Generating Solutions: Tourism’s Gift to the Business Community
December 2002
The end of a year is often a good time to reflect and to think about not only what we have received as an industry but also what we as an industry have given the world. Often this giving is stated in economic terms, that is to say, how much travel and tourism contribute to a locale’s economy, or its impact on local businesses. The travel/tourism industries provide communities with much more than profits and jobs. The travel/tourism industries help in numerous other ways to make the world a better place. For example, these industries create a great deal of joy in the word, add to the world’s beauty, underpin cultural events, and support the environment and conservation. One of the gifts of the tourism and travel industry to business is a flexible business model. Because it would not be unfair to classify tourism as an “encounter with the other” a review of some of the best principles of a good tourism business model is a gift not only to the world of commerce but also to us. Listed below are some of the basic assumptions behind a good business model. It is always a good idea to measure your own locale against these assumptions, and then make sure that others in your community understand how these principles may be t adapted to their businesses. Travel and tourism are about sharing with others and when we help the entire business community to prosper, our industry also helps itself. Here are some of the principles of the travel and tourism business paradigm that we can share with others in the world of commerce.
- The travel and tourism industries recognize that we live in an unstable world. To be part of travel and tourism is understand that change is a constant. Nothing in travel and tourism is ever permanent and yesterday’s paradigm is tomorrow’s bankruptcy. Travel and tourism professionals can teach other business professionals how to recognize change, classify it, and harness the power of change. Each day travel and tourism professionals face a whole not only a whole new host of problems, but different customers who come from many different places. The ability to recognize change and react to it is one of the foundations of a travel professional’s skills.
- Travel and tourism professionals have come to understand that an analysis of the problem does not mean that there is necessarily a solution to the problem. All too often in travel and tourism we recognize problems that are not solvable. Because the industry is composed of multi-components often no one person/business entity can exert control over the entire industry. This is an industry that has taught the business world to break problems into units and then to solve those parts that are solvable. When business tries to solve everything, often frustration and despair set in. Travel and tourism professionals have come to understand that at times there are no easy or current solutions. In those cases business often the best thing to do is to provide the good empathetic customer service possible. The best solution does not mean that it will solve the entire problem, rather it is the best solution affordable at any one given time.
- Travel and tourism professionals utilize multiple business paradigms. If you are a travel/tourism professional you deal with a constant flow of new people and ideas. Use this ever-changing world to develop flexible business models. The travel/tourism’s gift to the world of business is the lesson that there is no one right way to view a problem. Be flexible and develop multiple formulas for problem solving.
- Often the solution is in the obvious. One of the great gifts of the travel/tourism industry is that it lives in a two dimensional world. The two dimensions of the travel/tourism industry are its ability to see the broad picture and at the same time concentrate on detail. At times the solution is so obvious that we simply fail to see it. The best way to see the obvious is to concentrate on good customer service. Develop a “can do” attitude rather than a “sorry, cannot do it” attitude. Once it is clear that “cannot do” is not an acceptable solution, new and innovative full or partial solutions begin to become obvious. Never forget that half a partial solution is better than no solution at all.
- Tourism has taught business to seek preemptive problem solving. One of the keys to a successful travel and tourism industry is to seek out problems before they overwhelm the industry. One of the keys to a successful travel/tourism industry is to make small changes as needed. By constantly modifying the product travel and tourism professionals have learned that small changes can have over a long period of time a major cumulative impact.
- Travel and tourism professionals have learned that they solve problems best when they stay focused on the solution. To accomplish this goal the industry has learned to: state the problem in the clearest and most precise manner possible. Talk about the solution rather than the problem, and develop teamwork by reminding employees that everyone has a stake in a successful outcome. By looking at what solutions are contained within the problem, and by realizing that not every problem has a complete solution, travel and tourism professionals have created a solution generating model not only for their industries but for many other industries as well.
