Crossing the Chasm – Attracting, Engaging & Supporting the Conscious Traveler
WHY? WHO? HOW?
ATEC Symposium, Noosa, Sunshine Coast, May 4th, 2012Anna Pollock, Conscious Travel
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This Presentation isn’t For Everyone!Focus:
Small, Niche Tourism ProvidersF.I.T. Leisure & Business
Regional Communities outside CBD’s of large cities
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost)
The Tourism Tsunami
Source: UNWTO - Growth in International Trips 1950-2020
Is this growth achievable?
If not, where’s Plan B?
The Story of Tourism
BIOPHYSICAL REALITIES
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Big Business IS Getting the Message
“ population growth, exploitation of natural resources, climate change and other factors are putting the world on a development trajectory that is not sustainable…if we fail to alter our patterns of production and consumption, things will begin to go badly wrong”
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Costs and Risk to Increase
“ The resources on which businesses rely will become more difficult to access and more costly. There will be an increasing strain on infrastructure and natural systems as patterns of economic growth and wealth change. Physical assets and supply chains will be affected by the unpredictable results of a warming world. And business will be confronted with an ever more complex web of legislation and fiscal instruments.”
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Seeing Opportunities Also
“ the bold, the visionary and the innovative recognise that what is good for people and the planet will also be good for the long-term bottom line and shareholder value…
competitive advantage can be carved out of emerging risk.”
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Big Business is Concerned About these Issues
1. Climate Change2. Energy and Fuel3. Material resource
Scarcity4. Water Scarcity5. Population &
Consumption growth
6. Urbanization7. Disparate
prosperity8. Food security9. Ecosystem Decline10. Deforestation
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But Australians Apparently are Not!
Australians are effectively indifferent to global and societal issues
Australians have put aside the the environment in favour of Food, health, crime, safety and rights to basic public services - “tangible things people confront on a daily basis”
What Matters to Australians, produced by the University of Technology, Sydney and the Melbourne Business School
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What are the implications?
And IF Plan A is unattractive, where’s Plan B?
If this story came true
Resident Backlash
Resident Backlash
Irresponsiblity
Desparation?
Resignation?
Two Roads: Two Kinds of Travel
Mass Industrialised Tourism
Impulse, Frequent, “a right”Comfort & ConvenienceThe Packaged ProductPRICE the decision factor
VOLUME GROWTH IMPERATIVE
Abundance of Choice but SamenessPrice TransparencyCommodificationAutomationDiminishing MarginsVolatilityCustomers as TargetsLimited Responsibility
SUCCESS = VOLUME OF VISITORS
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No Living System Grows Indefinitely
This is the fork in the Road
What’s Enabling an Alternative?
An Alternative Model? Mass Industrialised Tourism
Impulse, Frequent, “a right”Comfort & ConvenienceThe Packaged ProductPRICE the decision factor
VOLUME GROWTH IMPERATIVE
Abundance of Choice but SamenessPrice TransparencyCommodificationAutomationDiminishing MarginsVolatilityCustomers as TargetsLimited Responsibility
SUCCESS = VOLUME OF VISITORS
When Values Change, Everything Changes
“ Consumer and investor values are changing. And as they change more corporations are recognizing that there is profit and opportunity in a broader sense of responsibility beyond the next quarter’s results”
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ACUMULATING SIGNSCultural Creatives
LOHASEco-tourism
Responsible TourismSustainable Tourism
Geo TourismFair Trade Tourism
Philanthropic TravelLocal Travel Movement
Indigenous TourismEducational / Scientific TourismHealth & Wellness/Spa Tourism
RECESSION AS PUNCTUATION POINTDon Tapscott
RECESSION AS CHANGE ACCELERATORAnna Pollock
POST RECESSIONARY CONSUMERS
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1950s – 1990s 1990s - 2007 After 2008
Source: The Darwinian Gale, The Futures Company 2010
New Consumers still want MORE, but they are defining that differently. Not more shiny trifles and mountains of consumer goods but, rather, more meaning, more deeply felt connections, more substance and a greater sense of purpose.
• 72% say they are trying to improve the way they live• 71% are trying to improve who they are as individuals• 59% worry that society has grown too disconnected
from the natural world• 51% would like to be part of some important cause• 67% believe most people would be better off if they lived
more simply • 69% claim to be smarter shoppers than they were a few
years ago• 64% say that making environmentally friendly choices
makes them feel good about themselves.
