....

market
readiness
assessments,
professional
digital


content,
online
payment
gateways,
mul6ple
channels
to

market,
booking
systems,
allotment
management,

commissioning,
product
quality,
sustainability,
links
to

commercial
providers....

 The
SME
Challenge

Market
 access
 should
 not
 be
 the
 last
 step
 in
 a
 tourism

development
project.
It
should
be
the
first.
 
The
market
is
the

prime
 driver
 of
 business
 success,
 so
 building
 market
 access

early
 and
 using
 market
 signals
 to
 inform
 the
 rest
 of
 the

development
process
is
the
only
way
to
ensure
the
long
term

success
of
a
tourism
project.
 
This
is
an
important
point
that
is

widely
 overlooked
 in
 interven6ons
 targeted
 at
 suppor6ng
 the

development
of
the
tourism
SME
sector.

Our
experience
in
20
countries
and
in
12
emerging
des5na5ons
shows
some
common
mistakes
in
working
with

tourism
SMEs
within
development
projects:


  A
wide
gap
exists
between
an
SME’s
expecta6ons
versus
the
amount
of
tourism
business
actually
generated.

  A
wide
gap
exists
between
traveller
expecta6ons
and
the
actual
product
on
offer.

  A
 real
 weakness
 in
 integra6ng
 customers
 into
 the
 development
 process,
 whether
 these
 are
 tour
 operators

interested
 in
 selling
 packages
 to
 the
 region
 or,
 increasingly,
 independent
 travellers
 who
 use
 the
 Internet
 to

plan
and
book
their
travel
directly.

  Poor
“bang
for
buck.”
No
effec6ve
priori6sa6on
of
areas
of
interven6on
to
achieve
the
quick
wins
needed
to

win
 SME
 support
 whilst
 also
 genera6ng
 medium
 term
 sector
 improvements
 and
 long
 term
 reform
 of
 the

business
environment.

  A
 lack
 in
 planning
 of
 longer
 term
 financial
 sustainability
 needed
 to
 underpin
 community
 development,

conserva6on
and
poverty
reduc6on
objec6ves.
This
is
a
major
threat
to
a
project
when
donors
start
to
phase

out
their
involvement.

The
Approach

WHL
 Consul6ng
 solu6ons
 leverage
 from
 our
 unique

experience
both
as
one
of
the
largest
online
marke6ng
and

travel
 distribu6on
 services
 in
 the
 developing
 world,

combined
 with
 wide
 experience
 in
 capacity
 building

ac6vi6es
 designed
 specifically
 to
 meet
 the
 needs
 of
 the

market.
 This
 mix
 of
 exper6se
 posi6ons
 us
 well
 to
 provide

prac6cal
 customer‐oriented
 solu6ons
 built
 upon
 market

reali6es.
 We
 level
 the
 playing
 field
 for
 SME
 tourism

providers
in
the
developing
world
wan6ng
to
become
part

of
the
global
market.



The

WHLC

approach:


  Improves
 the
 overall
 compe66veness
 of
 tourism
 SMEs
 and
 begins
 with
 a
 hands
 on
 market
 readiness

assessment

  Allows
 SMEs
 to
 par6cipate
 directly
 with
 Internet‐based
 marke6ng
 and
 distribu6on
 intermediaries
 by

providing
professional
digital
content


  Strengthens
the
marke6ng
outreach
of
SMEs
and
builds
linkages
to
commercial
providers
via
market
access

training
seminars
and
one‐on‐one
consulta6on
services

  Introduces
 allotment
 management
 services
 and
 payment
 gateway
 facili9es
 to
 SMEs
 without
 sophis6cated

interna6onal‐standard
procedures
and
systems
in
place

  Leverages
 from
 construc6on
 of
 a
 commercially
 viable
 and
 sustainable
 locally
 owned
 and
 operated
 e‐
marketplace
which
can
con6nue
to
grow
and
develop
beyond
the
project
comple6on.

Case
Study:
Livingstone,
Zambia
Tourism
SME
Market
Access

WHL
Consul6ng’s
work
in
Zambia
came
under
a
Na6onal
programme
targeted
at
achieving
sector
reform

and
 improved
 returns
 to
 SMEs
 in
 all
 economic
 sectors.
 
