So, what are the keys to creating a great Destination Learning program for your local tourism industry employees?
#1 – Your community stakeholders must buy into it. You need your industry employers to support your efforts. We lead our engagements with stakeholder input workshops to make sure that your stakeholders contribute and feel like they are part of the program. Once the content for the learning program is developed, we will also be there to help you publicly kick off the program, to get your stakeholders excited for the outcome so that they will support their employees’ participation.
#2 – Employees must want to participate in the program, and we must make it an easy and enjoyable process. We know that your stakeholders all have their own training and job requirements, meaning that the destination program is unlikely to be made the top priority, even though they support your efforts. A destination training program must compete for the attention and commitment of your destination’s employees. At Destination Strategy Partners, we use an engaging learning platform that entertains, educates, and rewards tourism industry employees for participating.
#3 – It must be more than just customer service training. Don’t get us wrong. Quality customer service is important, and we help provide those skills. But chances are your businesses are already doing some of that on their own. We need to go deeper.
#4 – The program must create pride in the destination. It’s a sad fact, but too often tourism industry employees do not make the best advocates. As local residents, they often become jaded to what makes the destination great as they live with both the negative and the positive. It’s our job to remind them of everything positive – what attracts visitors to your destination in the first place. And more importantly, to get them excited to be a part of it, so excited that they want to share – share with their family, share with their friends, and share it with your visitors that they come into contact with every day.
#5 – It must be easy for you to administer. That’s where our team steps in. Not only do we build the program content, we also administer the program for you. We will help with program registration, and we will hand out the rewards. No need for you to dedicate your staff resources to running the program.
Contact us for more information about how we can build a custom Certified Destination Partner Program to engage your local tourism industry employees.