Touristology challenging common sense: First international then local.

Every time I go to a tourist destination and present my ideas I know that, at the end of the seminar, someone will ask at least one of three common-sense questions:

1) “Why do I have to begin with specialized tourism? I want to bring most tourists as possible here then it will be easy to specialize”

2) “Why do I have to create and International route? I want the tourists stay here”

3) “Wouldn’t it be easy if first we focus on local tourism and then pass to international tourism?” 

I love common sense and I strongly believe that common sense is the less common of the senses! But sometimes sciences are built up challenging common sense. To name few:

Quantum Mechanics: Is it light a wave or a particle? It isn’t possible to be both!

 Cosmology: The earth is in the center of our galaxy. Isn’t it so clear that is the sun moving around us?!?

Medicine: Wasn’t it clear that cholera bacterium transmit by air never by water? Don’t miss the book “The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson” http://www.theghostmap.com/ to learn a little bit more about that and go deeper in Consilience. By the way, more about Touristology and Consilience here.

We discuss about first specialized then mass tourism and the reasons and benefits of creating international routes here. We even see how to integrate international routes in a “Recipe for Success” in another post.

For that reason now it’s time to deal with the third one…  “Wouldn’t it be easy if first we focus on local tourism and then pass to international tourism?” 

Well it makes sense begin with the easy thing and then follow with the difficult thing. Doesn’t it? Yes! But we have to remember that the easy thing have to be representative of the science that we are talking about. Touristology is a science related to Tourists travelling/moving from a place to another for travel reasons or for necessities that they can better achieve through a travel: Getting and keeping international contacts; healing wounds (both physical or psychological); learning new things (specially multidisciplinary ones); giving a bust to their creativity; improving relationships (organization team building, couple, grandparents-grandson, single parents…). Remember a “Recipe for Success” that we talked above!

In order to be a Touristologist you have to know what is going on around the world, know the necessities of Tourists (both mass and specialized) when they travel or better serve through a travel, then you study a destination, a hotel, a company (related to tourism or not) and make the link between demand a supply. Does 1,2,3 Theory ring a bell to you?

Do you really think that doing local things you will learn the experience, get the contacts, the ability… to deal with international tourism?

When new doctors want to become a surgeon they must practice with real bodies, nor with a textbook, neither with a small worm. If you want to learn Touristology you have to practice in the big league of International Tourism.

You don’t learn to create bridges building towers. A bridge is a perfect example of 1,2,3 theory, the connection between demand and supply through a chain of value which allows you to get the trust of the customer and  add value providing services which satisfy customer’s needs.

Stop pretending that you are a Super 2 (unless you are) creating more and more infrastructures without having customers in mind, and start building your own 1,2,3. Start thinking as a Touristologist does!

 

Apart from that, if you first deal with international tourism you will create something far more interesting for the local inhabitants: international contacts, cultural interchange, new visions, new perspectives… At the end of the day, that's what tourism is all about, isn't it?

So, First specialized THEN generic or mass tourism; First international THEN local…THEN international routes!!! It’s a better approach to generate value and to avoid price being the most important thing when the tourist thinks about your destination!

In this way you will achieve something very important for the tourist destination and for the future of our science…You will have YOUR Touristologists running the show, getting profits, earning a higher salary. You will have a global presence because everybody will know that YOU create, communicate and commercialize these international routes. In this way YOU will be a world leader. Remember, in order to be competitive you have to play internationally.

Then with REAL Touristologist and with international presence YOU will have a REAL multiplier effect within the local economy and contribute to the sustainability of YOUR tourism sector hereby. Because YOU will have the knowledge, the ability, the contacts to do that and much more… YOU will become a REAL Touristologist!

I love Touristology! It is not an easy thing but it’s definitely worth!!!!