A: Who are you? What’s your story?
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Do any of the following apply?
You want to be known for helping people discover your region and enjoying the best it has to offer.
You want to run a business that attracts great people, who help you operate to the best of your abilities.
You want to work efficiently, not spending money on unnecessary costs.
And you want to still be doing all this for years to come…
If some of these resonate, then this guide is for you.
You know your business better than anyone, and regardless of whether ‘sustainability’ is one of your prime concerns, you want your business to be successful.
A key part of this is how you tell your story. You want your guests to arrive and have their expectations met (ideally exceeded).
You want them to feel welcome and relaxed, to make the most of their time with you, and then to go away and tell their friends (and everyone else through online reviews) about what an amazing experience they had.
The difference between regenerative and sustainable?
There are many words used to describe delivering tourism that is more sensitive to its impacts on the environment and local communities. Green, Eco, Responsible, Sustainable, Fair…
Recently you may have seen an increase in mention of the idea of ‘Regenerative Tourism’. Simply put, Regenerative Tourism focuses on ensuring that tourism does more than just address any negative impacts from its operations. It focuses on how tourism can actively improve the environment and the livelihoods of the people with whom it interacts. This requires paying attention to more than just the sustainability of one’s own products and services. It means we need to also consider the relationships between our products and services and the world of which we are a part.
For the purposes of a business looking to communicate its efforts to be more sustainable and regenerative, however, all of the advice in this guide applies.
Simplifying sustainable tourism
If you asked people what they are looking for from the experiences they have on their holidays, whether at the hotel or in the destination, the words they will use will be some of the following:
Exciting, relaxing, restful, adventurous, fun, thrilling, calm…
We go away to forget about daily stresses and cares. Discover a place we have never been (or return to an old favourite). Relax and unwind with friends and family. We don’t want people to feel like they are sacrificing this when acting sustainably.
We need to think about our communication differently. We want people to choose to holiday with us because our food tastes fresher, our experiences are more memorable, our bathroom and spa products more nourishing, and our bedrooms cosier and offering a better night’s sleep.
A quick exercise
A lot of people think that communication just means words and pictures, and that it is something done as a distinct task. We design our hotel / experience / meal, and then we work out how to communicate it. Of course, words and pictures are key parts of your communication, but there’s much more to it…
Set aside a few minutes to sit in a room guests use in your business (lobby, bedroom, dining area, etc…) Look around at the space. Look at all the objects one by one. The curtains, table. Products for sale. The Menu. Everything. When each one of these was bought or created, communication was a consideration. You don’t just choose curtains because they block out light at night or keep the room warmer in the winter. You choose them for the texture and pattern of the material. You want them to feel right in the room.
Does anything look out of place? Does everything chime with the story of your company, whatever that might be - luxurious, quirky, practical, innovative, good value, warm, modern, traditional, handmade, recycled… Each one of these adjectives, and hundreds more, might describe the different objects in the room. And each one of them is communicating this sentiment to your guests - just as it would be if the adjectives were broken, dirty, crowded, ill-fitting, complicated, cold, stale or out of place
Write down a list of adjectives that the objects in the room make you think of. Then ask yourself - are these the words I want people to associate with the experience my business provides? Which are the words that are most integral to how you want your business perceived - to your brand? Are there any words that you think are truer to who you are trying to be that are not conveyed by any of the objects in the room?
Communicating sustainable tourism is not some special art. The words that matter to you are the same words you want people to think of when communicating about sustainability.
Ok, so how do we do this…?
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