Morena
The art of the story is a conversation starter which is often discussed, but is just as often given lip service by many in the tourism sector.
There are just as many definitions of storytelling as there are stories! We like this version from the National Storytelling Network (with our modifications): Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to spark visitor engagement and change.
We believe there are five key elements of storytelling. These are:
Of course storytelling can be combined with other art experiences which run the whole gambit of the genre.
We recently experienced a “how not to tell a story” tourism activity. Our guide did manage to partly deliver some limited form of functional interaction. The other elements of effective storytelling were not even touched on. This was a missed opportunity for a business which is at the premium end of the market.
Are your stories delivering what your visitors want? Talk to us about we can work with you to deliver an effective story experience for your initiative.
Ka kite ano
Story telling in action at Sanctuary Mountain
Morena
For this months blog we thought we would look at the art of inspiration/leadership in the visitor sector.
This thinking came to our front of mind last week when we dined out in a tourism focused town. As the only diners that night we received adequate service, but no more. This is in sharp contrast to the situation we encountered while filling up the car with petrol on the West Coast last year. In this case the attendant thanked us for choosing to use their service station and spend our money with them, as opposed to someone else.
After our dining experience I reflected on what was a lost opportunity for the hospitality business. My view is that any business echos the leadership and inspirational traits of it’s leaders.
Over the years I have been lucky enough to have worked with some amazing and inspiring leaders. One thing they all had in common was that they showed some or all of the traits noted below, and in some cases more.
Of course there have been a number of leaders that didn’t reflect these traits, their leadership style is probably best summed up in this link
The future challenge for managers/mentors/team leaders across the visitor sector will be ensuring they implement these traits (and others) as our borders open up. Do you inspire/lead/mentor using these building blocks?
Thanks to Vala Afshar from Salesforce for the prompt!
Ka kite ano
Naumai
It is always a privilege to “share” Aotearoa / New Zealand. It matters little if the audience is domestic or international , hitting the road to explore our place in the world is one of life’s pleasures.
This summer was however different. Tasked with sharing the southern part of the South Island with a group of international visitors (including over the Chinese New Year period) I reflected on what one might find.
Reading and listening to media headlines I was expecting a constant stream of polluting freedom campers, over priced food and lodging, little space, tired operators, and people literally everywhere – even in my normally quiet haunts and secluded places!
The trip took in every destination and more, between Christchurch and Bluff via the Catlins, Manapouri, Te Anau Queenstown and Wanaka.
So summing up the trip was a great success, we achieved most things we promised our visitors and more. We saw rare and endangered wildlife, meet some fantastic locals, enjoyed great food and wine and the whole gambit of southern landscapes.
That of course is the official version.
My overwhelming impression after ten days on the road in the southern South Island, is of too many people in too many locations. I mean literally no one used to go to Slope Point (the most southern point of mainland NZ) , a full car park at Bluff mid afternoon (great views) and absolutely no where to turn in Wanaka around 4pm.
I am apprehensive when I hear local operators saying that bookings for next year re even higher than this summer, in one case up to a third. What does that mean for tourism’s social license to operate?
Here are some facts:
The number of international visitors coming into NZ averages over 320,000 a month
This is an average yearly growth of over 5.65 for the last ten years
More than one in ten jobs is indirectly generated by tourism
International visitors contribute $ 40 million per day to the economy
And New Zealander’s (2017) views on tourism
96% of us agree tourism is good for NZ 35% think tourism puts too much pressure on NZ 21% think there are too many visitors
Challenges for NZ’s around international visitors include: road congestion, litter and a high risk of motor accidents
In earlier blogs we have discussed the opportunities and challenges for tourism in maintaining and enhancing a social license to operate. Some initiatives such as Tourism Aotearoa’s sustainable tourism are small step in the right direction. But if this years southern experience on the road is next years reality, then we have a serious problem – with no coordinated response in sight.
Ka kite ano
Visitors on the beach – Moeraki Boulders
Naumai
Is this really the best manaakitanga we can offer?
Tourism New Zealand suggests: the meaning of manaakitanga is much broader than a one word or direct translation.
It can be broken down into three parts: mana-ā-ki which loosely translates as ‘the power of the word’ and reminds hosts to be expressive and fluent in welcoming visitors.
Another explanation has the words mana / prestige and ki te tangata / to the people – pointing out the importance of enhancing the mana which covers the integrity, status / prestige, and power of guests.
Here, as our experience suggests, a great day out was left wanting in manaakitanga by our introduction to Fullers ferry and the introduction by staff on arrival at Rotoroa Island.
