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....marketreadinessassessments,professionaldigital

content,onlinepaymentgateways,mul6plechannelsto

market,bookingsystems,allotmentmanagement,commissioning,productquality,sustainability,linksto

commercialproviders....

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TheSMEChallenge

Market access should not be the last step in a tourism

developmentproject.Itshouldbethe first. Themarketisthe

prime driver of business success, so building market accessearly and using market signals to inform the rest of the

developmentprocessistheonlywaytoensurethelongterm

successofatourismproject. Thisisanimportantpointthatis

widelyoverlookedininterven6onstargetedatsuppor6ngthe

developmentofthetourismSMEsector.

Ourexperiencein20countriesandin12emergingdes5na5onsshowssomecommonmistakesinworkingwith

tourismSMEswithindevelopmentprojects:

AwidegapexistsbetweenanSMEsexpecta6onsversustheamountoftourismbusinessactuallygenerated. Awidegapexistsbetweentravellerexpecta6onsandtheactualproductonoffer. A real weakness in integra6ng customersinto thedevelopment process, whetherthese are tour operators

interested insellingpackagesto theregion or, increasingly, independent travellerswho usethe Internet to

planandbooktheirtraveldirectly.

Poorbangforbuck.Noeffec6vepriori6sa6onofareasofinterven6ontoachievethequickwinsneededtowin SME support whilst also genera6ng medium term sector improvements and long term reform of thebusinessenvironment.

A lack in planning of longer term financial sustainability needed to underpin community development,conserva6onandpovertyreduc6onobjec6ves.Thisisamajorthreattoaprojectwhendonorsstarttophase

outtheirinvolvement.

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TheApproach

WHL Consul6ng solu6ons leverage from our unique

experiencebothasoneofthelargestonlinemarke6ngand

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 ofexper6seposi6onsuswelltoprovide

prac6cal customeroriented solu6ons built upon market

reali6es. We level the playing field for SME tourism

providersin thedevelopingworldwan6ngto becomepart

oftheglobalmarket.TheWHLCapproach:

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

Allows SMEs to par6cipate directly with Internetbased marke6ng and distribu6on intermediaries byprovidingprofessionaldigitalcontent

Strengthensthemarke6ngoutreachofSMEsandbuilds linkagestocommercialprovidersviamarketaccesstrainingseminarsandoneononeconsulta6onservices

Introduces allotmentmanagement servicesand payment gateway facili9es to SMEs without sophis6catedinterna6onalstandardproceduresandsystemsinplace

Leverages from construc6on of a commercially viable and sustainable locally owned and operated emarketplacewhichcancon6nuetogrowanddevelopbeyondtheprojectcomple6on.

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WHLConsul6ngsworkinZambiacameunderaNa6onalprogrammetargetedatachievingsectorreform

and improved returnsto SMEs inalleconomicsectors. The programme was financed through a World

BankcredittotheGovernmentof Zambia,known locallyas SEED. Wedesigned andexecuteda market

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

LesothoandTanzania.

PROJECTOBJECTIVES

Createa comprehensivepictureofthe currentstatusofthetourismSME marketsegmentintermsofsize,quality,businessprac6ces,marketaccess(analyzethefirmlevelcompe66venessofthesector)

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

Provide a professional online emarke6ng and accommoda6on booking serviceto a large number ofSMEaccommoda6onandac6vityproviderswhohavenotbeenabletopar6cipateeffec6velyonthe

Internet

CaseStudy:Livingstone,ZambiaTourismSMEMarketAccess

Create the booking service as acommercially viable, locally owned and

operated emarketplace which can

con6nuetogrowanddevelopbeyondtheprojectcomple6on

Iden6fypriorityareasformediumandlongterm interven6on for achieving sectoral

improvementsandul6matelyreformofthe

businessenvironmentforSMEs

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Thetotalprojectcostwas$139,000 Themarketaccessprogrammereachedover140SMEsinLivingstone Allac6vi6eswereimplementedwithin8monthsofprojectincep6on TheprojectcostsworkedoutasaninvestmentofunderUS$1,000perSME

ProjectImplementa6onSnapshot

ImprovedReturnstoSMEs

BusinessSectorReform

IncreasedBusinessLinkagesSMEBookingandFeedbackSystem

TravellerFeedbackSystemforSMEs

Phase1

ShortTerm

(MarNov2008)

