Partnerships

Discover Key Strategies to Unlock the Full Potential of Collaborations and Propel Your Business Forward"

Partnerships

Partnerships

15 Questions for improving the Full Potential of Collaborations aligned with your business values

Key to Success

In this section, we would like to make sure that Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) should be aware of the following:
  • The benefits of collaboration and cooperation among tourism businesses and stakeholders include creating synergies and efficiencies, enhancing competitiveness and innovation, and generating shared value for all parties involved.
  • The role of destination management in promoting partnerships includes facilitating and encouraging partnerships to create a more integrated and sustainable tourism product.
  • Understanding how tourism businesses and destinations can develop sustainable practices and promote responsible tourism behavior through partnerships.

Accomplishments

In this step, we’ll:
  • Identify which partners are essential to creating and delivering traveler value.
  • Highlight which partnerships are critical to making our business work.
  • Find where we can share our work and deliver it to the traveler:
    • Our Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
    • Our Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Time-Saving Tools

We’ll complete all sections of this chapter more quickly if we have any of the following handy:
  • The tourism destination market plan and strategic plan.
  • Tourism road maps offered by the tourism destination
  • Our value proposition description.
  • Our Unique Selling Proposition description.
  • Our business road map.
  • All our macro processes map.
  • Our business road map.
  • All documents could be applied to find relevant information.

Presentation

Partnerships refer to strategic collaborations with other businesses or organizations that create mutual benefits, enhance service offerings, and improve customer experiences in the tourism sector. Partnerships open the windows for Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) to access new markets, increase visibility, and create innovative solutions to sustainability challenges. As a result, partnerships can be a powerful tool to help grow their business and expand their reach.

Here are some important things to keep in mind when considering partnerships:

  • Identify compatible partners: Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) should look for partners with similar values and target travelers. A partnership with a company that offers complementary services or products can help create a seamless Traveler experience, benefit both businesses and lead to repeat business.
  • Have clear goals and expectations: This includes the partnership’s scope, each partner’s responsibilities, and the desired outcomes.
  • Communication is key: This includes setting up regular meetings, establishing a point of contact for each partner, and sharing updates on progress and any changes.
  • Be flexible: Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) should be willing to adapt to changes and be flexible when necessary. This includes being open to new ideas and approaches and adjusting the partnership as needed.
  • Measure success: This can be done by tracking metrics such as traveler feedback, sales growth, and return on investment. This will help identify areas where the partnership works well and where improvements can be made.

In conclusion, SMTEs can leverage their resources, expertise, and networks to create more significant and lasting impacts by building strategic partnerships with other businesses, organizations, and stakeholders. Moreover, SMTEs can create shared value and contribute to the destination’s sustainable development by collaborating with local communities, governments, and NGOs, to build a resilient and sustainable business model while generating positive social, environmental, and economic impacts.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

How can we promote responsible and sustainable practices throughout our partnerships? Implementing eco-friendly initiatives and supporting local communities will contribute to small tourism enterprises' long-term success and reputation within our partnerships.

A suggestion of guiding questions that are not intended to exhaust the topic:

  1. Which partners help us deliver our Unique Value Proposition (UVP)to the traveler?
  2. Which partners help us deliver our Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to the traveler?
  3. Identify local firms that might be used to form alliances with the business.
  4. What social responsibility criteria will we adopt when selecting our business supply chain partners?
  5. Who are our partners who create value for travelers also? What value can we offer potential partners, and what can they offer us?
  6. What resources will we contribute to the partnership (time, money, personnel, marketing support)?
  7. How is the partner that generates business advantage – traveler engagement – revenue streams?
  8. What partnerships help us achieve our business goals?
  9. What are the strengths and weaknesses of our business, and how can a partnership help us address them?
  10. What types of businesses or organizations would make good partners for our company?
  11. What complementary services or products do potential partners offer that could enhance our business offerings?
  12. What are the specific objectives of the partnership, and how will we measure success?
  13. How will we communicate and collaborate with our partner(s)?
  14. What must legal considerations (contracts, liability, intellectual property…) be considered?

Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) can build strong and mutually beneficial partnerships in the tourism industry by asking these questions and working through the answers with potential partners.

Offering more information

Besides the 14 guiding questions we’ve provided to help us evaluate and improve our partnerships, we’ve compiled a list of valuable resources to further our knowledge and understanding of partnerships. Notably, these resources offer insights into best practices, sustainability, marketing, and more, catering to the needs of tourism professionals and stakeholders. Consequently, by exploring these links, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions and create a thriving, competitive, and sustainable destination for travelers from around the world.

  1. Peek Partners with PicThrive – This post highlights the partnership between Peek, an online booking platform, and PicThrive, a photo and video technology provider, to improve customer experience by integrating visual content sharing for tour operators, boosting engagement and repeat bookings.
  2. This article highlights the partnership between Airbnb and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to promote responsible and sustainable tourism. The collaboration focuses on sharing best practices, promoting rural tourism, and encouraging inclusive growth in the global tourism industry.
  3. This post announces the integration of Bandwango, an experience-focused platform, with Simpleview’s destination marketing solutions. The collaboration aims to benefit Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), partners, and visitors by streamlining the delivery of personalized experiences and enhancing visitor engagement.

As you conclude reading this orientation post, we’d like to invite you to explore the other insightful articles in our Business Tailor 4 Sustainable Tourism Develop Management Tool (BT4-STDM) blog. We invite you to engage with our community, share your perspectives, and contribute to this meaningful conversation by commenting below. Your experiences and ideas can help others in their sustainable tourism development management journey.

Let your like and recommend this post to improve your audience!

Share this post with friends, colleagues, or anyone else who might be interested.

Author:

Yuri Scala

Yuri Scala

MTur, MBA, PMP, PRINCE2, PM4R

Preserving tourism's positive impact requires addressing its challenges. By acting responsibly, we promote meaningful travel experiences while empowering local people, paving the way for a sustainable and thriving industry.

Comments:

We invite you to engage with our community, share your perspectives, and contribute to this meaningful conversation by commenting below. Your experiences and ideas can help others in their sustainable tourism development management journey.

Leave a Reply