- Email: [email protected]
Cornering the Japanese market
perspective on the role of distrin councils and xice versa. 51~s: important. however. is that counties and districts both have a perspective of the needs of their ratepayers and potential tourists. neither of whom will benefit from duplication of efforts. Personal contacts and good working relationships are invaluable and can be aided by the need to achieve commonly identified objectives. In this. a joint]!produced and published tourism strategy can greatly assist by proon objectives. ducing agreement strategy (including target market segments) and methods of implrmentation. To be successful. joint working requires considerable commitment. en-
thusiasm and perseverance from aii parties. it could be argued that Gwtnr being a ‘new’ tourist destination with relatively low county and district tourism budgets. found joint working a necessity and that this ma\: not be the case in more traditional tourism areas with more resources. ?Such will depend on the definition of the destination area but in a!! situations the cost effective use of resources within the area can only be improved through joint working. The essential role of the public sector must be to help coordinate and support what is a fragmented industry and assist it to compete for visitor spending. The question of exactly who should define the destination area remains unanswered
but it is seen that the needs
and perceptions of visitors must remain paramount and locai authorities will continue to play a major role. Alan Clarke Tourism Development Officer Devon Counry Council County Hall, Exeter Devon, EX2 4QQ, UK
Notes ‘Balmer and Crapo, Tourism Development in Ontario: A Framework for Opportunity, Balmer and Crapo, prepared for Province of Ontario, 1980. 2Gwent county council, Structure P/an Written Statement of Policies and Proposals, GCC, Cwmbran, UK, 1978.
Report Cornering the Japanese market Carol Sage, Training Director of the Sheraton Center, New York City, presents an account of a training initiative in a New York City convention hotel - aimed at improving relations with Japanese guests, with a view to increasing the hotel’s share of the Japanese tourist market. Training in cross-cultural awareness improved staff services for Japanese visitors, to such an extent, that the Japanese market share of the hotel has already increased.
The Sheraton Center is a convention hotel located in the heart of mid-town New York City, USA. The majority of the hotel’s guests are US business people and tourists. The hotel, however, operates in a highly competitive market. There are at least four hotels with similar rate structures and facilities located within a two mile radius. Japanese rourist market In an effort to increase its share of the international market, particularly the Japanese, the Sheraton Center hired a Japanese sales manager who understood the needs of his clients. As a result of his work, over 60 Japanese groups were booked into the hotel summer during the forthcoming months.
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
In anticipation of the groups’ arrival management began wondering what steps. if any, could be taken to improve the Japanese guest experience thereby assuring a solid Japanese client base. Management approached the training department with their idea and asked for their recommendations. Bearing in mind the importance of cross-cultural relations when dealing with the international market. I decided to inten;iew several members of staff who had dealt with Japanese guests, hoping to gain some insight from their experiences. The comments I received suggested that, kvhile it would seem that the Japanese guest would require special attention in some ways, the hotel’s staff found
December
1985
them to be unremarkable in their demands and their expectations. In the words of one staff member: .‘Oh. people are all alike. They’re all looking for the same things”. He added. “Maybe they look different or the language barrier creates a problem, but let’s face it, folks is folks”. Yet. I couldn’t help reminding myself that if any kind of language barrier existed, it was our job to get round it, not simply take it for granted. Indeed. this could be one of the key ingredients standing in the way of increasing our share of the Japanese market. The question remained. How could we make our Japanese guests’ visits more pleasurable, more ‘hassle-free’?
