Today I had the privilege of judging the B.C. private college case competition for the tourism and hospitality students at Eton College, Vancouver Premier College, and the Canadian Tourism College. The tourism students had to prepare a presentation related to the disclosure of the ‘true cost’ of an airline ticket in advertising. The bottom line, airlines benefit by only advertising the flight cost, then adding the taxes and service fees once you are in the purchase process, the customer of course would like to know the actual cost. The price advertised of course impacts competitive positioning and impacts sales — what what is the solution? That was a tough one and they did an admirable job.
It got me thinking about tourism businesses at large, the HST debate in Ontario and BC and the other industries that ‘add on’ to the advertised price such as cruise lines. What decisions are driving the prices to consumers you post in the market place? Can you compete on low price and still have perceived value?
No answers today folks, just some excellent student presentations, thought provoking questions and something we have to remember with our market positioning and balancing competitive position/survival vs. consumer perception/survival!
