Destination Marketing, Management, and Skills Training
Posted on November 10, 2012
The British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training made a couple of noteworthy announcements this week. First (and possibly the most interesting and potentially controversial), is the re-branding and re-launch of Tourism BC as ‘Destination BC’ with a primary focus on destination marketing. Significantly, there was little, if any mention of ‘destination management’ in the release or any of the media coverage. This omission is important to recognize, as you can expend vast quantities on marketing initiatives which may have relatively marginal impact if the products and services you are promoting are not sufficiently developed and managed to meet the needs of a hyper-competitive international marketplace. Second, the Ministry highlighted investments in skills training for the tourism sector…this is an integral piece of the ‘destination management’ pie which should be integral to any destination development strategy. In 2011, I was involved in a BC regional tourism/hospitality skills training, capacity-building project which focused on essential skills and customer service training. In a brief that I recently produced, I have highlighted some of the issues, challenges, and strategies that should be considered for tourism/hospitality employers to attract and retain employees, improve employee morale and productivity , and enhance overall organizational performance.
Benefits of Customer Service Training – LeftCoastInsights Nov 2012.pdf