Beginning an impactful career in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic

By: Samuel W. Hall, B.S. (2020), Sustainable Tourism, North Carolina State University

Me listening attentively to Farmer Dan from Ninja Cow Farm, and his Ninja Cow looking attentively to the camera

 In the months leading up to my People-First Tourism/Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau internship start date in May 2020, I had preconceived notions about the scope of my role in these organizations. However, from that point to the time I am writing this reflection, so much has changed in the world that it is not a surprise that my role as an intern also changed drastically. Coming into the position, I anticipated that my work with P1t would be fairly self-managed. I envisioned spending many of my days in the field meeting with microentrepreneurs over coffee or lunch, driving to different municipalities or community partners to discuss the development of P1t signature experiences, and coordinating commercial partnerships with existing partners in the formal sector of hospitality, food and tourism. As a result of the COVID-19 precautions, these coffee and lunch meetings quickly turned into Zoom meetings and email chains, which at first felt much less natural. With time, I have been able to develop my digital interpersonal skills so that conversations now seem to flow much more naturally, almost as if I was just out to lunch. The virtual position was not anticipated by me or either agency but everything adjusted very well to that format, despite many concerns about the logistics of it all. This work style was not what I initially expected or desired; however, in retrospect I feel that I was able to adapt to new and very adverse circumstances, and I think I was still effective in advancing the partnership of these two organizations and serving tourism microentrepreneurs. So, overall I feel that this internship turned out to be instrumental in helping me complete my undergraduate degree and enter a professional world that will also require adaptability and a commitment to impact in ever-changing and challenging conditions.

Me in one of my regular work meetings with Visit Raleigh

One key shift in my responsibilities that served as a learning challenge was the coordination of virtual experiences. P1t made a decision early in the pandemic to pivot to virtual experiences in order to continue to give microentrepreneurs opportunities to earn income.  In addition, partner destinations like Visit Raleigh wanted us to help keep them at top of mind once prospect visitors begin traveling again. As I started my internship in May, I began reaching out to microentrepreneurs and inquiring whether they would be interested in guiding virtual experiences. Some embraced the opportunity with excitement while others were more apprehensive. Microentrepreneurs' apprehensions were generally caused by concerns with being able to establish meaningful and authentic interactions with their participants using web-based video conferencing technology. This was a concern for us as well, so from the onset we were intentional in getting participants interacting with the guides via chat.  This medium was very new to our team and to the microentrepreneurs, but we were able to reflect on the online learning experiences we had during the last part of the Spring semester, and we gradually developed effective methods to engage with participants.

We broadcast the virtual tours through my phone with a Zoom app, so I had to explore potential video and audio quality problems caused by poor cellphone reception (especially in farms and natural areas). The high stakes of organizing these virtual events without technical problems were very clear to me. I knew that participants had paid real money for their tickets, the reputation of P1t and the competitiveness of Raleigh as a destination were at stake, and the ability of microentrepreneurs to continue to earn income during this difficult pandemic was on the line. Therefore, I always did trial runs before each new experience in coordination with the microentrepreneurs to figure out all technical requirements and also to provide the microentrepreneurs with an opportunity to overcome the natural camera-shyness that comes with this bizarre shift in delivery method.

Me, in the white Mr. Wolf hat, getting down and dirty sorting ugly produce for Farmer Dan's livestock.  Can virtual tours be as meaningful as hands-on experiences like this?  Can virtual tours overcome fears and help them people book real experiences like this?

 To be completely honest, I was very doubtful whether virtual experiences would resonate with the market, or whether they would be able to replicate the magic encounters that I had experienced myself in face to face P1t experiences. I also had no idea of how to market and promote these virtual experiences online in a way that would make them seem appealing to P1t’s target market segment - discerning travelers that seek genuine encounters with local people. I wanted to convey that these virtual experiences were still authentic and unique personal connections between people but, personally, I was doubtful that we would be able to accomplish this. In good P1t form, I was encouraged to trust the ingenuity, resilience and savvy of the microentrepreneurs and just move forward doing my best to support them with technical resources and marketing campaigns in close collaboration with Visit Raleigh. After this experience I am left with a renewed admiration for the microentrepreneurs with whom I partnered to offer virtual experiences. They were very genuine and interacted actively with participants even through the computer. In my degree I had learned to look deeper into the richness of knowledge and motivations of tourism microentrepreneurs; through this internship I internalized this knowledge through experience.

My internship was offered jointly by an online travel agency (P1t Inc.) and a county Tourism Development Authority (visitRaleigh) to make the ongoing partnership between these organizations more seamless and synergistic. Accordingly, my responsibilities included collaborating with Visit Raleigh’s marketing team to ensure that genuine local experiences were featured prominently in their marketing narrative.  This aspect of my internship also shifted dramatically as a result of the pandemic.  Like all other TDAs, Visit Raleigh was shaken by travel restrictions and by mandatory telework.  Their revenue stream from occupancy and prepared food taxes crashed due to the closing of hotels and restaurants, and there was no point in appealing for people to visit the destination because that was not a possibility for months to come.  Therefore, I had the opportunity to learn first-had about the creative fluidity and adaptability that is necessary for TDAs to continue to serve their destination, even under unprecedented circumstances. I was in a number of meetings where ideas for how to adapt to the difficult situation flowed and were built upon and developed into successful initiatives. I also gained a lot of guidance on the decorum and personable professionalism that is necessary to have fruitful relationships with many TDA partners in Wake County. The passion of the Visit Raleigh team to serve Wake County communities was palpable throughout my internship and inspired me to recognize the role tourism can have in enabling the wellbeing of destination communities. I greatly appreciate the opportunity that was given to me in this position and I have gained invaluable experience and knowledge that I believe will be useful for years to come. All-in-all this was an excellent internship that may have strayed far from what I initially expected but still served as personal development time for me and was rewarding to its fullest potential. I feel like I now have a much better understanding of how various actors in the destination stewardship system can either work against each other or synergize and come together to create a sustainable, equitable and profitable destination. 

My work station during this pandemic

My academic and professional interest in sustainable tourism dates back to my sophomore year. After a few semesters taking foundational courses, I enrolled in a course called Tourism, Poverty, and Health. At the end of the semester, we worked on a structured activity to identify career paths in which we will be happy, prosperous and impactful (i.e., our reason for being, or IKIGAI). These seeds helped me understand that there is much more to my life purpose than simply moving up the corporate ladder in the tourism industry…  I have come to embrace the opportunity (and responsibility) to use my skills and natural abilities to be an instrument for improvement in the world. At first, this realization manifested itself in my work with P1tLab where I conducted research about ways to foster the success of microentrepreneurs through improved networking and structural social capital (i.e., forming a fly fishing guide association in Western NC). That research paved my way to this internship position where I recruited and supported local microentrepreneurs and integrated them into the local formal tourism system. Now, as I reflect on the seemingly ever escalating social and environmental turmoil challenging our society, and consider my educational and professional experience, I am revisiting my IKIGAI to contemplate what’s next for me.  Considering the drastic downturn in tourism, I admit that I am looking ahead at the next months and year with some apprehension.  But I also have some clarity of my life purpose and a confidence that I will gradually develop a career and a life of consequence.