Tourism businesses shaken by the events of 2020 can create a positive change for next year by defining a clear vision.

This is according to CEO of The Five Percent, Marcus Murphy, who broke down his business’s formula for a clear vision during a webinar session hosted by WTM Virtual.

“As a CEO in my own company this is something I do often and today I wanted to use the opportunity to share an internal tool that we use when creating our vision statements,” said Murphy.

To achieve your vision for your business in 2021 he said you had to start laying a foundation now. “We are no longer allowed to sit on the couch in the foetal position. Now is the time to build, plan and prepare.”

He described it as skills and knowledge, added to goals and positive behavioural change – implemented by multiplying it by action.

“When creating a vision, it needs to be so concrete that you end up actually turning down other really great opportunities because they are not the right opportunities for you,” said Murphy.

Positive behavioural changes, for example, would only be put into action for a vision that was clearly worth the effort, he said. “You need to set clear, measurable goals. We’re terrible at setting goals because so often we make proclamations. Nobody wants to hear your proclamations in 2021. They want to see the changes you’re making and hear about how you’re going to measure that.”

He emphasised that businesses would need to take the time to enhance their skills and knowledge. “That’s what you’re doing right now. Here at WTM, you’re listening to people and you’re learning – but you need to make sure you’re learning the right things,” he said, explaining that in order to successfully realise your vision you needed to actively seek out the correct tools.

Panellists weigh in

Murphy was joined by panellists who agreed that now was the time to start moving, with some indicating that their businesses had already started.

“I saw a graphic that showed people moving from the scared phase, to the learning phase, to the growing phase,” said content creator at Continent Hop, Lavinia De Souza.

“I agree. We’re at the end of 2020 and we can’t hide any more. As creators we are finally at the growth phase and from here we need to evolve,” she said.

“This year has been hard but it really focused us,” said Experience Architect and Head of Community and Education at Entrada Insights, Josh Collins. He explained that when lockdowns around the world went into effect, he recognised the possible threat to human connection and so partnered with Connect Travel to create weekly webinars through which people could stay informed about the industry. “It was an innovation but it made me think ‘why haven’t we always been doing this?’”

Also recognising the innovation achieved at his company was Director of Marketing at G Adventures, Ant Stone. “Increasing the amount of data we consume and how much we talk to our customers has been hugely critical for us,” he said, adding that through talking to customers, G Adventures was able to quickly redesign products and pivot its marketing strategies. “We also recognise that we had a clear vision before COVID, and while COVID made us rethink some aspects of that vision, we still have important business goals and know exactly where we’re going,” said Stone.

Murphy concluded, saying that the panellists should serve as an inspiration to viewers wondering how they could action their own vision statements. “Think of this as the silver lining of it all. People are working and people are surviving.”