"TOURISM
TIDBITS" FROM TOURISM & MORE, INC.
The goal of
"Tourism Tidbits" is to provide travel
professionals with a monthly,
easy-to-read overview of creative ideas.
With proper referencing, we invite you
to quote or reproduce "Tourism Tidbits"
and to pass it along to a friend.
"Tourism Tidbits"
is published monthly in English and
Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish. Mtra.
Patricia Koalska of Mexico does the
Spanish translation, Marcus Vinicius
Campos of Brazil provides the Portuguese
translation, and Dr. Turgut Var provides
the Turkish translation.
________________________________________________________________________________
TOURISM &
MORE'S "TOURISM TIDBITS" for June 2009
Apologizing
can be good business
A number of years
ago, a movie swept much of the world,
its name was "Love Story." The movie's
most famous line was "Love means never
to have to say you're sorry." It is not
the purpose of this month's Tourism
Tidbits to critique the movie's
philosophy, but what may or may not be
true in love, certainly is not true in
business in general and in the travel
and tourism business in particular.
Anyone who works in travel and tourism
knows that things do go wrong. From
hotel bathrooms that overflow to travel
delays, from employees who may be having
a bad day to food that is served not
up-to-standards, tourism and travel
often feels like a minefield of
potential crises. While these mishaps
may not be intentional our customers do
suffer, and may have good reasons to
complain especially during the summer
months when travel is at its peak and
nerves are often frayed. Apologizing is
never easy even under the "best" of
circumstances. In the case of tourism
and travel, where there is a tendency
toward stress, the successful use of the
apology as a marketing tool has become
an essential art form. To help you hone
your apology skills, Tourism Tidbits
offers the following suggestions.
-Train your
front-line
personnel in the art of saying they are
sorry.
Often it is the front-line person who
must apologize for something that is not
his/her fault or has to take the brunt
of a customer's anger. While the
customer may be unfairly misplacing
his/her hostility, there often is no
other place for the anger to go. It is
essential that front-line personnel
learn to handle an angry situation for
which they may not be responsible but
still have to fix. Travelers' anger is
rarely aimed at the person, but in most
cases is aimed at an unfeasible or
unworkable situation. Concentrate on
fixing the situation rather than on
defending one's own personal honor.
Teach people to state more than simply I
am sorry, but also this is what I am
going to do about this situation.
-Be
sensitive to your customers' time
management needs.
When tourism stress and customer anger
are analyzed the number one annoyance
factor is usually involved with a loss
of time. Leisure travelers are
purchasing experiences that are forms of
time. Business travelers may lose
clients and money due to delays that
cause them to lose time. Thus, the
airlines' hub systems may be efficient
from their perspective, but one delayed
flight can cause a great deal of anger,
frustration, and income loss to those
needing to make connections.
Sensitivity to other people's time
concerns is an essential part then of a
good apology.
-Often a
simple apology is not enough.
While everyone appreciates an apology,
simple apologies, especially when they
are perceived to be routine and not
sincere, are often not enough. Too many
tourists and travelers are left holding
the bag after being told "thank you for
your patience." Most travelers do not
want to hear that they need to be
patient. Instead they want precise
information on how the problem is going
to be handled, what compensation will be
given, and who besides them (the person
who has been inconvenienced, delayed, or
angered) is going to take responsibility
for fixing the problem.
-Listen
attentively to complaints.
There is perhaps nothing that angers
travelers and tourists more than
personnel and employees who simply do
not listen. These people may physically
hear the words spoken, but their
non-sequiturs and defensive manners only
serve to worsen the problem. It is bad
enough that the mishap occurred; it is
doubly worse when front-line personnel
seem to be ignoring the problem.
-Fulfill all
promises made.
Often front-line personnel in an attempt
to "fix" a problem or to find a way to
satisfy and angry customer promise
things that simply will not occur.
These false promises or misinformation
not only exacerbates an already upset
customer, but produces a new reason for
the customer to be angry. It also makes
customers lose faith in the organization
or business' integrity. Be truthful in
what you promise and fulfill all
promises in a timely manner.
-Turn anger into
solutions.