 The
 programme
 was
 financed
 through
 a
 World

Bank
credit
to
the
Government
of
Zambia,
known
locally
as
SEED.
 
We
designed
and
executed
a
market

access
 programme
 specifically
 for
 the
 tourism
 SME
 sector
 based
 on
 previous
 similar
 engagements
 in

Lesotho
and
Tanzania.


PROJECT
OBJECTIVES

  Create
a
comprehensive
picture
of
the
current
status
of
the
tourism
SME
market
segment
in
terms
of

size,
quality,
business
prac6ces,
market
access
(analyze
the
firm
level
compe66veness
of
the
sector)

  Strengthen
 the
 marke6ng
 outreach
 of
 local
 tourism
 SMEs
 and
 empower
 them
 to
 access
 the
 global

tourism
economy

  Provide
 a
 professional
 online
 e‐marke6ng
 and
 accommoda6on
 booking
 service
 to
 a
 large
 number
 of

SME
 accommoda6on
 and
 ac6vity
 providers
 who
 have
 not
 been
 able
 to
 par6cipate
 effec6vely
 on
 the

Internet


  Create
 the
 booking
 service
 as
 a

commercially
 viable,
 locally
 owned
 and

operated
 e‐marketplace
 which
 can

con6nue
 to
 grow
 and
 develop
 beyond
 the

project
comple6on

  Iden6fy
priority
areas
for
medium
and
long

term
 interven6on
 for
 achieving
 sectoral

improvements
and
ul6mately
reform
of
the

business
environment
for
SMEs

Project
Implementa6on
Snapshot

  The
total
project
cost
was
$139,000


  The
market
access
programme
reached
over
140
SMEs
in
Livingstone



  All
ac6vi6es
were
implemented
within
8
months
of
project
incep6on



  The
project
costs
worked
out
as
an
investment
of
under
US$
1,000
per
SME

Stakeholder
Consulta6on
and
Project
Planning

SME
Market
Readiness
Assessments
(Developed
a

Quality
Assessed
Database
of
SMEs)

Phase
1

Digital
Content
Collec6on
Exercise

WHLC
Ac6vi6es
 WHL
Livingstone
Online
Booking
Portal

(E‐
Short
Term

Marketplace)
Development
 (Mar‐Nov
2008)

Capacity
Development
of
SMEs

(Market
Access

Training
Seminars
and
Independent
Consul6ng)

Public
E‐Marketplace
Launch
Event

Increased
Business
Linkages

Project
Outputs
 SME
Booking
and
Feedback
System
 Phase
2

Traveller
Feedback
System
for
SMEs
 Short
to
Medium


Improved
Returns
to
SMEs
 Phase
3

Project
Outcomes
 Business
Sector
Reform
 Medium
to
Long

Ac6vity
1:
Market
Readiness
Assessment

The
first
ac6vity
in
the
programme
was
to
carry
out
an
assessment
of
the
tourism
SMEs.

The
MRA
is
a
proprietary
tool

developed
by
WHL
Consul6ng,
to
give
a
rapid
assessment
of
a
business
in
terms
of
product
quality,
business
prac6ces,

current
 market
 access
 and
 other
 criteria
 which
 can
 be
 customised
 according
 to
 client
 needs.
 
 The
 MRA
 then
 uses
 a

scoring
system
to
categorise
the
SMEs
into
Market
Ready,
Nearly
Market
Ready
and
Not
Market
Ready
clusters.

The
key

deliverable
 from
 this
 component
 to
 the
 client
 was
 a
 comprehensive
 updatable
 database
 of
 121
 audited
 SMEs.


Deliverables
were
also
provided
to
each
SME
visited.

