The Importance of Curiosity

With a newsletter titled "The Curiosity Odyssey: Unpacking Ideas for Travel Entrepreneurs," I should certainly address the importance of curiosity!??

Let's start with a definition so we are all on the same page: Curiosity is a strong desire to know or learn something. I've always been amazed at the differences in curiosity between people. I see something, and I want to know the "what" and "why" of it. And yet, many people don't have that same curiosity.?

So, why does it matter? Why do you need to be curious? And, more specifically, why does a travel entrepreneur need to be curious??

While not known to be an industry of tremendous change (unlike, say, tech or medicine), the travel industry does change. The developments in the past four years (since the pandemic) have been the most significant I've seen since joining 20+ years ago.?

If you aren't paying attention, you are at risk of getting left behind. Curiosity is the prompt to keep up and pay attention to what is going on. What's new? How does it benefit me? How can I use it to make my life easier??

For the travel industry, two examples come to mind immediately: Technology and processes.??

For technology, this industry isn't known for being on the cutting edge. It certainly was in the past. Travel was one of the first industries to be computerized. We have relied on that technology, GDS (Global Distribution System), for far too long. There was no appetite in the industry for improved technology. That's all changed now, but not all travel entrepreneurs have kept up.?

Why does it matter? Well, what if you are making your life too hard? There are new options out there that can increase your productivity and profitability. But if you aren't curious about what's going on in the industry, you won't know.??

You have certainly heard about how revolutionary AI is, but what does that really mean? What can you do with it? Here are just a few examples:??

• Use AI to help jumpstart writing, whether it is a difficult email or newsletter. I didn't use it for this article, but I have used it in the past to get beyond the blank page and get started!??
• Get specific ideas for what clients can do in a destination, based on their lifestyle and personal preferences.
• Use it to create documents for clients like packing guides, what to do in the lead-up to a trip, and more!??

Beyond the basics, there are more and more emerging tools that harness AI to help you manage your inbox (this is number one on my research list), create private resource guides that can only be seen by those who have been given access, and even provide basic training to new team members using documents you already created.?

Processes are another area where technology has allowed many tasks to be automated. When I was an advisor, you had to manually set up a calendar reminder (on a paper calendar!) to remind you to handle tasks. Using technology allows you to easily create an entire flow of information to stay in touch with clients between booking and travel, which is incredibly important to clients and often falls off the radar of many advisors.??

The key to knowing about and taking advantage of any of these things is that you have to know they are out there. This means getting curious when people talk about things. AI is the perfect example - how often do you hear people talk about it? I'd bet it is pretty often. The next time someone brings it up in conversation, ask them, "How do you use it?" You might find the greatest tip you've ever gotten in their answer. But you won't know if you don't ask.??