Microphone by visual.dichotomy
Are you curious about how tourism companies are run? Do you wish you could get the CEO of a major tour company in the “hot seat” and ask him any question you want? Well, here’s your chance.
I’ve been given the opportunity to do a podcast interview with the CEO of a prominent tour company. I’ve never run a podcast myself, so this is a bit of a learning curve for me. If I do this, I will have to put some substantial time into it to learn the technology. Honestly, there is nothing in it for me. (I’m not getting paid to do this.) The advantage to the tour company, obviously, is free publicity on my blog. But that’s not reason enough for me to do the interview. Before I commit to this, I want to make sure someone other than them is benefiting from it–namely, you, my readers.
I only want to do this if I know you are truly interested. So I’m leaving this in your hands. If you’d like to know what this CEO has to say about any travel industry topic, either ask the question in the comment section below, or email me using my contact form. I’ll collect your questions and if I get enough to pull together a worthwhile interview, then I’ll proceed with booking it. If I don’t, I won’t.
Got questions about single supplements or roommate matching services in the tour industry? Do you wonder how tourism professionals feel about solo travelers? Are you curious about how ecofriendly the business is, how they choose their destinations, or how they price their tours? The sky’s the limit when it comes to questions. You can ask anything you want (as long as it’s respectful, of course).
The CEO I’m referring to is Dan Austin of Austin-Lehman Adventures. You may remember that back in April, ALA ran a travel contest in which they opened it up to readers (of this blog only) as a “trip for one” rather than the standard “trip for two,” since we’re all solo travelers. Based on entries I got for that contest, you all were as excited about that as I was.
So if you have any questions for Dan, let me know. I’ll be making my decision about whether or not to proceed with the interview in one week.
Photo credit: Microphone by visual.dichotomy
on Oct 5th, 2011 at 10:06 am
I think this would be such a wonderful idea. I’ve always been curious about entering into the tourism industry but not being a travel guide. I’d love to do research and be the person that actually plans where tour groups go and what they do. I’d love to know how he would recommend getting involved in the industry. What sort of education to persue and things like that.
Thank you!
on Oct 5th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
This is a very good opportunity for you and your readers! I’m interested in finding out where he thinks travel is going, especially as money is tight these days and yet more people are interested in traveling more. (Before, I could save for year and have more than enough for a comfortable trip; now I have to save for two years to have the same level of comfort. I travel on business class and like staying in cities and at least 4-star hotels, and always eat out at the local restaurants. It’s my style of travel and I find it harder and harder to sustain, which is a bit saddening, but I find waiting for 2 years is not too bad, but certainly not ideal.) Then we get hit with the single supplement. LOL
on Oct 7th, 2011 at 9:17 am
I think it would be a great opportunity for you to do something you haven’t done before (podcasting) and interviews from Industry professionals always tend to be enlightening to those of us who love to travel. I would like to know what destinations are becoming emerging markets for the travel industry? What locations that were traditionally not popular are making strides in attracting tourists? Are they cost prohibitive given the fact that they are new(er) markets than the more established ones?
on Oct 7th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Thanks for the questions, everyone! Keep them coming…
on Nov 22nd, 2011 at 8:28 pm
[...] you read my early October post, “Would you like to interview a tourism industry CEO?”, you’ve probably been wondering “Hey, where’s that interview?” Sorry for [...]