I read with interest the interview with Roland Berger, president of consulting firm Strategic same name, published in El Pais Business, this Sunday ( www.elpais.com/articulo/empresas/Espana/tiene/problemas/estructurales/elpepueconeg/20080824elpnegemp_2/Tes) and I can not help extrapolate the impact of some of their claims to the English tourism sector.
I first jumped on to read the headline. " Spain has structural problems." Mr. Berger referred to here in a generic, our reliance - for growth and employment - of construction, besides the lack of labor flexibility, increased labor costs that is not accompanied by significant increases productivity, lack of training, infrastructure and innovation.
I think with minimal nuances, all these points are applicable to the tourism sector, including development of dependence on construction, because I believe that one of the most important strategic weaknesses of our product and receptive - especially on the coasts and Islands - destinations that we have developed is based on real estate impulses, then we come to sell (or say better. That after we have dispatched recruiters to the tour operators), rather than design and build opportunities to meet medium and long term demand in specific markets.
When Roland Berger predicts the duration of the crisis until 2010 or 2011, I have the following question. In an increasingly competitive and complex, where the cover of the brochure of the tour operator and distribution of airline seats is not enough to have a significant presence in the market. What we stand to compete and maintain a clear sectoral leadership?
The second group of reflections of Mr. Berger are in line with increases in labor costs with productivity static that makes us less competitive on an ongoing basis - particularly in those tourism products more commoditized. Here
competitive in the next years it has even less flattering: Increased labor costs - which does not seem to be able to stop, maintenance - the best - in productivity, a drop in demand due to the crisis, accompanied by an increase the rivalry between destinations, particularly in advocacy, marketing and distribution margins drop - the downturn in demand and increased costs of flights, leaving little room to improve operating margins. A scenario like this in any business of a certain size would have the entire management team working on plans and alternatives to mitigate the risks and exploit opportunities arising in this environment. What must happen in our industry to be promoted these processes?
Roland Berger dare with some proposals for action palira the effects of this crisis, and here we can apply almost all of their suggestions to the tourism sector: zero
* Increased labor costs accompanied by a significant increase in productivity .
* Public and private investments in infrastructure and INNOVATION
* Firm commitment to become a center for talent development and training
If we compare these points with the strategic challenges above, we see that productivity, training and talent, could be consequences or results of the implementation of strategic plans to review the situation in the sector, and focusing on becoming a world leader in the promotion, tourism marketing and distribution. And even, why not, a leader in the development and management of tourist products and destinations. All that is
INNOVATION. To all this is what I encourage, push and provoke, from this blog, from my lectures and classes, or my participation in business events.
not move in this direction will only be prolonging the agony of a model tourism marketing obsolete, and a model of product development and highly improved tourist destinations.
The Horizon Plan 202 0 ( www.turismo2020.es/) should be a good starting point, and offers a more than adequate for it ... We will have the political leadership and industry to give it a try? We'll see the return of summer ...
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