Course Profile Tourism (TFS4C), Grade 12, College Preparation, Combined
Unit 3: What An Event!
Time: 35 hours
Activity
3.1 | Activity 3.2 | Activity 3.3
Unit Description
A special event or
occasion is promoted and celebrated by most communities. For many members in
these communities, this may be their means of livelihood. Students investigate
the importance of hosting special events in a community. They identify and
explain means of encouraging employees to promote products and services. They
draft and assess marketing strategies suitable for the promotion of tourism in
a community. Students design, plan, implement and evaluate an activity or event
for a community and make recommendations for improvement. Students document
this process through a daily work log that assists with the final analysis.
|
Activity |
Time |
Learning Expectations |
Assessment Categories |
Tasks |
|
3.1 |
10 hours |
SPV.01, SP1.01,
SP1.02, SP1.03 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry Communication Application |
Classroom and
group brainstorming on various topics relating to organizing events |
|
3.2 |
10 hours |
SPV.02, ICV.03,
SP1.04, SP1.05, IC2.02 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry Communication Application |
Class collaborates
in the development of an action plan |
|
3.3 |
15 hours |
SPV.02, SP1.05,
SP1.06 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry Communication Application |
Class implements
tourism-related event |
Time: 10 hours
Students prepare
to put tourism into practice in this activity. As a class, students brainstorm
ways they could bring the community into their school through a tourism-related
event. To prepare for such an event, students are introduced to the tourism
marketing mix: prospects, product, price, place, positioning, promotion, and
post-sale. Students develop a marketing plan for their tourism-related event
and examine various ways to encourage their “marketing team” (the class) to
promote this event.
Strand(s): Skills and Processes
Overall
Expectations
SPV.01 - promote a
variety of activities and events in the tourism industry effectively.
Specific Expectations
SP1.01 - describe
the importance of special events for the community;
SP1.02 - identify
ways of encouraging employees to promote products and services;
SP1.03 - describe
and design marketing strategies for the promotion of a product, service, or activity
related to tourism.
Students
should have:
·
effective verbal
skills;
·
teamwork,
time-management, and communication skills;
·
critical thinking
skills;
·
collaborative/cooperative
learning skills;
·
brainstorming
techniques;
·
collaborative/cooperative
group skills;
·
effective oral
presentation skills.
The teacher
should:
·
make note of
various community events that take place each year in the local community;
·
prepare a brief
lecture on why community events are important to local communities;
·
collect overhead
transparencies and markers for recording student ideas in Strategy 3;
·
duplicate class
sets of the Tourism Marketing Mix (Appendix 3.1.1), Tourism-Related Event
Framework (Appendix 3.1.2), A Marketing Plan: Your Project Management Tool
(Appendix 3.1.3), The Publicity Campaign (Appendix 3.1.4), the Case Study Hype
it Up (Appendix 3.1.5) and Employee Incentives (Appendix 3.1.6);
·
determine a
decision-making process for Strategy 9 and Strategy 12.
1. The teacher and students
brainstorm examples of community events that take place each year in their
local community, e.g., book fair, seasonal festival, cultural presentation, art
show, charity walk/run, music concert, sports tournament, personal or professional
development conference.
2. The teacher leads a discussion
on why these community events are important to their local community.
3. The
teacher asks the class to brainstorm types of events that would bring the
community into the school, e.g., food fair, rummage sale, drama production,
sporting event, play day for feeder schools, etc. The teacher records the list
of ideas on an overhead transparency.
4. The teacher explains to the class that they
are about to put tourism into practice in their next assignment. Students are
told that they will be responsible for planning, organizing, promoting and
overseeing a tourism-related event, i.e., a special school event that invites
the community into the school.
5. The teacher introduces the Tourism Marketing
Mix (Appendix 3.1.1): prospects, product, price, place, positioning, promotion,
and post-sale. The teacher and students develop the framework of their
tourism-related event using the handout: Tourism-Related Event Framework
(Appendix 3.1.2)
6. The teacher discusses handout A Marketing
Plan: Your Project Management Tool (Appendix 3.1.3)
7. Students divide into marketing groups and
develop a marketing plan using the Tourism-Related Event Framework (Appendix
3.1.2) completed by the class. Each marketing group presents their marketing
plan to the class.
8. Students brainstorm a class-marketing plan
using the ideas from each marketing group.
9. The teacher hands out The Publicity Campaign
(Appendix 3.1.4). In the same marketing groups, the students brainstorm a publicity
campaign for their tourism-related event. As a class, students vote on which
campaign would be most effective at: a) targeting their market focus, b) saving
time, and c) saving money. The chosen campaign is put into action in Activity
3.
