In Support of Tourism Professional
작성자
박 의서
작성일
2023-02-18 21:56
조회
341
Since it had been my ardent wish to work for one of the overseas offices, I was very excited when I was fortunately transferred in late 1984 to the New York office of the Korea National Tourism Corp., a state-run tourist office. I thought that marketing and promoting my country as a tourist destination would be a most exciting and suitable job.
But as I became acquainted with the huge U.S. travel industry market I faced two major problems.
The first problem was that my communication ability in English was not good enough to work effectively in the local market. Even though I had gained confidence in my English communication skills, I was terribly discouraged when I first attended one of the monthly meetings for travel industry professionals. It is needless to say that I could not efficiently make myself understood to the native English speaker, moreover my communication ability in English was far inferior compared to the other Asian NTO members from the East Asian Travel Association.
The second problem was that I felt constraint in my job as assistant director. Against my wishes, I had to spend most of my time doing administrative work instead of marketing. There was also a lot of paperwork required by the home office in Seoul. Therefore there were relatively few opportunities to be exposed to the market.
To solve these problems, I decided to study at the New School for Social Research which is the only university in New York City that offers a tourism and travel management program at a graduate level.
The tourism and travel curriculum at the New School had what I was looking for. An adult environment at the New School was also quite suitable for me. What I liked most about the program was the opportunity to get some actual experience in the tourism and travel field.
The New School did not look at tourism from a theoretical point of view. The program provided an opportunity to develop planning and analytical skills in marketing and other business functions. Best of all, I had a lot of opportunities to meet and interact with members of the industry and to gain from their experiences. After two years at the New School, I had gained a comprehensive knowledge of marketing, marketing research, advertising, financing, general management and computer management.
But unfortunately I had to come back to the home office in Seoul just one and half months before graduation.
Most U.S. companies encourage their employees to study continuously by reimbursing one's tuition if one of their employees successfully completes graduate work in the evening. At the New School there were four Chinese (mainland) students who were co-sponsored by both their government and the American Express Travel Company.
Two students were from the China National Tourism.
Administration and the other two were from China International Travel Services(CITS). Many national tourist officers stationed in New York such countries as Israel, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Greece, China, Bahamas, Brazil, The Philippines, West Africa, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Yugoslavia, Barbados, and Iraq and many airline employees from British Airways, Canadian Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, and Pan Am were studying at the New School with their employer's sponsorship.
In the past, a major function of a national tourist office was to distribute literature to potential tourists. However the increase in potential tourist destinations has meant an increase in national tourist offices promoting these destinations. This increase in competition has meant that national tourist offices have been forced to adopt a more professional marketing approach rather than be a passive distributor of information. As both intermediaries such as tour operators, travel agents and tourist consumers have become more sophisticated and experienced, the NTOs have been forced to adopt a much more professional attitude in their approach to tourism marketing .
Even though Korea is increasing as tourist destination for foreign travellers it is not favored over other neighboring destinations such as japan or Hong Kong according to a survey recently taken by KNTC.
Worldwide we also have to compete with traditionally popular destinations such countries as the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Europeans.
Such unfavorable perceptions and severe competitions mean that staff of national tourist office should be equipped with more professional marketing knowledges.
I personally think that tourism promotion equals communication to local tourists, which means we should communicate in the native language of the base office.
Since the way we do promotion is through sales calls, presentations to the travel trade and potential tourists to Korea, participating in travel trade shows and co-promotions with international organizations, strong communication skills in the local language is essential.
Therefore, I strongly insist that professional study be encouraged by our organization & government rather than recalled unless studying affects one's official duties.
Two and a half years in New york was a most rewarding experience in my life and I am proud of doing my best in my duties and studies and missing both my school life and work in New York.
<Thoughts of the Times. Nov. 29, 1987>
But as I became acquainted with the huge U.S. travel industry market I faced two major problems.
The first problem was that my communication ability in English was not good enough to work effectively in the local market. Even though I had gained confidence in my English communication skills, I was terribly discouraged when I first attended one of the monthly meetings for travel industry professionals. It is needless to say that I could not efficiently make myself understood to the native English speaker, moreover my communication ability in English was far inferior compared to the other Asian NTO members from the East Asian Travel Association.
The second problem was that I felt constraint in my job as assistant director. Against my wishes, I had to spend most of my time doing administrative work instead of marketing. There was also a lot of paperwork required by the home office in Seoul. Therefore there were relatively few opportunities to be exposed to the market.
To solve these problems, I decided to study at the New School for Social Research which is the only university in New York City that offers a tourism and travel management program at a graduate level.
The tourism and travel curriculum at the New School had what I was looking for. An adult environment at the New School was also quite suitable for me. What I liked most about the program was the opportunity to get some actual experience in the tourism and travel field.
The New School did not look at tourism from a theoretical point of view. The program provided an opportunity to develop planning and analytical skills in marketing and other business functions. Best of all, I had a lot of opportunities to meet and interact with members of the industry and to gain from their experiences. After two years at the New School, I had gained a comprehensive knowledge of marketing, marketing research, advertising, financing, general management and computer management.
But unfortunately I had to come back to the home office in Seoul just one and half months before graduation.
Most U.S. companies encourage their employees to study continuously by reimbursing one's tuition if one of their employees successfully completes graduate work in the evening. At the New School there were four Chinese (mainland) students who were co-sponsored by both their government and the American Express Travel Company.
Two students were from the China National Tourism.
Administration and the other two were from China International Travel Services(CITS). Many national tourist officers stationed in New York such countries as Israel, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Greece, China, Bahamas, Brazil, The Philippines, West Africa, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Yugoslavia, Barbados, and Iraq and many airline employees from British Airways, Canadian Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, and Pan Am were studying at the New School with their employer's sponsorship.
In the past, a major function of a national tourist office was to distribute literature to potential tourists. However the increase in potential tourist destinations has meant an increase in national tourist offices promoting these destinations. This increase in competition has meant that national tourist offices have been forced to adopt a more professional marketing approach rather than be a passive distributor of information. As both intermediaries such as tour operators, travel agents and tourist consumers have become more sophisticated and experienced, the NTOs have been forced to adopt a much more professional attitude in their approach to tourism marketing .
Even though Korea is increasing as tourist destination for foreign travellers it is not favored over other neighboring destinations such as japan or Hong Kong according to a survey recently taken by KNTC.
Worldwide we also have to compete with traditionally popular destinations such countries as the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Europeans.
Such unfavorable perceptions and severe competitions mean that staff of national tourist office should be equipped with more professional marketing knowledges.
I personally think that tourism promotion equals communication to local tourists, which means we should communicate in the native language of the base office.
Since the way we do promotion is through sales calls, presentations to the travel trade and potential tourists to Korea, participating in travel trade shows and co-promotions with international organizations, strong communication skills in the local language is essential.
Therefore, I strongly insist that professional study be encouraged by our organization & government rather than recalled unless studying affects one's official duties.
Two and a half years in New york was a most rewarding experience in my life and I am proud of doing my best in my duties and studies and missing both my school life and work in New York.
<Thoughts of the Times. Nov. 29, 1987>