Tourist Resort Management: Types, Challenges, and Market Research

This document discusses the types of resorts, their features, and challenges in managing them. It also explores the operational requirements of specialist areas in resorts. Additionally, it covers different types of resort packages and how they fulfill sales objectives. The document further delves into conducting market research on resort locations and the needs of target markets. Finally, it analyzes the business plan based on market research findings.

41 TOURIST RESORT
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
LO-1.................................................................................................................................................1
P-1: Types of resorts, their features and the challenges in managing them.................................1
P-2: Operational requirements of the specialist areas in the range of resorts..............................2
LO-2.................................................................................................................................................3
P-3 Explaining the different types of resort packages and how they will fulfil the sales
objectives.....................................................................................................................................3
LO-3.................................................................................................................................................4
P-4 Conducting the market research on the resorts locations and needs of target markets.........4
P-5 Analysing the business plan that is based upon the market research and findings...............5
LO-4.................................................................................................................................................6
P-6 Examining the different sustainable approaches and practices of resorts ............................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Tourist resort management is a type of service that is provided in the hospitality industry
where various leisure opportunities, recreational activities, restaurant and the accommodation
services are provided to the customers. The chosen firm of the report is Old course hotel golf
resort & spa. This project shall be highlighting on the various types of resorts, their features and
the problems that are faced in managing it. It shall be reflecting the specialist areas and the issues
in managing them. Apart from that further the project shall be demonstrating the various resort
packages that are available to the customer. Further the report shall be showing the development
of the resort package that fulfils the needs of the consumer preferable locations. In order to
conduct this specific market research shall be undertaken and the potential target market shall be
selected. Lastly the project shall be depicting the various guiding principles for achieving
sustainable tourism for the selected hotel resort.
MAIN BODY
LO-1
P-1: Types of resorts, their features and the challenges in managing them
Ski resorts- They are one of the types of resorts which shall be providing the recreational
activities in the form of winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating and snowmobiling
etc. They have the availability of proper equipments that are required for these winter sports. The
major features are that they can be available at the cold places like Switzerland, Austria etc. it is
considered as the luxurious properties and is highly charged as the maintenance of these resorts
are very challenging. The major challenges for the owners are at the time of summers,
maintenance of the highly priced equipments of the owner and that they also cause severe
impacts on the Alpine landscape and the ecosystem. (Song, Wang and Lyu, 2021).
Spa resorts- Another popular type of resort is the Spa resort where they offer special services
related to the spa and the health and the personal care are offered. Treatment and the warm water
bath are some specialized services that can be provided at these resorts. The services that are
provided are the professionally administered ones which can be conducted at the time of springs.
Nowadays these resorts have been developed to provide the additional services like the multi-
cuisine, physical exercises and the other recreational programmes to attract the potential tourists
who are in demand for the relaxation and the relieving of the stress. The major challenge is
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regrading hiring the professional experts who can provide the services that can be pleasant for
the visitors and ensures relieving the tensions.
Beach resorts- They are developed at the edge of beaches and the view of the seaside. They
attract majorly the tourists who use these resorts for the vacation-al purposes. There are many
seaside activities that are provided to the customers so that the accommodation is pleasant, and
they enjoy their trip (Dryglas and Różycki, 2017). The beach equipments are rented by the
tourists like the umbrella, cabanas and the catamarans. There are many water sports that can be
done in these resorts like the parasailing, scuba-diving, jet skiing, boating and the beach
volleyball. The marketing of these resorts can be done effectively to attract the potential
customers of the business. The most significant challenge is to maintain the cleanliness and
hygiene of the beach. The examples can be Exotic Caye beach resort in Belize and the Dominic
Republic's Allegro.
All-inclusive resorts- They are the most popular type of resorts where almost all the recreational
and the entertainment activities are provided to the customers. They generally operate on the
fixed operating cost model. They include the variety of services through executing the vertical
integration in the market like by the bookings of the air transport, hotel transfers etc. The major
challenges are that they are highly priced and because of that reason only the niche group of
customers can be attracted.
P-2: Operational requirements of the specialist areas in the range of resorts
The operational requirements differ on the services and the facilities that are provided by
the variety of resorts. The major focus is on the specialist areas of the resort and the customers
are also attracted based on these areas. For example in a beach resort the beach and seaside view
is the major area which is to be developed and maintained by the authorities.
Some crucial specialist areas and their associated operational requirements are:-
Beach resorts:- In the beach resort the major specialist areas are the water sports and the food
and beverage requirements. The crucial operational requirements of the company are:-
 In order to conduct the safe and secure water sports like the parasailing, scuba-diving and
jet skiing etc. firstly all the equipments are required (Torregrossa and Capitanescu, 2019).
