TUI, the world’s largest integrated tour operator, has stated that authenticity is high on the list of desires for their customers.
So how exactly does a huge mass tourism company deliver those one off experiences? Or for that matter, how does any tour operator? After all, if it is staged at all for tourists, is it really authentic? And what do tourists really mean “authenticity”? Getting ripped off in Lima or Quito is pretty authentic, but it’s probably not the kind of authenticity most people want.
In an interview on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3IHw9XNMIg, Garry Wilson, Mainstream Product & Purchasing Director, for the TUI Group, talks about the “authenticity piece”. The video is 9 minutes, its quite interesting, but if you want to skip ahead to get to the authenticity piece, move the slide over to about the 6 minute point.
I give TUI credit for thinking about this and they are making changes that reflect the ways a large company can actually provide a deliverable product that is authentic and responsible. So, much the same way that organic food has evolved from fringe to gradually become a niche in the mainstream, authentic experiences seem to be nudging their way into the mainstream as well.
Many Adventure Engine members are right in the thick of things actually providing local authentic experiences. If you want to amplify or augment what you are doing, here are some ideas to get you thinking about how you can help your customers.
Many people love to customize their trip. Use the add-ons part of your shopping cart to offer things that might be very local
- a special upgraded boxed lunch on a trip with seasonal local products;
- locally made items or apparel, perhaps specially made for your company;
- offer a private local guided tour of a unique attraction, perhaps one that does not normally get tour groups;
- at the end of a rafting day for example, some of your guests will be going to the local brew pub. You can offer optional transfer (to from) for a price so they don’t have to worry about driving.
As a local operator, or DMO, there are other ways to let your customers make choices that help them create their own trips and try out local aspects. Adventure Engine Simbiosis can help you link local tourism entities on a live platform that sells only within your local network. (This can also be a powerful tool for co-op marketing.) You can very easily offer much more than just your own programs: now you can offer b and b’s, local hotels, local attractions, other tours, etc.
Be creative. And to your own self be true, if you care about authenticity.
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