Individual Report: Tourism/Events Start-Up Idea

Introduction

Information communications technology (ICT) has become critical to every aspect of human life. Ratheeswari (2018:45) defines ICT as technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications, including the internet, wireless networks, mobile phones and other communication mediums. On the other hand, entrepreneurship refers to the process of initiating a new venture, organising the needed resources, and assuming the risks it entails (Agarwal and Mehta, 2016). Entrepreneurship is essential to change and transformation in the tourism or events industry. Since ICT has become a critical aspect of daily human life, it is essential to successful tourism entrepreneurship. Admittedly, ICT helps organisations to acquire a sufficient amount of data that ensures flexibility and efficient operations. Żemła (2020) maintains that the tourism industry has experienced rapid growth in the past two decades, causing various social, economic and environmental challenges. However, new start-ups have emerged through tourism entrepreneurship to solve some of these challenges. Therefore, the report presents the interactive attraction assistant as an event or tourism technology start-up proposition. The report will be structured as follows: introduction, start-up details, target market, strategic consideration, reflection, and conclusion.

Start-Up Details

The start-up aims to address the environmental impact associated with the rapid growth of tourism in the past two decades. Żemła (2020) indicates that various tourist destinations are already experiencing the social, cultural and environmental challenges associated with the fast growth of the tourism industry in the past two decades. The influx of tourists in different destinations and aggressive marketing by tourist or events companies has significantly resulted in severe environmental degradation. Wang et al. (2021) attribute this growth in tourism to an increase in living standards, disposable income, and leisure time. However, this influx of tourists to different destinations and irresponsible behaviour from tourists has resulted in severe environmental degradation, forcing tourist or events organisations to encourage pro-environmental behaviours, such as decreased use of modern brochures. Therefore, this new start-up idea aims to cut the environmental impacts associated with tourism through effective transport planning and waste elimination.

The interactive attraction assistant looks like a self-check-in machine that allows guests to purchase tickets to different attractions and plan travel to and from the attractions. Unlike the existing technologies, the proposed interactive attraction assistant offers information about different attractions and booking capabilities, which increases travel efficiency. The technology comes with an interactive map of the local area and a range of attraction types, allowing them to browse information about these attractions. The machine also allows guests to print tickets to different locations, promoting pre-travel planning. The technology will help companies in the tourism and event industry to get rid of modern brochures, which are impossible to recycle due to their glossy coatings. Wang et al. (2021) indicate that tourism or event companies use printed brochures and guides to provide guests with information about particular locations. However, due to the environmentally irresponsible behaviour of most tourists, these materials often end up thrown everywhere at tourist destinations, causing severe environmental pollution. Wang et al. (2013) indicate that brochures with glossy coatings and other newsprints do not decompose quickly, posing a severe environmental danger. Therefore, the technology provides these companies with an environmentally friendly alternative to disseminating information to customers.

Most tourist or events companies have started adopting such technologies to promote efficiency and ensure proper travel and stay management. For instance, Hilton Honours allows customers to choose rooms, make payments, check-in, and check out without going through the front desk (Hilton, 2023). Moreover, the technology allows the customers to redeem their loyalty points for booking eligible airlines such as Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guests and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which allows customers to plan their travels equally. The technologies are already improving service delivery in the industry. The new start-up idea will significantly promote travel planning and service delivery since it offers information about different tourist attractions and has booking capabilities, which sets it apart from the existing technologies. In this regard, the technology will provide information to guests about different attractions within a specific local area, allowing for transport and hotel booking.

The proposed technology is unique and designed to benefit businesses, customers, and the environment, with the ultimate goal of reducing negative environmental impacts. Teng et al. (2021) argue that the rapid growth of the tourism industry has resulted in severe environmental degradation, compelling companies in the industry to adopt environmentally friendly approaches. The business benefits include eliminating printed brochures, reducing the need for holiday representatives, creating an opportunity for collaboration between local hotels and transport companies, and increasing the visibility of local attractions and restaurants without the need to print expensive brochures. The benefits to guests include access to a wide range of attractions and restaurants, reduced need for pre-visit planning, and enables them access to trusted transportation to and from the attractions to the hotels. Furthermore, finally, the technology aims to reduce the use of printed brochures through the provision of digital information about different attractions, reducing the amount of municipal solid waste stream since most modern brochures used in the industry are difficult to recycle due to the glossy coating; hence, ends up in the landfills.

Target Market

The start-up targets customers and companies within the tourism or events industry, including airports, train stations, accommodation, and large transport hubs. Moreover, the technology is also applicable to theme parks and other prominent attractions. As mentioned earlier, technology is already prevalent in the hotel and hospitality industry; therefore, this new start-up idea aims to expand its application to other sectors of the tourism or events industry by offering information and booking capabilities. Rahman et al. (2022) observe that adopting digital technologies helps them deliver unique services and address industry challenges. The tourism sector has significantly grown, presenting new challenges. Tourism has evolved significantly to provide information about different attractions alongside the opportunity to travel to different destinations. For that reason, the new technology ensures that companies in the tourism and events industry provide experience-based products and services.

