Cause: A Duty of Care

Doing business in the 21st Century requires new practices and principles. Since the turn of the century, the travel and tourism sector has prospered based on the four P’s of Product, Place, Promotion and Price. This “industry” has followed not lead the trends set by the broader business sector.

From a base of millions of fragmented, small enterprises a small number of large, vertically-integrated global corporations have emerged that dominate the international tourism sector in terms of value share. Their motive: reducing the costs of transaction, controlling inventory, capturing market share, holding on to ever shrinking profit margins. Their approach: the application of an industrial model originally developed for a manufacturing, machine age and mass consumerism.

In an age of almost perfect information; when business must be conducted around the globe 24/7/365; when customer expectations are soaring and their ability to inter-communicate is powerful, and when external factors can stop this industry in its tracks, such traditional linear responses have less and less effect, relevance and appeal.

The travel and tourism industry is facing some serious problems: commoditisation – prices are being pushed down; distribution chains are becoming more complex and expensive; skilled labour is less available; visitors increasingly resent the industrialisation and deterioration of the tourist experience, transportation congestion and resource depletion and degradation.

We at DestiCorp suggest that Profit will become the natural by-product of exemplary service when the Four Prosperity Principles of Respect, Relationships, Responsibility and Renewal are applied.

Respect: At its essence, tourism involves an encounter between a guest and a host that takes place in a unique moment in space and time. Only in an atmosphere of trust, when both parties are treated with equal respect and the needs and sensitivities of the host community are honoured, will that encounter generate benefit. As many leading companies have demonstrated, customer care will only occur when employees are treated with respect and fairness. The travel and tourism sector can expect huge labour, skill and leadership shortages ahead. The battle will be for talent and staff with the right mix of attitude, ingenuity and resilience.

Relationships: tourism is a composite phenomenon involving multiple enterprises that exist independently of one another yet are mutually interdependent. In combination, they form a complex business ecosystem or business web that is supported by environmental and economic ecosystems whose geography and influence is increasingly global in scope. Successful tourism enterprises will increasingly pay attention to reducing their ecological footprint and demonstrating to their discerning client base that they genuinely intend to act responsibly and for the long-term well-being of all stakeholders affected by their enterprise.

Responsibility: tourism contributes to and is dependent on the social, economic and environmental health of its host environment. Only enterprises and host communities that balance the needs of all stakeholders (customers, employees and shareholders) will thrive.

Renewal: in the natural world ecosystems are in a constant process of evolution and change - they renew themselves, self-repair and re-organise to meet new threats and exploit new opportunities. Individual enterprises, destinations and consortia need to be constantly re-inventing themselves or face extinction.