Our manaakitanga component started off by having to queue for the ferry. No big deal but despite being early morning it was a burning , windless day. People who had queued early inside the perspex cover were eventually forced to abandon their place in line and escape the hot tapped air. It was seriously stifling.
There was general confusion about who was queuing for what. Was this the ferry to Rangitoto, Tiritiri Matangi or Rotoroa Island? No signs, or technology, not even temporary, just two staff that came and went answering the same questions as to the destination.
Two minutes after leaving the wharf we returned – someone had got on the wrong ferry……. That’s despite a handheld scanner that supposedly scanned everybody aboard including our mobile phone downloaded tickets. Only problem was it couldn’t read the bar code on our phone!
On arrival all seventy plus of us were crammed into a small hot shed on the wharf and given a rambling presentation about the history, issues and do’s and dont’s on the Island. We fully support the bio-security intent behind this – but having endured countless windblown ( you can’t here the words and often the speakers aren’t great) welcomes at Tiritiri Matangi and other DOC/partner managed islands, one has to wonder is there a better way? It is human nature to not what to be confined (see Maslow) and to be acknowledged and treated with intelligence. This and other Island welcomes don’t do this! DOC and it’s partners should use other ways of pushing the bio-security message to what is mostly an already knowledgeable audience.
The final straw was when the ranger announced a different ferry departure time back to Auckland than that advertised in the various Fullers media. Normally extra time on an Island such as Rotoroa would be great, but we had organised a busy late afternoon around the quoted departure time and arrival back in Auckland.
The last comment the ranger made before “releasing us” was to invite us back inside the shed before we got on the return ferry – surely not!
In the end it was with much thankfulness that the staff on Rotoroa didn’t invite us back into the hot little shed on the wharf to say haere ra! Everyone was far too busy enjoying the sunshine, swimming off the wharf an enjoying their last minutes on the Island.
Rotoroa Island is a fantastic day out. But two of the key partners need to up their game in the manaakitanga stakes. The basic mana of visitors just isn’t being respected.
Ka kite ano
Sculpture on Rotoroa
Island
Naumai
It’s late December and the rata is flowering beautifully on the West Coast, that’s a South Islander’s version of the pohutakawa ‘Christmas tree”!
In Akaroa our lavender fields are bright purple – Akaroa Organics and ready for harvest.
In our last post for the year we’d like to share a recent experience with one of New Zealand’s leading and award winning activity operators. Checking in we were met by two foreign nationals, they were polite but curse. Unfortunately as soon as we were checked in the two staff spent most of the non contact time (about 30 minutes prior to the activity beginning) trying to redesign the retail space in front of the counter so “they could hide from people”. Really? As front line hosts,and the first personal touch-point between visitors and the company, it should be the opposite. What made it so bad was that they were so nonchalant about this, and everyone in the room who spoke good English could understand what they were saying.
Is this really the type of customer experience our award winning companies are delivering?
The actual activity was interesting but really not what it was hyped up to be. Interaction was limited and much of our time was spent looking at machinery. Trying to interpret a static object requires certain skills, especially when those components dominate the overall experience.
The power of marketing!
Have a great Christmas/Kirihimete and a very happy 2018!
Ka kite ano
Naumai
It’s that time of the year again.Hopefully you have your team in place, well trained and ready to go!
Recently we took part in a discussion with Tai Poutini Polytechnic, employers and others associated with tourism on the West Coast. We discussed the opportunities and issues that involve training those involved in tourism.
Much of the discussion was based on the qualities of a guide. How do you take someone that may have all the necessary technical skill (i.e. hard) but needs coaching on the (so called “softer”) skills of guiding i.e. people management ? I think there was general agreement in the group that the biggest need was in the latter. For example how do you mentor an eighteen year old to lead, inspire, entertain and enlighten a 60 year old visitor from another country?
In this blog we look at some some of the qualities we should be training just about anyone involved in tourism, but particularly guides.
Charm / ātahu
Every person in your group is looking for information and more importantly, entertainment, from their guide. Remember we are now an entertainment centric society. A guide should always be constantly looking for opportunities to charm and involve your group in doing things, rather than just listening.
An active C drive / mātau
You may of course be a very charming person but if you don’t have the mātau then your’e on the back foot from the start. Yes you need to know facts, figures and anything else somebody on a tour might ask you. You also need to be prepared to find an answer and get back to people. Make sure you engage with everyone in the group and facilitate discussion between the group.
Stories / tito
Visitors (some) love hearing facts behind the topic of interest e.g. Tane Mahuta, but above all visitors love their guide to share a personal story about the topic. Stories engage people’s minds and more importantly hearts. Facts alone do not.
