Do you still want to achieve your 2019 goals?

You are probably back at your desk after the July 4th holiday. I know many of you had to work- this was the first one I have had off in years!

You hopefully had some time off to spend with family and friends and are ready for the busy summer season. It can be a challenge to focus on achieving your yearly work goals when you are entrenched in daily activities like meetings, staffing issues, visitor complaints and bad weather. So I thought I would help you by giving you some reminders on the goals you can still achieve in 2019, with a bit of work.

What are your goals for the remainder of 2019?

It’s almost impossible to find success without setting goals. Knowing what your priorities are will help you end 2019 with your revenue goals achieved. I would suggest setting between 3-5 goals for the second half of the year. Use SMART goal strategies ( more information here). Now is the time to set yourself up for success!

Personal health goals

The tourism industry is a demanding industry. Air travel in coach, long days on your feet and peak season schedules can take their toll. What is one health practice that you can commit to doing so you can be in this industry for a very long time? 10,000 steps a day? Easy to accomplish on the tradeshow floor, or when doing sales calls. A commitment on the days you sit at a desk. Try to get out and walk around your facility or destination. Take a short walk at lunch. It will give you energy for the rest of the day.

Personal growth goals

I am a big believer in self-help and business productivity books. I wrote a post on some of my favorite books last year. If you read even one of the ones listed, you will be a smarter person by the end of 2019. Do you attend trade shows with educational components? Attend as many sessions as you can. By increasing your knowledge of the tourism industry, you become a more valuable employee. You will have more skills to discuss when you are interviewing for a new position. And when you attend an educational session, you are surrounded by others who are looking to improve themselves. It’s a great place to meet new contacts.

Vacation goals

Yes, you read it here first. You need to take all your vacation days and travel. Leaving your job behind and going away helps you come back refreshed and with a new outlook on your job. If you are a manager, it is important that you make sure your staff takes all their vacation. And if you take time off and go on vacation, they are more likely to follow your example.

But because we are in the tourism industry, there is another reason why we need to travel. We have the opportunity to see how other destinations market themselves, see how festivals and events are run, and see how lodging partners welcome out of town guests. If you work at an attraction, you can see how other attractions use signage, get their guests to move through the facility, and find great ideas to borrow. Do some benchmarking on your next vacation and you will come back with great ideas.

Business goals

I have worked at enough businesses in the tourism industry to know that setting organizational goals rarely happens. And if it does, they are not well communicated to all staff. Is there an attendance number your attraction needs to reach for budget goals? You should share that number with all your staff.

What element of visitation does the staff impact and what can their goal be to help achieve your attendance goal? For instance:

• The sales staff will attend at least 8 tradeshows to build business for this year and next.
• The frontline staff will provide a level of customer service that will help your attraction received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. This will be attained through monthly training.
• We will start working with at least 3 online ticketing platforms to increase sales.

When your staff is clear on their performance goals, the goals are easier to reach.

When I worked at the Corning Museum of Glass, I oversaw the membership department for a while. We had a new member goal to reach so we employed the frontline staff to help sell memberships. We created an award program with goals and prizes. It was easy for staff to see their progress, and to see how close the team was to the goal.

If you are a DMO, do you have goals for your organization? Some ideas are – number of travel media hosted, number of articles published. Can you set a goal for the number of partner outreach programs you have hosted? The number of FAM tours you have brought to the area? Again, make sure all your staff is clear on the goals, and what their role is in achieving the goals.

Final thoughts

It is all well and good to come up with some goals for yourself, your team and your organization. The challenge we all face is in the execution. I am here to help you! I can help your organization set goals through developing your strategic plan, or I can help you implement your plan so you can reach your annual goals. And I will let you in on a secret: most businesses have challenges with implementing their plans. When you hire me to help, I will take some of the work off your plate, provide accountability and help you reach your goals. 

• I can help you develop a plan to get more Group Tours for your destination or attraction. Then we can work together to make it happen.
• I have helped others to develop and implement a plan to get more Chinese visitors.
• If your goal is to provide educational training to help your partners, I’m here for you!

Just hit reply and let me know you would like some help with achieving your goals. Or you can set up a free 15-minute call with me to see how I can help you achieve your 2019 goals. And then we will celebrate on December 31st!