Metaverse and Touristology: Breaking the Space/Time prison!!!

The other day, I was walking, running, practicing a little bit of Yoga and Kung Jung Mu Sul with my son.
He said to me….
    -  Dad, the other day I was reading your post about Metaverse.
   - It was you? I replied making another homage to Joan Massanés Vilaplana
   - … Why do you make so much emphasis with Hybrid Experiences? Is not the Metaverse all about visiting other worlds? Why do think that Touristologists are the best candidates to create transformative and customized hybrid experiences in this new world?
My son always provides intelligent questions. He remembers me My Touristologists .
Let’s see, if I can provide a good answer to him and to you…

Metaverse will open the possibility to Humans to be more similar to a God. We can be a little bit out of SPACE/TIME prison.

In the Metaverse, we can share an experience with our friends, relatives, members of our community even if they are in a different SPACE/TIME. We can be Tourists in one Tourism Destination and the others can be around the world… 

So, we can break SPACE.

What about the TIME? We can share an experience and rewind it at any moment!

Of course, we won’t break the SPACE/TIME duality totally, but we can be close to it!

In Touristology, we also have interesting concepts/frameworks dealing with SPACE/TIME duality. For instance, we have Servuction (the great contribution to Touristology of Eglier  and Langeard!)
In Tourism (as in Health and Education) we have a very important difference with other sectors! The customer is an input in the process of Servuction while that input it doesn’t exist in production. So, we need the Tourist here and now! 

Do you see? SPACE/TIME duality again!
On the other hand, trying to seduce Tourists at the right moment at the right time is the origin of Yield Management. We can define Yield Management as a set of Strategies and Tactics aiming to achieve two objectives
1) To seduce Tourists to make a reservation “today” that we have a low occupancy.
2) To seduce Tourists to make a reservation when we have a low “booking pace”.
What do you think Touristologists, Generic or Specialized Segments in the Metaverse?
In these new hybrid worlds, we can apply one of our favorite Touristology’s principles. As we always say, in YOUR METAVERSE… First Specialized, then Generic! So, nothing wrong with MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) BUT… first try to build your SMO (Specialized Multiplayer Online) where the members of the community will be members of a Specialized Segment and it will be easier to create groups and seduce them to appear in a transformative and customized Hybrid Experience, at a specific SPACE/TIME, in our Tourism Destination/Enterprise.

Do you see, Touristologists? If somebody, ask you who is better prepared to deal with the Metaverse… just listen to your inner Touristology’s voice…
Who is better prepared/trained for the Metaverse than experts in the Science of Travel?
Who can better create, communicate, and commercialize, transformative and customized Hybrid Experiences for Tourists travelling in different worlds?
Who can better visualize and implement Strategies and Tactics related to Yield Management?

Touristologists!!!

 
Today, 30 years ago, I gave my first class in Tourism!

 
Now, it is a great moment to be a Touristologists builder!
Let’s build together the Metaverse world. Let’s create, communicate, and commercialize the best Tourism packages.
Let’s improve the professional and personal life of Tourists while improving profits and sustainability for Tourism Destinations and Enterprises.

Can you feel my energy? It’s the most powerful force of the Universe. It’s the force of a dream burning inside… Touristology’s dream!!!


 

Travel to improve your personal and professional life!

To me, the best Psychologist of the world is my wife! Then, you can pay attention to Maslow. He was the first to apply Psychology with the objective that individuals achieve their full potential. In our beloved sector, it was Chip Conley the first that take the ideas of Maslow and apply them to Hotels and Tourism. He loves to build communities between investors, employees, and Tourists. He loves to focus on value. He loves to create strong connections between the Tourism services and the internal motivation of Tourists. He describes this as “Identity Refreshment”. 

If your Tourists feel that your services share the same values, culture that they have, if your Tourists feel that they are a better version of themselves using your services... it will be easier to don’t mark down the price and to get direct reservations.

Chip Conley's ideas are focus on PEOPLE. It is segmentation based on Psychographics NOT demographics. Segmentation where the most important thing is to make the Tourists feel part of a community of similar/complementary people. Segmentation where the employees /collaborators are also members of the Segment/Community that will put all his/her passion in customizing the Servuction process in order that Tourists can cover their recognized needs AND ALSO the unrecognized ones! In a nutshell, Maslow/Chip Conley convey a very powerful idea…Tourists can improve their personal and professional life thanks to the transformation power of a trip!!! 

We use the ideas of Maslow/Chip Conley in OUR seminars, in-company training or star-ups meetings in order to define (or redefine!) their (OUR???) business model. They help us to define Tourism specialization focus on People where is easier to create GROUPS and manage the chain of value from the beginning to the end of the trip. 

