Summary: Kootenay Raft Co.

The tourism sector makes an important contribution to Canada's economy in every province of the country. In 2015 the growth in tourism sector revived many businesses in the industry because of an attractive exchange rate for foreign travelers. For the purpose of this informational interview I approached Mr. Craig Campbell the owner and operator of Kootenay Raft Co. to discuss his sales experiences and challenges that his company is facing today. I have selected a number of questions that will allow to get a better understanding of how tourism industry has evolved in Canada over the years.
Company overview.
Kootenay Raft Co. is an adventure activity selling company that was established in 1998 by Mr. Campbell. Specifically, the company sells
Probably for 3,5 years I would work elsewhere. In the off season I would leave and work on the pile lines up north. I put the money I got into my business. After year five I started to see the return on my investments. Now between six to ten people are working for me depending on the summer. The season starts in May and runs until October 1st.
• What is the most profitable activity that you sell?
White water rafting has been the most profitable because we put more people into a boat, while horseback riding and kayaking for instance is one to one ratio. With rafting we put 8-10 people in a raft so our ratios increase quite a bit.
• What do you find exciting (or not) about sales? Why?
I think the fun part about sales is finding out what the needs and motivations are of the consumer. More precisely consumer behavior, why are they purchasing my products. I always try to match my product to their needs. For some people the prime motivation is a safety for their family and kids. For other people it might be an excitement and adrenalin or getting away from their everyday life for some time.
• Do you think that the consumer behavior has changed over the
No, maybe I am just too Canadian and too much of a nice guy. Moreover, algorithms of Trip Advisor set up to detect fraud. I think we have a high standard of product delivery, so we do not have to do things like this.
However, I like to encourage people to write about their experiences, especially when I know that they had a great trip.
• How do you deal with bad reviews?
Well, we following the best practice, which is to take ownership and show corrective action on a bad review. Research has shown that people don’t expect you to be perfect and they have suspicions if you have a 100% grade. They might think that you are planting reviews. Showing that you acknowledged the problem shows that you are human and consumer confidence increase as a result.
• What kinds of problems, challenges and successes have you encountered?
We had a ton of challenges over the years: low water, bad weather, forest fires, economy condition. In sales I would say we had to adjust our internal policies to the external environment. Say, if it is a bad firefighting season we would need to adjust our products, for instance, go to different rivers and areas.
• What’s your least favorite part of the sales