Contribution to the new Swiss tourism policy

1. Creative teams for a performing tourism industry
Contribution to the new Swiss tourism policy ▪ Fabien Balli ▪ April 2010
Creator of dreams and human adventures, the Swiss ronment – and the team members – who have the
tourism benefits from exceptional attractions : passion for the job and are responsible of the strate-
unique landscapes, a tradition of hospitality, human- gic elements of the Activity.
ist values and a political system based on collegiality.
Thus solicited and valued, the employees will share
However, recent decades have shown the inability of their resources and knowledge of the field to the
this industry to profit from an expanding market : benefit of the organisation. Being familiar with the
ranked 5th in 1950, Switzerland is now classified 27th vision of the firm, the constraints related to the envi-
with regards to the receiving number of tourists. ronment and the objectives to be carried out – ide-
ally within their ability –, they would be able to un-
Confronted with consolidation of international offers,
derstand and to implement the guidelines designed
an agitated economic climate and a proliferation of
by the management.
information sources, the tourism industry has to
adopt a new strategy. Performance through Emerging Change©
To this end, on March 2010, the Federal Council To guarantee a performing and constructive relation-
raised the question How can the Swiss tourism bet- ships between peers, the employees will, together,
ter exploit its potential and generate a growth that develop a Cooperation Contract : working rules, ex-
would create employment, value and revenue ? pectations from colleagues, etc. This contract allows
them to self regulate and unanimously decide on
The core of tourism : the People information and proposals to be raised with the
At the hearth of every service, it is the men and leader.
women, who envisage, develop and sell an event, a
trip or a stay. Planified
Therefore, the potential of tourism lies, neither in the Survival of system
developing of new infrastructures, nor in the merging and performance
of destinations under one common brand name. It Goals, decisions
does not even lie in the implementation of quality
standards, but rather, it lies in the very heart of the
system : in every human being. Proposals
To unleash this potential, however, a change of con- Action in consensus
Love of the work
sciousness is crucial. In other words, being prepared
to free oneself from the restrictive beliefs in order to Emergent
discover and integrate new possibilities of human
interaction. Conception : a question of diversity
Partners united by one vision Sustained by win / win relationships, creation can be
developed by the integration of people with a rich life
First, the conception of hierarchical relations needs
experience – senior citizens, self-educated, gifted,
to evolve from a dependence model, dated from
deaf people, transgender, etc. who would bring their
post-war period, to a model of autonomy.
sensitiveness and their experience to the team – as
Former conception Today well as techniques which allows for creativity.
Platform for practice : your engagement
There questions are aimed to food for thought.
‣ Do members of your team have a common defini-
tion of the aim of the organisation ?
‣ What is your personal contribution to the added
The manager dictates to The leader exposes the
the employee what they employee's potential, value of your business ?
have to do and how they in doing so he recognises ‣ How is the sharing of best practices and know
have to do it. that of his own. how cultivated between the teams ?
‣ State three points from this reading and how you
Based on respect, reciprocity and trust, this model intend to put them in practice.
allows the organisation to develop a true dialogue
between the leader – responsible for the survival of Extracts from the diploma thesis of the same name.
the system and of the strategic elements of the Envi- More information onFabien Balli – Equipes créatrices 6
: www.fabienballi.net/tourisme