Phase2

ShorttoMedium

Phase3

MediumtoLong

StakeholderConsulta6onandProjectPlanningSMEMarketReadinessAssessments(Developeda

QualityAssessedDatabaseofSMEs)

DigitalContentCollec6onExercise

WHLLivingstoneOnlineBookingPortal(E

Marketplace)Development

CapacityDevelopmentofSMEs(MarketAccess

TrainingSeminarsandIndependentConsul6ng)

PublicEMarketplaceLaunchEvent

WHLCAc6vi6es

ProjectOutputs

ProjectOutcomes

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Ac6vity1:MarketReadinessAssessmentThefirstac6vityintheprogrammewastocarryoutanassessmentofthetourismSMEs.TheMRAisaproprietarytool

developedbyWHLConsul6ng,togivearapidassessmentofabusinessintermsofproductquality,businessprac6ces,

currentmarket access and other criteria which canbecustomisedaccording to client needs. The MRAthen uses a

scoringsystemtocategorisetheSMEsintoMarketReady,NearlyMarketReadyandNotMarketReadyclusters.Thekeydeliverable from this component to the client was a comprehensive updatable database of 121 audited SMEs.

DeliverableswerealsoprovidedtoeachSMEvisited.

MarketReady40%49SMEs

NearlyMarketReady22%27SMEs

NotMarketReady28%34SMEs

DeliverablestoSME:

ReceiveafeedbackleerfollowingtheMRA

Introduc6ontolocaltouroperatorrunningtheemarketplace,forimmediate

lis6ng

Visitbycontentcollector,uponrequest

Invita6onto2daymarketaccesstrainingseminar

DeliverablestoSME:

ReceiveafeedbackleerfollowingtheMRAwith

recommenda6ons

VisitbycontentcollectorandCDofdigitalcontentfortop

10%ofSMEsinthiscategory

Invita6onto1daybasicmarketaccesstrainingseminar

DeliverablestoSME:

ReceiveafeedbackleerfollowingtheMRAwitha

roadmaptoMarketReady

Introduc6ontolocaltouroperatorrunningthee

marketplace,forlis6ngoncemarketready

VisitbycontentcollectorandCDofdigitalcontent

Invita6onto2daymarketaccesstrainingseminar

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Alldigitalcontentfor8SMEs 200des6na6onandlandscapeshotsforstock

photography

Addi6onaldigitalcontentfor7emergingtour/ac6vityproviders

Highandlowresolu6onphotographsforuseinbrochuresandwebsites

Englishlanguagebrochurecopywithspecifica6onsoftheSMEpropertyandac6vi6es

AsamplebrochureusingthephotosandEnglishlanguagebrochurecopy

Aspart ofthe programme,WHLConsul6ng providesa professionalphotojournalist totakehighquality photographs,

providebrochurestandardEnglishlanguagecopyanddevelopa samplebrochureforeachqualifyingSME. In addi6on,

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

promo6ngtourismSMEs.

Ac6vity2:DigitalContentCollec6onExercise

DeliverablestoSEED DeliverablestoeachSME

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2dayTrainingSeminarContent

ForNearly&MarketReadySMEs

TourismTrends

MarketAccessvs.Marke6ng MarketSegmenta6on FullyIndependentTravelMarket

UniqueSellingPoints UsingSustainableTourismasaUSP

WorkingwithTourOperators

TheInternetandTourism

Opera6nginanECommerceEnvironment HavinganInternetStrategy SearchEngines EMarketplaces

WorkingwithOnlineIntermediaries

PricingPercep6on SengyourPrice

Genera5ngLoyalCustomers GengFeedback ImportanceofWordofMouth&theInternet

YourMarketAccessStrategy

1dayTrainingSeminarContentForNotMarket

ReadySMEs

TheTourismEnvironment

Mee6ngTouristBasicandValueAddNeedsMee5ngMinimumStandards

StandardsfortheInterna6onalmarketplaceUniqueSellingPoints

FinancialManagement

Figuringprofit,revenueandcostsTarge5ngInvestment

IncreasingRevenue,2Scenarios

TheprimereasonmostoftheSMEsinLivingstone,Zambiawerenotpreviouslyworkinginonlineenvironmentsisthat

theywerenotequippedtopar6cipate.Thefirstproblemwastheydidnothavedigitalcontenttogiveonlinedistributors,

sothecontentcollec6onexercisesolvedthisandsecondtheydidnothavethefullknowledgeoftheitemstheymustdo

tobeabletoworkwithintermediariesonlineandoffline.Aspreviouslymen6oned2coursesweredevelopeddependingontheMarketReadinessclassifica6on.Everyonewhopar6cipatedreceivedacer6ficateofcomple6on.

