Travel and Tourism (9395) | Producing a business plan for your travel and tourism event

🗺️ Producing a Business Plan for Your Travel and Tourism Event (Syllabus 5.3)

Hello future event managers! This chapter is absolutely critical for your Paper 2 coursework. Think of the business plan as the ultimate roadmap for your travel and tourism event. It’s the document that proves your idea is brilliant, feasible, and well-organized.
If you can write a solid business plan, you demonstrate strong planning, communication, and resource management—skills the examiners love!

1. What is a Business Plan and Why Do We Need One?

A business plan is a detailed document that outlines the goals of your event, how you plan to achieve them, what resources you need, and how you will measure success.

Why is the Business Plan so Important?

• Clarity and Direction: It acts as the "North Star" for your team, ensuring everyone knows the mission and their role.
• Feasibility Check: It forces you to think practically about resources, costs, and potential problems (risks).
• Securing Resources: If you need to ask a school principal for a budget or a local vendor for sponsorship, the business plan is your persuasive tool.
• Evaluation Baseline: After the event, you compare your actual results against the plan to see what worked and what didn't.

Quick Tip: Don't worry if your first draft is messy. Planning is an iterative process—you improve it as you research more!

2. The Essential Components of the Business Plan

The syllabus requires several key sections. Make sure your plan addresses all of these areas clearly.

2.1 Event Summary and Objectives

This is the high-level overview.

• Event Summary: A short, exciting description of the event. (E.g., "A one-day virtual conference showcasing sustainable eco-lodges in Southeast Asia.")
• Aims: The broad, long-term aspirations (what you generally want to achieve). (E.g., To promote sustainable travel.)
• Objectives: The specific, measurable steps taken to meet the aims (these should be your SMART Goals – see Section 3). (E.g., To sell 50 tickets by May 1st.)

2.2 Resources: The Foundation of Your Event

You must identify and plan for three main types of resources:

1. Financial Resources (Money):
   • Requires a detailed budget including estimated costs (venue hire, marketing, catering) and estimated revenue (ticket sales, sponsorship).
   • You must also detail methods for collecting payments (e.g., online payment platform, cash).
2. Human Resources (People):
   • The team members and their specific roles (e.g., Finance Officer, Marketing Officer).
   • Any external staff needed (e.g., guest speakers, security, volunteers).
3. Physical Resources (Things):
   • Includes equipment (e.g., sound system, catering tables, projection screens, transport/buses).
   • The venue or location (or the online platform, if virtual).

2.3 The Simple Marketing Plan

This section details how you will attract your customers.

• Target Market: Who are your customers? (e.g., families, students, retired couples).
• Marketing Methods: Which forms of marketing will you use? (e.g., social media posts, printed posters, email campaigns, press releases).
• Pricing Strategy: How much will you charge and why?

Key Takeaway for Core Components: The Business Plan links *what* you want to do (Aims/Summary) with *how* you will fund, staff, and run it (Resources and Marketing).

3. Setting Powerful Objectives: The SMART Goals

Your event objectives cannot just be vague wishes. They must be SMART. This mnemonic is essential for planning and for passing your evaluation.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for:

S: Specific

The goal is clear and focused. It answers: Who? What? Where? Why?

Example of NON-Specific: "We will make our event better."
Example of Specific: "We will increase attendance from local families at the heritage site tour on Saturday."

M: Measurable

You must be able to quantify the success using numbers or data. You need a Key Performance Indicator (KPI).

Example of Measurable: "Achieve a minimum customer satisfaction rating of 90% in our post-event survey."

A: Achievable

Can this goal actually be done with the resources and time you have?

Example: Selling 100 tickets is Achievable for a school fair, but selling 10,000 might not be.

R: Realistic (or Relevant)

Does the goal make sense for the current environment and your overall aim? The goal must be relevant to the business plan.

Example: If your event is about eco-tourism, a goal to reduce plastic waste is Relevant.

T: Timely

Every goal must have a clear deadline.

Example of Timely: "We will secure all necessary health and safety approvals two weeks before the event date."

4. Timescales and Project Time Planning

To ensure the event preparation runs smoothly, you need a detailed project time plan.

4.1 The Importance of Timescales

Timescales break the enormous task of planning an event into manageable chunks. If you don’t set deadlines, tasks will be delayed, leading to a frantic rush just before the event.

4.2 Project Planning Tool: The Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a visual tool (often a bar chart) that shows the tasks to be completed against a timeline.

• It lists tasks down the vertical axis.
• It shows time (days/weeks) across the horizontal axis.
• The length of the bar shows how long a task should take.
• It helps identify tasks that must be completed before another can start (dependencies).

Did You Know? In your coursework, you must show evidence of your time plan (e.g., the Gantt chart or a detailed action plan with dates and assigned roles).

5. Dealing with the Unexpected: Risk and Contingency Planning

The travel and tourism industry is highly susceptible to external factors (weather, security, transport delays). A professional business plan must account for what might go wrong.

5.1 Risk Assessment

The risk assessment is the process of identifying potential hazards and evaluating the likelihood and severity of them happening. For a T&T event, this includes:

• Health & Safety Risks: Slips, food poisoning, fire hazards, and crowd control.
• Security Risks: Theft, unauthorized access, or emergency evacuation plans.
• Event-Specific Risks: E.g., failure of IT equipment for a virtual event, speaker not arriving, or extreme weather making an outdoor activity unsafe.

5.2 Contingency Planning (The 'Plan B')

Contingency planning means developing a "Plan B" for every high-risk scenario. It’s what you do to minimise the impact if the risk occurs.

Analogy: If a speaker cancels (the Risk), the Contingency Plan is to have a pre-recorded presentation ready, or a designated backup speaker prepared to step in.

• Example 1 (Financial): Risk: Ticket sales are lower than expected. Contingency: Secure a backup sponsor or reduce non-essential expenses immediately.
• Example 2 (Physical): Risk: Venue is flooded due to heavy rain. Contingency: Immediate redirection of all attendees to a predetermined, nearby alternative site.

Warning: Simply identifying a risk is not enough. You must also detail the steps you will take to *prevent* it (risk mitigation) and *manage* it if it happens (contingency).

6. Methods of Monitoring and Evaluating the Event

The final crucial element of the business plan is explaining how you will know if your event was successful.

6.1 Monitoring (During the Event)

Monitoring happens in real-time while the event is running. It helps you make instant corrections.

• Time Keeping: Checking if the itinerary is being followed and adjusting timings if necessary.
• Customer Care and Feedback: Gathering immediate, informal feedback (e.g., talking to customers) to solve small problems instantly.
• Problem Solving: Rapidly addressing issues like long queues or technical faults.

6.2 Evaluation (After the Event)

Evaluation involves systematic assessment after the event to determine overall success and inform future planning. Your business plan must outline these evaluation methods.

1. Reviewing SMART Goals: Did you hit your measurable targets (e.g., 90% satisfaction, 50 tickets sold)?
2. Customer Feedback Techniques:
   • Questionnaires/Surveys: Formal collection of quantitative data (numbers) and qualitative data (opinions).
   • Witness Statements: Feedback from peers, teachers, or industry professionals.
3. Financial Review: Comparing the estimated budget (from the business plan) against the actual expenditure and revenue.
4. Team Evaluation: Assessing the effectiveness of the team, roles, and communication methods.

Key Takeaway for Evaluation: Monitoring is about fixing things *now*; evaluation is about learning for the *future*. All evaluation methods must link back to the original aims and objectives set in the business plan.