10. In pairs, students read the case study Hype it
Up! (Appendix 3.1.5). Each pair answers the questions found below the case
study description.
11. The teacher asks students “What would give you
incentive to work extra hard to promote a product or service?” Students
complete handout Employee Incentives (Appendix 3.1.6)
12. As homework, students are asked to develop a
plan of action to motivate their team (class) in their tourism-related event
promotional campaign. In the next class, students share their ideas and the
class votes on the best way to encourage their team to promote their
tourism-related event.
|
Task/Product |
Tool |
Purpose |
Assessment Categories |
|
Tourism-Related
Event Framework |
Checklist |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry |
|
Marketing Plan |
Marketing plan
checklist |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Publicity Campaign |
Publicity campaign
checklist |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Case Study: “Hype
It Up” |
Pair-work rubric |
Formative |
Thinking/Inquiry
Communication |
Books
Deviney,
David E. D.B.A. Outstanding Customer Service: The Key to Customer Loyalty.
West Des Moines, Iowa: American Media Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-884926-25-9
Goldblatt,
Joe, Special Events: Best Practices in Modern Event Management, 2nd ed.
Toronto, Canada: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-471-28745-8
McAdams,
Jerry L. The Reward Plan Advantage: A Manager's Guide to Improving Business
Performance Through People. Jossey-Bass, April 1996. ISBN: 0-787-90232-2
Woodbury,
Debbie, ed. Providing Personalized Customer Service. U.S.A.: Crisp Publications, Inc.,
1999. ISBN 1-56052-518-5
Websites
Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Fact Sheet: Developing a Marketing Plan)
– http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/busdev/facts/95-079.htm#marketing
North
Carolina Tourism: Resources in Education and Development
– http://www.nctourismresources.net/ppt/pptmarketing/tsld015.htm
The following seven
Ps are the marketing principles that help in the development of a
tourism-marketing plan. Together, these marketing principles are referred to as
the “tourism marketing mix” and they represent the control variables that can
be adjusted in order to appeal to consumers. By using the components of the
marketing mix as the framework, a business or organization can identify their
present position in a market and plan their future direction.
Prospects –
Your target
markets…to whom you are trying to sell.
Product –
What are you
selling? In tourism, the product is the experience purchased by the visitor.
Price –
Price not only
refers to the dollar cost, but also the time and opportunity costs.
Place –
Where the product is
delivered or created or where information about the product is distributed.
Positioning –
The mental image or
perception in the public’s mind. This position is a result of the promises you
make to the public about your product.
Promotion –
How you get the
message out about your product.
Post-Sale –
Follow-up after the
exchange is made.
Work through the
seven Ps of the Tourism Marketing Mix to develop a framework for your
tourism-related event. This framework will help you in developing your
Tourism-Related Event Marketing Plan in the next activity.
|
Marketing Principles |
Brainstorm |
|
Prospects |
Which people in
the community are you targeting? |
|
Product |
What is our
tourism-related event? |
|
Price |
What are the
financial costs of running this tourism-related event? What are the time
costs of running this event? What other costs have to be paid in order to run
this event? (not necessarily financial) |
|
Place |
Where are we going
to locate our tourism-related event? Where will we promote our event? |
|
Positioning |
What kind of image
do we want our tourism-related event to hold in the minds of our target
market? What are we attempting to do and promise to the target market? |
|
Promotion |
How are we going
to publicize our event? What methods will get our message across the best?
What methods will reach our target market? |
|
Post-Sale |
How will we show
our appreciation and “thanks” to the community? |
The marketing plan
is your project management tool. It outlines your basic goals and the things
you will do to design each of these tourism marketing mix elements, as follows:
·
the product and
services you will offer for sale (product);
·
the product’s
wholesale and retail prices (price);
·
your customers,
and the distribution network (prospects, place) or path your product will
travel to get to them;
·
the promotional
methods you will use to let potential buyers find out that your product exists
(promotion);
·
your methods of
following-up with your market to ensure future business and good business
relations (post-sale).
In addition, a good plan will make sure that your product and services
match the image you want to create (positioning).
Answer the questions
in each phase of the marketing plan to guide your team through the process of
writing a marketing plan.
A marketing plan
involves four phases
|
Research Your Situation |
Your product or
service will only sell if it is desired and/or needed by your target market.