Market
Ready
 Nearly
Market
Ready
 Not
Market
Ready

40%
‐
49
SMEs
 22%
‐
27
SMEs
 28%
‐
34
SMEs


Deliverables
to
SME:
 Deliverables
to
SME:
 Deliverables
to
SME:


  Receive
a
feedback
lefer
   Receive
a
feedback
lefer
   Receive
a
feedback
lefer

following
the
MRA
 following
the
MRA
with
a
 following
the
MRA
with

  Introduc6on
to
local
tour
 road
map
to
“Market
Ready”
 recommenda6ons

operator
running
the
e‐   Introduc6on
to
local
tour
   Visit
by
content
collector
and

marketplace,
for
immediate
 operator
running
the
e‐ CD
of
digital
content
for
top

lis6ng
 marketplace,
for
lis6ng
once
 10%
of
SMEs
in
this
category

  Visit
by
content
collector,
upon
 market
ready
   Invita6on
to
1
day
basic

request
   Visit
by
content
collector
and
 market
access
training

  Invita6on
to
2
day
market
 CD
of
digital
content
 seminar

access
training
seminar

   Invita6on
to
2
day
market

access
training
seminar


Ac6vity
2:
Digital
Content
Collec6on
Exercise

As
 part
 of
 the
 programme,
 WHL
 Consul6ng
 provides
 a
 professional
 photo‐journalist
 to
 take
 high
 quality
 photographs,

provide
brochure
standard
English
language
copy
and
develop
a
sample
brochure
for
each
qualifying
SME.
 
In
addi6on,

landscape
 and
 des6na6on
 stock
 photography
 are
 also
 provided
 for
 des6na6on
 marke6ng
 ini6a6ves
 targeted
 at

promo6ng
tourism
SMEs.

Deliverables
to
SEED
 Deliverables
to
each
SME

  All
digital
content
for
68
SMEs
   High
and
low
resolu6on
photographs
for
use
in

  200
des6na6on
and
landscape
shots
for
stock
 brochures
and
websites

photography
   English
language
brochure
copy
with
specifica6ons
of

  Addi6onal
digital
content
for
7
emerging
tour
/
 the
SME
property
and
ac6vi6es

ac6vity
providers
   A
sample
brochure
using
the
photos
and
English

language
brochure
copy

Ac6vity
3:
Market
Access
Training
Seminars

The
prime
reason
most
of
the
SMEs
in
Livingstone,
Zambia
were
not
previously
working
in
online
environments
is
that

they
were
not
equipped
to
par6cipate.
The
first
problem
was
they
did
not
have
digital
content
to
give
online
distributors,

so
the
content
collec6on
exercise
solved
this
and
second
they
did
not
have
the
full
knowledge
of
the
items
they
must
do

to
be
able
to
work
with
intermediaries—online
and
offline.
As
previously
men6oned
2
courses
were
developed

depending
on
the
Market
Readiness
classifica6on.
Everyone
who
par6cipated
received
a
cer6ficate
of
comple6on.

2‐day
Training
Seminar
Content
–

 1‐day
Training
Seminar
Content
–
For
Not
Market

For
Nearly
&
Market
Ready
SMEs
 Ready
SMEs

Tourism
Trends
 The
Tourism
Environment

  Market
Access
vs.
Marke6ng

  Mee6ng
Tourist
Basic
and
Value‐Add
Needs


  Market
Segmenta6on

  Fully
Independent
Travel
Market
 Mee5ng
Minimum
Standards

Unique
Selling
Points
   Standards
for
the
Interna6onal
marketplace

  Using
Sustainable
Tourism
as
a
USP
 Unique
Selling
Points

Working
with
Tour
Operators

The
Internet
and
Tourism
 Financial
Management

  Opera6ng
in
an
E‐Commerce
Environment
   Figuring
profit,
revenue
and
costs

  Having
an
Internet
Strategy
 Targe5ng
Investment

  Search
Engines

  Increasing
Revenue,
2
Scenarios

  E‐Marketplaces

Working
with
Online
Intermediaries


  Pricing
Percep6on

  Sekng
your
Price

Genera5ng
Loyal
Customers

  Gekng
Feedback

  Importance
of
Word
of
Mouth
&
the
Internet

Your
Market
Access
Strategy

Ac6vity
4:
E‐Commerce
Portal 


The
keystone
of
this
project
was
the
development
of
a
Livingstone
specific
portal
working
with
www.whl.travel
to

provide
the
des6na6on
with
local
bookable
online
presence
for
SME
products.
In
addi6on
to
the
WHL
site
there
has

been
a
general
increase
of
Livingstone
products
online.


