Tourism Facilities Management

1. Tourism Facilities Management André Kretzschmar University of Applied Sciences Stralsund Leisure and Tourism Management WS 2008/2009

2. Basics

3. Attractions Play a vital part inencouraging visitors to a region; Without attractions there would bea limited need for other tourism services; Some argue that tourism would not exist if it were not for attractions. Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

4. Attraction defined A designated permanent resource which is controlled and managed for the enjoyment, amusement, entertainment, and education of the visiting public. (Middleton, 1988) Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

5. What is an attraction? • Natural Environment; • Man made attractions • Tourist, • Non-tourist purpose; • Special Events. Boundaries are not always clear cut ! („Reichstag“ )  Please visit: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

6. Terminology and Interrelations visitor attractions and tourist attractions attractions and destinations attractions, support services and facilities resort complexes attractions and activities Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

7. Classification of visitor attractions Ownership Primary and secondary attractions Catchment area Visitor numbers Location Size Target markets Benefits sought Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

8. Ownership of Attractions Part One \ defining attractions \ ...

9. Single attraction; Embryonic destination:- Services develop around the single attraction; Developed single market destination: - Other attractions,designed for same market; Diversified destination:- Other attractions, designed designed for new markets. Swarbrooke's development of destinations Part One \ The role ... \ Attractions and other sectors of tourism

10. Development Feasibility Study

11. Feasibility study contents • The market study • Who will visit the attraction?- domestic and foreign holidaymakers, day trippers, School and college groups, local residents- age, sex, class, stage in family life-cycle • How many people will visit the attraction?- population of catchment area, number of holidaymakers visiting the area, competitors targeting the same market segments • Where they will come from?- catchment area • When will the visitors come?- degree of seasonality affects staffing, attraction capacity and cash flow management Part Two \ Development process \ Feasibility study

12. Feasibility study contents • Site selection criteria • Proximity to major centres of population • Transport networks and their reliability • Existence of other attractions in the area • Socio-economic profile of the catchment area • Availability of suppliers/services • Amount, type, quality and costs of land • Regulations on the use of land • The climate • Availability of qualified labour at acceptable costs • Public sector financial assistance and ‘help in kind’ • Attitude of local community towards planned project • … Part Two \ Development process \ Feasibility study

13. Feasibility study contents Profit Break-even point Costs Variable costs Fixed Costs 0 Number of visits • Financial viability • based on calculation of COSTS and REVENUES • Depending on the type of organization viability means to produce a profit or surplus on running costs • Cashflow management • Break-even analysis Part Two \ Development process \ Feasibility study

14. Development Business Planning

15. Why Plan? Identify what business you are in; To determine where you are now; Determine where you want to be in the future- 12 months / 3 years / 5 years(clear, measurable objectives); Identify how to get there- how do you achieve those objectives?(action plan); Part Two \ Development process \ Business Planning

16. What does planning encompass? • Business is primarily about one thing only, determining what it is the consumer wantsand providing it at a profit. • Strategic positioning; • Market research; • Financials; • Marketing strategy; • Human resource management; • Operational planning. ! Part Two \ Development process \ Business Planning

17. Management Marketing Planning

18. Visitor attractions as service products 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. • Staffis part of the product itself- attitudes and behaviour affect enjoyment • Intangible elements dominate the attraction product- encourage to buy on basis of an imagination • The product is perishable- ensure consumption/income before product perishes • Customers are partof the production process- affects on experience are largely outside control • Service products arenever really standardized- quality control difficult; guarantees?? Part Three \ The marketing concept

19. visitor attractions and tourism marketing The product is an experience- that begins in advance of consumption and continues …- visitors rarely distinguish between responsibilities The product offers only shared use rights- try to avoid conflicts between different groups The product offers only temporary use rights- “the longer the stay the higher the spending” The product is rarely being delivered to the customer- good signposting, directions and brochures are essential The demandfor the product is highly seasonal Part Three \ The marketing concept

20. Scope of strategic marketing planning !!! Where are we now?- analysing the organizations current situation and direction Where do we want to be in the future?- establishing mission statements, setting goals and objectives How are we going to get there?- devising strategies and tactics helping to achieve these goals and objectives, and looking at implementation issues How will we know when we get there?- monitoring and performance evaluation strategies, and systems for modifying strategies in response to monitoring Part Three \ Strategic marketing planning

21. SWOT analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats internal factors within control (current situation) external factors outside control (market direction) Part Three \ Strategic marketing planning \ Where are we now?

