One of the best parts of being in the Tourism industry for many years is the people I meet. Our industry has an endless list of talented, hardworking, fun-loving and creative professionals. I decided to interview my friends and give you a peek into their lives and careers. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and I will follow-up with the guest interviewed. This week we hear from my friend Carolyn Feimster, President of her own company, CJF Marketing International.
Tell us a bit about how you got started in the tourism industry.
Thirty years ago this year, I was Corporate Marketing Director for an international shopping center developer and one of my colleagues received a lead for a short-term project in the Caribbean Island of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. The position was to work as a consultant with the Curacao Action Group, an organization challenged with redeveloping the island to become a much sought after tourist destination. My role was to upgrade the downtown area of Punda. The assignment was clear…within a three-month time frame, establish a new management organization to oversee the redevelopment.
Month 1 – Write the Business Plan,
Month 2 – Solicit for the funding, and
Month 3 – Hire the team to run the new organization.
I took a leave of absence from the company I was presently working with and they fully supported me because of the tremendous opportunity. In three months, the new organization called the DMO – Downtown Management Organization – was established and modeled after the BID concept, Business Improvement Districts in the USA.
One big difference was there was no such thing as a taxing district in Curacao so all funding had to be raised by volunteer contributions. At the end of the successful three months, during their lavish “good-bye” luncheon for me, they asked if I would stay on and run the organization.
I went back to the company I was working for and we came to terms where they would become my second client…and now with two clients, my company was off and running. AND, the DMO is still in existence today, as is CJF Marketing International!
What is your current job and what are your primary responsibilities
As the Founder and President of CJF MARKETING INTERNATIONAL with offices in Hollywood, Florida, and North Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, my company’s primary focus is on developing results-oriented programs to enhance the marketing, tourism development, business development, customer service, and retail productivity of shopping centers, cities, downtown retail districts and other commercial properties, attractions and organizations.
Additionally, we offer marketing training programs and seminars, such as customer service and retail tourism training for developers, municipalities, shopping center associations, development agencies, and retailers. This exciting international work has taken me multiple times to Dubai in the U.A.E. to work with the Middle Eastern Council of Shopping Centres, as well as to China, Egypt, Kuwait, Russia, India, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, England, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Four pillars to my company:
One: The consumer marketing of shopping centers… researching and writing the Marketing Plans as well as handling the implementation.
Two: Business Development programs for downtown retail districts.
Three: Training Programs and Seminars on shopping center marketing and tourism initiatives.
Four: Travel and Tourism work for shopping destinations and attractions.
What are some of the changes you have seen since you began your career?
My background is shopping centers, and I have seen the travel and tourism efforts evolve over the years from not being recognized to what we now call “Retail Shopping Tourism” so I will answer this in two parts:
- The biggest change in the retail environment is the diminishing investments into the marketing budgets of the shopping centers, which is the wrong approach at a time when retail is suffering due to the on-line disruption that is happening. The developers, who are thinking big, beyond retail and more towards mix use with alternative businesses, will survive.
- The biggest change in the Retail Shopping Tourism arena is going from not realizing the importance that shopping plays in the visitor experience, to where the DOC now has the stats to prove shopping and dining rank as the top two favorite activities, particularly by the international visitor.
What tourism trends are you seeing that will impact your job and how you work in the next 2 years?
In retail, it is better to understand that shopping needs to be more than the purchase of an object because consumers no longer desire “stuff”. But rather it is providing a unique “experience” that the visitor will be able to take back home with them as “bragging rights”.
In tourism, it is the understanding that the digital world in which we live is trying to take over the travel and tourism world, but we are still in a relationship business. We must work hard not to lose sight of that.
It’s vacation time – where do you go?
Sorry, it is what?
What is your favorite app and tell us a bit about it.
The Weather App, even though it is not always reliable.
What is your favorite tradeshow and why?
ITB in Berlin. The magnitude of it is overwhelming and exciting at the same time. So much energy. The best part is being able to sell our shopping center programs to clients world-wide. In the last few years we have met with about a 50/50 mix of tour operators from Germany and those that are from the rest of the world.
What advice do you have for someone just getting started in the tourism industry?
Network…because “networking is one letter from not working”. And, get involved by volunteering in travel and tourism organizations such as Skal International. Most major cities have a local Skal Club and it provides you with a network of 15,000+ travel and tourism professionals from around the world. This is my second term as President of the NY Skal Club, the first time in 2011. This is an organization I am very passionate about because our mantra is “Friends Doing Business With Friends”.