Dear Editor,
Tourism is passion, not just for travel, but a passion for changing lives. My friends, we all work in an industry where passion is needed to make dreams come true. I have seen tour industry evolve from the time I was a child in Kenya, and watched how it adapted after the first Gulf War, after 9/11, and how it has endured the current political scene. I have seen an industry where travel agents, hotels, and tour operators thrived despite the focus of travel warnings, or economic hardship because we had a passion and maintained strong ethics.
While I may not have the most years under my belt in this industry in an active role, I have for many years been as an observer, first as a child growing up in a tourist destination, and later as a member of the finance industry looking in. In all these years, I have seen how tourism has touched lives, changed attitudes, and helped countless people around the world by pumping much needed foreign investment (the travel dollar) into local economies. I have seen the good that comes from tourism in helping the needy, probably more than any other industry.
However, I have seen another side as well, a side that, quite frankly, bothers me, a side that violates every basic principle of ethics all for the sake of self gain. I have seen the underbelly of an industry, which, like many other aspects of the corporate world, is eating away at the very foundation the host is built on.
Let’s look at some common practices that represent clear conflicts of interest: obligatory shopping on tours, marketing charitable efforts for self-gain versus genuine care, false advertising, and awards based on tampered with or faulty measurements of quality, which are used more for marketing then consumer education. They all have the same result. It has made the guest number two. Somewhere along the line, we as an industry forgot about the guest, we started caring more about how we could make more money, how we could gain more market share, how we could increase publicity, while the guest play second fiddle to blatant greed. Whether we want to admit it or not, we have all been guilty at one time or another.
These practices have more ramifications then just unsatisfied guests. We are, in essence, discouraging the younger generation, my generation, and those who follow from joining our industry. Any industry that aspires to continue growing will only attract young talent if it adheres to high ethics, inspirational practices and the knowledge of being involved in something that’s truly genuine. With the shortage of new talent, we face a grave peril of not having enough qualified professionals filling our offices and making key decisions. What fate awaits our guests when they are planning dream vacations with less than qualified people? What happens to our reputations as these guests come back, let down and with a low opinion of the travel industry? What happens when we stop growing as an industry, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a lack of talent? These are just some of the uncertainties awaiting us if we continue down the same path.
Coming from the world of finance, I can tell you that today's problems in that industry started many years ago with the same types of practices that we are seeing in tourism. One only needs to look at the ramifications in the finance industry taking shape today to see what our future might hold for us. It is not too late; we can change our destiny, and that all begins with returning the guest as our center of focus, as number one, not because of any expected return or hidden agenda, but because we want to, because it is our duty as custodians of their dreams. We all tell people about authentic experiences, let us start practicing what we preach. My generation and the ones after will be grateful tomorrow for the changes we make today.
Ashish Sanghrajka
Vice President Sales & Partner Relations
Big Five Tours & Expeditions
Tourism is passion, not just for travel, but a passion for changing lives. My friends, we all work in an industry where passion is needed to make dreams come true. I have seen tour industry evolve from the time I was a child in Kenya, and watched how it adapted after the first Gulf War, after 9/11, and how it has endured the current political scene. I have seen an industry where travel agents, hotels, and tour operators thrived despite the focus of travel warnings, or economic hardship because we had a passion and maintained strong ethics.
While I may not have the most years under my belt in this industry in an active role, I have for many years been as an observer, first as a child growing up in a tourist destination, and later as a member of the finance industry looking in. In all these years, I have seen how tourism has touched lives, changed attitudes, and helped countless people around the world by pumping much needed foreign investment (the travel dollar) into local economies. I have seen the good that comes from tourism in helping the needy, probably more than any other industry.
However, I have seen another side as well, a side that, quite frankly, bothers me, a side that violates every basic principle of ethics all for the sake of self gain. I have seen the underbelly of an industry, which, like many other aspects of the corporate world, is eating away at the very foundation the host is built on.
Let’s look at some common practices that represent clear conflicts of interest: obligatory shopping on tours, marketing charitable efforts for self-gain versus genuine care, false advertising, and awards based on tampered with or faulty measurements of quality, which are used more for marketing then consumer education. They all have the same result. It has made the guest number two. Somewhere along the line, we as an industry forgot about the guest, we started caring more about how we could make more money, how we could gain more market share, how we could increase publicity, while the guest play second fiddle to blatant greed. Whether we want to admit it or not, we have all been guilty at one time or another.
These practices have more ramifications then just unsatisfied guests. We are, in essence, discouraging the younger generation, my generation, and those who follow from joining our industry. Any industry that aspires to continue growing will only attract young talent if it adheres to high ethics, inspirational practices and the knowledge of being involved in something that’s truly genuine. With the shortage of new talent, we face a grave peril of not having enough qualified professionals filling our offices and making key decisions. What fate awaits our guests when they are planning dream vacations with less than qualified people? What happens to our reputations as these guests come back, let down and with a low opinion of the travel industry? What happens when we stop growing as an industry, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a lack of talent? These are just some of the uncertainties awaiting us if we continue down the same path.
Coming from the world of finance, I can tell you that today's problems in that industry started many years ago with the same types of practices that we are seeing in tourism. One only needs to look at the ramifications in the finance industry taking shape today to see what our future might hold for us. It is not too late; we can change our destiny, and that all begins with returning the guest as our center of focus, as number one, not because of any expected return or hidden agenda, but because we want to, because it is our duty as custodians of their dreams. We all tell people about authentic experiences, let us start practicing what we preach. My generation and the ones after will be grateful tomorrow for the changes we make today.
Ashish Sanghrajka
Vice President Sales & Partner Relations
Big Five Tours & Expeditions
