(Originally published in TOURISM)
The use of FAM – or familiarization – trips is a key tactic destination marketing organizations and tourism operations rely upon to educate tour operators about products and destinations. They represent a substantial investment of time and money for both buyers and sellers. So how can FAM stagers and participants make the best of these opportunities to make an impression? Inbound operator Great Excursions took part in Canada’s West Marketplace Pre and Post FAM trips hosted by Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Tourism Vancouver Island. Great Excursions' owner Claude-Jean Harel, associate editor at TOURISM, had the following observations:
One of the first considerations would be to coin a theme with the potential to lure participants to the destination: something seasonal, perhaps, which exudes authenticity and a definite sense of place. You then illustrate the theme with tourism products which make it more vivid through the right choice of partners, accommodations, dining, attractions and entertainment – all the while never forgetting the importance of a well‑focused experience to make the whole FAM as compelling as possible.
“Celebrate Life. Discovering Banff” might not have resonated so engagingly with participants if they had not been treated to a series of site visits which left them a chance to interpret the destination and titillate their curiosity about what makes the place tick. These included subtle program elements, like attending an evening blues concert in the intimate setting of The Banff Centre.
FAMs are about more than sites; they are about context. This is something the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has understood for quite some time, as evidenced by the availability of an in‑house heritage interpreter who will take guests on guided hikes. The ability to break away from the hotel facility to gain greater understanding of how it is associated with the landscape (and the Lake Louise centrepiece) adds both meaning and memorability to the experience.
Heidi Wesling looks after travel trade relations at Tourism Vancouver Island. She knows these program elements well and believes that planning the FAMs down to the finest details is the best way to prepare for the unplanned: “In the case of the Canada’s West Post FAM, the program had to be prepared prior to the event itself, so you don’t know who is going to be signing up, their interests or background. I tried to choose a wide range of properties to give each person who signs up for the FAM something they could take away from the experience. We also chose activities that are relevant to the featured area of Vancouver Island, the cultural experience behind it and activities that clients of our FAM participants might enjoy when they come to the region.”
Wesling says different trade shows will warrant different programs to fit the audience. A National Tour Association audience might look for different experiences than a Canada’s West Marketplace or Rendez‑vous Canada audience. Timing, of course, can sometimes be problematic, she says: “You try to choose activities which are accessible to as many people as possible; maybe a hiking tour that doesn’t involve very much exertion or a boat tour. It is very important to be flexible. You might not be able to host a group at the time you are making the itinerary – it is a fine line between getting what the participant wants and working with stakeholders after everybody leaves the Island. It is a juggling act in a way, and hopefully you are able to accommodate everybody’s needs.”
One of the most useful resources for FAM host organizations is the survey participants are asked to fill out following the trip. “It is a way for us to determine how we are doing and how the properties are doing (we do share survey results with the properties as reference points for them). Participants put down their thoughts on the properties and suggest ways to improve various experiences. There is extreme competition between accommodations and different attractions; if they can get feedback from people in the industry who experience many properties and many activities, that is invaluable.”
FAM tours: a buyer perspective
“For me it is about being able to know and understand what we are selling to our clients,” says Marina Voak of Made to Measure / Lakes & Mountains Holidays in the UK. “It's about the places, whether they be actual cities, towns, hotels; just knowing where they are matters. It allows us to understand important little details that you can pass along to your clients. I had never been to Vancouver Island, so to get a good understanding of how long it takes to go from place to place is useful because FIT travellers will ask how long it takes to drive from Nanaimo to Tofino. To actually experience it yourself and pass on your first‑hand knowledge is really useful.”
Siegfried Gutsch, sales manager, leisure at Air Canada in Germany, says FAMs help his people understand what is possible in the destination: “You can always sell it much better when you have experienced it, and have developed your own opinion about it. From my past experience, it is not always about seeing hotels; it is the elements of an incentives tour that matter – things you can’t buy for money. You need to leave with an impression, to create memories.”
“FAMs are a really important element of the travel industry,” says John Simos, managing director of SevenOceans Cruising in Australia. “They are almost like the tools of our trade, like a carpenter’s saw and hammer, so we are in a better position to construct packages and advise clients on the best options to suit their needs. Certainly when it comes to a familiarization tour, it is very important for the DMOs to recognize that we are there to experience the destination as well as the accommodation and the facilities. It is also absolutely vital to see the accommodation you are likely to be selling to your customers; hotels are understandably very proud of their most opulent suites (which only rock stars and the Queen and King of England can generally afford), but the reality is that we should be shown the standard accommodation that will be included in brochure product.”
