The essence of modern business is built on the need for adaptation and change. Informed decision-making can be the pillar upon which a company can maintain and even grow its business. And yet, so many businesses are currently struggling with finding purpose or implementing strategic changes that allow them to continue growing in response to the ever-changing world.
Favisbook was created because of that need for change. In 2017, a friend of Kareem Dus and Mark MacEachen got the incredible last-minute opportunity to work in France. All she needed to do was obtain a visa within two weeks. While for those unfamiliar with visa requirements that may have seemed like a simple enough task, the reality is that the visa process is extremely long and unnecessarily complicated, filled with different bureaucratic steps that one needs to take. After checking the French consulate’s office, she was horrified to discover that the next available slot for her to submit her application was four months away. The realization that she would lose the job came quickly and for Dus and MacEachen the realization that a new way of handling the visa process necessarily came even quicker.
As they began to embark on the journey they began focusing on research and practices, understanding that a combination of the two was what would provide them with the answer to the question at hand. How to speed up the visa application process? Heavily focusing their attention on the data available, they soon started taking chances. Often calling up the consulate and other services to find a way to book appointments quicker. It was all trial and error at first, but it informed their business process. First taking their chances with the French Consulate in New York they quickly realized that the key to handling the bureaucratic mess that was the visa process was persistence. CEO Kareem Dus mentioned that it was through studying their systems and catching cancelled appointments as soon as possible that they were able to establish a system that could guarantee an appointment within two weeks in the consulates listed on their website.
Strategic decision-making was what allowed them to begin offering their service, and trial and error is something that the company still actively practices. In the last few months, they have been employing a pay what you want scheme, which has in fact shown that their profit margins could be bigger than what they previously expected. Part of the reason for this is that those who choose their service have paid higher amounts than the ones they initially expected. This data has helped further alter their business as it has provided them with a unique insight into the minds of their clients.
While so far, their service has been mainly targeting the US visa process, they are now quickly looking to expand. As they have studied more and more policy changes and have been keeping up with geopolitical trends certain patterns have emerged that have allowed them to begin preparations for an expansion into the Canadian market. As their team of experts has gathered more and more information, they are now feeling ready to enter the tourism forecasting market and provide for their customers a unique combination of services.
In Canada in particular this could help tourism businesses grow their international clientele even further as they will know what tourism trends to prepare for and they will have expert assistance for the preparation of the visas required by their clients. This will help further drive up the already growing tourism industry.
While the pandemic led to a temporary halt in travelling, since the opening of non-essential travel into Canada on August 9th of 2021 for US citizens and on September 7th for international travellers, the Canadian Tourism industry has witnessed a great increase.
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Spending by international travellers in Canada increased by 247.3% in the third quarter. This increase is only the beginning as pre-pandemic levels of travel were even higher. In fact, even after that large increase, the spending by international travellers remained 81.9% lower than what it was in the fourth quarter of 2019.
As restrictions are easing there is no reason to assume that the tourism industry will not reach its pre-pandemic levels. What’s more, with Favisbook, travel agencies and other companies specializing in tourism will be able to assist their clients by simplifying the tourist visa process. Currently, while the tourism visa process in Canada is not overly complex it remains quite slow and bureaucratic. One of the main problems with this is that there is no clear time frame within which one should expect to receive their visa. As a result of this, many travellers may choose to not even try to get a visa as it can be both a waste of time and money. For businesses in the tourism industry, this reluctance caused by the complicated time frame and requirements of the visa process could lead to fewer clients and thus lower revenues. With proper consulting and forecasting, this can easily be avoided, which is why Favisbook is seeking to expand to that industry and implement many of the processes and strategies it has to the Canadian market.
Their expert team, led by their CEO Kareem Dus, has developed an incredible process and a deep understanding of how geopolitical changes can affect the tourism industry. By analyzing the data that they are gathering they are sure to create systems and forecasts that will help businesses expand and grow their earnings. Proper forecasting is one of the most important things for modern businesses and it is something that especially small or medium-sized businesses often do not have the knowledge or expertise to successfully do. Favisbook deeply values the convenience of their customers and as such, they are determined to create processes and services that will allow clients to get their wanted results with minimal effort. By outsourcing this task to Favisbook they can guarantee that they will not be caught by surprise due to a policy change or a difference in the forecast caused by travel trends.
