Reflective Log of a Group Consultancy Project - Report Example

Reflective log report of a group consultancy project Summary. The researchers prepared a consultancy project on Select Lincolnshire for Food on the potential for enhancing e-tourism through hospitality and food trails. The studys aim was to analyse the viability of Select Lincolnshire for food as a tourist attraction. Although myself I have never taken part in any form of the tourism trails offered by the report, I understand that they offer an informative and enjoyable experience to the tourists. On the other hand, when hospitality and food trails are put into proper practical shape, they also provide the inhabitants of a tourist destination with appropriate global exposure as well as boosting the sales of their products. In reference to Dredge et al. (2013), hospitality trails include clubs, food shops, in-house catering and other food services. I have come to learn that good hospitality is key to proper economic development through tourism income enhancement. Hospitality is the primary source of foreign exchange, and it leads to the employment of a country’s population. The hospitality sector offers adequate accommodation to tourists through the provision of enough luxury hotels. In reference to Dredge et al. (2013), these luxury hotels are equipped with services such as hot spas, beds, breakfast, and inns. From my point of view, hospitality and food trails, as discussed in the report, have a sole aim of providing shelter and body comfort to the tourists therefore putting a potential tourist destination on the global map. Research question 4. In reference to Booth (1995), a research question forms the fundamental core of any research project or review of the literature. Research questions have a primary focus on the study by determining the methodology deployed and guides the steps of inquiry, analysis and reporting of the results. The questions have to begin with a research problem that is noted in the immediate environment such as the need to enhance e-tourism through food and hospitality trails in Lincolnshire County. The research problem discussed in the research question can also be formulated as a result of the gaps noted during the process of reviewing the existing literature. Such gaps include unclear phenomena that need answers and specific hardships that need to be eliminated. Therefore, creativity is important when developing a literature review in order to expose clearly these gaps. In reference to Booth (1995), the research questions formulated have to be worth investigating and should contribute knowledge to the field in question. In relation to the research question 4 in the report, the team aimed at developing an appropriate strategy in order to apply tourist trails to spearhead future development and applications for funding. Creativity during literature review. In analyzing the current state of knowledge on tourism enhanced by hospitality and food trails, the organisers formulated a good outline in order for tourists to understand the basis of food and hospitality trails. A total of fourteen sources that were properly referenced were used in order to avoid confusion when pointing out the gaps in tourism trails. The organisers made sure that the review of the literature was straight to the point with appropriate arguments that were justified in order to formulate the research questions. In my view, a good literature review should demonstrate how the researcher understands the subject matter through a confident analysis of previous literature. The researcher should also demonstrate that there exists no such previous work and that the report is his or her original work. In reference to Jackson (1980), an excellent review should define the topic. As evident in the study, the organisers have clearly delimited their topic. However, as proposed by Jackson (1980), the researchers did not give the procedure in which they chose the type of literature to review. This leaves questions on whether their literature review was biased since an original review shows a researcher’s attempt to look into several literature sources. The criterion they deployed in order to credit and discredit other literature sources is not clear. However, the organisers were able to develop the research question as they clearly showed how the proper application of hospitality and food trails can influence e-tourism. Creativity in developing the method of data collection. I have a strong belief in the mode of collecting data deployed by the researchers. The use of face to face questionnaires offers a perfect method of data collection in a manner that first-hand information is collected. From this method, the researchers were able to analyse the perception of the local community in the case of testing their stance on the most preferred tourism trail locations for tourism development. In reference to Fowler (1990), face-to-face questionnaires offer accurate screening. In this case, the individual being interviewed does not have a chance to provide false information. Screening questions such as gender and age can easily be avoided during online surveys. Face to face questionnaires also provide verbal and non-verbal cues. Such cues include body language and gestures that are hard to detect in other means of data collection. Blair & Czaja (1996) argue that face-to-face questionnaires empower the researcher with the ability to remain focused on the key objectives of the study. The interviewee is not exposed to other modes of distractions such as texting that normally overshadow the benefits of other means of data collection. Regardless of the few disadvantages that affect face to face questionnaires such as the limited size of the sample, manual entry of data and relatively higher cost, the researchers were generally creative in selecting this as their method of data collection. Creativity in designing the trails. The organisers formulated a plan in which the trails would be located in areas that were already famous for tourist attraction. The trails were designed to last for a period of four hours in order to avoid monotony. Shorter trails would also ensure that the company would cash in on more tourists who looked forward to making optimum use of the time they spent in each location. The trails also incorporated the use of cars as they were the most common and most people could afford the expenses. The location of the trails also ensured that the customers would get what they required within the specific location. For instance, in the trail number one-Grimsby, the location of the trail near the sea ensured that seaside British dwellers were targeted. The location of the trail number one also incorporated a number of fish cuisines that would be a perfect target for oriental food lovers. The location also ensured that