Cultural
miatlces
Through such discussions. and with the help of our Japanese sales manager. it became clear that our job was to educate our staff in the cultural nuances of the Japanese. This meant scratching deeper than the surface of staff-guest relations. Comments such as “The Japanese are always happy. they smile a lot“, did not reflect the true nature of their ways. The
301
obsst-vations of a cot7~ shop srnpioyee did: Sometimes”. Betty noted. “i notice that thry have their food untouched. I rememb2t one fellow, who was Japanese, who just starsd at his eggs and poked them around with his fork. Hr looked kind of unhappy. When I asked him if thers was anything wrong, he said no. But I noticed his 2ggs looked a little runny, so I offered to bring them back to ths kitchen and have them cooked a little more. He started thanking me. And when I brought those eggs back he ate every bite. \Vhy don’t they just complain or something?” ‘-They’re real nice people and always polite”, a maid observed. “But come to think of it. they seem pretty shy whzn they’re alone. Most of the time they keep together, a whole bunch of them.” The next stop was security - “The Japanese have a tendency to leak-2 their bags in the lobby and walk one security member said. around”, “They’re unbelievable. Don’t they know this is New York? Are thsy crazy?” Similar impressions were gathered from room clerks. managers and doormen -the average Japanese traveller stuck with other Japanese. appeared happy most of the time, and never complained. (This particular market was looking better all the time!) After further discussions with the general manager, resident manager and executive assistant, our goal was clear: we must assume that there was room for improvement. Our goal, to increase our share of the Japanese market could best be met by providing them with information in their own language hotel directories, city maps. safety tips for travellers. welcome business cards from the general manager, all in addition to a training programme for guest-contact staff. Our plan was approved and we proceeded.
The training programme We formed a team made up of two members of the training department. the Japanese sales manager and an outside consultant who leas American but had lived in Tokyo, spoke
302
To heighten our own awareness to travellzrs’ experiences in a foreign country. we asked ourselves: If you were a foreign traveller coming to th2 USA for the first time. a-hat would Americans look like to you? Ho\+ would they act‘? Are yew Yorkers differsnt from other Americans in their behaviour and appearance? Our Japanese consultants offered their rcsponses. and the ensuing discussions made for lively ssssions.
ths subject of directness. Xii agreed that being direct :vas valuable and necessary. Again. ~2 explained that this was not the case in Japan, where subtlety is more respected. Hence us had an idea why we never received complaints from these gussts direct!! and perhaps were not us2d to picking up hesitancies. We discussed the reasons for these behavioural differences. Some of our employ-ees found these concepts difficult to accept. Perhaps such subtl2 approaches were due to the fact that Japan is an older. more dsvsloped culture, a society with a homog2nous population and similar backgrounds. In American culture. it is psrfectl! natural to show our feelings. whatever they are (anger, sadness, exhilaration). Yet the Japanese find these displays abhorrent. How could someone be so impolite as to act however he felt’? This led to discussion about individuality and ,“roup harmony. another fundamental difference between our two societies. Most agreed that in the USA competition was considered both hea!thy for the individual and good for the nation as a whole. We were all familiar \vith the ‘-me” generation, naturally manv were surprised to find that harmony and group consciousnrss tvere more important to the Japanese than the values of any one person.
Session t&Co:looking at another cdtwr
Session three
We then gave the group sarious exercises based on perceived cultural differences. For rxample. in some cultures, it is perfectly natural to have long lapses of silence between people while in other cultures. silence is uncomfortable. How does that idea fit into the Japanese culture and hou does it fit into the American culture’? One person would read a statement such as this and the rest of the group would offer their opinions. Our consultants would verify facts. L\‘e asked a waitress how she felt having dinner with someone who hardly spoke a word. “Awful”. she said, “I feel like I have to fill up the dead air”. In Japan. we explained. this was not at all unusual, but actually quite comfortable. Another person read a statement on
Our Japanese consultant taught us some basics of the Japanese language, its rhythm and sounds. Wr learned simple phrases of vvsicome that would make our guests feel at home. Q’e also learned various physical gestures and what they signified. This, in turn. would help us communicate better on a non-verbal level.
Japanese and had a background in cross-cuitural training. Lye also hired two Japanese people on a part-time basis to work in a dual capacity. During the training sessions the!would sit in with each group and keep us on track. Afterwards they wou!d work at the front desk as gu2st service agents. The next step was to begin work with the staff. In order to gather a variety of experisnces, we mised up the departments (bellmen with sales people. waiters/waitresses uith from office. guest services with housekeeping). There would be four sessions. one hour in length, over a four-wsek period. They w2r2 scheduled as closely as possible to the arrival dates. Classes were planned for 15 to 7-5 people. though we often had anywhere from 3 to -Kl people at a time!