Apart from that proper trainer has to be arranged so that the guests can be helped in
performing these activities. The regular maintenance of the equipments like the boat, life
jackets etc. are to be maintained.
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 The food and beverage requirements are to be met by serving all the drinks and snacks
that are required by the guests. A proper kitchen area has to be established with the
specialized chef that can help the guests with the required food stuff. Also, cold storage
has to be maintained so that the drinks can be stored and cooled specially in summer
times.
Ski resorts:- The specialized area of the ski resort is the snow or the ski area which is to be
maintained and managed effectively by the resort authority. The major operational requirements
are:-
 The development and the building of the ski area design is a capital intensive operation
work. It requires specialized skills and knowledge so that the proper construction work
can be undertaken.
 Handling the snow treatments is also one of the operational requirements that needs the
experts who can manage the equipments and also the training of the guests. The ski lift
and the slope operations and maintenance are the significant needs of the ski resorts.
 The mountain resort experts are to be hired so that the maintenance work can be
smoothly undertaken in the resort (Okumus and et.al., 2020). The first-aid is also one of the major requirements of the business as often also with
precautions there are serious injuries that are caused by the company.
Spa resorts:- In the spa resorts the specialized area is the therapeutic treatments and the health
care services. For this there are operational requirements like the various warm hot water bath
arrangements, the availability of the various lotions and the stress relieving professional experts.
LO-2
P-3 Explaining the different types of resort packages and how they will fulfil the sales objectives
Resort packages if termed as concept where the individuals book packages that includes
accommodations and luxury amenities to upgrade the experience and gain revenue. The different
type of packages are:
Honeymoon packages: this type of packages are offered by the resorts as compared to other
packages they cost lot of money which also helps them to increase their sales. In this package it
includes various facilities that are regarding the spa, dining deux, luxurious room and other
facilities which are served as high prices. It helps in fulfilling the sales objective of the resort is
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that if they will give good services then it will result in attracting large number of couples which
will results in increasing the sales of the resort.
Family package: this package include more than two members which provides them guarantee
relaxation and different activities for full family. It includes kids, elderly and adults. It fulfils the
sales objective as in this package the resorts has group booking which will result in increasing
their customer loyalty as they will serve them in the best manner which will create the good
image along with this it will also help them to increase the colleague loyalty by achieving the
maximum hotel and resort profits. Mainly the resort keep their full focus on this package as it
helps them to achieve their all the objectives by serving them different activities which will
result in building resort's image and loyalty and trust among their guests (Tyllianakis, and et.al.,
2019).
Festive package: Mainly resorts offers the packages that are based on different packages that are
Christmas, new year etc. The resort can achieve their sales by fulfilling the objective that is if
they will offer the discount of this type of events then it will result in attracting large number of
customers along with that their friends will also join on the other hand which will also result in
increasing the reputation of the resorts. Along with they also see that their all objectives are
achieved at the time of offering the packages to the people.
LO-3
P-4 Conducting the market research on the resorts locations and needs of target markets
The market research of the resort are done on the basis of finding what are the needs of the
customers what are the thing they want and how the resorts will fulfil them which will result in
attracting large customers as they are getting all the services and accommodation that are needed
by them for their desires. It also helps Old course hotel golf resort & spa to get the experience
and knowledge that they want along with that they also get the solution of the problems that are
related to the cost-effective and timely services (Rita, Brochado and Dimova, 2019). Mainly the
needs of the customers are based upon the comfortable at the time of shower, beds, they want
clean and tidy rooms and good connection so that they can also come in contact with their family
members and make them know about the services that are offered by the hotel. On the other hand
they also take the feedback from their customers by that they come to know what are problems
that are faced by their guest and how to improve that on the faster basis. By conducting the
market research they come to what are the position of Old course hotel golf resort & spa in the
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market what the people think about them about their services. By conducting the market research
they come to know the contents and the strengths of the brands and with the help of marketing
analytics solution they find the touchpoints of the journey and how to covert and optimize ROI.
Mainly Old course hotel golf resort & spa conduct the market research to know the ways in
which they can improve the experience that is most important for them as the customers are the
essential part of them to achieve the objectives and goals of resorts (Stankov and et.al., 2020).
P-5 Analysing the business plan that is based upon the market research and findings
Objectives:
 They focus on the ideas and establishing the goals
 To create the benchmarks that are related of measuring the success
 To attract 5% more customers as compared to previous growth
 To track the ideas that is of the direct growth (Haarhoff, 2018).
SWOT:
STRENGTH
 They have unique geographical
distribution that are linked with the
beaches and Scottish coastlines.
 Great interest of the people across the
world.
 They have different activities that are
related to the spa status and tradition
and performance of attracting large
number of tourists.
WEAKNESS
 They have to face several problems at
the time of disasters in the water as they
are located near the sea.