the trail would take a stop at a strategic location where the tourists would have food, drinks and accommodation at a restaurant that is associated with a highly rated Select Lincolnshire hotel. The organisers were also very creative in marketing the trails. They ensured that the advertisements were carried out on both social media platforms such as Facebook and traditional means such as newspapers that would attract tourists and their families. Teamwork. The designed trails incorporated every aspect of teamwork. From the initialisation of the trails, the organisers had to work as a team in order to make the activity a success. For example, in the first trail in Grimsby, the organisers had to co-ordinate with the hotel owners in Lincolnshire in order to offer adequate food and hospitality services such as accommodation to the tourists. In ensuring that the target audience was reached, different teams in terms of their age had to be set up in order to advertise appropriately over the social media and older methods such as newspapers. As stated in the application strategy, the teams had to observe joint promotions and cross selling so as to reach more visitors. Cross selling ensured that if a customer obtained a commodity in one of the specified shops, he would obtain the same commodity in another location along the trail at a cheaper price. Such a strategy ensured that customers would spend more therefore achieving more sales from the trail. Time-consciousness. Each of the tourist trails had a set timeline of four hours. It was, therefore, important to observe the timeline and work hard enough to beat the deadlines. The organisers had to ensure that the trail reached the required destinations at the specified time. Profit optimisation. The organisers ensured that the customers would spend maximally during the trail. Measures such as cross-selling were designed with an aim to achieve this objective. The organisers also developed creative and cheaper methods of collecting data during the pre-studies. The cheaper methods such as face to face questions ensured that the project would not incur high costs when planning the trails. The use of secondary sources to conduct research on the trails also ensured that the company did not have to conduct unnecessary expenses such as visiting all the short-listed trail destinations. Instead, the secondary sources would provide the appropriate review of the suggested locations. The social media method of advertising that was embraced by the organisers ensured that the information was relayed to the target at a cheaper and effective manner. Customer relationship management. The organisers ensured that the feedback obtained at the end of the trails would be analysed, and the relevant measures would be taken in order to improve the services provided by the Lincolnshire Food companies. The organisers would work on the recommendations received from the tourists in order to boost their income in subsequent trails. The customers on the other end would feel valued by the Lincolnshire community, and this would result in the development of an excellent tourist destination. Theory: use of secondary research. The manner in which the researchers conducted a secondary research on the location of the trails is key in obtaining a clear platform for e-tourism trails in Lincolnshire. In each of the tourist trails that included number 1 – Grimsby, number 2 – Hilly Area and number 3 – Spilsby, the research work incorporated the use of secondary sources to study the location of the areas and give a brief background on each one of them. In reference to Crouch &Housden (2003), secondary research is the most used method for data collection. The method involves the analysis of information that has already been collected by an originator of primary research. It includes the collection of information from third parties sources such as company websites, magazine articles, sales and accounting records and marketing research reports. I feel that secondary research is a good tool that can enhance the ability of tourists to understand the nature of the trails thus boosting the results. One of its advantages, as described by Crouch &Housden (2003), is its ease of access. The process of accessing secondary sources of data such as magazine articles is relatively easy. With the development of the Internet, researchers are no longer obliged to pay a compulsory visit to the libraries to access the sources. The availability of a network connection has enabled researchers to access previous reports and journals in a convenient manner. The second advantage of the secondary research carried out by the organisers is the low cost of acquiring secondary sources. When the researchers had to compare the model of tourism trails that they looked forward to formulating for Lincolnshire, secondary sources greatly reduced the expenses they would have incurred if they had opted to carry out the groundwork themselves. The researchers were creative in their effort to clarify their research questions. The use of secondary sources enabled them to clarify their primary objective. Conclusion. From the research question four, I can conclude that food and hospitality trails are important in enhancing tourism. During the formulation of a similar exercise, the management should formulate good objectives and work on an appropriate research question. The organisers should also formulate the traits discussed above in order to ensure that the activity becomes a success. The means of data collection in the pre-study should aim at gathering raw facts from the customers at a low cost. In conclusion, the feedback from the customers after a trail should be analysed in a critical manner using charts in order to give a visual impression. The image developed by the tables during the analysis of the research questions is important in giving the organisers an estimate on the specific aspects of the trails that needs to be improved. References Blair R. & Czaja J., 1996. Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Booth W., 1995. The Craft of Research. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Crouch S., & Housden M., 2003. Marketing Research for Managers; The Marketing Series; Chartered Institute of Marketing. 3rd ed. s.l.:Butterworth-Heinemann. p.22. Dredge D., Benckendorff P., Day M., Gross M.J., Walo M., Weeks P., & Whitelaw P.A., 2013. Drivers of Change in Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management Education: An Australian Perspective. The Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 25(2), pp. 89-102. Fowler F. J., 1990. Standardised Survey Interviewing: Minimizing Interviewer-Related Error. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Jackson G., 1980. Methods for integrative reviews. Review Education Research, Volume 50, pp. 438-460. Read More