Session one: looking fit ourselves
TOURISM
Sessiotl four The fourth and final session consisted of role playing. For example: 0 You are a room clerk checking in a Japanese guest who has no credit cards. You ask for cash in advance and he doesn’t understand why you can’t trust his Lvord. How would you handle the situation’? # You are a bellman standing in the lobby and you see some Japanese
MANAGEMENT
December
1985
tourists leave their cameras and Results Iuggags in the comer while thev, :DO The groups arrived shortly after the off to the lounge. How do YOU fourth session. Did rverything miracurespond? Based on what you have lously chang2? Yo. but there was a learned about mime in Japan vern2w s2nse of avvaren2s.s and our gursts sus the USA do you hav2 a cl2ar2r noticed. iVe wer2 pl2as2d to receive idra why they f22l saf2 lsavinp th2ir lettzrs of appxciation from tour opervaluables’? ators and guests. and our market share has indesd increased substantially. \v,: asked our staff to put th2msclvcs Of course. follow up and commitin th2 shozs of ths guests. of rh2ir m2nt is the only assurance that our fellow workers. and then in thrir own programme will continuz to br sucrolr. Everyone got involved in suggescsssful. Our property in Seattls is tions for handling circumstancss and pr2sently conducting the workshop. used the Japanese: phrases the>- had for their staff. been taught. Evaluations w2re pivsn As world communications and out and returned. and as Japanrse travel expand and increase, and peoguests arrived, ue waited to s22 the ple from all nations mert, the need for results.
understanding is greater than evsr. Cross-cultural training is nor a cur2 for confusion but it dors prrpare us for situations w2 have not dealt with brfore. It is a hslping hand to r2mind us of who w2 are. whrre we have corn2 from and how w2 can get along with ev-eryone if vvt ar2 willing to try.
Carol Sage Trainir;g Director Sheraton Center 811 7th Avenue New York, NY 10019, USA
Research centre profile Courses for students Richard Howell of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, provides us with a detailed description of the courses offered under their Travel and Tourism Management programme. The department aims to produce people capable of responding to the ever-changing demands of the tourism industry.
The Travel and Tourism Management (TN) programme at Clemson University is housed in thr Department of Parks, Recrration and Tourism >fanagement (PRTM). The Univwsitv is locatsd in ths Piedmont of South Carolina, USA, about equidistant from Columbia, South Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Xtlanta, Georgia. Current university enrollmrnt is 13000, with 180 undergraduate and 30 graduate students in PRTbl. About 60% of the undergraduates and 209/o of graduates are in the TTbl propramme. The university and the PRT;\;I department are both fully accredited. Clemson offrrs 6-t undergraduate and 97 graduate degree programmss. and is the land grant university of South Carolina. The PRTW department currctntly
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
offers three degree programmes: a Bachelor of Science (BS), a blaster of Science (MS), and a professional Xlaster of Recreation and Park Administration (MRPA). A doctoral programme proposal is now before the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and is expected to be approved by early 1986.