Some people find difficulties to, clearly, see the difference between specialization focus on SERVICES and specialization focus on PEOPLE. Fear not! Let’s see if we can highlight, in a crystal clear way, these differences! Ready? Steady? Go!!! Segmentation focus on specialized people is the last tier of the following pyramid:

Where is easier to create GROUPS, where is easier to create activities and seduce the members of the Segment /Community to go there in a specific place, at a specific time, because doing these activities they can achieve, in a better way, using the transformation power of a trip, their desires, their dreams…both personal and professional.

Of course, it is our Touristology’s duty to be sure that the Specialized Segments that we choose are strongly connected with the values, culture, heritage of the Tourism Destination. Strongly connected with the necessities of local Tourism Enterprises AND NOT Tourism Enterprises and inhabitants looking for international opportunities!
Then, we have the second level of the pyramid where the specialization is based on typology of service: Cultural Tourism, Shopping, Religious Tourism...
We are talking about Segmentation focused on specialized SERVICES, where the most important thing is the typology of Tourism, and the Tourists are people that like this activity. BUT…Do we know the internal motivation to enjoy/choose this typology of Tourism? If you want to go deeper, here, we can see some examples about Religious Tourism, first talking about Segmentation focus on the Service and then a few examples of segmentation focused on PEOPLE.
This idea of prioritizing Specialized Segments focused on PEOPLE is strongly connected with the main objectives of YOUR Tourism Destination or Enterprise. It is very similar to one of the basics ideas in OUR science…  “First Specialized then Generic!”
- BUT...Jordi! Why is so important First specialized then generic?
Because in life and in Tourism Management we have two scarce resources... Time and Money and we have to prioritize in which activities we choose to use them!
If, as usual, we first focus on Generic /Mass Tourism (I repeat, NOTHING WRONG with it) we can easily seduce Tourists to appear in our destination or Tourism Enterprise BUT…
as the main driver of Tourist's motivation is the price you get this undesirable consequences:
1) Appears, what some call, "OverTourism”, that we prefer to call #LackOfTouristology. At the end of the day, ALL Tourists at the same place/time... inhabitants not happy with Tourism.
2) Appears and intermediary/Infomediary with economy of scales that only will be profitable if they send plenty of Tourists to YOUR Tourism destination or enterprise. As they provide the most important thing for this kind of Tourists… they control the chain of value and they will ask you to control your cost (Low salaries! Low Profit!). They will get most of the profit and none of the inconvenient of Tourism that we talked about in the previous point.
3) At any time, can appear a powerful competitor, mark down the price … wait until you have to disappear as a competitor and then, mark up the price.
If we focus our time and money in Generic Tourism…Will we have time and money for Specialized Tourism focused on PEOPLE? Will we have the knowledge, the skills, the international contacts…???
On the other hand, if we focus first on Specialized Tourism focused on PEOPLE we can get the following strong points:
A) It is easier to create GROUPS
B) It is easier to seduce them to go to a specific place in a specific time. As you know their internal motivations you can create specific activities focus on improving their personal or professional life that can become a magnet for this segment. As we explain here.
Having an international specialized community one specific day in our Tourism Enterprise / Destination, transform our place into a magnet for members of this community, member of the chain of value, competitors (that will become collaborators!), people/enterprises willing to sell, to hire, to do marketing research... to OUR community. We will become the “This Community” world congress!!!
I love my wife! I love Maslow and Chip Conley ideas!
But…above anything else…I love Touristology and Touristologists!!!

Circular Economy and New Technologies!

As you know, I love mixing together new technologies with our beloved sector. It is part of the consilience’s movement created by Edwards Wilson!
As we saw in this post, Circular Economy in Tourism will be more applicable and profitable if…
1) We manage the trip of OUR Tourists from the beginning to the end. Especially, if we are able to create, communicate and commercialize international routes!
2) We can create GROUPS or seduce our Tourists to create this groups using a little bit of Pro-AM.
You can use other people websites, Social Networking Sites, Mobile Apps… BUT if you want to provide support to YOUR Tourists… If you want to provide solutions to any potential problem… if you want to show to them opportunities to improve their personal and/or professional life in Real-Time in a profitable way…Well, you definitely have to use your own platform!
In which way, new technologies can help us to achieve these objectives in our own Platform (you can learn more about Tourism an Platform Economy here)

If you want to provide customize services to all YOUR Tourists in Real-Time with privacy. You have to use together the scalability that Artificial Intelligence provide and the power of choosing which information, in each transaction, the Tourist wish to share using Blockchain.

