The E-Factor: The Next Tourism Frontier

The E-Factor

Belfast,Northern Ireland5 March 2013

The Next Tourism Frontier

Keynote Address By: Dr. Nancy Arsenault, Managing Partner

We hope the information shared stimulates thinking that helps grow your business or destination. Feel free to share the contents, but if you extract slides for an alternative use, please credit the source: Dr. Nancy Arsenault@ Tourism Cafe Canada. Thank you.

(c) 2013. Dr. Nancy Arsenault

The Experience Factor

• New visitor value

• New business opportunity

• Strengthens brand

• Host and community pride

• A response to growing demand

The customer experience... the next competitive

battle ground & new

currency.

It’s about the memories


Success Requires

• A paradigm shift

• Leap of faith in the customer

• Truly putting the customer at the heart of your operation

• Investing in innovation, creativity and industry product & market development

• Recognizing results take time, not as quick as marketing campaign

Shared-riskInvestmentInnovation

Collaboration


We’re on a journey

The Future

1999

As you are

•The customer seeking authenticity, engagement, personalization & being in the conversation

•Internet creating a new playing field

•More product development insights

•Increased competition

•The Experience Economy and emerging field of Customer Experience Management

•Growing demand

Influenced by: The Future

1999


• 85% experiential travel as important/extremely important• 53% planned new experiential programs in 2012.• Baby boomers have the ability to pay.• Europe and South America are excelling• Food/wine/culinary tours, historical and educational, art

and culture in demandUSTOA, Dec 2011

There’s a growing demand

“Travellers have a desire for authentic experiences. They face a lot of complexity in terms of finding these experiences, putting them together and finding value.”

– Scott Nisbet, Globus

Seeing the sights is no longer enough.

Experiential travellers want to venture beyond the beaten tourist paths and dive deeper into authentic,

local culture, connect with people in deep and meaningful ways, and fulfill a desire to give back.

More than ever people are travelling their passions.Joe Diaz, Afar Magazine (2009)

Signing Boat Guide Cowboy Poet Atl-Atl Throwers Female Cod Fisher

As businesses we must find ways to:

Engage visitors in a series of authentic, memorable travel activities, revealed over time, that engages the senses, are inherently personal and make connections on a physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual or social level.

Photo Credit: Celes DavarPhoto Credit: GMIST Photo Credit: Experience PEI

Author: Nancy Arsenault 2004, evolved 2007.


So let me ask you

... if you could ... would you

But we can’t package and sell

what doesn’t exist


Attractions: If you could, would you

•Have the courage to lead program innovation against the norm?

•Create ways to connect with niche traveller types?

•Charge £ 150pp /$300 CDN for a 3-hour experience for 4 people?

•Help generate revenues for community partners?

•Value getting LOTS of free media coverage?

The Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada


Soldier for a Day

understood different people are willing to pay for different

experiences

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax/visit/visit9/visit9d.aspx

The Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada


Hotels: If you could, would you

•Target your local community for your high-end property?

•Enjoy a permission database of 12,000 in your own city to invite regularly to your hotel?

•Excite people in your own community to spend $$$ and choose to stay over night?

•Develop brand aligned people & partners to deliver experiences to your guests?

The Fairmont Empress, Victoria British Columbia


Friends of the Empress Program

... reached an entire new market that now enhances other markets

http://www.friendsoftheempress.ca/The Fairmont Empress Hotel


Local Tour Operator: If you could, would you

•Allocate 75% to product development; 25% to marketing?

•Define your ideal guest as: open minded people, seeking enlightenment to build on?

•Shift from show and tell to engaging visitors with your people, special places and stories?

•Find ways to respond to demand for groups or 12 to 400, but only using locals from a community of 12,600?

Great Spirit Circle Trail, Manitoulin Island Ontario


Great Spirit Circle TrailInnovative Business Model

Built On

Program ModulesPeople and Experiences 1st

www.circletrail.com


Fishermen: If you could, would you

Shediac Bay Cruises, New Brunswick

•Share your passion for the sea with visitors?

•Enjoy a new revenue stream from your boat?

•Take pride in showcasing a part of your history/culture to guests from around the world?

•Hire people who share your passion and love telling stories?

Tranquility Cove Adventures, Prince Edward Island


Non-traditional providers abound

... fishermen, farmers, artisans, artists, chefs ...


Passionate Person: If you could, would you

•Forge on with a tourism idea when people think you’re nuts?

•Build a 10-day pre-tourism season festival in a town of 785 people?

•Try to grow the spring season to help all businesses?

Trails, Tales & Tunes: Festival Norris Point Newfoundland Population: 785


Every community has a unique stories

and authentic storytellers

... that are yours


Each of these represent a success story.

What do they have in common?

They Use Experiences to Compete on Value

Value is the immunization factor. When there is no difference in value people buy on price alone. Competing on value allows you to create a ‘be different’ strategy that your competitors will have difficulty copying.

Roy Osing. (2009). Be Different or be Dead

Credit: Inniskillin The CN Tower:Photo Credit: CTC


They CHOOSE to Raise the Bar on:

•Engagement •Personalization •Connections•Value ... for travellers

•Partnerships•Collaboration•Shared revenue•Competitive positioning•New business

A tale of two attractions

The First Attraction ...

New and right across from the other attraction

Beautiful repurposed heritage building

The BC Experience

The 2nd Attraction

Which seems more appealing?

Why?


One focused on the physical

assets

The other on emotional

engagementGuess who’s

still in business?

Infrastructure

Activities

Greater Differentiation,

Emotion, & Engagement

No to Low Differentiation,


Competitive Position

Pricing & Profits

ROI

PhysicalEngagement

Cost Based Pricing Value-Based Pricing

The First Attraction Focused on the “Stuff”

Programs

Framework: Lesley Anderson & Nancy Arsenault (2012)

The 2nd Put You In The Story

Infrastructure

Activities

ProgramsGreater

Differentiation,Emotion, & Engagement

No to Low Differentiation,


Competitive Position

Pricing & Profits

ROI

ROI + ROE

Emotional Engagement

PhysicalEngagement

Cost Based Pricing Value-Based Pricing

The 2nd Attraction “Engaged Travellers IN the Story”

Framework: Lesley Anderson & Nancy Arsenault (2012)

Partnerships+&+Connec0ng+to+People,+Place+&+Culture

Increased+Sales,+Brand+Strength+&+Advocacy

RESULTS

• 451,120 visitors, 1/3 said this was the reason to visit Victoria in 2007

• $30M/£15M economic impact• Fabulous exhibit but the passenger manifest and the ‘ticket’

… were the ticket, to an impactful memorable experience• I received my boarding pass and entered …I saw, I sampled, I

tried on, I touched, then … Discovered my fate on April 15th, 1912.



We All Have A Role To Play

Infrastructure

Activities

Programs

To create and deliver on the

memories.

Creating Memories(Operators)

Building Themes, Selling Dreams(Enablers)

Promotions & Media Relations

Destination Development

ResearchMarketDevelopment

Collaborate to Compete

Dare to be Different


Thanks!

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The E-Factor: The Next Tourism Frontier

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