E-Tourism Management for travel agencies and tour operators in Iraq
Further training to support local and international tourism with guests from Europe
Deutsche Management Akademie Niedersachsen (DMAN) qualifies specialists and managers for the success on international markets. DMAN offers practice-oriented knowledge transfer and exchange of experiences, and supports companies in their strategic development and helps them tap new business potentials at home and abroad. Main target groups are stakeholders and experts from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the MENA region.
Founded in 1989 by the Federal State of Lower Saxony and industry shareholders as a non-profit limited liability company, DMAN has its headquarters in Celle castle. The academy offers its qualification measures as customer-specific programmes for a defined group of participants, the content, format and agenda of which are closely coordinated with the client. Available are also open seminars on general management topics, in which anyone interested can participate.
Almost 30,000 people have taken advantage of the opportunity to develop their expertise and leadership skills through DMAN programmes, and around 1,000 more are added each year. One third of them participate in the Manager Training Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, for the implementation of which DMAN is an approved training centre of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Training on e-tourism management for employees of travel agencies and tour operators in Iraq
Virtual event due to pandemic
On behalf of the German Liaison Office for Industry and Commerce in Iraq (AHK Iraq), Mr. Klaus-Peter Wagenführ, CEO and owner of present Beratung und Training GbR Hamburg was the trainer and DMAN programme manager Mr. Yousef Nahhas developed a training measure for employees of travel agencies and tour operators in Iraq. The training on e-tourism management was originally supposed to take place on site. Due to the pandamic, though, DMAN remodelled the layout as a 5-day virtual event which took place in November 2020. AHK Iraq had recruited 15 participants from their network of local corporations.
The aim of of the initial phase of this virtual training was to get to know and remember the main features of the tourism industry. Furthermore, the participants were trained to understand the importance of understanding customer needs for the success of the tourism business and to find out which trends will influence the future of the business.
The training also took a look at factors that can be used to develop sustainable tourism. Customer segmentation plays an important role in helping potential customers to develop the offer that suits them best. Participants could also look at how they can differentiate themselves from the competition in order to position their businesses successfully in the market. They were also trained to consider methods of triggering the desire of potential customers for their offers.
Various analysis and strategy methods
The participants also underwent training to understand the cycle one has to go through in order to be successful in the market. Various analysis and strategy methods were introduced to develop a long-term plan from which the marketing and sales activities are derived.
Participants also learned about the sales process, as well as various sales methods, including story telling, which can be used to convince undecided customers. The importance of building a long-term customer relationship was underlined.
Eventually the training focused on the marketing mix with a short excursion into the world of brands. Participants learned how to successfully develop a product in e-tourism and set the best price.
AHK Iraq reported that the participants were very satisfied with the contents of the training. It was suggested to complement the input with a training on site and a field trip to Germany as soon as the pandemic situation allows. The training is presently being marketed also in Central Asia, Africa and the MENA region.
