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World Tourism Day: Advantages that we can avail

Najmun Noor
A number of factors came up in the Asian Tourism Fair in Bangladesh that tourism experts feel are a precursor to strategy building. The Fair was held just days before World Tourism Day (September 27).
These factors originate from a principle and mindset that allows utilisation of available resources, tools and methodologies that are closer than we think.
A business strategy can be evolved from these emerging realities:
• Tourist Arrivals in Least Developed Countries (LDC) have tripled in ten years;
• Given this increase, tourism revenues can be increased by focusing on quality tourism products and services -- as opposed to being overly concerned with mass tourism;
• Tourism workers and their direct interface with tourists is equally important as it is with management. ILO perceives this as a labour-intensive industry and hence the scope for goal congruence as well as parallel growth in employment and poverty reduction;
• An integrated approach among a broad base of stakeholders is essential for developing a quality tourism product -- other ministries or departments can be stakeholders as long as they see the economic rationale, i.e. overall economic development;
• A positive projection of the tourism product can be effected through "showing" target markets what is there on offer as opposed to just drum-beating to announce it. "Seeing is believing." When we combine these aforementioned realities with some of the advantages that we can avail, there are areas to start off with immediately. More often than not, there is a tendency to be tentative or to wait and plan for the quintessential or picturesque tourism product or service. Unfortunately, all the right conditions to evolve with the right infrastructure and investment may take time, money and effort that may not be readily available.
Countries with success stories in tourism are known to pursue alternate programmes and campaigns to bolster their conventional methods. Yet alternate campaigns can also be undertaken in the meantime without having to wait for conditions to be ideal or perfect.
In Bangladesh, too, these alternate campaigns can be developed to make the best possible efforts with whatever we have available. This is not to suggest that projects or plans for a traditional tourism worthy Bangladesh need to be deferred, withheld or slowed down.
Alternate plans and actions can help in adapting to and improvising with existing resources and conditions to boost the tourism effort in the country. There are in a number of areas, but we can start off with:
Convention Tourism: With the passage of time, and despite innumerable limiting factors, of which traffic jams and power failures are the major ones, the economy continues to grow. Compared to the past, there are more conferences and conventions in the country. The efforts, however, are disjointed. Private entities, organisations,
companies or agencies have acted on their own.
"Events Marketing," as a specialised field, can be expected to flourish given the right thrust and conscious effort from official circles. Steps in the right direction include developing an annual calendar of all events, categorised by ones that have the element of conventions, seminars, workshops, conferences, etc. Having developed a list or potential list of events, the agencies, companies, multinationals, embassies, donors, press, manufacturers, industrial groups, service groups, NGOs, etc that are holding these events need to be identified.
Next in line would be to develop a list of the venues (hotels, conference halls, institutes,) and facilitators of these conferences and conventions. By connecting these aforementioned elements to successfully deliver a convention tourism product, a brand develops that kick-starts a strong and multiplier effect on other facets of the economy. And none of this has to wait for that "perfect" tourism product to evolve. We can make do with what we have.
Incentive Tourism: The concept has been in practice for decades in other countries. Organisers package a variety of related components like travel, accommodation and recreation, and market a comprehensive product to corporations, partnering entities or their employees as incentives for good performances, anniversaries, commemorations. The service or product gets introduced and, with a good experience to remember, popularised in a segment of the market that may not be perceived as being typically and traditionally of a touristic nature.
In either of the two above, there are forums like meetings, conventions, incentives, and events that
can be utilised to enrich the knowledge and experience. Customised Needs Tourism: This can be in a variety of fields. Nostalgia trips, visiting friends and relatives, eco-visits, educational trips, heritage, affinity groups, etc are some of them and, although these can be indicated as being purpose of travel, there is a market for each of them. The Indian subcontinent is a web of cross and subcultures and there are still relatives who yearn for reconnection. Some of the passion lies in the sports arena and rivalry in the games played or even in interest in historical personalities. Conceiving and materialising those connections is for the tourist agencies to pursue and market.
In the tourism forums currently being held in Bangladesh, experts implore us to not only to tell our story, but also to show what Bangladesh has to offer. In days gone by, the suggestion may have been cost-prohibitive — but not anymore. Social media channels not only allow cost-efficiency but phenomenal outreach as well. Each of these outlets allows projection, discussion, portrayal, image and video depiction. A carefully planned social media strategy across these multiple outlets is the equivalent of preparing smart and savvy marketing campaigns. Tourism will get a boost and so will several other sectors.
The writer Is a marketing professional and business strategist.