– encourage collaboration and leverage technology and data
The customer journey should be the main focus of any business or entity with an eye for customer satisfaction and a desire to engage customers for the long haul. In this regard, the tourism industry is no exception. Picking a leaf from the just-ended Breakfast with the Minister of Tourism, there are clear signals that the tourism sector now has been elevated to become a major GDP contributor for our dear country. That institutions like the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and others are placing a premium on the customer experience speaks volumes of how far we have come in this journey.
The Ghana Tourism Authority is the public service agency regulating tourism in Ghana through marketing and promotion, licensing and classification of tourism facilities and services, and research and development. That we have such an erudite institution backing our tourism efforts is a clear testimony of our avowed commitment to leapfrogging our tourism potential as a major economic trigger. The President of the Republic, Nana Akufo Addo, reiterated this during the Peduase Summit which ended a few months ago in Aburi at the Peduase Lodge.
Speaking on the theme ‘Rethinking Tourism for Economic Growth and Job Creation’, he proposed that the sector adopt preservation, promotion, policy leadership, and partnerships to ensure tourism is developed in a sustainable, responsible and all-inclusive manner. According to the CEO of GTA, Mr. Akwasi Agymang, this year, Ghana is anticipating about 1.2 million international tourist arrivals, with an estimated revenue of some US$3.4billion into the tourism economy. All these are encouraging signs that our tourism is moving in the right direction and that with the right interventions, things can only get better.
The minister threw some light on this during the breakfast, announcing that the expectation in the next 2/4 years is a revenue threshold of some US$6billion, with an inflow of 2 million tourists. Very ambitious targets. As we reflect on the impact of these initiatives, it is worth highlighting the potential benefits we can derive from improving our service culture, a common bottleneck that quite often blurs the enviable Ghanaian story of hospitality. To this end, let’s reflect on the tourist journey end-to-end and draw insights from the seminar on Technology and Data in Tourism held at Fiesta Royale early last month, sponsored by Mastercard Foundation.
The tourism journey depicts broadly 5 touchpoints influencing the decision-making of any potential tourist – and I would assume both local and international. First is the awareness of places to visit with the existence of many potential destinations. Second would be accommodation – places to stay; hence, the need for information to aid decision-making. Third would be the simplicity and convenience of payment processes. Fourth, in-country experience which could potentially make or mar the experience. Fifth, Feedback and evaluation to support service improvements.
Where to visit – Awareness
The customer journey always starts from the awareness touchpoint, where the customer spends time researching potential offerings and planning the journey from the inception of the vacation plan to the identification of potential destinations. Customer experience is about providing users with memories that would last a lifetime. If these memories are positive, then the journey will be a prolonged one and will potentially lead to referrals. It would seem that we have done really well in the area of projecting our tourist attractions; and kudos to the GTA and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture for that.
Many service providers use a range of channels these days from social media, referrals from friends, influencers and brand advocates, search engine suggestions, adverts, marketing emails, blogs, SMS, apps, loyalty programmes, and affiliate marketing. To reach our goal of increasing tourist traffic, we must leverage the channels that are commonly used by our prospects. This is where the persona definition comes in handy. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are useful platforms for the average demography. How we assess our CX preparedness depends on our visibility.
This is where we are falling short woefully. It would seem that the use cases in our ecosystem depict a low appetite for technology in the hospitality sector. Research reveals the following: Google Location is the most popular, and social media is preferred over websites – especially outside of accommodation, but referrals by word of mouth are dominant. Online listings and aggregator platforms are increasingly popular, many hardly have usable websites of their own for signposting. Social media and websites are used to respond to customer feedback – mostly less-developed. We need to address this gap urgently to step up the experience.
Where to stay – Findability
It probably would not be an issue if you are residing in any of the 4/5-star hotels as most of them are multinational. They are well-resourced and have the capacity in terms of the technology and resources to make the average visitor comfortable. A few more have emerged in the countryside and prime areas around the country, offering great services; however, they may require more efficient technology handles to improve their visibility and performance. Online bookings are used, but most don’t use real-time systems. Google Forms, e-mail and WhatsApp are most popular, with some using booking platforms such as Expedia, Bookings.com and myticketGH.
A major drawback with the low usage of digital platforms for the average hotel is that feedback cycles among providers are very slow; therefore, their degree of responsiveness in taking feedback onboard for a better user experience is rather limited. Thankfully, there is no shortage of places to stay in Ghana currently. The average visitor has a wide range of places to choose from, with rates ranging from as low as US$20 to over US$200 per night. When I was in the UK, I had to travel down south to Colchester for an interview from Milton Keynes. Realising that I wasn’t going to be able to return the same day, I had to book a hotel.
Finding a hotel and booking a place was quite easy. All I had to do was go online and search for a hotel using the aggregator site. Having found one of my choices, I could then move on to the hotel’s website and process my booking. There is this story I have told repeatedly (because it is a good one) of how an Englishman found a hotel in Elmina online and was given a very enticing package. This was enough to make him decide to come to Ghana on his first-ever visit to Africa. If our hotels are visible and easier to find online – either locally or internationally, they will be competitive enough to gain the attention of the average tourist from any part of the world.
