Oct 4, 2024
TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – October 4, 2024
TIABC
As evidenced in the US presidential debates, and closer to home as part of the BC election campaign, many politicians have an annoying habit of not answering a reporter’s question but instead attacking an opponent’s views or steering the conversation in a completely different direction. As a former broadcast journalist and media training instructor, this so-called ‘avoidance’ routine drives me bonkers.
When I used to conduct media training sessions for executives and directors of various businesses and organizations, I not only taught basic techniques on how to answer a journalist’s question during an interview, but I also illustrated ways the interviewee could segue to ensure their own important messages were delivered. Unfortunately, the art of a seamless transition has been lost in today’s media environment.
In my humble opinion, when being interviewed, it’s important to answer questions directly and succinctly to demonstrate subject matter expertise and leadership, as well as to build trust and credibility with the audience. Being evasive and changing the subject does the opposite. To be fair, answering difficult questions is easier said than done and requires practice. Admittedly, I have yet to perfect it in spite of how many interviews I’ve done over the years.
One of the simple practices all interviewees should do prior to being grilled is to anticipate the questions a reporter is likely to ask on a particular topic and write down answers or key points to rehearse and have on hand in response. Including stats, evidence or anecdotes to bolster one’s messaging is also helpful. For the record, I employ this exercise regularly before each conversation with a reporter.
As you know, as part of the 2024 BC election campaign, TIABC’s election toolkit (that we’ve shared with media) poses a number of questions on a variety of topics for candidates to address. At the same time, if we were asked similar questions by a reporter (in the context of the election campaign), it’s incumbent on us to be prepared with answers and relevant points on those same topics.
For example, on the goal to establish the visitor economy as a leading business sector, our response suggests that there is a tremendous upside to viewing tourism as a key economic pillar for BC given that export revenues generated by international visitation exceed many other natural resource sectors. Therefore, tourism deserves the same government attention paid to other sectors such as forestry, mining, oil & gas, and development.
On the issue of transportation and connectivity, our core message is that BC needs a multi-modal system that connects people, particularly in rural parts of the province, to larger communities, not only for tourism but for medical appointments or other priorities that necessitate travel.
On the priority of workforce, our message is that government should invest in skills development for the tourism and hospitality sector to help those employers (largely small operators) who don’t have the resources to further train their employees in areas such as technology.
Other sample messages we’ve developed include the need for:
- Additional government funding for Destination British Columbia to invest more in marketing and destination development to ensure BC remains competitive both domestically and internationally. We also need additional funding to further develop Indigenous tourism, which is a major demand generator.
- Financial and other support for tourism businesses who are forced to shut down during crises like wildfires or floods. A program akin to what was offered during the pandemic would be welcome to allow businesses to retain staff and bounce back after a major emergency.
- Efficient and effective tenure renewal processes that provide certainty for operators that rely on access to crown land to retain and build their businesses over the long-term.
As you can appreciate, there are many more points to convey to media and target audiences including political parties in the days ahead.
I watched part of the Harris-Trump presidential debate last month. I tuned out after 10 minutes because neither candidate appeared to be answering the moderators’ questions and instead bashed each other about what they did or didn’t do while in power. Unfortunately, party leaders in BC are reverting to the same tactic.
Regardless of which election campaign, for once I’d like to hear politicians give an honest and direct answer to a journalist’s question complemented by details on what their party intends to do to solve a problem or pursue an opportunity, rather than a response that largely focuses on the shortcomings of their opponent’s plan. I suggest ‘back to basics’ media training might be a good start.
Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC