CCIL and Destination Mekong
Tourism Storytelling
Partnership for Capability-Building in Tourism Storytelling
Due to its cross-cutting economic nature and deep social footprint, tourism is uniquely positioned to help societies and communities return to growth and stability and lead wider recovery. The tourism industry has the potential to be reshaped in more meaningful and authentic ways that give opportunities to smaller players, women, youth, and minorities who can, in turn, enable further economic growth. For larger organisations, storytelling frameworks support the development of sustained, engaging content strategies that will lead to higher conversions and audience retention.
Storytelling a key intervention in tourism recovery.
Authenticity
Storytelling offers individuals and organisations the opportunity to talk to audiences about who they really are and what they stand for.
Co-creation
Storytelling allows players in the tourism industry to co-create narratives with travellers, inviting consumers to be active participants in a culture or region.
Experiences
Storytelling foregrounds experiences, creating content that draws audiences into unique narratives and spaces.
Decentralisation
Storytelling creates opportunities to hear diverse voices, with opportunities to disrupt dominant ideas and create rich and multilayered narratives.
Partnership details and initiatives
The Centre for Communication and Information Literacy Pte Ltd (CCIL) is a Singapore-based company with 17 years of experience in training, research, and advisory support in the fields of communication, digital content, language, and audience engagement. CCIL is supporting key industries as they transition out of the pandemic, specifically healthcare, arts & culture, NGOs, and tourism/hospitality. This capability-building partnership between CCIL and Destination Mekong focuses on:
Training to convey the trends and changes in consumer behaviour and values that have been shaped by the pandemic and influence brand storytelling, particularly with regard to sustainability, inclusivity, and culture.
Brand Storytelling for Tourism and Hospitality, a sector-specific modular training programme
The Idea Toolkit Talks, a series of free sessions for Destination Mekong members
Capacity-building and skills needed to create audience engagement and increase reach through a storied commerce approach, using inspiring stories of authentic experiences to build stronger consumer relationships, thus supporting sector recovery from and transformation out of the pandemic.
Storytelling Skills Audit, an initiative to understand and identify skills gaps in the sector
Storytelling Skills Roadmap, a strategy that comprises capability-building approaches, goals, learner profiles, and progress tracks
The Idea Toolkit
A curated series of four free talks covering storytelling and communication concepts.
Idea Toolkit 1: Brand Storytelling 101
Learn how to use brand storytelling to build stronger relationships with tourism audiences and create high-quality conversions with authentic, scalable strategies.
• 17 January 2023, Tuesday, 10am-11am SGT
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Delivery: Online, via Zoom
• Cost: free
Idea Toolkit 2: Writing for Impact
Get an overview of digital writing strategies you can implement immediately to express your ideas and impress your audiences.
• 1 March 2023, Wednesday, 10am-11am SGT
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Delivery: Online, via Zoom
• Cost: free
Idea Toolkit 3: Communicating Culture
Incorporate the culture, heritage, cuisine, and arts of your region into your digital content to showcase what makes you unique.
• 25 April 2023, Tuesday, 10am-11am SGT
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Delivery: Online, via Zoom
• Cost: free
Idea Toolkit 4: COVID-19 and Risk Communication
As the post-pandemic era remains unpredictable, learn how to weave in techniques to communicate in a way that reassures travellers, increase compliance, and reduces travel anxiety.
• 1 June 2023, Thursday, 10am-11am SGT
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Delivery: Online, via Zoom
• Cost: free
Brand Storytelling for Tourism and Hospitality
Connect with audiences and showcase your value with meaningful stories. This training programme comprises four modules that can be taken together or separately. Every module features hands-on learning and storytelling best practices to craft your brand story and align your narrative with consumer values. The strategies and frameworks are designed to be implemented on any platform, and can be used by people with varying levels of digital knowledge.
Fees per module: SGD 150. Fees for all four modules: SGD 540. Destination Mekong members receive a 45% reduction in fees for signups 4 weeks before the course date. Reduction in fees for all early signups requires participants to sign up and make full payment. GST is not charged for these courses.