If you want to share the ownership of your Tourism Enterprise or Destination in order to share profits with your Tourists when they help your inhabitants or local enterprises, you have to use together, Blockchain to guaranty profit’s sharing and Augmented/Virtual Reality to visualize and experiment in a mobile app, website or game the transformation power of a trip.

 
If you want to allow customize micro-payments based on the desires and rights of the Tourist in Real-Time, you will need to use Artificial Intelligence to know the desires of the Tourists, inhabitants, and members of its community around the world based on their location, the people with them at any specific moment and their mood. You will also need the power of Blockchain to trust the identity and the rights of the members of your platform. 

Few days ago, Facebook (sorry, Meta!) provide good examples about how to apply the Metaverse in Tourism.

Enjoy and visualize the potential of creating hybrid experiences like for example the two friends, one in Japan, the other in USA sharing a concert and a Metaverse party!
OR two friends playing chess, one in New York and the other in Barcelona!

In the same way, a Tourist can create groups and seduce them to visit specific places in specific time OR enjoy a Hybrid Experience mixing Tourists, inhabitants in the Tourism Destination and members of their community around the world.

You can describe this Hybrid Experience, as a member of the Metaverse world or, if you prefer you can use the name of Ubiquitous computing as Mark Weiser said long time ago. 

I love Tourism! I love New Technologies! They allow you to create your own platform using the three technologies mixed in heaven (Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented/Virtual Reality) to provide Trustfulness, Scalability and Ubiquity… Welcome to #CircularTourism!!!

Applying Touristology’s principles to Circular Economy!

Circular Economy is the new, new thing! You can also apply it to Tourism, of course! BUT…In order to be successful in its implementation we have to remember a few Touristology’s principles!
1) We have to manage the whole trip of OUR Tourists, instead of waiting that, other enterprises bring THEIR Tourists.
2) We have to focus on specialized Segments inside of which we (or a member of this segment,  PRO-AM remember?) can create GROUPS.
If you get GROUPS willing to travel together or to share hybrid experiences mixing People in the Tourism Destination (Tourists, Locals) AND People (members of their community, co-workers, relatives…)  in the country of origin or any place around the globe, all of them can enjoy the transformation power of travel in different devices or inside a game.
THEN, you can select the typology of transport, to lead / influence over the management of sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products, the selection of sources of energy…
THEN, you can seduce YOUR Tourists to go to new places making something interesting for this specialized Segment in THIS specific place, seducing International members of its community and delivering specific activities to them. This meeting will be like a magnet for members of the community, providers of services related to their motivation, enterprises willing to hire them or do marketing research… We can create the “Mobile World Congress” of this community. Just change the word “Mobile” for the name of the Segment!
As Brian Chesky CEO of AirBnB say few days ago in an Interview “From sightseeing to people seen!” Highlighting, the importance of Human interactions over beautiful views or wonderful heritage.
This is the power of GROUPS. This is the power of Circular Economy in Tourism!
It could find ways to bring prosperity, jobs, people… life! In places with low economic development.
It could help enterprises NOT related to travel BUT related to the motivation of International Specialized segments to find new streams of revenues, to improve their exportations.

Do you want to learn how to define these specialized Segments?
Do you want to learn how to seduce them to visit the most needed places?
Do you want to learn how to create Hybrid Experiences and seduce them to participate here or in any place of the world?
Do you want to learn how to open new streams of revenues for your Tourism Destination?
I will be here, waiting for you!

Applying Touristology’s principles to the Metaverse’s world!

This summer, I have been reviewing ideas, startups, consultancy projects… related to the Metaverse. At the end of the day, to visit other worlds getting experiences and having opportunities to improve your professional/personal life is strongly connected to Touristology’s principles!
When Eric Peckham talks about Metaverse, He sees the merger between Social Media and Gaming. He also says that Multiverse could be a more appropriate word than Metaverse. Of course, enterprises will claim to be THE Metaverse, but as happens in Tourism Destinations, Hotels, Airlines Companies, Cruises companies… Tourists can have a different opinion and it is our job as Touristologists to try to seduce them!
If we go deeper (you know how much I love going deeper!), we can combine the Multiverse AND the real world so, we have the wonderful opportunity to build Hybrid Experiences where we can mix Tourists, Inhabitants, Local Enterprises with members of their community in any country around the world.

