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Javier Gonzalez, guest speaker at the 1st Euro-Asian Ski Resorts Conference

"Yesterday at the 1st Euro-Asian Ski Resorts Conference celebrated in Almaty Kazakhstan, Javier Gonzalez, COO of THR, talk about the guiding principles and differentiators to make a resort unique.

During his conference ‘The necessity of strategic planning for developing tourism resorts’ Gonzalez said: “The Dream Society presents great opportunities to improve targeting and avoid building new resorts for yesterday’s guests. The management of the guest’s experiences and emotional pyramid is another great opportunity to improve the business model and achieve firm differentiation.”

Here are some practical tips that Javier Gonzalez shared with the Almaty audience regarding on improving the profitability of a resort:

2. Target the emerging “Dream Society”.


3. Concentrate on a smaller group of markets (adventure, sports, internal peace, etc.) and become very competitive in them.


4. Generate “scarcity” through the “Guiding Principles” and “Differentiators”. Get it discovered and exploit it.


5. Create the strong “story” which will be communicated to the market. Do not forget that, in the end, a good story communicates values and makes people dream.


6. Develop a good “experiences mix” - unique, gratifying and memorable, and leverage them into high prices.


7. When designing the resort, use the best planning, landscaping, architecture and decoration resources. Be authentic.


8. Manage the “experiences” and the “feelings” really well. Find a good CEO and support him with a great team.


9. Manage the resort brand. Stress differentiation and values. Make it happen.


10. Never forget that what the guests are buying from is called happiness.


11. And always remember: people, people, people.