Do not wait for a customer to demand a
solution, offer one and teach all
front-line personnel to do the same. In
most cases the customer may be so
pleased that you offered a solution that
the anger or disappointment may turn to
appreciation. The best apology is
taking a negative situation and not just
solving the problem but going beyond a
customer's expectations.
No matter how
angry an customer is he/she is still
your customer.
Often personnel forget that travel is
not easy and that it is a human being
who is standing on the other side of the
counter. We may not be able to fix
every problem, but all of us can listen
to the problem. Remember no matter what
you say or how correct you are, the
other person is still your customer.
Interested in
doing research in the area of tourism
security?
Announcing Our New Subscription Service!
The Tourism & Security Control Panel
Tourism & More, working with our
technology partners at
Mnemotrix Systems, Inc.,
is now offering subscribers an enhanced
and indispensable online service. Here
is a new part of the "More" in Tourism &
More.
This new service offers its subscribers
full access to the last 18+ years of our
Tidbits Newsletter archives, our News
and Newsgroup realtime feed, and our
Global Security Research Database for
Tourism.
This all new approach to research
provides much more than the usual
keyword search, with our Strategic Data
Fusion research capability, and a simple
manual for how to make use of it. All
this is available for a modest annual
subscriber fee of only $99.99 per year.
Corporate memberships are also
available.
The aim is to give you best-of-class in
strategic data fusion research tools. It
is not enough anymore to list a
hierarchy of subjects we once wrote
about. This new service will allow you
to be able to get into the content
directly by idea or concept.
The Tourism Tidbits Newsletter has been
published since 1990. That is a lot of
writing and a lot of issues. If you just
want a listing by subject and date you
can already find it on our "Archived
Tidbits" page. But now we want to give
you a subscription service, where for a
nominal fee, you can access something
that goes much deeper.
Using state-of-the-art in Strategic Data
Fusion, you can research the daily news
and current events with our real-time
news feed, and sift through newsgroup
message traffic content of Tourism &
Security related newsgroups in the same
way. Best of all, we have a focused
global Research Database of timely
information relevant to Tourism &
Security and more.
The cost for this service is US$99 per
year. To subscribe to this service,
please go to our website at
<www.tourismandmore.com> and click on
where it says: "subscribe".
________________________________________________________________________________
What topics would you like to see
discussed in Tourism Tidbits?
Please send us a list of topics of
interest to you and we will do our best
to dedicate future issues of Tourism
Tidbits to your needs/desires.
TOURISM
AND MORE'S WIDE RANGE OF SPEECHES AND
TRAINING SEMINARS
For a
complete listing of topics and
information, please check our web page
http://www.tourismandmore.com/contact
or e-mail us at
ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
Please note our all-new special course:
Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You
Need to Know to Maintain a Viable
Industry in the Face of Terrorism.
Here is a partial list of some of our
other most popular topics. All seminars
and speeches can be presented in English
or Spanish.
Two
Brand New Lectures concerning the
World's Economic Crisis:
1) Smoothing out
rocky economic roads: What tourism needs
to do stay in front of these
economically challenging times!
2)
Surviving Economically Challenging
Times: Best Practice from Far and Wide.
Additionally:
3) Our
trained staff of professionals are ready
to meet with your board and you to
discuss specific strategic planning in
this most difficult of times.
Please contact us at tourism@bihs.net
for more information regarding costs and
available dates.
Also
New!!!! How to tourism communities need
to work to prevent and recover from
natural disasters.
Other
lectures include:
-Tourism
Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to
Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in
the Face of Terrorism.
-Training
Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing
(TOPs), how it works and why it is
essential for a viable tourism industry.
-Getting On
Board: Helping Your Police and Other
City Employees to be Part of the Tourism
Industry.
-Marketing
to the Baby-boom Generation, Generation
X and beyond.
-New Trends
in Tourism Marketing and International
Tourism.
-When the
Market is Tight and the Economy Is Slow:
New Ideas in Marketing.
-Developing
a Successful Agricultural and Rural
Tourism Industry.
-Something
from Nothing: The Art of Creating New
Attractions.
