Participation – Getting Involved

Tourism thrives on networking, and networking tends to grow from being involved in the myriad of opportunities our industry makes available:

• Tourism and industry sector associations;
• Industry briefings and information sessions;
• Seminars and workshops;
• Conferences;
• Training opportunities;
• Familiarisation programs;
• Accreditation schemes;
• Awards;
• Cooperative marketing;
• Trade missions, joint promotions/ packaging, etc.

In fact, few industries offer their players such an array of opportunity to become involved. Research shows that out of the 90,000 tourism related businesses in Victoria, over 90% are small or micro businesses *, yet less than 10% are believed to be adequately connected to their wider industry.

Reasons why some business operators do not get involved is that they feel they are too busy, and that it’s expensive to employ replacement staff to allow owners or regular staff to attend industry functions. A lack of awareness of the opportunities, scepticism about the quality of what is on offer, or a perceived lack of relevance are also common explanations. Lack of communication between industry associations and their business communities may also be a factor hindering participation.

However, as you will read in this module, for most successful tourism businesses there is a direct correlation between business success and their involvement in the wider industry. It should be no surprise that some of the busiest people in the industry are regular attendees at business and networking events. They know that the contacts they make, the new ideas and the intellectual stimulation they gain, their ability to influence policy and decision-making, and the opportunities to work with like-minded people far outweigh the cost and time involved.

Perhaps the greatest irony about this module is that it will be mainly read by people who are already active in the local and wider industry, and who are alert to the opportunities available to them. The major challenge is how to engage the vast majority of tourism operators.

The following two sections “Why I’m Involved” and “How I’m Involved” highlight business operators who are actively engaged. They explain the benefits it brings to them and their work.

The third chapter provides ideas and examples for councils and tourism associations to help stimulate more local involvement in what they are offering.

Some specific tools to help operators become more involved are featured in chapter four under “Tools”

* Bolin and Greenwood, ‘Tourism Businesses in Australia’, 2003.