The use of map is not just for locating where you are or navigating which way you should go, but also for many purposes, especially in tourism. Through the tourism planning tools class, I am interested in two special uses of map which are the customer journey map by Mind Tools (n.d.) and the Participatory Approach in Geographic Information Tourism (PAGIS) by Hasse and Milne (2006). Firstly, the customer journey map is a useful tool for businesses to evaluate themselves by understanding how the customers think, feel and experience at each point of interaction with the businesses. Basically, to create this map, the business needs to identify the touch points with their customers and analyze what customers are experiencing and feeling in each interacting point. Based on the analyzing results, the business is able to see a bigger picture through the customers’ views and clarify which problems they need to solve or what they can do to enhance customer experiences. Moreover, National Geographic is running a map guide project based on geotourism and PAGIS. This project aims to collect local knowledge to create map inventories, which focuses on ecotourism and sustainable destinations. By involving the local community in the mapping process, the project brings great benefits not only to tourists and businesses, but also to the communities as it allows the local to participate actively to the tourism development. Furthermore, partnering with National Geographic is a great marketing opportunity for DMOs in promoting the destinations with a mass audience who care about nature and travel responsibly. These ideas gave me a broader perspective of the role of maps in tourism planning and its benefits to the guests and the hosts, as well as other tourism sectors.
References
Hasse, J. C. and Milne, S. (2006, September 2). Participatory approaches and geographical information system (PAGIS) in tourism planning. Tourism Geography 7(3), 272-289. Retrieved from https://moodle.tru.ca/pluginfile.php/1551576/mod_resource/content/1/Resources%20%20Participatory%20Approaches%20and%20Geographic%20Information%20Systems%20%28PAGIS%29%20in%20Tourism%20Planning.pdf
Mind Tools (n.d.). Customer journey mapping. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_85.htm
