Tourism & More’s Tourism Tidbits – July 2025 – Developing Tourism Industry Leadership Skills
Posted on July 28, 2025
“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 friends.
“Tourism Tidbits” is published monthly in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish translation is from Ferran Anguera of Barcelona, Spain. The Portuguese translation is by Lillian Donati Godinho of Lisbon, Portugal.
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Tourism & More’s
Tourism Tidbits
July 2025
Developing Tourism Industry Leadership Skills
Many people outside of the tourism industry tend to think of tourism and travel as a never-ending party. Yet anyone who has ever worked in the world’s largest peacetime industry knows that travel and tourism professionals spend long hours at work and that travel and tourism works to a great extent like any other large corporation. Just as in other businesses tourism and travel professionals need to deal with budgets, to justify lost opportunities and to overcome the issue of spoilage. The loss of revenue from an unsold airline seat or hotel room can never be recaptured. Travel and tourism executives have other problems that CEOs or leaders in other industries do not have.
Because travel & tourism are composite industries, the head of a Convention and Visitor Bureau (as they are known in the USA) or Office of Tourism as they are known in many other countries, cannot simply set policy. S/he is dependent on other executives’ goodwill and willingness to cooperate. Poor customer service in one part of the tourism system reflects not only on that component but also on the entire travel and tourism system. At other times, travel and tourism executives must deal with challenges over which they have little or no control.
Finally, travel and tourism executives are not necessarily beholden to their shareholders or even to people who understand the industry. In many cases politicians and others outside of the tourism industry become involved in tourism decisions. A tourism industry executive might be fired for reasons beyond that person’s control or tend to stay in place long after that person’s corporate usefulness has expired. To help you to be the best travel and tourism executive possible, Tourism Tidbits offers the following suggestions.
-Ask yourself some hard and basic questions. Often mistakes are made when we ask the wrong questions. The old computer science adage: garbage-in/garbage out could not be more accurate. Questions to ask include: what is my role as CEO? How much control do I really have? Exactly what is our business? Who participates in this business? Who are my allies? Where do my challenges lie? Finally, ask yourself if I never showed up at work who really would miss me?
-Remember that a CEO or tourism leader (executive) wears many hats. There is no one successful leadership style for tourism industry leaders, because each tourism industry or component industry has unique and special circumstances. As in other industries and businesses executives should consider a mixture of the following to demonstrate leadership.
(1) If the CEO has no sense of direction as to where the business is headed, then those under him/her will be lost as to the business’ goals and direction. It is clearly the tourism executive’s role to know where s/he is taking the industry and demonstrate that s/he is in command,
(2) Shake things up. A good tourism executive is aware that travel and tourism are dynamic industries. Re-invent yourself and your industry on a regular basis. Never be satisfied with where you are, especially with your market share.
(3) Coach and prepare others to take over the reigns of command. The old adage that the best way to learn (or see an error) is by teaching others still holds true. Develop a cadre of disciples who at some point will be able to take your business to a new level.
(4) Remember that an executive in travel and tourism must be both a caregiver and a boss. It Is not easy to combine the two, but employees tend to provide better customer service when they know that those at the top care about them and not just the bottom line. Tourism executives need to know how to maintain their sense of mission and dignity and at the same time demonstrate that they care about those who work in their industry.
-Time is both your ally and your enemy, be prepared! How we use time often determines our rate of success. Time management may be the most difficult and important part of tourism executive leadership. Because tourism and travel are component and service industries there will always be periods when time usage is out of the executive’s control. It is for this reason that successful tourism executives use the parts of their day that they can control both wisely and efficiently. When planning one’s day prioritize, what can wait for later and what must be done now!? Then ask what feelings you need to engender during the day. Ask yourself what subconscious messages you are giving others by the way that you spend your time. It is a mistake to assume that those working under your command do not tend to mimic the way that you spend your time.
-Know who you are and how you got to where you are. No CEO or tourism executive can be successful if s/he does not first have a sense of self. Are you a compulsive or hang-loose type of person? Do you need to control others? What are the quirks in other people that upset you? Then teach yourself to listen to your intuition. Often we commit errors by allowing others to talk us into doing what we know is wrong. On the other hand, make sure that you look at all of your options before making a decision. Note that there is a difference between listening to your intuition after having studied the options and simply jumping to conclusions. Finally, what will the consequences of your decision be? Who will be hurt and who will benefit? When you look back at what you did, will you be happy?
-When working with others in your office, make sure that you can answer key questions. Why are you appointing the person to the job? Have you given that person his/her position because you trust that person, because that person is capable, because you want to send a message about your vision to others or merely because the person is a friend? Are you trying to replicate yourself or do you seek people who can compensate for your weaknesses? No one on your team is perfect, but knowing why you chose X person for Y job allows you to evaluate both successes and failures. Remember that all CEOs and tourism executives are also human beings, all have flaws and all will someday depart the stage.
-Know when to get off the stage while others still want more. The hardest thing in life is timing. A successful CEO or tourism executive knows when to come on the stage and when to depart. Remember that you are working not only for the present but also for your legacy for years to come.
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The Art of the Assessment Study
Assessment studies are to tourism what medical check-ups are to people. Every locale needs to have a full assessment study to determine both tourism strengths and weaknesses, to build a better industry and to avoid future problems. Please contact Tourism & More for details.
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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 contact us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com for more information regarding costs and available dates.
All seminars and speeches can be presented in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
1) Tourism challenges in a post-Covid world.
2) Political advocacy through tourism: Using tourism to change the perception of your locale, business or nation
3) New forms of tourism: from agro-tourism to dark tourism
4) Tourism and Heath: Surviving the Next Pandemic.
5) Surviving man-made and natural disasters
6) Successful and failed tourism marketing strategies.
7) Avoiding tourism crises by using good risk management techniques
8) Dealing with over- and under- tourism, how to match the number of visitors to your locale’s capabilities
9) Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism
10) Training Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing (TOPPs), how it works and why it is essential for a viable tourism industry.
11) Generational Marketing: How to market tourism to diverse age groups
12) Medical tourism: its advantages and the challenges
13) Something from Nothing: The Art of Creating New Attractions.
14) Dealing with the Media: Transforming the Media into your friend
15) Selling to the Latin American Tourism Market: No, they are not all the same!
16) Selling to the US Market: One country and lots of niche groups
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Books on Tourism in English
Please see our newest book
Human Trafficking and the Tourism Industry
By Peter Tarlow and Andrew Spencer
Available through Emerald Publishers or on Amazon at
https://a.co/d/9E3DvF4
In alphabetical order by title. Most of these books are available at Amazon.com or from the publisher.
(see below for Spanish and Portuguese language books)
1) A Supply Chain Management Guide to Business by Betty Kildow; BettyKildow@comcast.net
2) Beach Safety and the Law, Edited by Jeff Wilks published by Queensland (Australia) Law Society
3) Challenges to US and Mexican Police and Tourism Stability: Peter E. Tarlow, Emerald Publishing. Available at the Emerald Book store or at Amazon https://books.emeraldinsight.com/book/detail/challenges-to-us-and-mexican-police-and-tourism-stability/?k=9781803824062
4) 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 ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
6) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004. Available through the website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for $25.
7) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (7th edition) by Philip T. Kotler (Author), John T. Bowen (Author), James Makens Ph.D. (Author), Seyhmus Baloglu (Author). Available on Amazon.
8) Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and Eran Ketter Published by Elsevier
9) Personal Reconstruction, by Peter E. Tarlow, Tom Marrs, Nathaniel Tarlow & Eduardo Leite. How to prevent or recover from a personal crisis. Available at Amazon.
10) Personal Resilience, by Peter E. Tarlow and Séverine Obertelli, Quest Publishing, Miami, Florida
11) 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 david.beirman@uts.edu.au
or go to: https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/tourism-crises-and-destination-recovery/book256475
12) Sports Travel Security by Peter E. Tarlow, published by Elsevier
13) Terrorism and the Economy, edited by Karin W. Glaser, For more information please go to: http://www.elevenpub.com/law/catalogus/terrorism-and-the-economy-1#
14) The Economics of Tourism Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove, Published by Elsevier
15) The Ethics of Terrorism: Innovative Approaches from an International Perspective. Eds Thomas Albert: Publisher: Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Il; USA.
