recommend that you developed your own chains of value aiming to different segments from different nationalities. I strongly recommend that you help incoming local travel agencies OR local inhabitants to do this task for you. To me, this will be much better than to pay high fees to external intermediaries which will transform YOUR customers into THEIRS!!!

Don’t worry Touristologists sooner or later this will change, the market will realize that it is necessary to have experts in detecting new segments around the world, in adding value through a clear identification about what special needs tourists have while travelling and what they can get through travelling , in designing the service (servuction remember?) not only in the tourist destination but also before, during and after the trip. Those days are closer and closer and you will be the fundamental drivers of change of the tourism sector...meanwhile…. 

SMILE and KEEP STUDYING, KEEP WORKING, KEEP BELIEVING!!!! 

Just remember “The hardest thing you can do is smile when you are ill, in pain, or depressed. But this no-cost remedy is a necessary first half-step if you are to start on the road to recovery”. Allen Klein