A theoretical and empirical overviewTAW S I F U D O W L A , 2 0 1 6

G u i d i n g T H E T RAV E L L E R SW h e r e d o I s t a r t ?

Tourism + You“Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

TOURISTSPersons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited

TOURIST GUIDEA person who guides visitors (Tourists) in the language of their choice and interprets the cultural and natural heritage of an area (place) which person normally possesses an area-specific qualification usually issued and/or recognized by the appropriate authority

World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA)

A tour guide is an individual in a front-line position who leads participants (individual or groups) on tours, ensures that itineraries are followed, provides commentary in an informative and entertaining manner, and creates positive experiences for tour participants

Canadian Tour Guide Associations (CTGA ) of BC

Tourism + You

So What’s TOUR?TOUR is a product is what one can buy?

TOUR is an experience is what one remember? Exceptional tour goes beyond the time travellers are with you. Planning and delivering exceptional tour requires considering the entire traveller lifecycle, from the moment they think about travelling until they are sharing stories, photos and videos at home or online.

Personalization is key to a great tour EXPERIENCE

E X P E R I E N C E ?“L ive this moment; this moment is L ife”

Experiential EconomySo

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Economic DistinctionsEconomic Offerings

Commodities Goods Services Experiences

Economy Agrarian Industrial Service Experience

Economic Function

Extract Make Deliver Stage

Nature of Offering

Fungible Tangible Intangible Memorable

Key Attribute Natural Standardized Customized Personal

Method of Supply

Stored in bulk Inventoried after production

Delivered on demand

Revealed over a duration

Seller Trader Manufacturer Provider StagerBuyer Market User Client Guest

Factors of Demand

Characteristics Features Benefits Sensations

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Experiential Travel COMMODITIES are things we

extract from the ground and sell in market.

GOODS are the physical, tangible items we make from commodities, that when sold, generate a higher price point.

SERVICES use the commodities and goods to offer differentiated options to customers.

EXPERIENCES incorporate commodities, goods and services and use these as elements in developing tourism offers that are designed to create lasting

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Experiential Travel

Desig

ning

Mem

orab

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Expe

rienc

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Theme the experience

Harmonize impressions with

positive cues

Eliminate negative cues

Mix in memorabilia

Engage all five senses

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Explorer Quotient (EQ)EQ is an innovative market segmentation tool comes from the science of psychographics.

Dem

ogra

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sAgeIncomeGenderFamily StatusEducational Level

Psyc

hogr

aphi

csPersonal beliefsSocial ValuesWorld View

An evolution of the traditional field of demographics

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Crafting a memorable tourist experience

• Know your guests

Step 1

• Know your community and region

Step 2 • Think

about the types of experiences Step 3

• Choose a theme or story

Step 4: • Plan the

experience

Step 5

• Establish the flow with the itinerary

Step 6 • Deliver

and evaluate the experience

Step 12

“Be Different or Be Dead. Value is the immunization factor. When there is no difference in value, people buy on price alone”

Roy Osing (author), 2009

Step 7: Select partners, suppliers and experience providers Step 8: Think about market positioningStep 9: Set the selling price Step 10: Marketing and communication Step 11: Prepare the team and pilot the Experience S

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STEP 1: Know Your TRAVELER

Authentic Experienc

er

Cultural Explorer

Cultural History

Buff

Personal History Explorer

Free Spirit

Gentle Explorer

No Hassle Traveller

Rejuvenator

Virtual Traveller

9 Major Traveler Groups Worldwide

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Who are we looking for?So

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THE FREE SPIRIT13% OF THE GLOBAL MARKET

Something of a thrill-seeker

Travel to satisfy their infinite need for the exciting and the exotic Like the best of everything and enjoy the company of others (YOURS) who feel the same way Have a lot of energy and want to see and do everything

Young, or young-at-heart. Travel for the thrill & emotional charge of seizing Travel for the thrill and emotional charge of seizing the day

Group tours and rigid plans are not for them

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CULTURAL EXPLORER12% of the Global Market