16) The Sage Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism; Three Volume Series, Published by Sage
17) Tourism Crises and Destination Recovery, by David Beirman, Published by Sage Australia. For more information contact David Beirman at David.Beirman@uts.edu.au
18) The Tourism Gaze 3.0 by John Urry and Jonas Larsen. An all-new updated version of a great classic. Published by Sage.
19) Tourism: Principles and Practices, by John Fletcher, Alan Fyall, David Gilbert, and Stephen Wanhill. Published by Pearson
20) Tourism and Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (Wallingford: CABI)
21) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities, Burns, P. and Novelli, M. eds. (2008). (Wallingford: CABI)
22) Tourism Safety and the Security for the Caribbean, Drs. Andrew Spencer and Peter E. Tarlow, Published by Emerald
23) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward Safe Experiences for Visitors. Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast, and Peter Leggart. Published by Elsevier.
24) Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy, edited by Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi, London, England
25) Tourism-Oriented Policing and Protective Services, Peter E. Tarlow, published by IGI
26) Tourism Security: Strategies for Effectively Managing Travel Risk and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow, Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-411570-5
27) Tourism Security & Safety, from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by Elsevier.
28) The 2020 Election: A Survivor’s Guide; Peter E. Tarlow and Steve Vincent, Doppler Printing
29) Twenty Years of Tourism Tidbits: by Dr. Peter E. Tarlow and Dr. Tom Marrs. Available now on Kindle and Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/TWENTY-YEARS-TOURISM-TIDBITS-ebook/dp/B004Q9TIWW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1299276788&sr=1-2
30) 24 Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions by Susan Guyette, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-0-9858788-0-1, On Amazon.com
31) 25 Marketing Strategies to Build Your Outdoor Recreation Business by Evanne Schmarder and Peter Pelland. Published by Train Rec Productions. Please contact E. Schmarder at evanne@roadabode.com to purchase this book or find it on Amazon
Libros en español/ Livros em Português
1. Abordagem Multidisciplinar dos Cruzeiros Turísticos (A Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Cruises) por Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, Ericka Amorim, Cyntia Andrade, Nina Cardona Valéria Mariotti. Por favor contato Ericka Amorim: erickaaa@msn.com.
2) Antropologia e Turismo. Teorias, métodos e praxis, por Xerardo Pereiro e Filipa Fernande. Para comprarlo dirijase a
<http://www.pasosonline.org/es/colecciones/pasos-edita/151-numero-20-antropologia-e-turismo?
3) Desarrollo del turismo en América Latina: fases, enfoques e internacionalización por Wallingre, N. Disponible en http://eyapublicaciones.web.unq.edu.ar
4) Geografía y Turismo. Aspectos territoriales del manejo y gestión del turismo. Editorial Félix Varela. La Habana, 2013, 295 páginas. Autor: Eros Salinas Chávez, contacto: esalinas@ftur.uh.cu
5) Inversión Hotelera, por Alfredo Ascanio. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
6). La Nueva Fiebre del Oro. Las otras ciudades del turismo en el Caribe (Varadero, Bavaro-Punta Cana). Para obter uma copiea deste livro, visite: GGU-AGE: http://www.uib.es/ggu/publicaciones.html OCDS UIB:http://cooperacio.uib.cat/digitalAssets/221/221991_Las-otras-ciudades-del-turismo-en-El-Caribe.pdf
7) ¿Ocio o….Neg-Ocio? por Abelardo Pagani
8) Principios, Organización, y práctica de turismo, Ramón Martín, Editorial Felix Valela, Havana, Cuba
9) Productos Turísticos, Medina, Santqamariana, y Salinas, Escuela de Altos Estudios de Hoteleria y Turismo, La Habana, Cuba
10) Turismo en el Caribe, por “Jesús Manuel González Pérez y otros. Contacto Dr. Gonzalez por información adicional]: jesus.gonzalez@uib.es
11) Turismo Sustentable, por Alfredo Ascanio y Marcus Vinicius. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
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About the Author:
Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. is the President of Tourism & More, Inc., a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA, and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of the 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 referencing. 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 authors accept 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.