-Tourism
Ethics: Linking the Wisdom of Moses to
Your Tourism Product.
-Understanding Tourism Statistics: When
is a fact a fact and when is it not?
How to present data to the media.
_____________________________________________________________________________
TOURISM
ON-LINE/EDUCATION
TOURISM
SECURITY. The George Washington
University's Tourism Destination
Management and Marketing Certificate
Program announces the launch of "Safety
and Security for Tourism Destinations:
Achieving a Safe and Secure Tourism
Environment". This is a course designed
to help tourism professionals understand
the importance of safety and security
within a destination, as well as provide
them with the "tools" needed to create a
secure environment for both visitors and
residents.
World-renowned travel safety and
security expert, Dr. Peter E. Tarlow,
has developed this course by drawing on
his wealth of experience and the growing
number of publications in this area. The
course is available worldwide via
Internet-based distance learning. For
more information please email
mailto:dmpdl@gwu.edu.
BOOKS ON
TOURISM
1)
Event Risk Management and Safety (ISBN
0-471-40168-4) by Peter E. Tarlow,
published by John Wiley & Sons.
Presenting theory and practical
applications. To purchase this book,
visit http://www.wiley.com/ or
http://www.amazon.com/. If you would
like Dr. Tarlow to speak or train people
in this area, please contact him at
mailto:tourism@bihs.net.
2) Restoring Tourism Destinations in
Crisis by Dr David Beirman:
Published By Allen & Unwin (Australia &
SE Asia) and CABI Publishing North
America/ Europe 2003. For more
information contact the author at
mailto:david@aicc.org.au.
3) Leisure Travel: A Marketing
Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson
Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ,
2004. It's available through the
website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for
$25.
4) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward
Safe Experiences for Visitors.
Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast,
and Peter Leggart. Published by
Elsevier.
5) Tourism Security & Safety,
from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel
Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by
Elsevier.
6) The Economics of Tourism
Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove,
Published by Elsevier
7) Beach Safety and the Law,
Edited by Jeff Wilks published by
Queensland
(Australia) Law Society
8) Media Strategies for Marketing
Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and
Eran ketter Published by Elsevier
9) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths
and Inequalities. Burns, P. and
Novelli M. eds. (2008).
Wallingford: CABI
10) Tourism Management: Analysis,
Behavior and Strategy, edited by
Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi,
London, England
11) Tourism and
Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M.
eds. (2008). Wallingford: CABI.
Some Upcoming
Tourism Conferences
We
invite you to submit your conferences to
Tourism Tidbits. Please submit request
in the form found below. Please note,
Tourism Tidbits has received a
number of complaints asking why '"My
conference" was not listed.
If you do not tells us, then, we cannot
list the conference. We are happy to
list all conferences about which we are
informed. Please follow the format below
when sending us a conference
announcement. Thank you!
Unless
otherwise stated, English is the
conference language.
Some
Upcoming Tourism Conferences
We
invite you to submit your conferences to
Tourism Tidbits. Please submit request
in the form found below. Please note,
Tourism Tidbits has received a
number of complaints asking why '"My
conference" was not listed.
If you do not tells us, then, we cannot
list the conference. We are happy to
list all conferences about which we are
informed. Please follow the format below
when sending us a conference
announcement. Thank you!
Unless
otherwise stated, English is the
conference language.
June 1-3, 2009
Vienna, Austria
Psychological, Marketing,
Socio-Economic, and Sociological Drivers
of Cultural Experiences in Leisure and
Tourism
Details at
http://cpthl2009.modul.ac.at/index.php/2008/cpthl2009.
June 12-13, 2009
Kingston Hilton Hotel, Kingston,
Jamaica, W.I.