The use of FAM – or familiarization – trips is a key tactic destination marketing organizations and tourism operations rely upon to educate tour operators about products and destinations. They represent a substantial investment of time and money for both buyers and sellers. So how can FAM stagers and participants make the best of these opportunities to make an impression? Inbound operator Great Excursions took part in Canada’s West Marketplace Pre and Post FAM trips hosted by Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Tourism Vancouver Island. Great Excursions' owner Claude-Jean Harel, associate editor at TOURISM, had the following observations:
One of the first considerations would be to coin a theme with the potential to lure participants to the destination: something seasonal, perhaps, which exudes authenticity and a definite sense of place. You then illustrate the theme with tourism products which make it more vivid through the right choice of partners, accommodations, dining, attractions and entertainment – all the while never forgetting the importance of a well‑focused experience to make the whole FAM as compelling as possible.
“Celebrate Life. Discovering Banff” might not have resonated so engagingly with participants if they had not been treated to a series of site visits which left them a chance to interpret the destination and titillate their curiosity about what makes the place tick. These included subtle program elements, like attending an evening blues concert in the intimate setting of The Banff Centre.
FAMs are about more than sites; they are about context. This is something the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has understood for quite some time, as evidenced by the availability of an in‑house heritage interpreter who will take guests on guided hikes. The ability to break away from the hotel facility to gain greater understanding of how it is associated with the landscape (and the Lake Louise centrepiece) adds both meaning and memorability to the experience.
Heidi Wesling looks after travel trade relations at Tourism Vancouver Island. She knows these program elements well and believes that planning the FAMs down to the finest details is the best way to prepare for the unplanned: “In the case of the Canada’s West Post FAM, the program had to be prepared prior to the event itself, so you don’t know who is going to be signing up, their interests or background. I tried to choose a wide range of properties to give each person who signs up for the FAM something they could take away from the experience. We also chose activities that are relevant to the featured area of Vancouver Island, the cultural experience behind it and activities that clients of our FAM participants might enjoy when they come to the region.”
Wesling says different trade shows will warrant different programs to fit the audience. A National Tour Association audience might look for different experiences than a Canada’s West Marketplace or Rendez‑vous Canada audience. Timing, of course, can sometimes be problematic, she says: “You try to choose activities which are accessible to as many people as possible; maybe a hiking tour that doesn’t involve very much exertion or a boat tour. It is very important to be flexible. You might not be able to host a group at the time you are making the itinerary – it is a fine line between getting what the participant wants and working with stakeholders after everybody leaves the Island. It is a juggling act in a way, and hopefully you are able to accommodate everybody’s needs.”
One of the most useful resources for FAM host organizations is the survey participants are asked to fill out following the trip. “It is a way for us to determine how we are doing and how the properties are doing (we do share survey results with the properties as reference points for them). Participants put down their thoughts on the properties and suggest ways to improve various experiences. There is extreme competition between accommodations and different attractions; if they can get feedback from people in the industry who experience many properties and many activities, that is invaluable.”
FAM tours: a buyer perspective
“For me it is about being able to know and understand what we are selling to our clients,” says Marina Voak of Made to Measure / Lakes & Mountains Holidays in the UK. “It's about the places, whether they be actual cities, towns, hotels; just knowing where they are matters. It allows us to understand important little details that you can pass along to your clients. I had never been to Vancouver Island, so to get a good understanding of how long it takes to go from place to place is useful because FIT travellers will ask how long it takes to drive from Nanaimo to Tofino. To actually experience it yourself and pass on your first‑hand knowledge is really useful.”
Siegfried Gutsch, sales manager, leisure at Air Canada in Germany, says FAMs help his people understand what is possible in the destination: “You can always sell it much better when you have experienced it, and have developed your own opinion about it. From my past experience, it is not always about seeing hotels; it is the elements of an incentives tour that matter – things you can’t buy for money. You need to leave with an impression, to create memories.”
“FAMs are a really important element of the travel industry,” says John Simos, managing director of SevenOceans Cruising in Australia. “They are almost like the tools of our trade, like a carpenter’s saw and hammer, so we are in a better position to construct packages and advise clients on the best options to suit their needs. Certainly when it comes to a familiarization tour, it is very important for the DMOs to recognize that we are there to experience the destination as well as the accommodation and the facilities. It is also absolutely vital to see the accommodation you are likely to be selling to your customers; hotels are understandably very proud of their most opulent suites (which only rock stars and the Queen and King of England can generally afford), but the reality is that we should be shown the standard accommodation that will be included in brochure product.”
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