Tourism Product Development and Innovation

Associate Professor Hannah Messerli, PhD
New York University, USA
21-24 April 2008

Hannah taught Tourism Planning and Development in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Executive Education Series:

"Truly world class! QRC was truly professional! I believe that I can now implement the process involved with successful tourism product development - which was one of my main goals when starting this course."
- Michael Grace, Research and Development Manager, Positively Wellington

"Dr Messerli has an incredibly practical insight into the constantly changing world of tourism product and market demand. The scary challenge of building successful tourism products for the future is now crystal clear."
- David Kennedy, CEO Destination Queenstown

Course Description

Tourism involves a myriad of experiences delivered as products to eager consumers. What makes a successful tourism product? Where are the best opportunities? And, as the industry continues to expand, what makes a successful new tourism product? Participants in this course will learn about tourism demand and supply trends. The product development process and factors that impact success will be analysed. To prepare for the future, drivers of innovation will be investigated and then applied to the tourism industry. Participants will be challenged to develop and present new product plans based on emerging market trends.

Who is the course designed for?

This course is designed for tourism and hospitality industry professionals; business persons who are interested in developing new tourism products or expanding existing ones; public sector representatives interested in gaining a better understanding about the tourism sector; and private sector individuals interested in learning how to tap into tourism's potential.

Benefits

Benefits include a greater understanding of tourism product development and innovation; the ability to identify and understand tourism product opportunities; gaining knowledge in the techniques used by various destinations in planning and developing new forms of tourism; insights into the many trade-offs that are considered when developing a tourism product; and analysis of the key decision makers and stakeholders involved with new product development.

This is a demanding course which challenges participants to further develop their critical thinking and analytical skills. In addition to gaining knowledge, participants will be given opportunities to develop their verbal and written skills through experiential exercises such as case studies, simulations and developing a product and positioning statement. Participants will apply key innovation processes to potential opportunities.

Objectives

On completion of this module successful participants will be able to:

  • Determine key factors contributing to successful tourism product development
  • Understand the steps in the tourism product development process
  • Synthesise case studies to determine elements of successful product development examples
  • Analyse current and potential opportunities
  • Access key resources useful in the development process

Course Content

Topics include:

• The Product Development Arena:
Supply and demand components of tourism; key forces driving tourism development; critical economic impacts; environmental impacts; social and cultural impacts

• Targeting Tourists:
Who will come and how much will they spend? Approaches to determining existing and potential demand; measuring and monitoring success

• The Product Development Process:
Tourism planning approaches and processes; Focusing on opportunities and challenges; Creating new products through product extension and innovation

• Preparing a Development Plan:
The innovation process; Building a product business case; balancing short term and long term trade-offs; case studies.

Guest Presenter

Hannah is a global consultant who has carved out her own niche in tourism planning and development. She has special interests in emerging tourism trends as demonstrated through changes in supply and demand; ecotourism planning; and cultural heritage tourism development. Her extensive industry experience includes pre-opening management training for major five star resorts and hotels in Asia, corporate market analysis for Holiday Inns and leisure industry consultancy. Her expertise has been enlisted by the United Nations to inform their development programme in Bali and by the US Government to assist with hospitality education development in Tanzania and Zanzibar. She has conducted executive education programmes globally including at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration (USA).

Hannah is a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University. She gained her PhD at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration where she specialised in tourism industry planning and development. In addition, Dr Messerli holds a Masters degree from Cornell as well as a Masters in Tourism Planning from George Washington University.

Fee

The fee is NZ$ 3,350 plus GST. This includes course materials, refreshments, lunches, a class dinner and a cocktail welcome the night before the course commences.

To REGISTER

Download, complete and return the registration form [PDF DOWNLOAD 614KB], or contact us for further information.