Behind all those key points of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, it is not difficult to find that the most important factor leading to the sustainable development of the Forest is the visitor. Too many or too small visitors are both not helpful to the healthy growth of the Forest. So In the end, all problems can be concluded into one general problem: how to attract more new visitors and re-visitors without damaging the natural environment.
Stage 2: Creative exploration
Based on the main problem of how to attract more new visitors and re-visitors in the stage 1, an idea storming on why people visit and a reverse idea storming on why people not visit are carried out as followed:
It is obvious that the variety and attractiveness of National Forest tourism products is the first reason for people to visit. As a matter of fact, a fantastic design of tourism products is the core of any successful tourism industry. That is to say, designing the tourism products carefully and creatively and making them more attractive and reliable is the key for solving the problem.
Stage 3: Problem mapping
Then it comes to the problem how to improve the attractiveness of National Forest tourism products to a higher level. It might be considered from the two aspects: existing products and new products. Firstly, attempt to improve the visitors’ degree of satisfaction to the existing products. For example, increasing the products quality through the improvement, modification, reduction and combination of the tourism products; bettering the total customer services and lowering the cost of overnight visit; enhancing the interactive communication with visitors and understanding more about their real needs and responses; making transportation and accommodation more comfortable and convenient. On the other hand, a new layer of Forest-related attractions and leisure and recreation activities should be designed and carried out. It will help to retain visitors’ curiosity and interest. Visitors will also be able to do many different things in the area and this will encourage longer stay and repeat visits. For example, expanding the network for walkers, cyclists, horseriders and disabled users; increasing the range of outdoor facilities and night activities in particular; continuing to develop the Forest as an outdoor learning and education resource; using the Forest as a venue for Forest-related sporting and other events and festivals (see the diagram below).
Although improving existing products and developing new attractions should be carried out at the same time, it is more practicable to make the most use of the existing products first. This will help the Forest to achieve more useful experience in understanding customers and developing new fantastic and profitable tourism products purposefully.
Stage 4: Solution generating
According to the result of stage 3, a solution storming on how to utilize the existing products most and achieve their full potential is listed as followed:
- Design tourism products package;
- Get rid of unattractive products to reduce operation cost;
- Establish particular tourism product brand awareness under the umbrella National Forest brand’;
- Adopt more efficient tourism management system;
- Collect customers’ suggestion extensively to improve service quality;
- Add shuttle transportation among ‘hot’ tourism sites;
- Extend variety of accommodation in ‘hot’ tourism sites;
- Enhance the advertising and promotion activities, e.g. sponsor some special events or festivals; invite famous figures such as singer stars, sport players etc;
- Continue to develop education and ‘green’ themes;
- Provide online booking service;
Among all the solution ideas, designing tourism products package might be most innovative and effective. There are already different kinds of tourism attractions in the Forest; however, they also make the new visitors feel confused and difficult to make choice. It seems all these products are isolated from each other and located at different part of the Forest. In order to do best services to the visitors, it is necessary to design particular tourism package based on the theme and location of the products and formulate special tourism routes for one-day or two-day trip in the Forest. So it will make tourists feel much easier and friendly to access the Forest.
Stage 5: Potential problem analysis
Regarding the solution of tourism products package, there are several potential problems which could go wrong, e.g. visitors don’t like package; unreasonable combination of products; high price of package; not enough relevant products; no transportation and staff support; people don’t know the package; poor products package service. Then preventive measures and contingency plans could be developed in advance to respond to those events occurring and impacting most. The result of ‘Holding the gains’ analysis is showed as below:
Risk of occurring
Low Moderate High
From the above table, it can be concluded that unreasonable design of products package is the highest risk in implementing the solution, which means to be prevented at all costs. So a comprehensive investigation and research on the features of customers’ behavior is in great need and this will help to make reasonable products package suitable for the visitors’ real needs.
Stage 6: Will the problem be solved?
To implement the solution of tourism products package, it might cover the following actions:
- A careful and general research on the customers’ tourism behavior through investigation or data of history visit;
- Design different types of tourism products packages, based on:
- Length of time: one-day visit, two-day visit, weekend visit, etc.
- Theme of visit: education, exploration, sports, heritage, leisure;
- Types of visitor: family, valentine, students, elders;
- Position of departure: Lichfield, Tamworth, Hinckley, Trent;
- Shuttle internal bus in the Forest and particular transportation tool for tourism products package;
- Advertisement of tourism products package, including introduction leaflet, website information;
- Promotion: discount to repeat visit and encourage visitors to try different products package;
In more detail, an example of tourism products package, which is a one-day leisure visit departing from Lichfiled, is designed as below:
- Convening at Lichfield tourist information centre and departing at 10:00AM by the National Forest Coach;
- Visiting Fradley junction at 11:00AM, the meeting of the Trent & Mersey and Coventry Canals and one of the most picturesque waterside scenes in the Midlands. Having lunch at the new canalside café;
- Leaving Fradley junction at 2:00PM by coach and arriving at Catton Hall at 2:30PM. Catton Hall is built in 1745 by Smith of Warwick and has a fascinating history and collection of pictures, furniture and memorabilia;
- Leaving Catton Hall at 5:00PM and returning Lichfield at 6:00PM.
To sum up, through the strategy of tourism products package, it will help the tourists easier to choose their favorite tourism attractions, make them more convenient to access the Forest, increase the tourism income by the selling of products package and reduce the environment damage depending on the public transportation, which leads to solve the problem in the end.
Conclusions
Regarding the problem of the National Forest about how to attract more new visitors and re-visitors without damaging the natural environment, the strategy of designing different types of tourism products package is recommended to be carried out in the Forest aimed to make the best use of the existing tourism products, which helps to provide visitors more simple choices and easier access and leads to the sustainable development of the Forest in the end. In order to implement the solution, the possible actions might include: a thorough research on the feature of visitors’ behavior, designing tourism products package, preparation for internal transportation and advertisement and promotion of the package.