Exporting Cyprus One Triathlete at a Time - Report Example

Exporting Cyprus One Triathlete at a Time The freezing-cold water and weather of Cork made him grin and shiver again with the thought of swimming. The ever applauded and famous athlete failed to compete against the cold weather and could not continue swimming for more than 5 minutes. “I can’t win it this time and I better accept it before losing in reality and be hurt”, he thought and stepped ahead to the way back home. The hopes to practice and being ready for the competition seemed far-reaching. The athletes in Cork were getting hopeless and stood at the verge of quitting their career in sports. The hopelessness of even the most competent athletes was worrying for every concerned person in Cork. They needed a way out to get the athletes back on track and have their morale high toward the winning streak they always held. The losing hopes and worsening situation for athletes in Cork, definitely called for an action to remove the hurdles. Every loss brings in fortunes for someone in the world. The main idea was to find out who can earn that fortune from this loss. A Careful analysis of the situation revealed that the extreme weather conditions call for either an artificial setting to get athletes back on the track of practicing and competing, or transferring athletes to a new place where the weather conditions are better. We analyzed the two options and found out the potential issues with the former being too expensive, leading to health issues due to different environment inside and outside the artificial setting and a discomfort of athletes with the artificial environment. Hence, Cyprus was the option that could be feasible for athletes, their performance and our cause. Being a place with overwhelming natural beauty and an attractive venture for tourists, Cyprus seemed to be an opportunity for athletes to practice and enjoy at the same time. The calm environment, soothing atmosphere and cultural festivals at Cyprus could bring their hopes and enthusiasm back. The solution for triathletes included the provision of a pre-contest training environment that is not affected by extreme weather conditions during the practice period. The environment would be safe, health-friendly and pleasant enough to motivate them on training hard. For this purpose, we required 90800 Euros to successfully implement the proposed solution and meet the needs of dispirited athletes. The grant would be used to: establish a practice zone for the athletes maintain the area and environment surrounding it remunerate the staff adequately for maintenance and operations in the practice zone Against the support we pay in the provision of access to the environment we build as well as a 40 per cent profit split in the company we establish. The venture would, additionally, create employment for the local residents as there will be a need to keep it operational. Background – Abstract The primary objective is to utilize the potentials of Cyprus that are underestimated or have been underutilized for being a slow economy. Another objective is to present Cyprus as an exclusive opportunity for triAthlone participants to excel their skills and demonstrate remarkable improvement by practicing with and against triathlons from around the globe. For the purpose of checking feasibility of this project, TWOS analysis was performed and the results were evaluated to ensure a focus on Cypriot factors that might attract tourists and the targeted triAthlone participants. The major deliverables, at this stage, included a thorough understanding with identified factors that were to be focused on. The initial state of Cyprus was matched against the potential factors that our target market demands in any tourism or athletic facility would entail for them. Further, the resultant of analyzing background leads to a knowledge about the talent and potentials needed to carry out the project and make it successful. Background Our Team: Like any other project, this venture required diverse skills and technical knowledge which a single person could not possess. So, a team of four members was formed having the following skill sets and talents: Nikolas Anastasiou: The most talented person having specialty in developing software. Over years, he has developed strong data mining and metrics measurement techniques. Myrto Lambrou: Myrto is a professional architect having keen inetrest and in-depth knowledge about the culture and norms of Cyprus. She is creative and can help to a great extent in communicating the matters associated with and pertaining to the project in a language and form that Cypriot people are most sensitive to. She has deeper knowledge of the Cyprus due to her work experience in a local website which writes about the Cyprus everyday life and can play very important role in the project. Loizos Loizou: He is an honest, highly dependable and professionally competent candidate working as a software consultant. His experience and skills are enhanced by an additional qualification in Project Management and his participation is a positive contribution to break the time, cost and performance