Everywhere I turn to, sure enough there is an NTO that is chasing ‘quality’ tourism.
It is so with small countries such as Singapore, larger ones like Thailand and destinations outside Asia such as Switzerland, which are going after the Asian tourist dollar.
Singapore dreams of high-yield travellers as, being small, it has supply challenges. So how nice if every single room, be it three-, four- or five-star, could go to someone who fully appreciates what the city has to offer, said Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) CEO, Lionel Yeo (TTG Asia, June 14, 2013).
Switzerland Tourism dreams of the Asian guest who will sit down and enjoy its spectacular nature and fresh air. Fresh air is free, but it hopes that in the course of breathing it, the Asian tourist will also order a bottle of wine, relax by the Limmat, enjoy the old and modern Zurich, before spending more days elsewhere in the country (see page 14).
Thailand seeks an “equilibrium” between quantity and quality of arrivals. If you have more than 24 million arrivals – its projection for this year – you too can afford to desire a bit more quality in the kind of tourists you attract.
All three NTOs view ‘experiential’, ‘customised’ or ‘niche’ travel as the key to ‘quality’ or ‘high-yield’ tourism. But Yeo said there was a “misunderstanding” that Singapore only wanted rich or high net-worth individuals when STB outlined its direction for quality tourism.
So what is quality tourism, if it is not about attracting the rich who have the means to spend?
My own criteria:
– If receipts are spread. A place like Macau, for instance, attracts high-rollers who roll in bundles of cash. But who benefits? Not restaurants, shops, attractions, etc, as these high-rollers are interested only in gambling.
– If there is visitor participation. It is indeed sad for a destination if visitors are merely bussed around and taken to dine and shop in commission-based places only. Everyone loses out (except the bus, restaurant and shop owners). The customer does not leave with memorable experiences, while the community is not any richer as it loses the opportunity to learn about visitors from other places.
– If it is not only for the rich. My latest quality tourism experience was hiking up 1,700m on a Swiss mountain called Obersteinberg to stay in a hotel without electricity and shower facility. But I woke up each morning and slept each night with the Jungfrau right in front of me – how’s that for quality? If such an experience was only for the rich who, say, would be ferried up in a helicopter, with an entourage of chefs ready to lay out a grand buffet, it would be downright unjust. But the well-marked and safe trails, and the super-clean and charming hotel, meant that anyone with good health, good shoes and some money could enjoy the uniqueness of the destination.
My accommodation was CHF85 (US$92) per night half board, with the motherly service staff kept dishing out more food to anyone who wanted more salad, pasta, etc, at dinner. The setting compelled me to spend more on FB – wine, cheese, cake, etc – and I spread the earnings to an establishment whose policy was to support the local community and environment.
Quality tourism is not about higher receipts. It is what tourism should be about right from the start: meaningful journeys that let us discover other places and people, and ourselves.
The fact that we have to define it shows how far we’ve gone with mass tourism.
TTG Asia Luxury
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