programming – Tourism Nerd

One of the best experiences of my trip to Vietnam was participating in a cooking class called Oodles of Noodles run by Streets International in Hoi An.

Doang was the first up from the Oodles of Noodles team. She taught us about the program and asked us to “please correct our English so we can learn”. Throughout the experience all the hosts were very good at interacting with the group. “We need your help to learn. You will do that, yes?” “Yes!” we all promised.

Next we watched a short documentary about Neal Bermas’ vision for Streets International. They conducted research to find the right city and chose Hoi An due to the high levels of visitation and its history as a multicultural port and culinary destination. Their goal is to launch careers in hospitality.

The program provides participants with full health care, lodging, and three meals a day. These are orphans, children from HIV backgrounds, or formerly trafficked and prostituted people. The facility has a working kitchen, a classroom for culinary lessons (both internal and external, like ours), and a 16-station computer lab for learning English.

The cooking class that followed the program description was immersive and entertaining.

A young woman named Nho taught us about noodles and I now consider myself a rice noodle expert. Dai from Hanoi did a demo which was also broadcast on a TV for the people at the back.

M Nhi is from close to Sapa. She taught us to count down in Vietnamese as well as guided us through the noodle making process at our table. Our noodles were combined with a charcoal broiled variety to make a smash cake which made a delicious appetizer.

The tables were then wiped down and we were served the local specialty prepared by the culinary students.The entire group agreed that the meal, the service, and the cleanliness of the facility far exceeded anything we had experienced so far.

Streets International also runs a restaurant, one that is designed to stand on its own. The servers, hosts, and culinary team are all program participants.

Recognizing that front-of-house trainees receive the lion’s share of immersive language and hosting experience, Streets International also partners with local tour operators to offer tours led by back of house staff. These tours allow budding chefs to take guests through Hoi An, where they practice English and share the culinary history of the destination.

Intake for this program is every nine months. So far 250+ youth have graduated and there are more job offers (high end restaurants, resorts, etc) than graduates. A second location recently opened in Hanoi.

My experience of Hoi An was one of a busy destination, one where popular sites were choked with tourists barely grasping the significance of what they were seeing. While at times I experienced the dreaded ‘overtourism’, the afternoon spent at Ooodles of Noodles was educational and entertaining – all while making a difference in the lives of young people.

This is the future of the industry as far as I’m concerned and a model for tourism done right. I’ve already challenged my soon-to-be tourism graduates back home to explore this model and see how they could bring it to BC.

Kotler’s 4Ps of marketing are a staple of business education. We speak frequently of product, price, place and promotion strategies – especially as they relate to consumer packaged goods.

Those in the tourism know are also familiar with Morrison’s expansion into the 8P’s of services marketing (2010):

People
Partnership
Physical Evidence
Programming

Programming pertains to customer-oriented activities (special events, festivals, or special activities) designed to increase customer spending or length of stay, or to add to the appeal of packages.

Recently I discovered a practical example of programming from the retail sector: the MEC race series. These series of either road or trail race events are hosted by different MEC stores across Canada, tying together the retail experience with online communications and in-person brand experiences to create a sense of community while increasing sales.

As a road race participants are encouraged to purchase a bundle of roughly six races for a one-time fee of approximately $72. Prior to each race, emails are triggered reminding participants to come and pick up race packages, with a Saturday-long in-store option. For those who pick up a package (essentially a race bib and some verbal info) in-store, a 10% savings coupon is presented (valid that day only). I used mine to buy rain pants for my little cheering section.

The race gives MEC another reason to reach out to shoppers, and furthers their mission and values around inspiring and enabling everyone to lead active outdoor lifestyles.

But let’s get back to those rain pants. By incentivizing me to purchase with a same-day discount, MEC is ensuring I don’t go out and troll Craiglist for a couple of used pairs, cashing in on the convenience of having me on location. That’s over $70 in additional sales, and a much more targeted series of communications than traditional media (or even most digital and direct channels).

So far the events have been very well run. Kudos to the MEC team for standing in the freezing rain cheering us all on at Sunday’s first race. And kudos to their marketing team for ensuring that all the branding, from the kilometre markers to the race arch itself, proudly displayed the bold green MEC square.

Many tourism businesses from attractions to entire destinations are increasingly relying on programming to fill the shoulder season. Dine Out Vancouver is a popular example.

Do you have an example of programming at your business or in your destination? Share it in the comments!

Note: Despite my love for all things MEC, as with all posts on Tourism Nerd I receive absolutely zero compensation for writing about them.