constraints that prevail in project management context. George Loizides: He is a highly sociable and intellectual person having experience in entrepreneurship as it works in the Cypriot market. He has firsthand knowledge about Cypriot market and the taste of its local population. Vision and Mission of the Team: Our vision is to facilitate tourism around the globe by identifying and developing new tourism ventures utilizing our vigorous and unbiased scientific analyses to enlighten countries about the potential tourism spots. Our mission is to brand Cyprus as a top-notch triathlon for athletic excellence attracting participants globally. TOWS analysis: The strengths of the market involve the existence of seaside and well maintained beaches that remain the centre of attention for tourists. The diversity in culture and riches of the Cypriot land accompanied by a moderate climatic condition throughout the year is seen as strength of Cyprus for international investors. Since Cyprus is already a tourism country, the people are highly hospitable and friendly. The transportation facilities are sufficient and well-managed. The leisure activities are arranged with high-end nightlife arrangements that attract tourists. The opportunities involve the possibility of becoming an international hub due to its prime geographical location. The tourism market is developing and can have lucrative investment opportunities. The Mediterranean economies are continuously collaborating their efforts to progress and grow making trade, travel and exchange of resources more beneficial than ever. The weaknesses involve the high cost of products and services further deteriorated by the financial distress that has taken many economies under its spell. Further, due to the crisis, the overall economic condition does not allow the country to invest in the tourism sector leading to a loss of resources and opportunities. The threats involve instability in political environment, loss of natural reservoirs and resistance by the local population toward the changes and changing circumstances. The SO quadrant provides developmental opportunities towards becoming an international hub for the tourists and the athletes. There is an opportunity to create new demand for triathletes’ events that may encourage participation from different countries improving the economical conditions as well as the provision of mega-event title to such an initiative. The WO strategies provide that there is a room for improvement in the quality of tourism and hospitality industries. The market can be improved by collaborating efforts of the public and private sectors to improve services. The collaboration would further call for efficient utilization of resources that are being wasted so far. The ST quadrant suggests a rather stable Cyprus in terms of political environment by taking initiatives that neighboring countries are following and further economic stability being a product of increased hospitality and tourism investment. The WT strategies would involve the use of highly competitive market as an opportunity to establish better cost-focused businesses leading to reduced prices for the tourists. The underutilization of resources and degradation thereof, calls for better and efficient use of natural resources to reduce economic pressures. Defining Existing Market: As our main focus is on the athletes so the market is defined for them specially. Consumer/Tour Type Needs of the Consumers Our Offer Professional Cricket Teams High-tech cricket grounds Moderate climate Superior on-spot medical facilities Confidentiality Premium living conditions Perfect and stable weather Secured setting Properly maintained cricket grounds High-speed medical services Five-star hotels and restaurants Water sports High-quality sporting materials Security and Safety like guards and proper labeling of depth etc Maintenance of water and weather conditions Premium sporting materials Natural and soothing water and climatic conditions Safe and secure environment. Cleanliness of water Triathlon Athletes Appropriate tracks Pleasurable weather Clean and hygienic water Well-managed occasions/festivals Medical Facility Beautiful cycling routes Natural and soothing weather High-speed medical services Sufficient geographical distance between places Mega-Events Our offer does not limit to ideal weather conditions but rather the value is added by triathletes being provided with premium experiences of nightlife, cultural festivals, mega-event for athletes and diversified motivation from the population of Cyprus. We also offer them high class hospitality services and eye-catching tourism spots. Engagement Abstract: During our engagement with the process of recognizing triathlons as a tourism opportunity, our analysis also captured the structural factors surrounding this industry and the driving forces for its distinct characteristics. For the purpose of understanding, PESTEL framework is used to shed light on the external factors that support the economical boundaries and developmental pace of this industry. Competitive forces were also analyzed to study international competition for our