What does your target market want or need? Are other events running that are
aimed at your target market? What are they? How are they manipulating the
tourism marketing mix to their advantage? How much money, time and labour is
required to run this event? What resources are currently available to your
team? What resources do you foresee your team needing? |
|
Set Goals |
Write a long-term
and short-term goal for your event. (Goals should be specific enough to be
measured for success and realistic enough to be actualized.) What “position”
is most profitable to sell to your target market? What results do you wish
for each tourism marketing mix element? (Make these results precise and
measurable.) |
|
Set Strategies |
What are the steps
you will take to meet your target market’s needs and attract them to your
tourism-related event? (List and explain what strategies, or specific
actions, you will use to meet your objectives for each marketing mix
element.) Place your steps in sequential order i.e. your first step to your
last step. Go over each step and do a cost analysis (financial, time, etc.). |
|
Evaluation |
Compare your plan
and its time frame with what is actually happening with your event. |
Advertising is a way
to get your message to your desired audience. But in order to do that, you must
first have a plan.
1. What
is your marketing goal?
Your marketing goal is basically what you want. Do you want X amount of people to visit your event at school? Do you want to make X amount of money from your event? Do you want to improve the image of your school to the community? Do you want to improve teenager/adult relations in your community? Once you determine what it is you’re looking for, you can then determine who you want to speak to and what you want to say to them. This, then becomes your advertising strategy.
2. How
do you build an advertising strategy?
Ask the following questions:
· Who are you trying to reach? (location, age, income, lifestage, etc.)
· What do you want to say to them? (what do you want your target market to know about you? What do you know about your target market?)
· How, when, and where are you going to reach them?
· Why have you chosen the steps you have selected?
3. Developing
Your Creative Strategy
Your creative strategy needs three things:
1. What benefit are you
promising, what’s your selling proposition?
2. Who are you making it to?
3. Why should they believe you?
Put these ideas into one to two sentences.
4. How
do you reach your audience?
There are numerous options to choose from when you are deciding how to advertise. What approach do you want to use? (newspaper, brochure, flyer, handout, radio message, etc.)
|
The Final Product Is Called Your Publicity
Campaign It is your plan for promoting your
tourism-related school event to your target market. |
You have a great idea for owning and running a business this summer. You devised a business plan, an action plan for marketing your business, and based on your dedication and hard work, family and friends are lending you the money. It is an idea that cannot fail! You will be the only full-time employee, but you will need to hire as many as six part time staff to keep the business going and to “hype it up” (i.e. promote the product/service). All your friends need jobs, so this should be no problem.
After the first
month, things are not running as smoothly as you would like. The business is
great when you are there, you can barely keep up, and the cash register is
always ringing. You are working hard, making all the decisions and taking all
of the responsibility. But you cannot be there twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week. You have been hearing rumours that the shop doesn’t run as well
when you are not there. You have disgruntled customers. Your staff, people who
you thought were friends just want to party at work and don’t seem interested
in making your business a success. You gave your friends a job. What’s the
problem?
1. Summarize the business problems?
2. Decide on what the anonymous business is,
i.e., what are your selling? (product or service)
3. How could you encourage your employees to
promote this product or service. List three ideas.
4. It appears that your staff is not aware of
your expectations regarding the business and its employees.
List your expectations for the business and for how employees should behave while on the job.
5. “Its never a good idea to cross the line between personal and professional.” What is meant by this statement and how does it apply to the case study above?
The following categories represent typical employee incentives or motivators.
Rank each category from 1 to 5 (1 = lowest incentive, and 5 = highest incentive).
__ Professional Development/Success/”Moving up the Corporate Ladder”
__ Comfort/Relaxation
__ Health/Balance/Energy
__ Influence/Leadership
__ Learning/Knowledge/Discovery
__ Materials/Possessions
__ Recognition/Praise
__ Security/Money/Home
__ Social/Affiliation/Popularity/Acceptance
__ Status/Prestige/Stand Out/Reputation
__ Task Accomplishment/Problem Solving/Achievement
__ Teaching/Guiding Others
__ Vitality/Energy
__ Others? __________________
__ Others? __________________
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…
Of all the products or services that you use, which one could you not live without?
____________________________________________________________________________________
If you were asked to “sell” this product, what would be your incentive?
____________________________________________________________________________________
If you became the manager of the company that sells this product and the person responsible for employee training, how would you encourage your employees to sell this product?
____________________________________________________________________________________
One of your employees is not as enthusiastic about selling your product as you would like him/her to be.