22. What to do with the SWOT? Weakness: few visitors inoff-peak season Conversion Strategy: attract school-group visits at low fares in off-peak season Strengths: - balanced cash flow - loyal visitors (return visits) - grater awareness (parents, relatives) - sanitised public image - …. Every section holds potential to put forward strategies For example, weaknesses and threats can be converted to strengths and opportunities. Whilst strengths can be matched to opportunities. Part Three \ Strategic marketing planning \ Where are we now?

23. Product positioning Theme Park Exciting Exciting ( ) Expensive Expensive Inexpensive Inexpensive Boring Boring Positioning disparity Competitor analysis Where customers perceive you to be in the marketplace If there are disparities between the customer and the manager‘s viewpoint:- change the market or the product in order to reflect/match the views of the customers! Part Three \ Strategic marketing planning \ Where are we now?

24. Management Implementing Marketing Strategies

25. Basic statements Marketing strategies are generally implemented through Marketing Plans. Implementing marketing strategies is mainly about manipulating the Marketing Mix. Implementing marketing strategies requires to keep up with the latest Developments in Marketing. Part Three \ The implementation of marketing strategies \ How are we going to get there?

26. Marketing Mix Place of purchase Product levels (Kotler) Distribution Designed characteristics Pre-booking Service components Image / Reputation Pre-purchase Positioning Intermediaries Packaging Booking agencies Branding Ticket systems Quality Literature List price Advertising Discounts Signposting Concessions Sponsorship Value for money Direct marketing Cost of travelling Sales promotion Methods of payment Personal selling Price / Quality trade off Press and public relations Place Product Promotion Price Part Three \ The implementation of marketing strategies \ How are we going to get there?

27. The seven Ps People – staff in terms of:training, appearance, behaviour, customer contact, … Physical evidence – environmentlayout, noise, cleanliness, furnishing, … Process – corporate policies and proceduresemployee empowerment, customer involvement, … Extension of the ‘product’ category !but emphasizes the importance of those three factorsfor service products Part Three \ The implementation of marketing strategies \ How are we going to get there?

28. How will we know when we get there? Evaluation requires that:- the marketing strategy contains measurable targets- there are management information systems, providing up-to-date information of the organizations performance - must provide internal data on the performance - and external information on business environment- there are control mechanisms to allow corrective actions Corrective actions should be fed back into the strategy!!! Part Three \ The implementation of marketing strategies \ How will we know when we get there?

29. Management Human Resource …

30. Human Resource Management • Considered to be the most important aspect of management • Attitudes and abilities of staff have a crucial impact on the visitors experience • Labour costs are likely to be the largest single items on the attractions budget Part Three \ Human Resource Management

31. Problems of HRM at visitor attractions Tourism industry suffers from bad reputation in HRM • High turnover of staff • Seasonality of demand • Poor status of jobs • Lack of career structures • Unusually demanding jobs • lack of management expertise • Lack of widely recognized qualification and training schemes Part Three \ Human Resource Management \ Problems

32. Management Quality …

33. Quality management and services No standardized product- difficult to adopt standardized quality control systems- affected by a number of variables- the product is different for every customer Intangibility and perishability- ‚faults‘ in the product cannot be easily seen - not ease to replace a ‚faulty‘ product Services are often complex products- involving a huge number of elements which are interdependent and difficult to monitor Part Three \ Quality management

34. Quality management systems at attractions There are three main points to consider:- what definition of quality to use- what performance standards to use and what measurement system to implement- what systems to adopt to achieve quality Part Three \ Quality management

35. Visitor management visitor management incorporates aspects of both:quality management and green issues, and is the most critical part of the day-to-day management at the site Tries to ensure an experience without disturbancesby providing a trouble-free sequence of events Aims to minimize negative environmental andsocio-cultural impact caused by the use of the attr. Although most important for non-purpose built attractions,there is a certain relevance for all types of attractions Part Three \ Visitor management

36. Visitor management Financialconditions Legalconditions Humanresources Marketingactivities Operationalmanagement HRM Experiencewithoutdisturbances Maximizequality ofproduct/service Visitorexpectations Visitorsatisfaction VisitorManagement Managementobjectives Performance Conservation: - environment- and assets Minimizenegative impact Part Three \ Visitor management

37. Problems to deal with Damage on environment caused by visitors- wildlife, flora and fauna, pollution by traffic Damage on assets caused by visitors- intentional, unintentionally caused by heavy use Disturbances in visitor flow- bottleneck situations, waiting times Accessibility of certain areas - restricted access caused by construction work- distances between attractions on site- handycapped visitors Part Three \ Visitor management