project. Cyprus, in this regard, was weighed against Israel, Malta, Turkey and Spain to identify the unique propositions of Cyprus and an all encompassing Glocal idea was emerged. The entire team was collaborating efforts to achieve the goals with each member playing a part as per the skills and experience they possess. In the end, the analysis revealed results on the global market forces that filtered out the ideal market conditions and product offerings through the funnel. Assembling Global Market Knowledge: The tourism sector remains one of the fast-paced and competitive sectors in the global market. The GDP contribution of this industry further supports the claim with almost 9.5 per cent being attributed to tourism industry alone worldwide. The employment contribution is about 3 percent on a global scale and the growth rate of approximately 5 per cent is reported, annually. The Mediterranean countries remain vulnerable to political and economic uncertainties but still have greater growth and name in the tourism market. Compared to others, Cyprus has a small portion of about 0.2 per cent of the total tourism market. Sports tourism is the fastest growing sector with almost 14 per cent growth rate. Hence, the choice of triathlon sport is in line with this growth globally. Further, triathlon sports are among the highly applauded and valued sports with almost 4.4 million participants around the globe. Cyprus conducts international training and events for triathlons with local and international participation in financing and management. Hence, Cyprus has a great opportunity to avail from such events in athletic excellence and tourism development arena (Travel, 2015; Lages, 2015). Assembling Global External knowledge: The approach used for this sector is PESTEL approach. Political: Political interference in the Cyprus include rising fame, and greater reliance on travelling ways and alternatives’ availability. Economic: Economical factors include expensiveness of sporting facilities, higher bargain of athletic talent and affordability for middle-income group. Socio-Cultural: The factors under this head in Cyprus are socio-economic association of athletes with higher level groups and high expectations for triathletes in academic field. In addition, the increasing fame of triathlon falls in this category. Technological: The techniques that can be used in athletic activities like running/swimming are unmatchable anywhere except for Cyprus. Promotion and communications can be made on the social networking websites, television and online virtual communities. Environmental: The factors under this heading are mostly favorable for Cyprus due to availability of natural areas for sports, natural cycling areas and the encouraging fact of environmentally safe sports. Legal: There are apparently no legal objections in Cyprus against the events and federations that manage events for triatheltes are legally accepted and registered. Assembling Industry Knowledge: Threat of New Entrants: New entrants can come to this market easily as most of the assets that will generate revenue are the natural one. But the reason that can restrict others from entry is that every one cannot hire high professionals like us therefore they cannot enjoy the economies of scale and will eventually lead to their closure. Threat of Substitutes: This threat is very low in this market, due to non-availability of any other rival party. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Bargaining power of buyers can be high in a sense that they are going to a new place but later on it can be reduced by building trust. Bargaining Power of Supplier: Main supplier in this case are the authorities and we have already made contracts with them they are willing of increasing tourism so their bargaining power is also very low. Intensity of Rivalry: As there is no real rival party in Cyprus that is why there is no intensity in this sector. Assembling Global Added Value: The value that adds to our market from other global options are the availability of mild weather, tracks and beaches, best accommodations, organized events, easy access, diverse culture, magnificent night life and many more things. Glocal Code: Our target includes triathletes from all over the world. We will introduce Cyprus to them as an ideal place where they can come with their families to travel and tour and also get training to compete and win. They will also get the opportunity to enjoy the mild weather, diversified culture, magnificent night life and a grand experience with hospitality for them and their families in Cyprus. The Glocal code surpasses local boundaries and targets triathletes from all over the world with the global message of coach, Compete and Win, Cyprus. Assembling Global team Knowledge: Our global team is very competent and after putting a lot of efforts and research, had come to the point of deciding the prospective partners for this project. All of them are very experienced and put extra efforts towards the achievement of their objective. It can be said that they form the perfect team for this venture with a perfect mix of skills and professions. They have