Innovation - Creativity - Intelligent Design

Tourism – especially cultural tourism - is increasingly driven by the public’s desire for new experiences. Copying what others do is not always a viable option. Authenticity, uniqueness and responding to consumer demand, are the mainstays of successful tourism development. But the opposite of copying is innovation, and innovation involves risk. Or does it?

We have found that there is really a very low cost associated with the failures that inevitably follow from pioneering efforts. Taking the initiative offers far more benefits that it does risks. Creativity provides new tourism products and thus sets you apart from your competitors. In the tourism development game, it is much better to lead than to follow. But innovation for its own sake is ineffective; the product must be carefully planned, designed, and developed if it is to reach its potential.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it”

Peter Drucker, business visionary

Over the past twenty years we have seen the rapid segmentation of the tourism industry - largely driven by consumer demand, driven by more accessible education, more disposable income and outstanding access to information. Why have some regions succeeded and taken advantage of this trend, while other have failed. Why have some regions been able to maximize their natural assets, while others have failed to capitalize on them.

The answer can mostly be found in their inability to embrace the innovation process and embark on a course of product development. In fact when tourism is under stress, many of these regions pour even more funds into advertising and promotional programs, offering the same stale products, which once were attractive, but no longer have the lustre to attract the visitor.