Caribbean VeggieFest and Wellness
Conference
(Wellness Tourism: A Global phenomenon
with a Caribbean Flavor)
For more information please contact:
Sharon Parris-Chambers
President, Positive Tourism Network
876-381-1591 ~876-957-9243
svpc58@yahoo.com
or go to
www.positivetourism.com
and
www.caribbeanhealthtourism.com
June 15-18, 2009
Singapore
BEST EN Think Tank IX: The Importance of
Values in Sustainable Tourism
For more information please visit
www.besteducationnetwork.org or contact
the BEST EN Secretariat anhe@sitkom.sdu.dk
June 20-23, 2009
Kos Island, Greece
Tourism in a Changing World: Prospects
and Challenges
For more information please go to:
Internet site:
http://www.angelfire.com/ks/andriotis
or contact Andriotis, Konstantinos at:
kostas.andriotis@ntu.ac.uk
June
21-23, 2009
Honolulu, Hawaii
TTRA's Annual Conference
More information at
http://ttra.com/hawaii2009.html
July
4-7, 2009
Leeds, United Kingdom
Emotion in Motion: The Passions of
Tourism, Travel and Movement
For more information go to:
http://www.tourism-culture.com/
July
6-8, 2009
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
THE INTERNATIONAL EVENT MANAGEMENT
SUMMIT
For more information: "Australian Centre
for Event Management"
acem@uts.edu.au
Aug.
5-7, 2009
Bonita Springs, Florida
15h Annual Florida Festivals and Events
Association
For more information please visit
www.ffea,con
Sept.
6-, 2009
Bournemouth
Marketing Innovations for Sustainable
Destinations: Operations, Interactions,
Experiences. For more information
please contact Dr Alan Fyall at:
afyall@bournemouth.ac.uk
Sept.
11-14
Kos Island, Greece
Conference on Tourism in a Changing
World: Prospects and
For details and upcoming updates visit
the conference website: http://www.ictdm.net/
or see the conference leaflet available
at:
http://www.ictdm.net/Forms/Leaflet_ICTDM_2009.pdf.
Sept., 17th and 18th
Huesca, Spain
II International Congress. Sustainable
Mountain Tourism
More informations, visit: www.unizar.es/centros/eueeh/
or contact 2cturis@unizar.es
Sept. 21-25
Acra, Ghana
Ghana Tourism Conference & Exhibition
For more
information contact yfaar@yahoo.co.uk
Sept 24-25
Rimini, Italy
Higher Tourism Education: issues and
practices An international conference
organized by th University of Bologna,
Rimini campus, Faculty of economics.
For more information please contact
arianna.giovannini@ichtt.org
March 23-26, 2010
Atlanta, Georgia
2010 Food Safety Education Conference
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
For more information please go to
www.fsis.usda.gov/Atlanta2010
April 22-25, 2010
Crete and Santorini, Greece
International
Conference on Sustainable Tourism:
Issues, Debates & Challenges For more
information please to to:
http://sustainablecrete.com
About the
Author:
Dr.
Peter E. Tarlow is the President of T&M,
a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA
and a popular author and speaker on
tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the
areas of sociology of tourism, economic
development, tourism safety and
security. Tarlow speaks at governors'
and state conferences on tourism and
conducts seminars throughout the world
and for numerous agencies and
universities.
If you know of anyone else who might
enjoy "Tourism Tidbits," please send
his/her email address to
ptarlow@tourismandmore.com Please let
us know of any topic that you would like
to see covered by "Tourism Tidbits." We
invite others to submit articles for
consideration for publication.
You are welcome to reproduce "Tourism
Tidbits" or any part of "Tourism
Tidbits" with proper citing. We hope
that you will see "Tourism Tidbits" as a
place where tourism, visitor, and travel
professionals exchange ideas and
information. "Tourism Tidbits" does not
offer or provide specific legal or
financial advice. Our goal is to provide
a "review" for industry personnel and
discuss provocative issues. We remind
all readers that every specific business
decision should be made only after you
have done the proper research. The
author(s) accept(s) no responsibility
for any loss due to any information
published in "Tourism Tidbits."
All articles sent to "Tourism Tidbits"
and accepted for publication are owned
by "Tourism Tidbits" and may be
subjected to editorial review and
rewriting (with permission of the
author). All questions about "Tourism
Tidbits", suggestions, or cancellations
should be addressed to Dr. Peter E.
Tarlow at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
--
Dr. Peter Tarlow
1218 Merry Oaks,
College Station, Texas, 77840-2609, USA.
Telephone: +1 (979) 764-8402.
--