Objectives Both graduate degree programmes are highly flexible in allowing students to pursue their professional and research interests. The MS programme prepares candidates for further academic work or positions in research. while the MRPA prepares them for advanced placement within industry operations. The objective of the TTM programme is to produce a ‘special-
December 1985
ized generalist”. capable of adapting to the ever-evolving conditions in the travel and tourism industry. This objective is apparently being met. PRTM students in TTM have already distinguished themselves with research production and scholarship grants. The 1982 Wesley Ballaine Research Writing Award of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) went to a PRTSf graduate student, as did the first graduate research writing award of the Southeast Chapter of TTRA in 19ti. In 1985. the first undergraduate research writing award by the Southeast Chapter w?nt to two Clemson PRTL1 students, as did a 1985 National Tour Xssociation Foundation scholarship. For the past three years, a Clemson student has been named Outstanding Travel and Tourism Student of the Year by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
Faculty interests Faculty stati in the TTXf programme are highly qualified and respected by both academic colleagues and th2 travel industry. They are active in such professional and trade organizations
303
thusiasm and perseverance from aii parties. it could be argued that Gwtnr being a ‘new’ tourist destination with relatively low county and district tourism budgets. found joint working a necessity and that this ma\: not be the case in more traditional tourism areas with more resources. ?Such will depend on the definition of the destination area but in a!! situations the cost effective use of resources within the area can only be improved through joint working. The essential role of the public sector must be to help coordinate and support what is a fragmented industry and assist it to compete for visitor spending. The question of exactly who should define the destination area remains unanswered
but it is seen that the needs
and perceptions of visitors must remain paramount and locai authorities will continue to play a major role. Alan Clarke Tourism Development Officer Devon Counry Council County Hall, Exeter Devon, EX2 4QQ, UK
Notes ‘Balmer and Crapo, Tourism Development in Ontario: A Framework for Opportunity, Balmer and Crapo, prepared for Province of Ontario, 1980. 2Gwent county council, Structure P/an Written Statement of Policies and Proposals, GCC, Cwmbran, UK, 1978.
Report Cornering the Japanese market Carol Sage, Training Director of the Sheraton Center, New York City, presents an account of a training initiative in a New York City convention hotel - aimed at improving relations with Japanese guests, with a view to increasing the hotel’s share of the Japanese tourist market. Training in cross-cultural awareness improved staff services for Japanese visitors, to such an extent, that the Japanese market share of the hotel has already increased.
The Sheraton Center is a convention hotel located in the heart of mid-town New York City, USA. The majority of the hotel’s guests are US business people and tourists. The hotel, however, operates in a highly competitive market. There are at least four hotels with similar rate structures and facilities located within a two mile radius. Japanese rourist market In an effort to increase its share of the international market, particularly the Japanese, the Sheraton Center hired a Japanese sales manager who understood the needs of his clients. As a result of his work, over 60 Japanese groups were booked into the hotel summer during the forthcoming months.
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
In anticipation of the groups’ arrival management began wondering what steps. if any, could be taken to improve the Japanese guest experience thereby assuring a solid Japanese client base. Management approached the training department with their idea and asked for their recommendations. Bearing in mind the importance of cross-cultural relations when dealing with the international market. I decided to inten;iew several members of staff who had dealt with Japanese guests, hoping to gain some insight from their experiences. The comments I received suggested that, kvhile it would seem that the Japanese guest would require special attention in some ways, the hotel’s staff found
December
1985
them to be unremarkable in their demands and their expectations. In the words of one staff member: .‘Oh. people are all alike. They’re all looking for the same things”. He added. “Maybe they look different or the language barrier creates a problem, but let’s face it, folks is folks”. Yet. I couldn’t help reminding myself that if any kind of language barrier existed, it was our job to get round it, not simply take it for granted. Indeed. this could be one of the key ingredients standing in the way of increasing our share of the Japanese market. The question remained. How could we make our Japanese guests’ visits more pleasurable, more ‘hassle-free’?
