Marketing--Heritage/Cultural Tourism

The financial success of De Anza will depend on creating an "experience" for the visitor and primarily on the marketing of that experience    The one-on-one marketing of CG Wallace and the building of a Fred Harvey type reputation for quality and cleanliness need to become cornerstones of the De Anza experience.  An experience one cannot find at the national hotel chains.


Fred Harvey pioneered cultural tourism in NM with his famous tour of the Native American pueblos, high mountain deserts, mountains, and other natural amenities offered along the Atchison , Topeka & Santa Fe rail lines

"A leader in the "cultural tourism" movement (a term sneaking into the hospitality vocabulary on the heels of "eco-tourism") is George Kanahele, a Hawaii-based consultant who jokingly refers to himself as an organizational alchemist. He specializes in "leading and managing by values," which he pioneered in Hawaii in the 1980s to help Caucasian-owned hotels incorporate native values into their management systems. He has worked with hotels and resorts throughout the world, including Canada and the Pacific. "

"Every hospitality situation contains three basic elements: host, guest, and place, which includes the surrounding community, culture, and people," Kanahele says. "The trouble is that the hotel industry focuses mainly on the guest-host relationship. When you neglect the host-place connection, you alienate the place, as well as its host people and culture." True hospitality--the sort that brings guests back and helps employees enjoy their work--occurs only when the relationships of host, guest, and place are in harmony, he says. -- http://www.lodgingnews.com/lodgingmag/2000_02/2000_02_01.asp

Tips for Doing It Right

The experts interviewed for this article offered these insights into preserving living cultures and fostering positive relationships.
• Do your homework. But to really understand a culture, you must do more than read about it--spend time with the people. 
• Be sensitive and respectful at all times--don't treat the people like museum exhibits or circus performers.
• Learn about the culture's traditions and rules so you don't unwittingly breach them.
• Always be sincere, up front, and honest. That way the culture will respect you, even if you make mistakes along the way.
• Think in terms of "win-win"--how will the relationship benefit all parties?
• Remember that it's a continual learning process, not only because living cultures are complex, but because the issues affecting them may change.
• Look beyond the bottom line. Investing in cultural training and preservation is more likely to bring intangible benefits than profits you can measure, but it pays off in good community relations, repeat customers, loyal employees, and a better chance that your destination's uniqueness--which draws visitors in the first place--will survive.
• Take advantage of expertise from organizational consultants, cultural trainers, museum personnel, and others with insights into promoting and preserving local cultures. State tourism departments may be able to refer you to knowledgeable sources.

http://www.lodgingnews.com/lodgingmag/2000_02/2000_02_01.asp