EJ's take-aways

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this course, yet I knew when it was publicized that I wanted to participate. At this point, hours after giving the presentation to G-Adventures, my key take-aways are different than what I would have predicted when the course began in mid-December.

Evaluation methods

The work of the course involved evaluating the customer experience using a multi-method approach. This was entirely new territory for me and coming on the heels of the required graduate statistics class, the critical nature of data, data collection and analysis was reinforced. Each method was unique in its performance and sourcing. The methods also can’t be combined but can be used together to support a claim. I found this all really interesting, yet also quite challenging to sort out. I also saw limitations in many places since our class participated as data subjects, yet aren’t we automatically a little biased?

This experience provided a great introduction to customer experience evaluation which I hope to be able to apply to future courses or professional opportunities. I do really enjoy this type of material, and believe strongly in the importance of customer service, experience, and evaluation, so it is intriguing to me in terms of putting my knowledge and energy to work in these areas. And to ice the cake, my background in events and NGO fundraising contributes to an understanding of and appreciation for customer service --- which is closely connected to customer experience analysis.

Program Connections

Taking this course immediately following the Tourism Policy & Planning course provided a great opportunity to utilize some of the learnings when thinking about G Adventures and the experiences on the tour. In this case I was able to consider less about the standard customer experience and more about the tour design, company/vendor selection and information communicated to the group. Ultimately, this course offered the first travel experience following my first semester in the MTA program, which meant that learnings from the Sustainable Destinations course and the Policy course were fresh in my mind. This really helped me make connections on the tour and about G Adventures and their mission. Ultimately it helped me question how much G Adventures travelers learn about the community impact from their tours.

Energy

The last take away/insight is the energized connection I felt in myself regarding the work of G-Adventures and Planaterra. Reading Looptail provided a great understanding of the company’s purpose and its founder. I had known a bit about G-Adventures prior to enrolling in this course, but not enough to even know how much of a leader in the industry they have been. Learning about the company and Planaterra has opened up a critical space in my head about how I could contribute to the industry following the MTA program, which is extremely energizing because while I’ve only started the program 5 months ago, I am eager to have some sort of cosmic universe force helping to plot my direction with course, internships and how I spend my time and energy. Everything I learned today is of interest and I am motivated to learn more and to seek opportunities to be involved.