Booking and payment – Purchase
Many of the 4/5-star hotels and resorts rely on data to inform when to offer reduced pricing and deals to attract consumers during off-season periods. However, the majority of providers across sub-sectors lack the resources to make these informed decisions and thus are unable to adjust their prices to take seasonality into account. A few years ago, we paid a visit to Cape Coast just before Fetu Afahyie (festival) and had to rely on a network of one of my siblings to secure a hotel on the outskirts of Cape Coast. The price per night hovered around US$20. Cape Coast was busy that weekend; however, the rates were the same, probably hiked in some cases.
The lack of understanding of the market dynamics is problematic. It affects the journey adversely as the average lodger or tourist has very limited opportunity to take advantage of interesting price deals. Perhaps, if we step up our data management and invest in relevant technologies, we will enhance our capacity to improve our booking processes to reduce customer frustrations. If I recall right, the storm on social media about the hotel booking weeks ago had something to do with the booking platform used originally. As it turned out the initial booking was not confirmed.
This forced the client to use a different platform and in the process, the client lost the original booking as the room had been given out. This probably was the case because the hotel had limited control over the process. Booking challenges are typical in situations where the service provider has limited control over transactions. Reversals or refunds are done at the behest of the service provider who has no direct contact with the customer. The goal of every booking process is simplicity and convenience with responsive communication. The average hotelier in the categories below 4/5-star cannot guarantee these attributes.
Experience in-country
The top three reasons for tourists visiting Ghana are: first, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). The activities are mostly business and shopping-related, with activities largely centred on urban areas, especially Accra and Kumasi although other local sites may also benefit. The second reason is heritage tourism. This includes travelling to experience places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. Key sites that attract this type of tourism include places such as Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, and quite recently Kwame Nkrumah Museum.
The third reason is eco-tourism. This definition from the Internet explains it as involving travel to natural areas that conserve the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education. A few top-of-mind examples are Kakum, Shai Hills, Kintampo Waterfalls, and many others. The in-country experience plays up in how the tourism value chain functions to present tourists with seamless services encompassing accommodation, tour guides and operators, and a range of support services. The extent to which these providers compete and collaborate is critical to tourist retention.
This is where the service culture is very critical. We need a good mix of modern technology and best-fit processes to, among others, attract and retain tourists, increase revenue, enhance the guest experience, streamline operations, and improve communication. This way, we will stimulate economic growth and create opportunities for job creation and entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on our youth. How we harness all the players and resources within our ecosystem with strong collaboration among key stakeholders under the public-private partnership is critical for this touchpoint of our tourist journey.
Feedback and evaluation
We must rely on data to make key business decisions. I was mildly shocked when, in a conversation after a recent workshop, we were reflecting on price discrimination in our main tourist sites. A colleague had shared with me earlier about how he went to the Kwame Nkrumah Museum with some foreign friends of his who complained bitterly about the price discrimination as they had to pay GH¢100 or so. They cited that when we go to Madam Tussaud and other attractions, everyone pays the same price; so they queried why they are made to pay differently here. Well, I shared this at lunch with some officials and they dismissed it flippantly.
I am not questioning the rationale for the different pricing; however, the reason they gave to justify the pricing just did not add up. According to them, this is the practice all over Africa, so whoever was complaining should just shut up and pay. Huh? What happened to customer experience? We had just closed from a session on how to use data to enhance our tourism potential and this was a reaction I was getting from a participant, especially because the person was from public sector. I hope for the good of our dear country that the thinking of this group of people has no bearing on officialdom. Why dismiss feedback flippantly? Let’s not kill learning opportunities.
We learned the other day that in Qatar, the government had launched a scheme to attract more visitors by reducing hotel rates following the World Cup. Egypt, during the World Cup reduced prices of their tourist sites by 50 percent to attract traffic. Customer-centricity is pivotal to managing the customer experience and one way we do this is through listening. We listen by measuring customer sentiments variously. Through surveys and feedback instruments, we learn at first-hand the customer’s perception. The feedback will help us meet customer expectations and proactively attract more interest through referrals and retain good numbers going forward.
Customer experience is the customers’ perceptions – both conscious and subconscious – of their relationship with your brand resulting from all their interactions with your brand during the customer life cycle. The tourist experience is no different. By deliberately reviewing the tourist journey and rewriting the script with how we use technology and data to make key decisions, we will be on a path to real progress; and yes, our goal of US$4billion contribution to GDP will be achieved in good time!
Customer Experience Professionals Ghana presents the Annual Customer Experience Professionals Ghana Conference, a cross-industry meeting place bringing together over 300 global thought leaders, professionals and innovative solution providers in Ghana.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Customer Centricity: Reorienting Business, Technology, Process, and People Around the Customer’.
Date: 6th October, 2023
Time: 09:00 a.m.
Venue: Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana.
Contact: 0552760129
email:[email protected], online: www.cxpghana.com.
The Writer is Head of Training Development & Research
Service Excellence Foundation, and Management Consultant (Change and Customer Experience). He can be reached on 059 175 7205,
[email protected], https://www.linkedin.com/in/km-13b85717/