Conscious
• Youthful, wired, highly educated, majority female
• Three times more likely to try new things
• Three times more likely to reward or punish a brand based on corporate practice
• Dedicated “box turner” but doesn’t trust corporate declaration
• Even in the recession, the majority believe it important to make choices based on environmental and social benefits
• More than half are willing to pay more for sustainable brands
Asks “what’s in it for we?”
Active co-creators of products and experiences
The Conscious Consumer
The Conscious Consumer Report, 2009, BBMG
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• 66% of consumers would prefer to buy products from companies that give back to society
• 62% would prefer to work for such companies
• 59% would prefer to invest in such companies
• 46% would be willing to pay extra for products and services from these companies
DOING GOOD IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
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SUPPORT VARIES REGIONALLY
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Australia 31%
Why Attract, Engage & Support the Conscious Traveller?
If you get it right, they’ll ..
1. Reward you with higher yields2. Help market your destination, or
company 3. Favour responsible suppliers, encourage
“best practice,”4. Reduce costs (energy, waste, turnover,
employee engagement)5. Help ensure you stay ahead of demand6. Reduce the volatility7. Generate more net benefit to local
economies8. Help protect & rejuvenate ecosystems
and culture & retain bio & cultural diversity
What does theConscious Traveller
want?
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2.Personal & Customised
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3.Experiential and Immersive
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow, Sensual & to be
Savoured
Image: http://www.redbubble.com/people/voyager/works/3731604-uluru---uluru-kata-tjuta-national-park---australia
• Wine & sunsets• Local Food• Star Gazing• Indigenous Stories• Conversations around a campfire
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow, Sensual & to be Savoured5.Transformational – Change
Me
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow & Savoury5. Transformational – Change Me6.Let me share
“Collaborative Consumption”
20092012
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow & Savoury5. Transformational – Change Me6. Let me share7.Show me you care –
responsible providers
Show Me You Care
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Conscious Travellers are Wired to CARE
“Purpose is the new passionParticipation in the new
consumption”BBMG
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow, Sensual & to be Savoured5. Transformational – Change Me6. Let me share7. Show me you care – responsible
providers8.Let me show I care
Support Their CausesLet Them
Participate and Co-Create
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow, Sensual & to be Savoured5. Transformational – Change Me6. Let me share7. Show me you care – responsible
providers8. Let me show I care9. Use “kindred spirit” intermediaries
1. Local, Authentic, Quirky2. Personal & Customised3. Experiential and Immersive4. Slow, Sensual & to be Savoured5. Transformational – Change Me6. Let me share7. Show me you care – responsible
providers8. Let me show I care9. Use “kindred spirit” intermediaries10.Will become your advocate
How do we cross the chasm?
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How do we create an alternative?Conscious Travel
Considered, cautiousSeeking VALUE & meaningPLACE Specific Experiences Not ProductsVALUES the key factor
VALUE & YIELD
Uniqueness= scarcityPrice TransparencyComparisons difficult because…Local sourcing, hand madeDiversityPersonalCustomers are Co-creative PartnersFull of spontaneity, unexpected delightPromise of an Experience that PULLS
SUCCESS = NET BENEFIT TO HOST COMMUNITY, RESILIENCE,
Mass Industrialised Tourism
Impulse, Frequent, “a right”Comfort & ConvenienceThe Packaged ProductPRICE a key decision factor
VOLUME
Abundance of ChoicePrice TransparencyCommodificationStandardizationSamenessAutomationCustomers as TargetsNo Frills or No SurprisesPUSH marketing
SUCCESS = VOLUME OF VISITORS
INDUSTRIAL CONSCIOUS
DMO HOST
TOP DOWN – PLANS & POLICIESCHECKLISTS
BOTTOM-UP COMMUNITY LEARNING BY DOING
PRODUCT PLACE
COMPETITION COLLABORATION
OUTSIDE IN INSIDE OUT
PUSH PULL
How do we create an alternative?
MINDSET
CONTEXT
VALUES & PURPOSE
CULTURE & BRAND
YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
IDEAL EMPLOYEES & SUPPLIERS
PLACE
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
SOCIAL MARKETING
CHANGE AGENCY
CONSCIOUS HOST
CONSCIOUSTRAVEL
The Conscious Travel Program
Be Inspired!Anna Pollockwww.conscioustourism.wordpress.com
www.slideshare.net/AnnaP
Email: [email protected]