He also talks about how Fortnite in 2017 popularize MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online). In the same way, that in Tourism we have Mass Tourism and Specialized Tourism, in these new hybrid worlds we can apply one of our favorite Touristology’s principles. As we always say, in YOUR METAVERSE… First Specialized, then Generic! So, what about to try to build your SMO (Specialized Multiplayer Online) where the members of the community will be members of a Specialized Segment?
But Jordi… We are Touristologists! Fortnite is a GAME!
Listen to your inner Touristology's voice! Is it possible to mix/to find synergies between Games Sciences and Touristology? Of course! As a matter of fact, Touristology (and all Sciences) should be multidisciplinary. Who better than Edwars O. Wilson to share his vision of Consilience. The unity of knowledge.
The development of the Metaverse need the vision of scientists that know about games development, psychology of gamers... BUT also experts in the benefits of going to a different environment (change of perspectives, building professional/family teams, overcome fears, doubts or disabilities, to learn and practice your professional skills in an international environment…) and experts in the management of Tourism Enterprises/Destinations.
The development of the Metaverse is a great opportunity for building Games focused on collaboration instead of conflict.
Games focused on Tourists helping Local enterprises and earn a living doing it!
Games focused on building international communities improving their personal/professional life through International Routes or different Multiverses!
Games where Tourists will share experiences in Real-Time with members of their Specialized community in different countries around the world.  

We can lead the way to this new kind of games!

Together, experts in Games and Touristologists can visualize, create and animate new scenes. We will need “Scenes” develop for designers BUT ALSO real scenes based on where the Tourists’ camera is looking at. Creating Real-Time point cloud of the physical environment using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) captured by photogrammetry/photoscanning (a lot of photos turned into 3D models), LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging)…
Experts in Games and Touristologists can visualize, create and animate new characters, new skins. Characters develop as mesh and riggings BUT also scanning real Tourists/Inhabitants, members of their specialized community around the world.
Together, they can trigger events rooted in the Tourists’ space and context. Events based on “Anchors” 3D models that all the members of the community will see in the same position and place. Events that will generate a wave of events (the World Wide Wave!!!) that then can be processed (Stream Processing ) in order to provide solutions and opportunities to improve/transform the personal and professional life of the Tourists, members of his/her community around the world, Inhabitants and local Enterprises!

As Jamie Burke says here “I don’t think the metaverse is necessarily or inherently disruptive. I actually think that if approached in the right way can enhance existing businesses” For instance… #Tourism!!!
So, definitely, in the GDD (Game Design Document) you have to add some Touristologists to the team!!!

The Metaverse! New worlds to explore, to create, to develop!!! Interesting times in Touristology’s field. Interesting times to be a Touristologists AND fascinating times to be a Touristologists builder!!!

 

Sale&LeaseBack or …a little bit of Touristology!

If something the " small killing machine” has, clearly, revealed to everybody, it is the necessity to have a direct relationship with our customers. As we will see, in a moment, this necessity and the opportunities attached to it, can be multiplied by one thousand if we are able to create communities built on Specialized Segments where we can help them to help us creating GROUPS.
If you don’t have this direct relationship, you can have a profitable business. But it could be better!
For instance, we can talk about...

AC Hotels “using” Marriot
“Hotel owners pay Marriott a 4 percent royalty on revenue generated by loyalty members. Hotel owners are responsible for all the freebies that loyalty members are entitled to, including internet, snacks, and daily newspapers. Also: free breakfast, a perk that can be especially costly to owners because it can require them to hire more employees.”
or Selenta “using” Hyatt
or Sercotel “using” Choice Hotels
or any Hotel “using” Booking or a big Touroperator or… 

Thanks to these strategic alliance’s others bring THEIR Tourists to your place, you pay the commission and other benefits and the only thing that you have to worry is to provide your service in your lodging.
BUT…
 if Tourists don’t appear (we have to remember that Servuction is fundamental in our Science!) …are you able to find and implement alternative Business Models?
Otherwise, in order to survive, you have to close the business or find sources of finance.
Here we have some examples in Spain
1) Melia
2) NH
3) Selenta
4) H10
All of them are using Sale&LeaseBack formula
“sale and leaseback is the sale of a property to a third party who then leases the asset back to the seller. The seller will still use the property to operate its business and will benefit from an initial cash injection from the sale but will now be subject to rent payments and tenant responsibilities.”
“The main disadvantage of the sale and leaseback is that the seller may be giving up important assets. It also gives up flexibility on how the seller deals with and enjoys its property; any future changes are likely to be subject to having to obtain landlord consent (subject to the terms of the lease) and met with additional costs.”
BUT…If you have a direct relationship with your Specialized Segments, you can find new Business Models that can help you to avoid closing the business or to find new investors in a fast pace.
For instance… Making the most of Platform Economy creating your own platform oriented to Specialized Communities!

A) You can sell anything related to “this” trip
B) You can sell anything related to any trip. You can also create International Routes.
C) You can sell anything related to this specialized segment

You can sell Hybrid Experiences.