Ac6vity3:MarketAccessTrainingSeminars

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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, allbookable

ThekeystoneofthisprojectwasthedevelopmentofaLivingstonespecificportalworkingwithwww.whl.travelto

providethedes6na6onwithlocalbookableonlinepresenceforSMEproducts.Inaddi6ontotheWHLsitetherehas

beenageneralincreaseofLivingstoneproductsonline.hp://www.victoriafallszambia.travel

Ac6vity4:ECommercePortal

Accommoda6onLis6ng Ac6vityLis6ng

Homepage

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WHLConsul6ngprojectsareQuick(lessthan9monthsperdes6na6on),HighlyVisible(3directandseparatecapacitybuilding

ac6vi6eswiththeSMEs),Implementa9onFocused(deliveringactualMarketAccesstotheSMEsratherthangenera6ngaplanfor

MarketAccess)andExtremelyRelevant(understandingtheInternetisthenumberonepriorityfortourismSMEstoday)tothe

endbeneficiariestheSMEs.Addi6onally,thereisalotofvalueaddedforthedes6na6ononthewholeandthefollowingarejustsomebenefitsdeliveredtoLivingstoneasades6na6on,thetourismboardandtheMinistryofTourism,Environmentand

NatualResoures.

SystemtoMonitorSMEGrowthinTourismSector

WHLmakesthisdataavailabletoclientatnocostfor3

yearsaertheimplementa6onhasconcludedupon

request.Thereaerthisvaluabledataisavailabletothe

clientatthecurrentmarketrates.

SampleAvailableData

NumberofPar6cipa6ngSMEs NumberofVisitors NumberofEnquiries NumberofBookings TotalValueofBookingstoSMEs BookingsBySME

QualityImprovements GeographicVisita6on SMETravelerFeedback Datacomparisonsover6me

ReturntotheDes6na6on

EnhancedPublicGoods

IncreasedExposuretoGlobalMarkets IncreasedSMECompe66veness Over7,500SMEProductPhotos Over200Des6na6onPhotos

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ProjectSa6sfac6on

SMEPerspec5ve

Allsessionswereeduca9onalmanygreattopics

thatarecri9caltomybusinessthatnoonehasever

shownme.AllofmycolleagueshereinLivingstone

agreethisisthebesttrainingsessionthathasbeen

organizedbytheMinistry.Thanksagreatcourse,Ireallylearntalot!

Alex,Owner,StoneGuesthouse

MinistryPerspec5ve

WorkingwiththeWHLConsul9ngteamwasrewarding.The

launchofthefinalresulttheWHLLivingstoneWebsite:

victoriafallszambia.travelwasthrillingandexci9ng,itsthe

talkofthesector.thiswasandisagreatprojectandakind

ofitsownintheforMSMEsinZambiaandLivingstonein

par9cular.Whileweawaittomonitortheimpactofthis

projectontourismfortheMSMEsinLivingstone,weare

bubblingwithconfidencethatthisprojectwasagreat

successandhassurelyanddefinitelyimprovedthebusiness

environmentforMSMEsinLivingstone.

AndrewChilufya,SEEDProjectManager

DuetothenatureofWHLConsul6ngmarketaccessprojectsahighlevelofclientsa6sfac6onisgenerated.Thetwo

quotessenttousuponcomple6onoftheprojectdemonstratethevisibleenthusiasmgeneratedbytheproject.Theend

productisastateoftheartbookingwebsitewhereawideselec6onoftheSMEproductisenabled,throughreceiving

qualitydigitalcontent,andempowered,throughundertakingthetrainingseminars,topar6cipateandbecomebookableonline.

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building local capacity

www.whlconsul6ng.com

info@whlconsul6ng.com