Seek constant opportunities to embrace, discover and immerse themselves in the entire experience of the culture, people and settings of the places they visitNot content to just visit historic sites and watch from the sidelines

Participate in the modern-day culture as well

Strike up conversations with locals, attend cultural festivals

Go off the beaten track to discover how people truly live

Group tours and rigid plans are not for them

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THE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCER9% of the Global Market

Appreciate the beauty of natural and cultural environmentsEnjoy using all of their senses when they explore

Really get to know the places they visit

Adapt to personal challenges and risks, figuring out how to make the most of every situation Fully immersed in their travel experiences

Group tours and rigid plans are not for them

EXERCISE : What's your travel type?STEP 1TAKE A QUIZ

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STEP 2SAVE YOUR

TRAVEL TYPE

STEP 2MATCH YOUR TRAVEL TYPE

@ EQ PROFILE

Based on your Experience Appeal and Travel Behaviours,please discuss about the 10 activities you’ll be most interested at as a tourist within Metro Vancouver

Vancouver Activities List

STEP 2 (A): Know your community and region

Assets: What makes your community special? Why do people like to live here? What do they do that visitors may be interested in seeing, learning about or engaging in?

Where are some unique, less-travelled places to go that locals know but visitors may not?

Are there any iconic people, places, celebrations, festivals and events that draw visitors regularly?

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STEP 2 (A): Know your community and region

What types of musicians, artists, chefs, dancers, cultural groups, writers, poets, etc. live in your community?

Are there any underutilized buildings, trails, community centres, legion halls, etc. that could be interesting places to host a group activity?

Are there any non-traditional tourism business people who could become involved with tourism, such as fishermen, farmers, golf course greens-keepers, carpenters, instrument makers, etc?

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STEP 2(B): Know VancouverMore than 9.3 million people visited in 2015

Contributes approximately $ 6.1 billion to the Metro Vancouver economy annually

Provides over 66,000 full time jobs

Generates approximately $14.6 billion in revenue

STEP 2(C): Know Tourism Vancouver

Dine Out Vancouver

Festival*

Push Festival*

Vancouver International Wine Festival.

Cherry Blossom Festival

*Internationa

l Jazz Festival

*Bard on the

Beach

Vancouver Pride

Festival*

Celebration of Light

Fireworks*

Pacific National

Exhibition

The Vancouver

Opera*

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

*Arts Club Theatre

Company

365 Days a Year Destination

STEP 3: Experiences that make sense for us

When the traveler leaves, what do you want them to be talking about?  What pictures do you want them to be posting to Facebook?  What do you hope they will be writing about on TripAdvisor?  For the community partners who will help you develop and deliver the

experience, how do you want them to feel about involvement after the guests depart?

 What did guests enjoy most about interacting with you?  What could be done to enhance the experience next time?

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STEP 4 (A): Choose a theme or story : UNIQUELY CANADIANS

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Stories also are a great basis for developing an experience. As Marty Yaskowich of Tribal DDB says,

“Not everyone’s a storyteller but everyone has a story”Stories and storytellers can really anchor a traveler in a community because storytellers…

Have characterAre uniqueConnect on an emotional levelPersonalGreat for marketing

In formal

Witty

Authent ic

STEP 4 (B): Choose a theme or story : UNIQUELY CANADIANS

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connect people, places, the past and present have characters/ time line that people can relate to evolve over time and can be shared can be told in ways that bring guests into the story,

creating connections and personal attachments change with every storyteller who brings his or her own

special version to the audience are powerful at triggering emotions that lead to future

decision making

Storytelling makes a great foundation for creating experiences and bringing them to life, plus it opens up the door to creative thinking. People love it. It’s so much more real than just hearing someone talk about. i.e. Stanley Park is best urban park in the world (Not enough)…So YOU and your STORY should:

STEP 5 (A): Plan the experience : UNIQUELY CANADIAN

5 Un

ique

Sel

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Prop

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ons (

USP)

Vibrant Cities on the Edge of Nature

Award-Winning Local Cuisine

Connecting with Locals

Personal Journeys By Land, Water and Air

Active Adventure Among Awe- Inspiring

Natural Wonders

A Signature Experience is an exceptional travel experience designed and delivered by us, the qualified Canadian-based tourism businesses.It is engaging, immersive, hands-on and connects travellers to the special people, places and cultures in a community or region.Signature Experiences invite visitors to discover, learn and enjoy Canada in ways that are personally relevant and aligned with their motivations to travel. The experience must appeal to one or more EQ segments, be aligned with one ofCanada’s five unique selling proposition,and meet a set of criteria that define a signature experience.