The tourism sector has significantly grown over the years, accounting for about 10 per cent of the global economy. Statista Research Department (2023) approximates the market size of the global tourism industry to be around $1.67 trillion. The industry’s growth is attributed to the increase in wealth in different parts of the globe, increasing the number of tourists visiting different destinations across the globe. Alsos and Clausen (2014) indicate that rapid growth in the tourism industry has significantly grown over the past two decades, changing the focus to experiences. Notably, these experiences include economic offerings that engage the customers in inherently personal ways. Delivering these services require organisations to employ modern technologies to allow customers to access them efficiently. Therefore, the new start-up idea aims to offer information and booking capabilities to help tourism and events companies ethically provide different services to their customers.

Strategic Considerations

The new start-up idea is different from the existing technologies because, alongside providing information about various attractions, it also comes with booking capabilities, which increases the ease of use. Moreover, integrating booking capabilities in the technology enables it to differentiate itself from others. For that reason, the strategic considerations of the start-up will be arrived at by developing the innovation’s business canvas model and risk assessment.

Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas is a strategic template organisations use to develop new business models and document existing ones. Keane et al. (2018) argue that it helps entrepreneurs understand how to do business. The business model canvas contains nine related elements that constitute the “what” of doing business. The table below presents the new start-up’s business model canvas.

Risk Analysis

The tourism and events industry is highly uncertain due to the emergence of new technologies to address changing customer needs, posing significant risks to the new technology start-up. The tourism and events industry analysis indicate that the new start-up will likely face heightened competition and legal risks. The new technology start-up is likely to face fierce competition from companies like Airbnb. Blal et al. (2018) argue that Airbnb provides hosts with an online community and marketplace through which they can access accommodations and attractions across the globe. Like the new start-up, customers can access information about various tourist attractions and book services of interest to them. Unlike the new start-up, whose revenue will only come from leasing fees charged by the company, Airbnb generates its income from up to 15 per cent of the service fees charged to hosts and guests (Lee and Deale, 2021; Guttentag, 2015). The inability to compete effectively is among the critical causes of business failure in new markets. Shapira (2017:h1416) observes that most start-ups fail in new markets due to their inability to cope with competition in the market. The start-up is highly likely to face legal risks since laws and regulations that companies operating in the tourism industry must comply with vary from one city to another. Shapira (2017) observes that the inability to overcome challenges in a new market is a critical source of failure for many new start-ups entering new markets. Therefore, the start-up will address these risks to ensure successful performance.

Reflection

The presentation assignment appeared challenging at the beginning since it involved coming up with a new tourism and events start-up idea. However, the group brought together individuals from diverse backgrounds and with unique abilities, which promoted a quick generation of compelling ideas from which we settled on this business idea. Van Werven et al. (2019) indicate that pitching a new business idea involves different steps ranging from problem identification to developing the new venture. The comments at the end of the presentation made me understand that teamwork is critical to solving complex challenges facing today’s life. Mullins (2016) maintains that teams promote mutual support and trust, leading to successful outcomes. Moreover, Cai et al. (2019) maintain that teamwork promotes creativity leading to quality ideas. However, the success of teamwork depends on effective leadership to ensure that every member gets an equal opportunity to participate. For this reason, I will adopt a participative leadership style while working in a group to ensure a successful outcome.

Conclusion

The report indicates that technological innovations are critical to providing solutions to the current challenges facing the tourism and events industry. Notably, the industry has experienced rapid growth in the past two decades due to increased household wealth in different parts of the world and increased leisure time, leading to an influx of guests to different destinations. The growth has resulted in negative environmental impacts, forcing companies operating in the industry to embrace new technologies to promote environmentally friendly operations. Therefore, the new technology aims to reduce the negative environmental impacts of tourism by cutting down wastes originating from the aggressive use of printed brochures and guides and promoting planning in different attractions by providing customers with real-time data. Despite risks of fierce competition and legal challenges, the company’s unique positioning places it at a vantage position. Therefore, the new start-up will significantly transform the tourism and events industry.

List of References

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Guttentag, D., 2015. Airbnb: disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism accommodation sector. Current Issues in Tourism, 8(12), pp. 1192-1217.

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Mullins, L.J., 2016. Management and organisational behaviour. Pearson Education Limited.

Rahman, M.K., Hossain, M.M., Akter, S. and Hassan, A., 2022. Technology Innovation and Social Media as a Global Platform for Tourism Events. In Technology Application in Tourism Fairs, Festivals and Events in Asia (pp. 121-132). Springer, Singapore.

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Shapira, Z., 2017. Entering new markets: The effect of performance feedback near aspiration and well below and above it. Strategic Management Journal, 38(7), pp.1416-1434.

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Van Werven, R., Bouwmeester, O. and Cornelissen, J.P., 2019. Pitching a business idea to investors: How new venture founders use micro-level rhetoric to achieve narrative plausibility and resonance. International Small Business Journal, 37(3), pp.193-214.

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Żemła, M., 2020. Reasons and consequences of over-tourism in contemporary cities—Knowledge gaps and future research. Sustainability, 12(5), pp.1729.