Cultural
miatlces
Through such discussions. and with the help of our Japanese sales manager. it became clear that our job was to educate our staff in the cultural nuances of the Japanese. This meant scratching deeper than the surface of staff-guest relations. Comments such as “The Japanese are always happy. they smile a lot“, did not reflect the true nature of their ways. The
301
obsst-vations of a cot7~ shop srnpioyee did: Sometimes”. Betty noted. “i notice that thry have their food untouched. I rememb2t one fellow, who was Japanese, who just starsd at his eggs and poked them around with his fork. Hr looked kind of unhappy. When I asked him if thers was anything wrong, he said no. But I noticed his 2ggs looked a little runny, so I offered to bring them back to ths kitchen and have them cooked a little more. He started thanking me. And when I brought those eggs back he ate every bite. \Vhy don’t they just complain or something?” ‘-They’re real nice people and always polite”, a maid observed. “But come to think of it. they seem pretty shy whzn they’re alone. Most of the time they keep together, a whole bunch of them.” The next stop was security - “The Japanese have a tendency to leak-2 their bags in the lobby and walk one security member said. around”, “They’re unbelievable. Don’t they know this is New York? Are thsy crazy?” Similar impressions were gathered from room clerks. managers and doormen -the average Japanese traveller stuck with other Japanese. appeared happy most of the time, and never complained. (This particular market was looking better all the time!) After further discussions with the general manager, resident manager and executive assistant, our goal was clear: we must assume that there was room for improvement. Our goal, to increase our share of the Japanese market could best be met by providing them with information in their own language hotel directories, city maps. safety tips for travellers. welcome business cards from the general manager, all in addition to a training programme for guest-contact staff. Our plan was approved and we proceeded.
The training programme We formed a team made up of two members of the training department. the Japanese sales manager and an outside consultant who leas American but had lived in Tokyo, spoke
302
To heighten our own awareness to travellzrs’ experiences in a foreign country. we asked ourselves: If you were a foreign traveller coming to th2 USA for the first time. a-hat would Americans look like to you? Ho\+ would they act‘? Are yew Yorkers differsnt from other Americans in their behaviour and appearance? Our Japanese consultants offered their rcsponses. and the ensuing discussions made for lively ssssions.
ths subject of directness. Xii agreed that being direct :vas valuable and necessary. Again. ~2 explained that this was not the case in Japan, where subtlety is more respected. Hence us had an idea why we never received complaints from these gussts direct!! and perhaps were not us2d to picking up hesitancies. We discussed the reasons for these behavioural differences. Some of our employ-ees found these concepts difficult to accept. Perhaps such subtl2 approaches were due to the fact that Japan is an older. more dsvsloped culture, a society with a homog2nous population and similar backgrounds. In American culture. it is psrfectl! natural to show our feelings. whatever they are (anger, sadness, exhilaration). Yet the Japanese find these displays abhorrent. How could someone be so impolite as to act however he felt’? This led to discussion about individuality and ,“roup harmony. another fundamental difference between our two societies. Most agreed that in the USA competition was considered both hea!thy for the individual and good for the nation as a whole. We were all familiar \vith the ‘-me” generation, naturally manv were surprised to find that harmony and group consciousnrss tvere more important to the Japanese than the values of any one person.
Session t&Co:looking at another cdtwr
Session three
We then gave the group sarious exercises based on perceived cultural differences. For rxample. in some cultures, it is perfectly natural to have long lapses of silence between people while in other cultures. silence is uncomfortable. How does that idea fit into the Japanese culture and hou does it fit into the American culture’? One person would read a statement such as this and the rest of the group would offer their opinions. Our consultants would verify facts. L\‘e asked a waitress how she felt having dinner with someone who hardly spoke a word. “Awful”. she said, “I feel like I have to fill up the dead air”. In Japan. we explained. this was not at all unusual, but actually quite comfortable. Another person read a statement on
Our Japanese consultant taught us some basics of the Japanese language, its rhythm and sounds. Wr learned simple phrases of vvsicome that would make our guests feel at home. Q’e also learned various physical gestures and what they signified. This, in turn. would help us communicate better on a non-verbal level.
Japanese and had a background in cross-cuitural training. Lye also hired two Japanese people on a part-time basis to work in a dual capacity. During the training sessions the!would sit in with each group and keep us on track. Afterwards they wou!d work at the front desk as gu2st service agents. The next step was to begin work with the staff. In order to gather a variety of experisnces, we mised up the departments (bellmen with sales people. waiters/waitresses uith from office. guest services with housekeeping). There would be four sessions. one hour in length, over a four-wsek period. They w2r2 scheduled as closely as possible to the arrival dates. Classes were planned for 15 to 7-5 people. though we often had anywhere from 3 to -Kl people at a time!