proposed the following as the prospective partners: Panayiotis Ntais: Partnering with the treasurer of a well-known Triathlon Club can be of unimaginable benefit. Cyprus Triathlon Federation: This partnership will benefit us in staying updated about news and events and in attaining a credible position in the market. Triathlon Clubs: Partnership with them will benefit us in provision of suitable training areas for our worldwide triathletes that would come to Cyprus for training. Professional bodies relating to travel and sport: This partnership will add credibility to our project. Brainstorming on Filters: After research and other hard work we draw conclusion from their results through brainstorming in the form of setting filters for the Glocal and Local funnel that would give birth to decision regarding definition of ideal market for our product (Lages, 2015) (Anon., 2015) (Adviser, 2015). GloCal Funnel Abstract: The GloCal funnel method aids in the process of selection of a country that is ideal for the product we offer. The entire world consisting of 196 countries are filtered to identify the best possible option for our offering, which happens to be Cyprus in our case. A further test was conducted i.e. PESTE and external force analysis to ensure the suitability of our choice of country. A summary of the country is then presented after taking into consideration of Porter’s five forces framework. And finally, elevator pitch is defined to reassure that the selected market is the best fit for our offer i.e. the triathlon activities. PESTEL Approach Political: Political factors in Cyprus for triathletes are highly favorable. Economic: Economical factors include expensiveness of sporting facilities, higher bargain of athletic talent and affordability for middle-income group. Socio-Cultural: The factors under this head in Cyprus are socio-economic association of athletes with higher level groups and high expectations for triathletes in academic field. In addition, the increasing fame of triathlon falls in this category. Technological: Technologically advanced marketing and promotional techniques and tools are available like social networking, websites and television to support claims in favor of Cyprus. Environmental: The factors under this heading are mostly favorable for Cyprus. Legal: There are apparently no legal objections in Cyprus against the events and federations that manage events for triatheltes are legally accepted and registered. (Lages, 2015) (Dubin, 2005) (Planet, 2015). Porter’s Five Forces: All the five forces are in medium condition except for bargaining power of supplier which is low and threat of substitutes which is high due to availability if other forms of tourisms in Cyprus. Local Funnel Abstract: After putting 196 countries in the filter at GloCal level Ireland was filtered out as the ideal country for triathlon activities. After this, further local filters were applied to determine the most favorable region for triathlon activities. The process used in this stage was similar to the Glocal Funneling with the minute difference of filters applied at this stage that is local filters were applied at this level. Cork’s markets were identified as the most fruitful ones for the offerings. The eventual choice is made after carefully going through filters including: People, travelling mediums, reaches of social media such as Facebook, and other facilities that would or could affect triathlon’s economy. The local funnel identifies Cork as the most promising place for triathlons among the other available choices. The other filters applied were the Population, social media targeting, Airport access and number of sport equipment shops there. All the factors were considered in favor of it. Presentation Cork: The other factors that leads towards selection of Cork was the availability of variety in spoken languages, High consumer index and monthly salary, Weather, Diversity in culture and availability of other multinational companies in the region (Lages, 2015) (Planet, 2015). Orientation After the application of local funnel to Ireland, Cork’s market was identified as the ideal market for triathlon due to its fame for triathletes. After this we have shifted our focus towards the identification of exceptional market characteristics of Cork, which will leads towards identification of Cyprus as the novel product for triathletes. The knowledge gathered for a successful entry to the market includes availability of substitutes in the market, competition, changing triathelte preferences and reasons of fame of Cork’s triathlons, contributories of the market and most important our team’s ability in identification of the prospective partners for such entry. Assembling Market knowledge for successful Entry: The number of triathletes in Cork has increased due to availability of large number of established clubs for triathletes here. The number of local persons interested in triathletes is also high thereby, leaving very little room for foreigner triathletes to come here. The other factors that are against Cork is the chilled and rainy weather of the Cork which causes the triathletes to go