Quality Mark RCI

1. Regional Tourism Workshop Hotel Bellevue, Ohrid, Macedonia, September 23, 2008 Sue Warren SNV Montenegro Quality Mark RCI

2. Tourism trends People take more and shorter holidays Customer power rules! Spending power increases > leisure time: People more demanding + time as important as value for money Customers more fickle and less loyal People better educated, want broader range of experiences; increasingly concerned about health and self-fulfilment More demand for activities and sports-related breaks Space, time to reflect, relax, ‘recharge batteries’

3. Tourism trends Increase in independent travel Low-cost airlines – new, more routes to everywhere! Internet rules - for short term promotion, information provision and bookings Social networking is the new order – C2C – impacts on everything – marketing, information, quality assurance Constraints of environmental concern?

4. The challenges Differentiating yourself from the rest Offering value for money Investing in & diversifying product - the power is in authentic offers Quality & creating added value Reinforcing human resource development Continuous development required to keep product matching traveler’s expectations Planning according to the principles of sustainable development

5. What is tourism success? Competitiveness that is sustainable Empowering through training to improve skills Developing organisational competencies Improving the lives of local people Supporting pride of place/conserving the environment / culture Creating new jobs, economic growth That means offering excellence…. Memorability, authenticity (spirit of the place) Quality – that can be recognised & promoted

6. What are the goals of a quality system? To provide a system that enables travellers to select quality tourism options To assist operators and the industry to understand and raise service quality To assist operators and the industry to organise / collaborate for success To achieve an independent classification and quality grading system which rates accommodation…and even visitor activities (eg restaurants, activities etc)

7. Customer’s point of view of a Quality Mark clarity – can I understand what your endorsement is saying? consistency – does it mean the same thing across businesses and over time? compatibility – how does it relate to what happens where I come from? eg. Hotel and other types of accommodation (small family accommodations, bed & breakfast, guesthouses)

8. Operator’s point of view of getting a Quality Mark cost – how much is it going to cost each year? value – how will it provide a point of difference over my competitors? vulnerability – what happens if I fail? credibility – is the assessment relevant, comprehensible, fair and done by people I can trust? I’m special …. you need special criteria for my type of operation! You also need an ‘industry expert’ assessing me if they are to understand my business!

9. Industry organisation Assessors’point of view funding – how will we pay for this Quality Mark – public funds and ‘user-pays’ sustainability– how do we manage our fixed and variable costs (assessments, marketing, the industry organisation) relevance – keeping criteria aligned to industry trends this includes dovetailing with existing industry quality standards g Star accreditation, Eco marks etc

10. Industry / Assessment body point of view … cont’d frequency of reassessment – how often should we do follow-up assessments and where is the value? keeping assessors motivated – training and retention issues complaints and grievances – ensuring fair and efficient handling of complaints intellectual property management – mis-use of signage of a quality mark, etc.

11. Quality Standards Assessing Excellence LINKAGE • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… • ……… Assessing excellence and promoting quality standards are interlinked

12. Quality standards can take many forms generic quality standards ISO 9000 22000 international endorsements eg Green Globe 21 industry codes of best practice HCCP industry association codes of ethics legislation eg Star Accreditation

13. Excellence and quality standards • quality standards are often proscriptive • assessment tools need to be outcome focused and non-prescriptive where possible (eg from the customer’s point of view) • focusing on outcomes key to being fair but flexible …. “the eyes of the customer” • ideally, quality standards should have good industry buy-in

14. Quality Solutions…we want…. a quality assessment and certification system that will offer and measure what is most important to high-value visitors a system that can play a major part in improving business excellence assessment criteria that can be developed to be: able to be applied to all tourism businesses, while being adaptable to specific industry sectors Any system is only as good as the assessors using it!

15. c) “Delighter” Quality b) “More is better” Quality a) “Must have” Quality Quality is of 3 distinctive types..& it is 3 dimensional, not just pass or fail of Star system Level of Satisfaction Degree to which condition fulfilled

16. There are various Quality Marks

17. Initial planning- beginning with your people Choose the Categories Licensing & assessment Develop the Scorecard Choose the Grades, Categories & Special Awards Identify who will do the assessing Develop all the protocols Setting up your Quality Mark: the Systems & Processes

18. …for travellers who want original and real experiences …real local people…local activities…local food and wine, craft and culture…beautiful nature…not fake, impure or “mass” Bulgaria: two categories: Family & city hotels Guest houses & Self catering Under 50 beds

19. Choose the areas we want to improve / assess

20. The Scorecard The Assessment and assessment process The protocols Certificate of membership for the Quality Mark Setting up the system

21. Create the Scorecard With the industry

22. Facilities and staff portray some elements of a genuine Bulgarian experience • Host knowledge on relevant local activities & attractions • Limited local information available • Strategic and operational emphasis placed on ensuring visitors have an authentic Bulgarian experience • Good local information • Harmonious relations with local community Hotel is recognised by guests and the travel industry as an ‘iconic’ Bulgarian experience Excellent quality interpretation of the natural ,cultural and historical heritage of the local area offered to guests Active participation in local community ‘Must have’ Quality ‘More is better’ Quality ‘Delighter’ Quality Built-in continuous improvement QUALITY SCORE 0 1 2 3 4 5

23. Scoring: to award a grade – within category and class

24. The Assessment and assessment process Choosing the Assessors Training Assessors Undertaking the assessments The Licensing Committee Bespoke Assessment programme run by independent professional Assessors

25. Customer feedback opportunities are used to validate the grading / special awards “Mystery visits” are where premises are visited by unannounced assessors to ensure the accommodation is performing to the standards of the awarded Quality Mark. Feedback is collated to provide data to note trends and enhance the overall performance of the sector...note terms of use of information NOTE: Customer reviews and advice sites for travellers Customer Feedback & Monitoring, “Mystery visits” Internet

26. Two “KIT’S are required: one for accommodation providers and one for the Assessors (Scorecard, Certificates, License, etc) Other promotional materials required: Flyer for general use, eg postcard Q and A Sheets for general use, Fact Sheet for media etc Design and implementation Quality Mark logo, brand guidelines Scorecard, sticker for window, desk, car Website Print Directory Trade Fair installation design / stand alone booth Corporate materials – folders, stationary, banners etc Information Marketing & Promotional Materials Activities (Sasha)

27. Setting up an Association Once the Quality Mark programme is successfully introduced with RCI / in-country support, you will need to consider how the programme can continue for the long- term Other programme elements

28. Thank you Over to Sasha A Case study The costs of implementation Measuring Results

29. The official quality mark is a critical part of tourism’s quality framework It incorporates the “official” fern used in the promotion of NZ tourism and exports overseas It has 1900 licensed businesses (account for 70% of all tourism economic activity) Covers accommodation but also visitor activities transport services (Endorsed Visitor Activity) New Zealand’s Qualmark™

30. New Zealand QualmarkDelivering the brand promise Rigorous assessment and licensing process Guaranteed quality within category & grade

31. The official quality mark is a critical part of tourism’s quality framework It incorporates the “official” fern used in the promotion of NZ tourism and exports overseas It has 1900 licensed businesses (account for 70% of all tourism economic activity) Covers accommodation but also visitor activities transport services (Endorsed Visitor Activity) New Zealand’s Qualmark™

32. New Zealand:Enhanced sustainability criteria • Additional criteria for best practice in responsible tourism / sustainability (introduced 2008 – being piloted) • Largely based on Green Business Tourism Scheme • How operators can benefit from business practices that have economic and environmental benefits (waste reduction, energy use, getting involved in communities eg sourcing locally produced food)