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STEP 5 (B) : Experiential Travel

Grea

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exceeding physical and emotional expectations

differentiated by stimulating emotion

enabled through inspirational leadership

and facilitated by culture

designed from the outside in, rather that

the inside out

an embodiment of our brand

“Seeing the sights is no longer enough.Experiential travellers want to venture beyond the beaten tourist paths and dive deeper into authentic local culture, connecting with people from other cultures in deep and meaningful ways, the arts, architecture and music, cooking and food, sports, adventure and nature, language, history, economics and literature, philanthropy and a desire to “give back.” More than ever before, people are travelling their passions.”

Joe Diaz, Co-founder Afar Magazine

Experiential travel involves a customer-centric approach to planning travel, communicating with visitors and delivering programs that are aligned with what visitors are interested in experiencing

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STEP 5 (C) Experiential Travel

Experiential packaging and programming begins with: What makes our community special (e.g. people, places, stories, traditions,

activities)? What memories do we want our visitors to leave with? What traveller interests are aligned with what we have to offer? Who do I need to collaborate with to craft a relevant, engaging visitor experience? Which experiential programs exist, or could be developed, to form the foundation

of a package or elements of a package? How can the experience be personalized? What unique, authentic and local treasures can be celebrated, showcased or

engaged in?

“Experiential packaging focuses on choreographing a series of

encounters, interactions and moments that are revealed over time to evoke emotions and leave travellers with

lasting memories.”

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STEP 5 (D) Experiential TravelS

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STORY TELLING

Be true to our personality

Remember what makes us unique

Keep it simple

Say it with feeling

For Story ideas surrounding Vancouver please check Tourism Vancouver’s M E D I A K I T

Step 6: Establish the flow with the itinerary Set the itinerary with meticulous attention to detail and personalize it: Consider where guests have been and where they will be going relative to your

experience. Time the experience in small increments. If it is a two- hour program, think in 10-

to 20-minute intervals; if it’s a full day, then 30- to 45-minute increments. Allow time for transitions between places, activities, guest delays and to let people

meet and connect. Break down each experiential component into small, simple pieces and ensure

that every detail is thought through. Think about “positive cues”—elements in the environment that reinforce the

experience. Review all safety matters, plan for them and have a contingency plan. Consider weather and have backup plans Consider if any guest limitations could impact the experience, such as fear of

heights, physical or auditory limitations, dietary restrictions, etc.

“Pay attention to detail. When you charge a premium, you must ensure the smallest details are taken care of. The importance of this can’t be overstated in planning, delivery and follow-up”.S

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STEP 12 : Deliver and evaluate the experience Set the stage for people to meet each other and to make personal connections

straight away to increase their comfort and create the atmosphere. Provide any information guests need up front. Have a plan to ensure their

psychological comfort can be set. Deliver the program as planned but be flexible and adapt the delivery to adjust

to how the visitors are reacting and engaging with the activities. Pay attention to detail en route—remember special things guests say and work

them into the conversation. Have a post-guest communications strategy in place Monitor what is said (WOM) about your company in your guest book and on social

media Connect with suppliers and people who delivered the experience to get their

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Sources and References

Canadian Tour Guide Association of BC www.ctgaofbc.com 

Destination Canada http://en.destinationcanada.com 

Tourism Vancouver www.tourismvancouver.com 

World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations www.wftga.org 

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) www.unwto.org

Photo Credit: TawsifS t a y i n t o u c hE m a i l : t a w s i f _ d o w l a @ o u t l o o k . c o mL i n ke d I n : www.linkedin.com/in/TawsifDowla