Module 1: Consumer, Content, Community
Techniques for positioning, uncovering authentic stories that make the brand stand out, and building relationships with diverse audiences to spark future travel demand.
17 February 2023, Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm SGT
Duration: 3 hours
Delivery: Online, via Zoom
Module topics
The changing consumer landscape and its significance for brand stories in tourism
Showcasing the relevance of a travel/hospitality brand
Storytelling principles in the tourism industry
Post-pandemic audience insights to build long-lasting digital communities
Module outcomes
Understand how to position your brand’s stories against the current industry backdrop
Develop audience insights that lead to long-term relationships
Module 2: Storytelling Strategy
Planning a big picture strategy for storytelling that incorporates short, medium, and long term goals across digital and non-digital platforms to drive consumer relationships.
24 February 2023, Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm SGT
Duration: 3 hours
Delivery: Online, via Zoom
Module topics
Developing a storytelling strategy for yourself or your organisation
Developing content pillars to showcase your unique selling points, and strengths
Platform evaluations and audits to choose the right social media or digital platform(s) for your strategy
Demystifying metrics to understand how your stories are performing online
Module outcomes
Understand what goes into a storytelling strategy
Learn how to plan and implement a storytelling strategy
Module 3: Approaches to Story Structure
Structuring an individual story in text, image, or video format across websites, blogs, and social media platforms to drive leads and stimulate demand
3 March 2023, Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm SGT
Duration: 3 hours
Delivery: Online, via Zoom
Module topics
Reliable and unreliable narrators — choosing your storytellers
Storytelling frameworks and the multiple digital formats available
Micro and macro storytelling structures and shapes
Story and content repurposing to get more out of your initiatives
Module outcomes
Understand storytelling structure and the brand’s role
Learn and use techniques to structure compelling stories
Module 4: Storytelling Elements
Using language and visuals to develop high-impact value-based stories across any platform
10 March 2023, Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm SGT
Duration: 3 hours
Delivery: Online, via Zoom
Module topics
Verbal storytelling principles to write compelling stories on digital and social platforms
Language and sensory triggers to create immersive experiences for your audiences
Developing visual narratives with simple design and video techniques
Invisible storytelling that incorporates sound and music to create impact
Module outcomes
Understand the multiple elements of a story
Be able to make language and design decisions that make stories more compelling
Enrolment
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CCIL Courses
The Quantico Centre for Communication and Information Literacy invites learners to engage with thoughtful content and design experiences which result in well-timed, well-informed choices. By studying and thoroughly understanding the nature of information and its accompanying communication challenges, we are able to design courses that respond effectively and creatively to the needs of every participant.
Fee reduction for Destination Mekong members: 25% DM standard subsidy on all listed fees. 45% DM early-bird subsidy on all listed fees, when you enrol and make payment 4 weeks before the course start date. Please indicate ‘Destination Mekong member’ in the ‘Special Instructions’ section when you enrol.
| Course | Duration |
| Arts & Culture Communication → | 1 day |
| Authorship → | 2 days |
| Branded & Corporate Storytelling → | 2 days |
| Copywriting → | 2 days |
| Digital & Content Marketing → | 2 days |
| Information Design → | 1 day |
| Publishing → | 1 day |
| Risk Communication → | 1 day |
| Technical & Editorial Writing → | 1 day |
| UX & Chatbot Writing → | 2 days |
| WordPress → | 2 days |
Insights
There are no sides: new narratives in tourism communication
Visitor and local, tourist and guide. Tourism has often focused on what ‘insiders’ can offer ‘outsiders’, but new approaches to tourism storytelling allow all players to co-create narratives and feel connected to a region, its culture, and its environment.
More than sightseeing, tourism is life
Move seamlessly through categories such as food, shopping, arts, and nature. Tourism storytelling draws audiences into seamless experiences of cultural expression that reflect the life and culture of a region.
Telling a story that’s never been told
Meet Jens Parkitny, a portrait photographer who has told the remarkable story of Chin women in Myanmar and their centuries-old tradition of facial tattooing.
Imagined Community
Humans are social creatures, and we identify with social groups in various ways. Any brand or organisation can build large-scale communities based on mutual values and relationships.