hfp://www.victoriafallszambia.travel

Homepage

November 2008
  13 on Safarinow
  10 on South Travels
  29 on Trip Advisor, 10 bookable

  45 on WHL Livingstone, all

bookable
PLUS 17 tours and activities, all
bookable
Accommoda6on
Lis6ng
 Ac6vity
Lis6ng

Return
to
the
Des6na6on 


WHL
Consul6ng
projects
are
Quick
(less
than
9
months
per
des6na6on),
Highly
Visible
(3
direct
and
separate
capacity
building

ac6vi6es
with
the
SMEs),
Implementa9on
Focused
(delivering
actual
Market
Access
to
the
SMEs
rather
than
genera6ng
a
plan
for

Market
Access)
and
Extremely
Relevant
(understanding
the
Internet
is
the
number
one
priority
for
tourism
SMEs
today)
to
the

end
beneficiaries—the
SMEs.
Addi6onally,
there
is
a
lot
of
value
added
for
the
des6na6on
on
the
whole
and
the
following
are

just
some
benefits
delivered
to
Livingstone
as
a
des6na6on,
the
tourism
board
and
the
Ministry
of
Tourism,
Environment
and

Natual
Resoures.

System
to
Monitor
SME
Growth
in
Tourism
Sector
 Enhanced
Public
Goods

WHL
makes
this
data
available
to
client
at
no
cost
for
3
   Increased
Exposure
to
Global
Markets

years
aoer
the
implementa6on
has
concluded
upon
   
Increased
SME
Compe66veness

request.
Thereaoer
this
valuable
data
is
available
to
the
   
Over
7,500
SME
Product
Photos

client
at
the
current
market
rates.

   
Over
200
Des6na6on
Photos


Sample
Available
Data



  Number
of
Par6cipa6ng
SMEs

  Number
of
Visitors

  Number
of
Enquiries

  Number
of
Bookings

  Total
Value
of
Bookings
toSMEs

  Bookings
By
SME

  Quality
Improvements

  Geographic
Visita6on


  SME
Traveler
Feedback

  Data
comparisons
over
6me

Project
Sa6sfac6on

Due
to
the
nature
of
WHL
Consul6ng
market
access
projects
a
high
level
of
client
sa6sfac6on
is
generated.
The
two

quotes
sent
to
us
upon
comple6on
of
the
project
demonstrate
the
visible
enthusiasm
generated
by
the
project.
The
end

product
is
a
state
of
the
art
booking
website
where
a
wide
selec6on
of
the
SME
product
is
enabled,
through
receiving

quality
digital
content,
and
empowered,
through
undertaking
the
training
seminars,
to
par6cipate
and
become

bookable
online.

SME
Perspec5ve


“All
sessions
were
educa9onal…many
great
topics

that
are
cri9cal
to
my
business
that
no
one
has
ever

shown
me.
All
of
my
colleagues
here
in
Livingstone

agree
this
is
the
best
training
session
that
has
been

organized
by
the
Ministry.
Thanks
a
great
course,
I

really
learnt
a
lot!”

 Ministry
Perspec5ve


–Alex,
Owner,
Stone
Guesthouse
 “Working
with
the
WHL
Consul9ng
team
was
rewarding.
The

launch
of
the
final
result—the
WHL
Livingstone
Website:

victoriafallszambia.travel
–was
thrilling
and
exci9ng,
‘it’s
the

talk
of
the
sector.’
…this
was
and
is
a
great
project
and
a
kind

of
its
own
in
the
for
MSMEs
in
Zambia
and
Livingstone
in

par9cular.
While
we
await
to
monitor
the
impact
of
this

project
on
tourism
for
the
MSMEs
in
Livingstone,
we
are

bubbling
with
confidence
that
this
project
was
a
great

success
and
has
surely
and
definitely
improved
the
business

environment
for
MSMEs
in
Livingstone.”


—Andrew
Chilufya,
SEED
Project
Manager

…building local capacity

www.whlconsul6ng.com

info@whlconsul6ng.com