For tourism to recover sustainably, a fresh mindset is required

Whatever the government does, or doesn't do, for or to tourism over the next few months and years, it's absolutely possible for destinations and communities of businesses to take action, ideally in partnership with the existing local support infrastructure.

We’ve all been talking about ‘getting back to normal’ in 2022, rebuilding, reopening and welcoming back both national and international visitors. But what about ‘building back better’? What if, instead of going back to how we were before, we create a better, sustainable long-term future for our communities, our destinations and for our businesses?

But where to begin? Having clarity around Purpose and how effectively this resonates with teams and customers, ultimately delivers value. So defining Purpose should be our starting point. By defining this, we’ll then be able to identify our strongest assets and most relevant customer segments, enabling us to work on identifying opportunities for 2022 and beyond.

Given all the challenges of the past couple of years, it’s not surprising if this year's major events have not yet appeared on the radar for many businesses. From the Platinum Jubilee to the Commonwealth Games, these events are major business boosting opportunities for organisations of all kinds, but in particular those associated with the tourism sector. Now is the time for businesses and communities to come together and use these events as vehicles to create new experiences and, of course, new revenue opportunities.

Stephen Spencer + Associates wanted to create a methodology enabling organisations – businesses, communities and destinations – to kick-start their recovery. Its Innovation Toolkit was designed to prove the concept that, given the space to innovate, organisations can and will find their own way to take meaningful action and jump-start our visitor economy.

The Innovation Toolkit is designed to help support a business or organisation on an inclusive, creative, and results-focused journey from inertia or stagnation to a brighter future. In a workshop environment, the Toolkit facilitates business planning for up to three product, service, or experience concepts, focussed on either a major event or theme, or all-round business performance. The approach involves whole teams, not just senior leaders, and thus has the potential to improve employee engagement and customer focus and experience.

This is not new, at least not in the UK: a collaborative approach in Scotland in the first decade of the 21st Century, facilitated by the public sector, and showcasing innovation techniques, led to a more coherent, focused, and productive tourism infrastructure. The approach (including the creation of The Tourism Innovation Group, Innovation Toolkit and Pride and Passion for Scotland movement) recognised that, while many businesses tend to confuse innovation with invention, true innovation produces new, better, and sustainable ways of doing things, benefiting both customers and employees. The SS+A Innovation Toolkit is a fresh take on that approach; designed to facilitate collaboration, innovation, and action, leading to sustainable improvements in the way we do business.

Ultimately, the visitor economy is either at the mercy of the global economy, pandemics, geo-political events, climate change and government action, or it can take action, at local level as well as nationally, in a partnership with the public sector. By working together, we really can build forward better: and make 2022 the year we did it.