Organisation and flexibility / nahanaha
You need to be super organised and flexible if you want to be a great guide. The group will have certain expectations about what the are expecting to see. You need to deliver on those, and make sure your timing for pre-booked events is perfect. At the same time you need to be flexible. If an attraction is suddenly closed you need to find an alternative!
Humour / whakataka
Your visitors are on holiday; they want to be entertained. That includes the use of humour. It’s a skill to be developed but can ease a difficult situation, reassure visitors, make them laugh and add real value to a situation. While jokes are part of this, the most important part is you as the leader facilitating the humour in an appropriate way.
Empathy / aroha
You can be assured that somewhere, sometime, when you have a group something will happen to someone in the group. It may be lost luggage, bad news from back home, a cultural issue,or any myriad of issues. In this situation aroha will get you a long way, make your guests feel valued and can assist in solving the issue.
You can read some other interesting views of the qualities that make a great guide, and a tourism host, here and here!
Ka kite ano
Malcolm
Guiding at Maungatautari
Naumai
Continued growth in New Zealand tourism is raising questions over it’s social license to operate. As Tourism Aotearoa states ” Tourism will only achieve our Tourism 2025 aspirational goal if we maintain and enhance our social licence to operate. We are encouraging tourism operators to recognise the importance of growing their businesses in a way which balances the economic, social and environmental impacts.”
There is no widely accepted definition of a social license to operate (SLO). However a recent paper by the Sustainable Business Council suggests key attributes include:
Ka kite ano
Just what is tourism’s social license to operate in NZ?
Naumai
Visiting Dunedin is always a great experience. Next time you are there, visit the Dunedin Chinese Gardens. The Gardens reflect the contribution people from China have made, and continue to make, to Dunedin. This is an authentic experience with the picturesque and peaceful surroundings reflecting the spirit of the place and the concept of “keeping the clouds and borrowing the moon”.
Most Chinese festivals are observed by eating a particular food as a custom, and the Dragon Boat Festival is no exception. Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves, is the special food eaten to celebrate the day. It has various fillings. In north China, people favor the jujubes as the filling, while the south sweetened bean paste, fresh meat, or egg yolk.
The Dunedin Chinese Garden recently celebrated the legend of Qu Yuan, and integral part of world-wide Dragon Boat festivals. A fun family day was held with different events based around this fascinating legend. As part of celebrating the legend, the Garden’s also offered visitors the chance to try Zongzi.
Our order taken we sat in the Tea House listening to melodious singing from Tai Chi exponents. The pork Zongzi arrived but on unwrapping the glutinous rice was cold and uncooked. A new dish eventually arrived but again fell well short of an authentic warm dish. The staff did recognise the issue with a free gift which helped, but the experience failed to maximize the cultural opportunity and link to the event.
In the competitive field of visitor experiences you get one chance to make a great impression. This is even more so when you are dealing with cultural experiences. The opportunity to introduce visitors to authentic cultural based food was missed – the experience reflecting negatively on our otherwise good experience.
Ka kite ano
Zongzi
Naumai
A recent trip to the West Coast led to the cycleway around Greymouth and Hokitika. Great concept if still some work to do. Pity about the image below, which I think is an attempt to warn us about some track maintenance.
Obviously its almost impossible to read, creates a poor image and is disrespectful of the great work being done on the cycleway.
The sign was a 15 minute drive from Hokitika, easy access!
Ka kite ano
DOC’s “professional” approach to visitor information?
Naumai
All the indications are that this will be a crunch summer for tourism in New Zealand.
Reports suggest many accommodation providers are full, attractions run the risk of turning people away and transport providers (particularly rental providers) have invested in new stock.
The likelihood is that international visitors will be here in increasing numbers, particularly in iconic locations. Will that create a problem with New Zealand domestic visitors seeking the relatively uncrowded experience they have been accustomed too?
Ship Cove/Meretoto in Queen Charlotte Sound is a case in point. Easily accessible by scheduled boat services, private vessel and some international cruise ships, the iconic site maybe under threat from sheer numbers this summer. The track (and it certainly isn’t of a great standard) is often quiet but from November to March that changes. At any one time the narrow track can be full of visitors, both domestic and international, throughout the day. At what stage is the visitor experience compromised?
Solutions to this “nice to have” problem are complex. Tourism New Zealand is moving to focus marketing efforts on the shoulder season, the conversation around taxing international visitors is gaining momentum and both traditional media and social media are focusing on the opportunities.
Ka kite ano
Ship Cove / Meretoto, Marlborough Sounds