Zoom Can’t Read the Room: Why In-Person Still Matters in Tourism
- Fran Hird
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Body language, energy, and trust, what we lose when we stop showing up, and why it matters.
In safari tourism, our work might span continents, but it’s built on something timeless: people doing business with people.
And yet, in the age of remote calls and digital efficiencies, it’s easy to forget just how much of this industry still hinges on presence. You can tick all the boxes on Zoom, update your rates, share your news, send an Agent Zone login, but still miss the moment. Still fail to connect.
Because connection doesn’t always come through a screen. Sometimes, you have to read the room and Zoom can’t do that for you.
Sales Is Still Personal
You’re not just selling a bednight. You’re selling trust. Belief. A story an agent can confidently pass on to their guests.
Safari isn’t a spreadsheet decision, it’s an emotional one. And when you’re in person, you get to see that shift happen. You watch a raised eyebrow turn into curiosity. A cautious “maybe” become an excited “let’s do it.” That kind of persuasion lives in eye contact, shared laughter, and real-time reassurance.
You don’t get that over patchy audio and half-glimpsed reactions.
Body Language Doesn’t Lie
An agent might say “we’ll think about it,” but what’s their posture saying? Are they engaged or just being polite? Is the idea landing or are they checking their phone under the table?
Being physically present gives you access to a whole other layer of communication, the unspoken kind that tells you when to pause, push, shift tack, or simply listen.
On Zoom, those cues vanish. And when they do, you risk missing the real conversation.
Trust Grows Between the Meetings
You don’t build lasting partnerships through email chains and newsletter updates. You build them in the margins, on long game drives, during breakfast debriefs, in that relaxed moment at the end of a long trade show day.
It’s in those unscheduled moments that agents open up. About their clients, their concerns, their loyalty. That’s where deals deepen and relationships stick.
Zoom might be efficient. But efficiency isn’t intimacy.
Energy Is Contagious - But Only in Person
The best salespeople in this industry don’t just know their product, they embody it. They carry the energy of their camps, the spirit of their teams, the stories of their landscapes.
That kind of passion doesn’t translate well into PowerPoint slides. It lives in gestures, tone, conviction. It shows up in the way you describe a leopard sighting, or how your face lights up when talking about the NGO your lodge supports.
In a virtual setting, that spark dulls. In person, it ignites.
So, When Do You Make the Trip?
Not every meeting needs a flight. But when it comes to:
Building new trade relationships.
Reigniting dormant agent networks.
Launching new camps or products.
Recovering from a guest issue.
Getting honest feedback on your positioning.
Showing up matters.
Because tourism isn’t just about product. Or price. Or platforms.
It’s about people doing business with people.
And some of the most important work still happens in the room, not the Zoom.
