Have you done a SWOT analysis for your Tourism business?

One of the first actions I take when I am working on a strategic plan for a client is to write a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is a very simple yet effective way to see where improvements can be made and where the best opportunities for growth lie. Creating your own SWOT is not difficult and I am here to help.

 

Steps in Creating your Tourism business SWOT Analysis

In order for your SWOT to be effective, you have to block out some time on your calendar. You need to give this your full attention and not be distracted ( almost impossible, right?). Go find somewhere quiet to sit, ask to work from home for the day, or go sit on a park bench. I always find this exercise to be part analytical and part creative so you need your whole brain.

I also recommend writing down your first draft and putting it away for a day or two. That will give you time to think of some other elements you hadn’t considered in your first attempt. Go back and add and edit your listings.

Are you thinking of working on this with your team? Great idea. Set a deadline and a meeting for everyone to gather back together to discuss and come up with a final document.

Even if your manager hasn’t asked you to create a SWOT analysis, doing this work will often give you clear insight into what you need to do. Keep it as your secret weapon when planning for next year!

 

S- Strengths

Start by listing your business’ strengths. If you are an attraction, what do you offer that is better/different/more unique than any other attraction? What do your customers love about you? If you are a tour operator, what is unique about your tours? The way you add in secret elements? Your customer service? The variety of offerings that no one else carries? And to my DMO readers, – are you best in class for your marketing? Do you provide educational training for your partners that make them devoted customers? Have you won awards for your work?

Some of your strengths will be objective – i.e- ‘we are less than a mile off the main route’, ‘we have an 88% return customer rate’, ‘our DMO has won National awards’. Some are more subjective – ‘we are considered a must-see stop for families’ ‘ we provide unique narration in several languages’ ‘ We are the most popular tour operator in the Southwest’.

List them all for now. There is no right or wrong answer.

 

W- Weaknesss

I would encourage you to be very honest here. Sometimes our bosses/board don’t like to hear bad news, but this is often the category that can make the most difference. You know what your organization’s weaknesses are. This is the place to list all the elements that frustrate you, prevent an outstanding customer experience consistently and things that make your job harder. Poor communication between departments? List it. Limited travel budget for tradeshows? Write it down.

 

O-Opportunity

This is where your creative thinking will come into play. Do you have an idea that would make you stand out from your competitors? Long time readers of my blog know that I have mentioned the Blue Ocean Strategy book ( and this shortened version) before. A Blue Ocean refers to a competitive arena with no competition – you are providing products and services that no one else is. Red ocean is when there is a lot of competition and everyone is just competing on price. Use this exercise to figure out your Blue Ocean opportunities. Not all of them will be acted on, but it is important to get all your great ideas onto paper.

 

T- Threats

This is different than weaknesses. Threats are elements on the horizon that will directly impact your bottom line. For those of you targeting the China visitor market,  current threats are tariffs, visa rejection rates and the general political climate between our two countries. For some of you, a new competitor just appeared and is starting to take your business. Look out to the next 2 years – what do you see as your biggest challenge? For one of my clients, it is a long term nearby construction project that will divert traffic.

Many times there is nothing you can do about the threats on your list, but it helps frame your action steps.

 

You’ve completed your SWOT- now what?

Good job! You have taken an important step towards the future success of your business. You can now target a select few elements in each category to work on. Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to fix everything.

 

I am here to help you!

My goal is always to help tourism businesses like yours succeed. So I created free SWOT templates for you to use. Click here and you can download them for free.

Do you need some help in completing and implementing your SWOT? I can help with that as well. I work with tourism businesses like yours to create Action plans based on your SWOT results. We can also work together to implement the plan. My current clients include tourism attractions, DMOs, and large tourism organizations. What can I help you with?  Click here to schedule a free 15-minute consulting call with me. We can discuss your SWOT and talk about what your next steps should be.

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