Post on 24-Feb-2016
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SAMOA FOR REAL Industry Workshop, August 9th, 2013
Why are we here?
• To work together with existing institutions and agencies to:
– Generate more benefit to Samoa and our business from our actions as Hosts
– Attract, engage and serve more guests
– Especially those who value who we are and what we offer as Samoans in Samoa
AGENDAPART ONE
Come together as a groupFocus and ApproachAssumptions
PART TWO
How did we get to this point?Why do we have to do things differently?The Future Revisited
PART THREE From product to experience to place
Why did YOU show up?
• Name and Business• Preferred contact phone:
• In one sentence explain why you showed up today – the main reason:
I showed up because……
What shaped me?
• Experienced what happens when you take a place out of a people
• Sick at heart.
Hopedale, Labrador, 1967
Lady Skidoo Champion, 1967!
There’s a bigger reason for being here
It’s not just your:• Business survival and prosperity• Economic independence - personal and national
BUT• A future for our children• Your identity as Samoans • Identity and PLACE
The Challenge for beautiful places• Too much success and the place
can become congested and worn
• Too little recognition and appreciation of your worth and it will be taken from you
• Tourism is everybody’s business & responsibility
• You must create your own future Bali, pre-electricity & tourism,
1973
Where are We?
“You can’t know who you are, until you know where you are.”Wendell Berry
What’s at stake; your future identity
The world needs the Samoan point of view
Where are We?
What does it mean to be Samoan?
How does this sacred earth define you?What is your role and responsibility as hosts?
What does this place mean to you?
What is Samoa’s unique signature?
Samoa’s brand is your collective identity
Our Practical Focus
1. Finding ways to increase yield and spread the benefits of tourism more widely
2. Yes, we have an immediate sales requirement3. But we also have to have larger goal - to come
together behind a shared vision of a tourism economy that’s robust, resilient and “owned” by all Samoans and that nurtures our Samoanness.
4. Fear of making your payments might push you into action but the larger goal will help you go the distance.
Be Prepared!• For something different – Some poetry, story telling, even a movie or two– Engage all of you– This is not a dry planning exercise!
• To identify and question some unexamined assumptions– What baggage are you bringing along on this
journey? – Why are you in business?
We’re in the relationship business
• We make people happy
• The currency – emotion
• Their currency connection
• We heal – make people whole again
ASSUMPTION # 1
The Biggest Sign of Success
Money in the bank = a departing customer who wants to hug you!
Purpose + Passion= Profit
We’re in the fantasy fulfillment business but we can’t and won’t succeed with everyone.
ASSUMPTION # 2
ASSUMPTION # 3
• Success is not about attracting visitors but the right visitors
• And who is the right visitor? • One who values what we value• So who are we and what do we
value? • That’s your brand personality
ASSUMPTION # 4
• Tourism is the one business where you can’t go it alone BUT where each of us can make a difference
• Tourism is not an industry • It’s a network, a community• We’re interdependent• Collaboration is essential
ASSUMPTION # 5
• There are no heroes to come and rescue us
• It’s up to each of us together
• And that means learning and sharing what you discover
• Time for a poem?• Why a poem?
Allegiances It is time for all the heroes to go homeif they have any, time for all of us common onesto locate ourselves by the real thingswe live by. Far to the north, or indeed in any direction, Strange mountains and creature have always lurked – Elves, goblins, trolls, and spiders – weEncounter them in dread and wonder. But once we have tasted far streams, touched the gold,Found some limit beyond the waterfall, A season changes, and we come back changed But safe, quiet, grateful. Suppose an insane wind holds all the hills While strange beliefs whine at the traveller’s ears, We ordinary beings can cling to the earth and loveWhere we are, sturdy for common things.
A Captivating Story
Use our Wayfinding Skills• Curiosity and a desire to
find a better land• Ability to observe nature
closely and respond to the signs without judgment
• Patience• Tenacity• Focus on a positive vision
of the island you want to find
Glimpses of the Future
• PRESENT - 2013 • FUTURE - 2062
I’m feeling down, there just aren’t the visitors we need, monthly receipts are down and what used to be shoulder seasons are not seasons. The few tourist we get have been complaining about the litter, the dogs and there not being enough to do. We’re starting to get more groups just wanting to hang out on the beaches and party. I really don’t know what we can do to change things. I wish for a sign that it all turns out right!!
I just just got the call to come and give you some idea of how things turned out ………….
RE-CAPMembers of the Inner Circle are asked to share what they heard from the future and what might have surprised them.
Thankyou for “Being the Change”
• PRESENT - 2013 • FUTURE - 2062
Tells the future what it was like getting things together.
I also came to thank you for what you did to turn things around. Just how did you get started and what did you do?
RE-CAPMembers of the Outer Circle are asked to share what they heard from the present
How did we get into this situation?
Understand the dynamics of changeTourism is young - adolescent
Tourism is also very, very complexFew barriers to entry
Limited investment in learning
HostsGuests
Markets
CHANGE FORCES
HostsGuests
Markets
CHANGE FORCES
1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 134,000Ebb & Flow
HostsGuests
Markets
CHANGE FORCES
1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 134,000
Samoa gets 134,00047,000 stay in hotels32,000 are on holiday
HostsGuests
Markets
CHANGE FORCES
1 billion in 20121.4 billion in 2020Samoa gets 120,000
Samoa gets 120,00047,000 stay in hotels30,000 are on holiday
2013 1848 rooms2014 2150 rooms
To operate profitablySamoa needs to attract90,000 – 120,000
Why is marketing a destination both different and difficult?
• Discretionary – it’s a choice• The forces that control traffic are beyond your control & volatile• We have to move the customer• The experience can’t be pre-tested• The experience can’t be returned• The experience is often unknown• Tough for hosts too – time & space specific inventory is
perishable• Costly to find, reach and attract guests• Hence lots of INTERMEDIARIES
HostsGuests
Markets
Before the Great Unravelling
HostsGuests
Markets
Before the Great Unravelling
• Globalisation• Internet• Low Cost Airlines• Cheap travel became a right – power now in the hands of
the customer• Fragmentation – special interest tourism• Climate change shifts awareness• 2007 and the big jolt • Shift in values • Social Media
CHANGE FORCES
The Experiential Traveller
CTC VIDEO
KEY TAKEAWAYS • Experiential travel involves learning about something
by doing something with people who live at the place you are visiting
• Visitors talk about experience one way. They talk about the meeting with the host and their personality much more because it involves a connection
• Developing experiences doesn’t have to involve huge investments or lots of cash
Enriching the Experiencework is theatre and every business a stage
Enriching the Experienceappealing to the whole person
Enriching the Experiencestimulating all the senses
Brainstorming Experience• Think of every method or ways of transporting, accommodating or
feeding customers• How is Samoa’s uniqueness expressed?• How can you stimulate all the senses?• What could make the experience more memorable?• What could make the experience more valuable? • What changes need to happen to make these improvements happen? • What’s the potential to create other businesses that serve or support
these experiences?• How can these activities be designed with low to zero impact on the
environment?• How will these actions be see to benefit a wider range of Samoans?