How do you encourage this person to get more excited about your product?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Time: 10 hours
Students take the next
step in organizing their tourism-related event. They prepare an action plan
that provides a step-by-step checklist of tasks to be accomplished before,
during, and after the event. Students identify health and safety laws and
regulations governing a tourism-related event run on school property. Daily
work logs are used so that students can track their time commitment and learn
from the various experiences they document.
Strand(s): Skills and Processes, Impact and Consequences
Overall
Expectations
SPV.02 - plan and
implement an event or an activity associated with tourism;
ICV.03 - identify
health and safety standards for the tourism industry.
Specific
Expectations
SP1.04 - design a
successful action plan to promote an activity or an event;
SP1.05 - design,
plan, and implement effectively a tourism activity or event, keeping in mind
the specific needs of the target clientele;
IC2.02 - apply
health and safety laws and regulations in the planning and implementation of
events and activities.
Students
should have:
·
effective verbal
skills;
·
critical thinking
skills;
·
collaborative/cooperative
learning skills;
·
brainstorming
techniques;
·
effective writing
skills, including the ability to summarize;
·
journal reflective
writing;
·
appropriate
behaviour during a guest presentation.
The teacher
should:
·
duplicate a class
set of the Tourism-Related Event Action Plan (Appendix 3.2.1);
·
prepare an
explanation of what a journal reflection is, providing an example to share;
·
collect overhead
transparencies and markers for Strategy 3 and Strategy 6;
·
prepare a blank
copy of a daily work log and duplicate a class set (to be used in Strategy 8);
·
make a
cross-curricular link with art or business studies by teaming up with these
areas for a joint project involving a creative marketing advertisement for the
tourism-related event being held in the school;
·
ensure that the
school administration is aware and supportive of this activity.
1. The teacher explains to the
students that the next step in organizing the event is preparing a
Tourism-Related Event Action Plan (Appendix 3.2.1).
2. The students write a journal
reflection on why an action plan is such a useful tool in organizing a
tourism-related event.
3. The teacher and students work collaboratively
through the steps of the action plan, recording the final decisions on each
step. The teacher records decisions on an overhead transparency and students
record on the Tourism-Related Action Plan handout (Appendix 3.2.1). The teacher
makes constant reminders to class – Always remember the specific needs of your
target clientele.
4. Students are asked to examine their
tourism-related event action plan, for areas containing potential health and
safety concerns. The teacher records these issues on the board or an overhead
transparency. Students write a report on how specific health and safety issues
will be addressed.
5. The teacher divides students into pairs and
asks each pair to propose action plan changes to increase the health and safety
of their tourism-related event.
6. Students begin their individual daily work
logs to document time commitment to the event and experiences in the event
development and implementation.
|
Task/Product |
Tool |
Purpose |
Assessment Categories |
|
Journal Reflection
on |
Checklist |
Formative |
Thinking/Inquiry
Communication |
|
Health and Safety
Issues Report |
Marking Scheme |
Summative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Action Plan
“changes” |
Marking Scheme |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Daily Work Log |
Checklist |
Summative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
Books
Goldblatt,
Joe. Special Events: Best Practices in Modern Event Management, 2nd ed.
Toronto, Canada: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-471-28745-8
Harrison,
Lynn C. and Winston Husbands. Practice Responsible Tourism: International
Case Studies in Tourism Planning, Policy, and Development. Toronto, Canada:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996.
ISBN 0-471-12236-X
McAdams,
Jerry L. The Reward Plan Advantage: A Manager’s Guide to Improving Business
Performance Through People. Jossey-Bass, April 1996. ISBN: 0-787-90232-2
Woodbury,
Debbie, ed. Providing Personalized Customer Service. U.S.A.: Crisp Publications, Inc.,
1999. ISBN 1-56052-518-5
Software
Work Smart, Work Safe. Toronto: Workplace Safety and Insurance
Board, 2000.
Websites
Canadian
Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – www.CCOHS.ca
Promoting safe and healthy work environments
Ontario
Ministry of Labour – www.gov.on.ca/lab/main.htm
Information on OCHS legislation, health and safety guidelines, preventing
injury
Workers
Health and Safety Centre – www.whsc.on.ca
Provides information on occupational health and safety legislation and issues
Human Resources
Guest
Speaker to speak on health and safety laws and regulations in planning a
special event, specifically in a school
To ensure your tourism-related event is a success you will want to have an outline of when to have things accomplished. Use the event action plan below to organize your event timeline.