abroad for training purposes. Therefore Cyprus can be considered here as the worthy substitutes for the triathletes of Cork and those from abroad as well due to availability of training friendly weather conditions incremented with the experience of diverse Cyprus culture and availability of perfects tracks for athletes and ideal accommodations for their families. Other facilities that can be offered to the triathletes at Cyprus may include the following: Performance training for all triathletes that is for swimmers, Cyclers and runners with a real environment experience Travel around and Ski trips for triathletes and their families Training and custom-made consultancy High-end Medical facility and the provision of other professional for diet and other related activities Perfect housing or self-catering services Other family activities including walking holidays (Lages, 2015; Dubin, 2005). Creating Value After acquisition of fruitful knowledge about Cork’s triathlon market it becomes very important to devise policies as how Cyprus can create value in the triathlon market after its success in tourism industry worldwide and its fame of being beautiful place. How can Cyprus offer unique facilities to triathlon and can attract the attention of athletes towards these offers. To understand this offers of the competitors are taken into consideration and was studied thoroughly for identification of any problems that can create hindrances in the way of such offerings. Needs or problems of the athletes were considered and a proper solution for these problems was devised by our competent team with a view of creating value in the offers from the other competitors available in the market. To take competitive advantage from the available offerings of the competitors the team decided to deliver quality at reasonable price and made sure that all the offering we made to triathletes are the solutions to their needs and problems that were faced in past while getting services from other competitors. Consumer Their Needs and Problems Our solution Triathletes Suitable tracks easily reachable regardless of weather conditions Moderate climatic conditions suitable for training Open-water experience during winter Novel and versatile venture for athletes Communication Barriers resolution Best tracks for cyclers, clean beaches with moderate water temperature in winter Ideal weather condition during winter that is 14oC. Specialized Medical services Perfect geographical detachment among cities Hospitality culture Experience of varied culture English language and provision of translator for other lingual groups The existing market has hosting strong competitors. The competition in the market is observed and proper courses of actions are defined by the team to encounter the competition problems and to keep abreast with the market and pose a competitive edge over other competitors. The competitors in the market offers the same services we will. The difference we are going to make will be the provision of these services with the promise of quality and reasonableness of the price at which these offers would be made to the athletes. Competitors are analyzed on the basis of the following offerings: Provision of suitable training tacks Weather ideal for training especially in winter Clean Beaches, and relatively warm open-water Diversified Culture and Novel experiences Coaching and training In all of the above mentioned basis our organization is the leader except training facilities and that gap is completed by our team through making partnership with the commonly known training providers and other professional global bodies. The rival among the other competitors is the TRICAMP providing best experience in all the above mentioned categories except in cultural and coaching or training facility. Being considered as rival to keep a competitive edge over it proper policies is devised in this regard. Preliminary Elevator Pitch: The activities of triathlons are fully dependent on the weather conditions and the climate of their training environment. When the weather of Cork or Ireland goes bad in winter we offer triathletes to come Cyprus, the place with experience of most Sunny days, calm and warm open-water, Clean beaches and the home of ideal tracks for triathletes’ training. We offer them and their families an unforgettable tour experience in Cyprus in the form of experience in diverse culture with versatile nightlife (Adviser, 2015) (Lages, 2015). Adaptation After performing all the other integrated steps mentioned above the most difficult one to apply, i.e. adaptation of the selected product to the market arrives. Specific model for entry to the market was decided after a tireless effort of the team in selecting the adaptation approach. The other alternatives for entry to the market that is direct entry approach and many other were also considered. To take benefit from the local market, a proper strategy for entry and marketing was adopted. After careful consideration the well-tested and effective STP and 7Ps models were adopted to successfully entering Cyprus as a product suitable for Cork’s triathletes. Entry Mode to Cyprus: The adopted entry mode for entry to the Cyprus was contacts with the local travel agents and travelling across the border. Local travel agents played very important role in the entry process they were the partners whom were contracted before entry. They are Cork Triathlon Club, The Edge Sports, Tri Zone and Lee Travel. The entry was also supported by the mass communication media tools as well. The channels used in this sector was mobile awareness, web portals, web pages and advertising channels in other electronic media (Lages, 2015) (Anon., 2015). Business Model for entry: The business model for entry was as follows The team made efforts by providing updated online information and marketing activities for the advertisement purposes of the project’s offering to athletes. Which included the following Conducive training environment Novel experience Diverse culture and High class accommodations The marketing activities were made in a way that ensured provision of personal assistance to the athletes in Cyprus for strong business relationships. The tagline of the marketing campaign was very effective and attractive that is “We offer Cyprus for triathletes as a safe, family-friendly destination with pleasant weather, home of diverse tracks and rich culture, where triathletes can train, compete, have fun and can create everlasting memories with their families”. Marketing Strategy: The strategy used for marketing was 7Ps and included the following Ps: Physical Environment, People, Process, Promotion, Price, Place and Product. The strategy used delivered very effective results in terms of soft entry to the market. (Lages, 2015) Local Implementation of the Project The last and most difficult step of the whole approach is Local Implementation. All the efforts before this are totally dependent on the successful execution of this step. After Cork being filtered out from the application of GloCal and Local funnel’s filters as the most attractive market for launching Cyprus as a product, Cyprus’s characteristics were identified to match with the local tastes and demand. It was concluded that the sources that are needed for launching are the human resource, investment amount and time. For the Local implementation of the project 3M approach was adopted that is men, money and minutes. The successful implementation of the project requires 90800 Euros for financing the initial launching activities that includes marketing of the project, agreement and travelling cost, payroll and development (Anon., 2015). Critical Analysis The overall quality and quantity of the assignment was satisfactory. However statistical data is provided in the tale below. Area covered Performance level Overall story   Satisfactory S1:Background  Good S2: Engaging  Good S3: GloCal Funnel  Good S4: Local Funnel  Satisfactory S5: Orientation  Good S6: Creating Value  Good S7: Adaptation  Satisfactory S8: Local Implementation  Better Conclusion Poor Strengths and Weaknesses of My Project and that of others   150111 150112 150113 15011 150116 150117 150118 150119 Overall story 9 8 8 8 9 9 8 8 S1:Background  8  9  9  8  7  8  9  10 S2: Engaging  8  9  7  9  8  7 8 7 S3: GloCal Funnel  7  8  9  9  8  10  9  8 S4: Local Funnel  8  8  8  7  10  9  10  9 S5: Orientation  9  7  8  8  9 8   9  8 S6: Creating Value  10  9  10  9  8  9  7  9 S7: Adaptation  9  7  9  10  9  8  9  9 S8: Local Implementation  9  8  8  8  9  7  7  7 Conclusion  77  73 76  76  77  75  76  75 My Project Other Class mates Strengths Strengths Worthy opportunity for international study Same Ability to generate novel ideas Use or interpret old ideas Identification of New markets Same Sport industry that is pleasurable work Other boring industries Study of most historical and diverse culture No such opportunity Weaknesses Weaknesses Increased Social interactions Less social interaction Interaction with public authorities Interaction with private and public Difficulties introduction of new industry Difficulty in development of new product Increased use of information technology Use of manual old systems Overall the project was most difficult due to presence of two novelties that new industry in a new market Introduction of existing products to new markets. References: Adviser, T., 2015. Trip Adviser.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g190372-s205/Cyprus [Accessed 19 March 2015]. Anon., 2015. Cyprus Tourism Organization. [Online] Available at: http://www.visitcyprus.com/wps/portal [Accessed 19 March 2015]. Dubin, M., 2005. The Rough Guide to Cyprus (Rough Guide Travel Guides. 1st ed. UK: Blooms Burry Publishing. Lages, P. L. F., 2015. www.lflages.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.lflages.com [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Planet, L., 2015. Lonelyplanet.net. [Online] Available at: http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/ebooks/cyprus/cyprus-travel-guide-6/cyprus-lemesos-the-south-chapter-6/ [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Travel, C., 2015. Cyprus travel.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/cyprus/35362/Cyprus-travel-guide.html [Accessed 20 March 2015]. Read More