Session one: looking fit ourselves
TOURISM
Sessiotl four The fourth and final session consisted of role playing. For example: 0 You are a room clerk checking in a Japanese guest who has no credit cards. You ask for cash in advance and he doesn’t understand why you can’t trust his Lvord. How would you handle the situation’? # You are a bellman standing in the lobby and you see some Japanese
MANAGEMENT
December
1985
tourists leave their cameras and Results Iuggags in the comer while thev, :DO The groups arrived shortly after the off to the lounge. How do YOU fourth session. Did rverything miracurespond? Based on what you have lously chang2? Yo. but there was a learned about mime in Japan vern2w s2nse of avvaren2s.s and our gursts sus the USA do you hav2 a cl2ar2r noticed. iVe wer2 pl2as2d to receive idra why they f22l saf2 lsavinp th2ir lettzrs of appxciation from tour opervaluables’? ators and guests. and our market share has indesd increased substantially. \v,: asked our staff to put th2msclvcs Of course. follow up and commitin th2 shozs of ths guests. of rh2ir m2nt is the only assurance that our fellow workers. and then in thrir own programme will continuz to br sucrolr. Everyone got involved in suggescsssful. Our property in Seattls is tions for handling circumstancss and pr2sently conducting the workshop. used the Japanese: phrases the>- had for their staff. been taught. Evaluations w2re pivsn As world communications and out and returned. and as Japanrse travel expand and increase, and peoguests arrived, ue waited to s22 the ple from all nations mert, the need for results.
understanding is greater than evsr. Cross-cultural training is nor a cur2 for confusion but it dors prrpare us for situations w2 have not dealt with brfore. It is a hslping hand to r2mind us of who w2 are. whrre we have corn2 from and how w2 can get along with ev-eryone if vvt ar2 willing to try.
Carol Sage Trainir;g Director Sheraton Center 811 7th Avenue New York, NY 10019, USA
Research centre profile Courses for students Richard Howell of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, provides us with a detailed description of the courses offered under their Travel and Tourism Management programme. The department aims to produce people capable of responding to the ever-changing demands of the tourism industry.
The Travel and Tourism Management (TN) programme at Clemson University is housed in thr Department of Parks, Recrration and Tourism >fanagement (PRTM). The Univwsitv is locatsd in ths Piedmont of South Carolina, USA, about equidistant from Columbia, South Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Xtlanta, Georgia. Current university enrollmrnt is 13000, with 180 undergraduate and 30 graduate students in PRTbl. About 60% of the undergraduates and 209/o of graduates are in the TTbl propramme. The university and the PRT;\;I department are both fully accredited. Clemson offrrs 6-t undergraduate and 97 graduate degree programmss. and is the land grant university of South Carolina. The PRTW department currctntly
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
offers three degree programmes: a Bachelor of Science (BS), a blaster of Science (MS), and a professional Xlaster of Recreation and Park Administration (MRPA). A doctoral programme proposal is now before the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and is expected to be approved by early 1986.
Objectives Both graduate degree programmes are highly flexible in allowing students to pursue their professional and research interests. The MS programme prepares candidates for further academic work or positions in research. while the MRPA prepares them for advanced placement within industry operations. The objective of the TTM programme is to produce a ‘special-
December 1985
ized generalist”. capable of adapting to the ever-evolving conditions in the travel and tourism industry. This objective is apparently being met. PRTM students in TTM have already distinguished themselves with research production and scholarship grants. The 1982 Wesley Ballaine Research Writing Award of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) went to a PRTSf graduate student, as did the first graduate research writing award of the Southeast Chapter of TTRA in 19ti. In 1985. the first undergraduate research writing award by the Southeast Chapter w?nt to two Clemson PRTL1 students, as did a 1985 National Tour Xssociation Foundation scholarship. For the past three years, a Clemson student has been named Outstanding Travel and Tourism Student of the Year by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
Faculty interests Faculty stati in the TTXf programme are highly qualified and respected by both academic colleagues and th2 travel industry. They are active in such professional and trade organizations
303