You can give to them the possibility to travel and earn money embracing the Bleisure tendency using the three technologies mixed in heaven 

Augmented/Virtual Reality providing Ubiquity, Artificial Intelligence providing Scalability and Blockchain providing Trustfulness…

By the way, doing these kind of activities you can have access to OTHER sources of finance that, nowadays, are wishing to invest into projects in exchange to the possibility of applying new technologies in REAL scenarios, as OYO is trying to do with Microsoft!

-     BUT.. Jordi, to define these segments, to do all the planification and then, the right implementation it is a difficult task.
-    OF COURSE! For that reason, If you have any doubt… don’t ask me! Ask any of my Touristologists, they are the best minds working in the best sector ever!!!

Why do we need Touristology?

Listening to the news, reading articles, talking with … in the last years something appears over and over. It seems the “Zeitgeist” of our time! 

Plenty of people talking about Tourism without neither the knowledge nor real management experience in our beloved sector. Doing criticism to Tourism. Talking about new definitions of Tourism just to show their lack of knowledge of it. Presenting problems without proposing a solution. Talking about the necessity to choose between Tourism and other sectors, showing their lack of vision of Tourism as a great generator of powerful synergies with other sectors (culture, commerce, any industry with desire to export…). For that reason, we need Touristology and Touristologists!!!

Touristology is the science that study and provide a framework aimed to show how to travel can improve /transform the professional and personal life of Tourists, while take care of culture and create richness and employment for Tourists Destinations.

Can Tourists go to a Tourism Destination/Enterprise just for relax? Of course! 

But…

1) It is our Touristology’s duty to show to them how a trip can improve their personal and/or professional life.

2) It is our Touristology’s duty to be sure that Tourism Destinations get the more convenient Tourists in order to take care of their culture and heritage and get profitable and sustainable enterprises.

Everybody has the right to travel, of course! But also, Tourism Destinations and Enterprises have the right to protect their profitability, protect their singularity now and for future generations and be sure, their inhabitants enjoy the benefits of having Tourists from around the world.

In order to seduce Tourists, improve their professional and/or personal life and, at the same time , improve the profitability and sustainability of a Tourism Destination /Enterprise, we have to pay attention to an important rule in Touristology…

First specialized, then generic.

Yes, you can be successful focusing on Generic (or mass) Tourism where the most important thing for the Tourists is the price and where economies of scale is the driver for profitability. But usually, big intermediaries will control de chain of value and, as they need as many Tourists as possible, they will send thousands of Tourists at the same time and place. Some people define this as OverTourism. We prefer to define it as #LackOfTouristology. 

- Then, you can apply specialization! Some experts will say.

But, you offer a crowed space of Tourists brought here for big intermediaries that charge big commissions getting almost all the benefits and none of the negative consequences (carrying capacity, unhappy locals, low salaries, low profits…)

What about the other way around! 

First focus on Specialized Tourism where the most important thing for the Tourists is the potential transformation of their personal and/or professional life!!! And where Community building is the driver for profitability. 

- Then, you can try to seduce some generic Tourists! Touristology’s voice is telling to us!

I love Touristology’s games! What about you?

We can represent this idea with this picture based on Robert Frost’s poem…

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

- But Jordi! Why can travelling improve/transform personal and professional life of the Tourists?

- Let’s review some travel's benefits

Before, during and after a trip you can change your perspectives. You can visualize and experiment with locals and other Tourists different ways to feel/live the same situation. You can get an international vision. You can see your reality from other point of view, because you are far away from your usual environment.

Before, during and after a trip you benefit of the natural tendency of human beings to crow together in unknow places, which it is perfect to improve relationships, to create or enforce a team, to start up the foundations of a community… Then, you can use the power of this community in the Platform Economy that we are living nowadays. This community can create groups and to them you can offer customize products and services from any Enterprise and/or any Tourism Destination around the world interested in seducing an international community of specialized Tourists and locals. You can also create, communicate and commercialize international routes for your community. You can also help them to earn a living travelling the world and becoming the most intelligent sensor. IoT? Internet of Tourists!!!

Do you see? Travel can transform/improve personal and professional lives! 

Lives of the Tourists

Lives of enterprises (related or not to Tourism) in the Tourism destination

Lives of the members of Specialized Communities enjoying Hybrid Experiences in any place in the world!

I love my job! I’m a Touristologist builder! Michelangelo has his Sistine Chapel Ceiling; Leonardo has his Giaconda. I have my Touristologists!

Can you feel my energy? It’s the most powerful force of the Universe. It’s the force of a dream burning inside… Touristology’s dream!!!