Strategy
Tourism is worth $10.9 Billion to Victoria's economy, making up 5.3% of the VictorianGrossState Product (Access Economics, 2004).
For Victoria's industry to sustainably grow, tourism products and experiences must provide high levels of visitor satisfaction.
This satisfaction can be achieved through tourism businesses striving for success and utilising and engaging with the many and varied tools available.
Business Excellence
Tourism is a fiercely competitive business. We not only compete with other businesses, towns, regions and states, but with all the other demands for consumers’ discretionary dollar.
The environment for tourism is changing and, to grow and prosper, the tourism industry will need to not only be more flexible and responsive to challenges, it needs to lift ‘the bar’ in the delivery of service and standards.
This is imperative if Victoria wants to keep ahead of its competitors. Consumers are now more informed, more discerning and culturally and linguistically diverse. They are looking for the best experience.
The high quality experiences needed by the Victorian industry to compete domestically and internationally will only result from having a majority of quality tourism operators. Yet, the barriers to enter the industry remain low and are often non-existent.
The desire to enter the industry is often driven by lifestyle factors and the decisions to establish or to buy a tourism business are often made with little research, or even a self-assessment of personal suitability.
This module provides tourism operators with the means to access knowledge, to use tools and to develop new skills in order to continually improve their business operation, throughout its product lifecycle.
What are the challenges?
- The widespread nature of tourism businesses and the extended hours of operation make it difficult for operators to engage in business development programs.
- The lack of time, awareness and availability are perceived the most restrictive barriers small businesses face on the ability or desire to seek and use support. (Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) Research 2006)
- A lack of connection in the minds of many tourism operators between the amount of business planning/monitoring and the likelihood of business success.
- The low levels of knowledge and understanding of the tourism industry among key points of ‘first reference’ used by tourism operators, eg accountants, solicitors, business advisors etc.
- The perception among many tourism operators that business development tools such as Tourism Accreditation, training programs and Tourism Awards are too costly, too time consuming or inaccessible.
Key Actions Needed
- Undertake a ‘gap analysis’ of skill development tools available to tourism business operators.
- Ensure that managers of business development tools work collectively and synergistically, in order to address unmet skill development needs, to avoid duplication, to cross-link, cross-promote, and to create cost-benefits.
- Encourage industry associations and training providers to work together to provide cost-effective skill development opportunities and to disseminate appropriate information as widely as possible.
- Encourage and assist industry providers to mount a campaign that will demonstrate the direct benefit to operators of using the major skill development tools, including case studies, endorsements and testimonials.
- Communicate to operators the need to look at the complete lifecycle of their business – from start-up, through the growth and development of the business, to exit strategies.
- Increase the availability and accessibility of business mentors with specific knowledge of the tourism and hospitality sectors. Build the awareness of such services among the industry.
Desired outcomes
- An increase in the provision and relevance of tools to meet the specific skill development needs of the tourism industry.
- Increased use of business development tools by tourism operators and industry-wide measurement of the take-up.
- Awareness among tourism operators that skills improvement needs to be an ongoing process and is an integral factor in achieving business success.
- Dispel the belief that skill development can only be obtained through formal places of learning and structured courses.
- A more cohesive/collective approach to the running of tourism-related business development courses in Victoria, resulting in less duplication and increased awareness among operators.
- Ongoing support for quality business development initiatives such as Accreditation, Tourism Awards, Starting in Tourism, Succeeding in Tourism, Staying in Tourism, etc as a means of reviewing and improving operations of a tourism business.
- A reduction in the number of new tourism businesses that fail within the first 24 months of operation