Breve historia de la Provincia de Pichincha

In order to design the adventure tourism products and experiences you will offer, first review all of your research to date. In developing your business concept and strategy, you have already selected the markets you believe offer the most potential, and identified, in general terms, the types of products you are going to offer. Now you have to design the product(s) and packages that will have the greatest appeal to these markets, the greatest potential in terms of sales and profits, and a competitive advantage in the marketplace versus other similar products in the province and elsewhere.

If your market analysis and product positioning dictates that several products/packages are required, try to simplify things rather than end up with too many products. Use a mix and match approach with different product and service features to adapt the product for different markets, but in a fashion that will be simple to administer and simple for customers to understand.

Also remember the fundamental principle that adventure tourism products are experiences. Often adventure operators lose sight of this essential principle, becoming preoccupied with the day-to-

day demands of the business; maintaining equipment, scheduling trips, dealing with guides, paying bills, etc. But all of these things are being done for a more important purpose: providing appealing adventure experiences for customers. As a consequence, the first priority in product planning is to design an experience of appeal to the customer (or several different experiences, as the case may be).

Below are some guidelines to help you plan an experientially rich adventure product: • Offer a unique and truly one-of-a-kind adventure experience, based on quality outdoor

adventure activities that suit your markets.

• Include important natural features in the area or region – piggyback on their appeals to help sell the product. Examples could include bird watching in an old growth forest, hiking Cape Split, or rafting the Tidal Bore.

• Include some unusual or customized features or programming to give your product a difference and a competitive advantage. Some examples include a special talk by a local historian added to a natural history hiking trip, or an inn-to-inn hiking tour which includes an outing to a winery to explore Nova Scotia wine making techniques and wine sampling. • Include educational components and utilize experts. For example, have a biologist lead the

trip and provide educational (and entertaining) insights into wildlife, flora, etc.

• Some types of adventure tours lend themselves to themed programming. Adding a theme to the product’s name and some themed features can increase an adventure tour’s appeal and uniqueness. An example would be a Voyageur Canoe Expedition featuring a guide in traditional dress, a traditional canoe, and visits to an Indian burial ground and Sweat Lodge. This would be quite different from a Palaeontology Hiking tour featuring rock hounding and fossil exploration, with visits to the Fundy Geological Museum and the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, for example.

If you incorporate theming, keep it true to the real heritage and culture of the area. Modern tourists are quick to distinguish genuine features from contrived ones. The former add to entertainment value; the latter diminish the experience.

• Hire guides with real personalities, who exemplify the local culture of the area, and train them to be leaders, entertainers, and interpreters, not just commentators. Also train guides to have a comprehensive and expert knowledge about the features of the experience/tour and the destination.

• Invest the time and effort in developing a rich interpretive program replete with human heritage, cultural traditions, natural history, and stories and anecdotes.

• Maintain a high guide-customer ratio to support a high level of customer interaction and limit negative environmental impacts. (The recommended ratio varies by activity, with some adventure operators finding that one guide to every 4 or 5 customers is all that can be handled to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience. However, for other activities, a ratio of one guide for 8 - 10 customers is appropriate, and this is likely to be more economic. If your product requires a higher level of skill on the part of the participant or has more elements of risk, you

Page 62 Guide to Starting and Operating an Adventure Tourism Business in Nova Scotia • Consider pacing so as to give people a chance to stop, rest, and simply enjoy the sights,

smells, sounds, and wonders of nature. You have to build this into the schedule. Provide enough to make the day stimulating but not too much to make it relentless.

• Provide meals if they are likely to be required by customers, given the length of the tour. Even same-day experiences can include a packaged lunch and beverages, or a light snack. If your trip is multi-day, it should include all meals and these meals should be of excellent quality, using fresh, local ingredients to the extent possible.

• Develop informative literature about your adventure product and provide this to your clients. For multi-day adventure products, it will be important to provide your clients with a variety of information before the trip, including such things as equipment and clothing needs, weather conditions, highlights and key features of the tour. You may also want to provide some background information to augment your interpretation and educate your clients – remember, today’s adventure clientele crave information and want some level of learning. • Under-promise and over-deliver. One easy way of doing this is to provide added value

features. Small add-ons such as souvenir T-shirts with your business or tour name can be excellent surprises and are also good marketing tools. If your product is multi-day, you could include a special meal such as a seaside lobster bake, or an evening of musical entertainment. Such features should not all be advertised, so that customers perceive them to be extra values or surprises while on the trip.

• Cater your trips to the experience, interests, and physical abilities of your clients. Modify trips to cater to those seeking more or less challenging experiences; this will help you meet visitor expectations and ensure their safety and satisfaction. It is important to gauge the interests and abilities of each participant and develop the experience/tour according to these factors. If needs vary, it may be necessary to split groups into two or more segments to accommodate those seeking differing levels of intensity, or to develop customized tours for greater personalization.

• Build flexibility into each program, so that some participants can opt to do it all, while others can cut the experience short. This will require some extra planning. If some clients want free time to rest or explore on their own, allow for this if at all possible.

• Put a professional "face" on your business. Some notable needs in this respect include: S Have a separate phone and fax telephone number from your home number for customer

enquiries and bookings;

S Make arrangements so that the phone can be answered year round, and by someone who can adequately represent the business (not your children!), or use an answering machine and check it at least daily;

S Keep the reservations and scheduling book, your price sheet and other appropriate information handy by the phone.