Be very clear and
precise on your timeline, including who is responsible for specific tasks
(especially if you are planning with others)
Event Dates:
Expected
Attendance:
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Time: 15 hours
Students actively
put “tourism” into practice through the implementation of their tourism-related
event in their school. Students monitor the progress of their event through a
checklist and follow-up the event examining their successes and failures. After
staging their event, students perform a thorough evaluation of all the steps
involved in the planning and organization of their event. Students make
recommendations for improving future tourism-related events.
Strand(s): Skills and Processes
Overall
Expectations
SPV.02 - plan and
implement an event or an activity associated with tourism.
Specific
Expectations
SP1.05 - design,
plan, and implement effectively a tourism activity or event, keeping in mind
the specific needs of the target clientele;
SP1.06 - explain the
success of an event or activity in relation to its action plan and make
recommendations for improvement.
Students
should have:
·
effective verbal
skills;
·
teamwork,
time-management, and communication skills;
·
critical thinking
skills;
·
collaborative/cooperative
learning skills;
·
effective writing
skills.
The teacher:
·
prepares for the
implementation of the tourism-related school event, i.e. get permission from
administration, book facility space, get permits, etc.;
·
duplicates a
class set of Tourism-Related Event Progress Checklist (Appendix 3.3.1);
·
prepares a list
of strengths and weaknesses observed throughout the course of the event
planning and management;
·
duplicates a
class set of Tourism-Related Event Evaluation (Appendix 3.3.2).
1. Working collaboratively, students implement
the tourism-related event in their school.
2. Students monitor the event through the
Tourism-Related Event Progress Checklist (Appendix 3.3.1).
3. Once the event is over, students brainstorm
as a group, the strengths and weaknesses of their action plan.
4. As a class, students complete the
Tourism-Related Event Evaluation (Appendix 3.3.2).
5. Students write a brief report on
Recommendations for the Next Tourism-Related Event in Our School. In this
report, students comment on the strengths and weakness of the event action plan
(derived from the market plan) and provide recommendations for improving the
next plan.
|
Task/Product |
Tool |
Purpose |
Assessment Categories |
|
Tourism-Related
Event Progress Checklist |
Marking scheme |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Tourism-Related
Event Evaluation |
Participation |
Formative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
|
Brief Report on
Recommendations for the Next Tourism-Related Event in Our School |
Rubric |
Summative |
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
Books
Goldblatt,
Joe. Special Events: Best Practices in Modern Event Management, 2nd ed.
Toronto, Canada: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0-471-28745-8
Harrison,
Lynn C. and Winston Husbands. Practice Responsible Tourism: International
Case Studies in Tourism Planning, Policy, and Development. Toronto, Canada:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996.
ISBN 0-471-12236-X
McAdams,
Jerry L. The Reward Plan Advantage: A Manager’s Guide to Improving Business
Performance Through People. Jossey-Bass, April 1996. ISBN 0-787-90232-2
Woodbury,
Debbie, ed. Providing Personalized Customer Service. U.S.A.: Crisp Publications, Inc.,
1999. ISBN 1-56052-518-5
Monitor your tourism-related
event progress by checking off the tasks needed to be accomplished before,
during and after the big day!
q Date and time of event have been confirmed
q Staffing has been arranged for the event.
q Advertising initiatives have been undertaken, e.g., posters have gone up, flyers have gone out.
q Invitations have been mailed to special guests and responses have been received.
q Community involvement has been included in the event.
q A ‘dress rehearsal’ has been scheduled.
q All supplies have been ordered, e.g., flowers, coffee urns, cups and saucers, door prizes.
q Staff have been informed of their duties and responsibilities
q Copies of the itinerary have been posted for all to see.
q Programs have been designed and printed for guests.
q All necessary equipment is in good working order.
q Coat check facilities have been arranged.
q Arrangements and accommodations for special needs guest have been made.
q Debriefing session has been organized to discuss the success of the event and recommendations for future events.
q All technical requirements have been taken care of, e.g., microphone, video cameras, lighting, etc.
Note: Depending on the type of event being run, the
checklist may need to be modified.
Now that the event
is over, let’s see how we did… Answer the following questions in report form to
determine the strengths and weaknesses of your event management:
Did the event fulfill its goals and objectives? Why or why not?
Identify what worked and what needs fine-tuning.
Who were the most motivated employees (class members)? Explain your
choices.
What items were missing on the checklist?
Was the event well attended?
Was informal and formal feedback about the event positive?
Given all that went into staging, was it worth doing?
Was the post-event follow-up well received?
Finally, celebrate your successes and thank all those who contributed.
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