Considerations for Winter Term

The fall term is coming to a close and I’m almost glad. I have an exam and a final assignment to complete then I’m scot free for the rest of 2014. Admittedly, taking two classes in one semester has been a little stressful. So much so, I’ve decided not to sign up for any classes. Some people didn’t believe me when I told them this. Part of that decision is due to two considerations.

George Brown does not have the teachers available for the next two classes I wanted to take which were, Tour Research as well as Tour Delivery and Guest Relations. In previous times, I’ve signed up for classes at George Brown in December, because that’s when registration opened up. A class mate had told me however, she was waiting for TWO YEARS for these exact same classes to open up. When I emailed George Brown, they said….

“Hello Sarah,

We are limited by instructor availability, space limitations, and demand for other courses so we are not able to offer every course every semester. The majority of the courses in the certificate are offered very often. The four courses that may slow you down are HOST 9067 Tour Dimensions, HOST 9077 Tour Research, HOST 9068 Tour Communication, and HOST 9069 Tour Delivery and Guest Relations. I can’t offer you an exact schedule of when they will be offered since we don’t know yet, but I can say we are planning on offering the courses in the future and assure you that students have a maximum of three years to complete their certificate requirements so you would not lose credit for completed courses if you are delayed by the course schedule.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

XX”

Thank goodness, I’m not taking the Tour Operator Certificate. My classmate may have to wait yet another year to take these classes as well. Good thing, she’s not taking the certificate either.

Jumping quickly online again, I see registration still has not opened up not even for Sustainable Tourism. There is an interesting looking class that just got posted called Managing Diverse Leisure Services. How can I be assured there will be teachers for this one? Business however, seems alive and well. Starting a Small Business has registration for January and May scheduled. Hmmmm. Maybe I’ll take that. Maybe my friend’s WERE right. I just can’t seem to stay away from taking classes.

The other consideration before I make a solid decision is the unmistakable fact that I need a license. Not a driver’s license, but a Tour Operator’s license. I’ve downloaded a manual from TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) in readiness to hit the book at it were, after Christmas. When I’m ready to take the exam, I’ll have to go to a scheduled, designated area within the city to write the exam. This does not assure me the license though. When I pass, I’ll have to apply for it. So that’s what I was going to do with my winter term. I’ve never taken a course quite like this, so I’m not sure what to expect.

OK. Will I be frazzled beyond recognition if I take, Starting a Small Business AND study the TICO manual? If the fall term went by like lightning, I can only imagine how soon summer will be here. It may happen that marrying the two might be a match in heaven as it was with taking Trends and Issues in Tourism and Digital Marketing at the same time. An idea through one class was an inspiration for another idea in the other. Honestly though, without Trends and Issues, I would not have known that I’d need a Tour Operator license.

Tailored to Suit

I don’t know how many times I’ve read and re-read each course description for Tour Operator Management. There are some courses I feel are not necessary only because I have the experience from doing previous tours. After re-reading them once again, I asked myself, why not tailor your own unofficial certificate? What do I need to know? I need to know the where tourism is and where it’s going, I need to know the business aspect of things, most importantly making a business and marketing plan.  I NEED to know First Aid. As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to know more about Cape Breton thus, take the full Heritage Study Certificate at Cape Breton University.

So here is what I’ve come up with:

Tour Research – research preparations for  tours ranging from 1 hour to many days. When I saw another Newfoundland tour and they had their costs cheaper than mine, I thought perhaps it may be good to learn some tricks of the trade.

Trends and Issues in Tourism – recognizing travel habits, the economics and demographics of an area, learning about the components and future of tourism. CBU also has classes with regards to tourism but centralized to Cape Breton itself.

Developing a Business Plan – Know the points of a good business plan, how to develop your mission statement, how to market your business, creating cash flow statements and foreseeing projections.

Starting a Small Business – Familiarizing yourself with legal forms (like waivers, driving 10 people at once; and – oh! Non-refundable deposits!), marketing and purchasing. Don’t know what I’d have to purchase though. Extra wet bags to protect camera’s maybe. I’m not getting into ordering a gazillion types of batteries for different cameras.

Entrepreneurship – Knowing what entrepreneurial business is and developing a model bases off of current examples. Putting together a business plan (sounds redundant I know. But I can’t go so far as to tailor make a class.), developing a funding strategy early, and learn how to pitch your idea to investors. The pitching thing may come in handy when I go to other local business and ask them to support my business as well. For example; a whale tour – I bring 10 photographers, they give a discount. Business will be reoccurring.

Marketing Strategy – Creating a brand by studying from example, how to get the most out of your brand, fusing marketing and business strategies, developing a marketing plan that works. LOL When I think about marketing, I think about Billboard Alley stretching from the Seal Island Bridge to Bras D’ Or. Any business who is anyone has a billboard along that highway. Perhaps you’ve seen them.

Emergency First Aid – No explanation necessary for this one. Frankly, I’m ashamed I don’t have it already.

My question is, is this acceptable? It’s not a trend certainly,  to mix and match classes . Has it been done before? What does it look like on a resume?