Here are a few specific reasons why cultural intelligence is a key skill for tourism students to master.
Cultural Intelligence Helps Tourism College Grads Provide Perfect Customer Service
Having a high cultural intelligence helps tourism professionals understand and respect different cultures and their values. For example, it can help you understand the importance of halal food for Muslim guests, or know that it’s common for people from Vietnam and other Asian countries to prefer to avoid eye contact.
These might seem like small details, but trained professionals know that they can go a long way to helping customers feel welcomed, respected, and relaxed as they enjoy their dream vacation. That’s why Eton College’s training helps you enhance your awareness of different cultures. By the time you finish tourism college, you’ll be ready to welcome guests from all over the world.
Cultural Intelligence Can Give You Next-Level Tourism Marketing Skills
Good marketing depends on knowing your audience, and great CQ is an important part of that. Why? Because people from different places often have different reasons for going to a destination. For example, Canadians might visit Prince Edward Island for the scenery or to eat delicious seafood. PEI’s thousands of Japanese tourists? A lot of them are psyched to visit the Anne of Green Gables house. By designing your marketing efforts with your audience’s culture in mind, you’ll be able to craft the perfect marketing plans throughout your career.
The destination marketing training you will take as you complete your travel and tourism diploma is taught by experienced experts. Consider asking them how to consider culture when marketing. The answers might help you improve your CQ—and become an amazing tourism marketer!
Tourism College Grads Can Use CQ to Improve Professional Relationships
A great thing about travel and tourism training is that it prepares you for careers working all over the world on cruise ships, for airlines, as a tour guide, and more. Throughout your career you’ll meet many different people—both customers and coworkers alike.
Good CQ can help you understand and relate to your coworkers. For example, while you might think it’s important to be exactly on time, it’s considered acceptable in some cultures to show up to a meeting 10 minutes late. Where you might think that politely but directly criticizing a co-worker is acceptable, this is considered quite rude in some cultures, and your points will not be well received. Good CQ is a great tool to help you appreciate these differences and others like them and make strong, lasting relationships during your career.
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