What do you do if you're a travel and tourism professional looking to foster a more creative mindset?

A fundamental pillar of fostering creativity is being open to new experiences, ideas, and curiosity. I think a good first step is to allow yourself to go for things you've typically been saying no to. The second is to be inquisitive. Ask yourself why, and go after the answer! You'll be surprised how many ideas you can come up with when you're experiencing new things while looking for answers.

On a trip to South Korea, I decided to research some places that are not as well known to tourists. I found out about Ganghwa Island near Seoul. I asked my friend about the place and he had never been. Together we researched and found UNESCO world heritage sites, Dolmens, and a different place to see North Korea, outside the traditional DMZ tours. Through it, I learned about my friend's grandfather who had to leave North Korea during the war. His grandfather never had a chance to go back. But that story reminded me of the pain of the Korean people. Curiosity not only led me to a place I now actively promote, but gave me a chance to learn more about my friend and his family.

Get to know what's happening in your community. I found a nice Peruvian restaurant that I passed by so many times. I learned about ceviche and got a taste. Talking with some of the other guests, we got inspired to learn more about Peru. Look for things hosted locally that present culture, art, etc. You'll be surprised what you can find.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, right? But I find that if I'm doing things that are related to the field I want to be more creative in, my inspiration is more focused on that. I'm going over a period where I need to come up with new products to operate in the summer here in Niseko. One thing that's helping me a lot to come up with new ideas is to go to some of the places we want to operate or do some activities we would like to offer. Yes, sure, makes sense that you're trying things while you're doing product development. But this goes beyond that. By doing these things, I'm setting the environment for my mind to explore more options and ideas on its own once I leave the place, hence boosting my creativity.

One source of inspiration is speaking with locals who aren't involved in tourism. Ask for their perspective on what to offer visitors or where to take them. Even if their suggestions aren't perfect, their unique viewpoint can spark a new idea.

I think this is an often overlooked and undervalued point. Collaborating with other people/brands/companies helps you gain some additional angles and perspectives outside yours. If you take advantage of this, you can understand why these other people think like that, helping you understand their vision better. If you understand their vision, you can open yourself up to think more like them and see things with a wider perspective, enhancing your ideas and creativity. I like to have catch-ups, or brainstorming meetings with our service providers and agents, and have some great results from them. I can understand them better, try to think like them, and have new ideas come up from that!

I don't take enough time to do this. I think it is important to reflect on what's happened. There is always room to improve, but also celebrate wherever you can. These two things help when things are not going the way I thought things were supposed to go.

Sharing my personal perspectives in online travel groups on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook has been incredibly valuable. Posing engaging questions that spark debate and diverse opinions is a fantastic way to uncover a range of insights from real people.

I would like to grow in my expertise in the health and wellness sector. I started doing Zumba just so I could engage in a community of people interested in health and wellness. I've also considered joining pickleball at my local park. I went to a ceviche making demonstration and got inspired to investigate Peru as a possible food destination and work with the local restaurant I went to to give me ideas.

Try, to experiment as much as you can. If you have an idea you think it might work, go for it. Set up a "test tour". Try it yourself, then with friends and family if possible. Get feedback, and iterate. Sometimes you'll be spot on and have a great product from the first try. Sometimes you'll be waaaaaaay off from what people want, and you call it off. Sometimes you have something that's good, and you can improve it. But you'll never know unless you try. Test your ideas, and see how your creativity blossoms!

The best way to do that is by joining webinars hosted by any of your preferred suppliers. For example, I became interested in river cruises because of AMA Waterways Webinar Wednesdays. I've learned about their tours and packages and have been impressed. I didn't know much about them. But what they offer fits my style of travel and personality and that's why I want to offer that.

One source of information I use for tourism industry trends and the location I offer my tours is “Google Alerts”. To get most out of it, be as specific as possible on the terms you want the recent updates (alerts) you want Google to alert you.