TI CEO Podcast · episode 16
Why travelling broadens my horizon
1-minute summary
In this episode of his CEO diary, Christoph Standl talks about why travelling broadens his horizon. This week he was on business on Usedom on the Baltic Sea – around a thousand kilometres from Tyrol. On the drive he thought about how much he enjoys travelling and how much it has shaped his professional path. He loves his home Tyrol, the mountains and the quiet of the alpine hut, yet he is always drawn out again – to new places and above all to the people who live and work there. The beauty of working at Tourismus Interaktiv is that its customers work where others go on holiday: tourism regions, cities, municipalities, hotels, attractions. The landscapes differ, many challenges are surprisingly similar: how do we inform guests better, how do we create a good experience, where does digitalisation help – and how does tourism stay human? Much as he values cloud, automation and AI, sometimes you simply have to go there, listen and see how something is actually used – one hour on site often teaches more than ten online meetings. And as a guest in hotels, restaurants and cities he experiences the industry from the other side and asks himself what he would want. Travelling changes your perspective and at the same time teaches you to appreciate home anew. His question: when were you last in a place that gave you a new perspective? Big changes often begin with small daily steps.
Description
Last week I was on business on Usedom on the Baltic Sea – around 1,000 kilometres from my home Tyrol. On the long drive I thought again about how much travelling shapes my personal and entrepreneurial path. I love Tyrol, the mountains and the peace of the alpine hut. At the same time I love being on the road, getting to know new places and above all talking with the people who live and work there. That is also one of the reasons why working in tourism still gives me so much joy after twelve years. At Tourismus Interaktiv we work with tourism regions, cities and municipalities, hotels, attractions and other tourism businesses. And I keep noticing: The landscapes and people differ – many challenges are surprisingly similar. How do we inform guests better? How do we create a good experience? Where does digitalisation help us? And how do we make sure at the same time that tourism stays human? Much as I value digital technologies, cloud, automation and AI, I therefore also believe: Sometimes you simply have to go there. To the customer. To the place. To the people. Because travelling changes your perspective. And at the same time I am a guest again and again myself – privately or on business. That lets me regularly view our industry from a completely different perspective: What would I actually want as a guest myself? Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful aspects of travelling: you discover new things, broaden your horizon and sometimes learn to appreciate your own home anew. My question to you: When were you last in a place that gave you a new perspective? Big changes often begin with small daily steps.