 It is situated fare away from the cities
 They have to face the problems at the
time of interacting with the customers
who are from other cities.
Opportunity
 They can invest money in their
advertisement which will result in
attracting large number of customers
 They have the opportunities to give
discounts to their when they book hotel
for the events and other things.
 They can also offer different services
which are not offered by their
competitors (Bach and Burton, 2017).
Threats
 The biggest threats of the company is
their competitors as in the tourism they
have to face several competitions.
 Shortening average stay in the area
 safety of the customers as they want
different health care services
STP:
SEGMENTATION The resorts follow demographic segmentation that is related to
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focusing the age group between 18-40 as these people wants to
travel more in the world. Mainly resort offers them different
packages so that they build up loyal customers.
TARGETING The resort targets more individuals by making them local and
trustful among them as their main targets is teenagers as they want
to travel more a more.
POSITIONING The position of the resort is based upon their customers mind what
they thunk about them and what are the different thing that are
offered by them different from their competitors and offering them
place that fulfils the needs and wants.
Marketing mix:
BASIS
PRODUCT In the tourism industry products are related to the combination of
intangible and tangible element that are served by the hotels
(Tourism Marketing Mix Essay.2021).
PRICE In the tourism industry it is very complex process as in the hotel
they have to include several prices that are related to the
railways, travel, and other services etc. the pricing of the resorts
are also made on the seasonality which is the important factor of
pricing.
PLACE After the market research and finding it has been known that it is
the most important factor as all the customers want the place that
have good location and environments.
PROMOTION In tourism industry hotels and resource advertise themselves on
the televisions and social media. Nowadays it s the best
promotion strategies that are used by them as they post different
videos and posts on their pages (Baum 2018).
Budget:
BASIS
ADVERTISEMENT 50000
RESOURCES 15000
SOCIAL MEDIA 35000
TOTAL 100000
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LO-4
P-6 Examining the different sustainable approaches and practices of resorts
The different sustainable approaches and practices that are implemented by Old course hotel golf
resort & spa is:
Create a green team: The resorts as their member to participate in the green team that is related to
the eco-friendly practices in the areas (Sustainable Hotel Ideas: 25 Ways to Go Green.2021).
Along with this it also creates the and gives the sense that is regarding the green strategies'
ownership and commitment that is regarding the long term adoption. Also, they have planted so
many trees and leaves which will also result in green resources and conducting different
activities on the gardens so that the resources are used in proper manner by their customers.
Starting the low- hanging fruits: the hotels and resorts must develop the ideas that are related to
the using reusable branded bottle by cutting down the plastic water bottles by offering reward
systems. They have stopped using the bins and have started using the worn recycling symbols
and have added the bind near the banks so that customers can easily see them and can use it.
Giving and hiring process in green manner: the resorts also use the process of face to face
connection or use Skype at the time of taking interview by stopping the process that are related
to the printing out the employee Manuel forms or linking the documentation in the electronic
forms.
Focusing on the efficiency: the resorts focuses on the green corporate culture which makes sure
that they perform all the activities in the green manner by also providing their customers to use
remote check in and out entry by cutting down the use of plastic keys which will result in
reduction of paper usage, plastic cards and minimizing the staffs and also the carbon emissions
causes (Amirudin, Nawawi and Salin, 2017).
Make guests room more green by using automate conservation: resorts performs various
sustainable efforts that are related to the reminding their guest to reuse the towels, switch of the
AC and light switch when they leave the room and they have also started using the smart
showers that are regarding setting the pre-set time and alerting them that their time is over. They
also have the advancement technology that is room sensor that have automatic light levels that
will increase and decrease the brightness of the bulbs and lights.
Reducing the waste at the times of events: the resorts mainly keep their focus on the events that
the customers do not take the things and waste them which will also result in wasting the foods
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along with that the resorts also have to face the pollution around their area. Also, they have made
the strategy that is regarding the increasing the amount of the products that can be reused and can
also dispose the waste. They also sometimes give the waste food to the local and nation food
banks which give that food to the people who do not have money to buy the food or do not have
any ingredients (Page and et.al., 2017).
CONCLUSION
By summing up the above report it has been concluded that Tourist resort management is a type
of company that comes under the hospitality industry where various relaxation opportunities,
non-professional activities, restaurant and the betterment services are provided to the customers.
The above study have reflected the types of resorts, their features and the challenges in managing
them that are spa and ski resorts most popular type of resorts where almost all the recreational
and the entertainment activities are provided to the customers. With assistance of the above
report it has also discussed about the different types of resort packages that are honeymoon and
family package and how they fulfil the sales objectives. Further it has also included the market
research on the resorts locations and needs of target markets along with business plan that is
based upon the market research and findings. Lastly it has also included the sustainable
approaches and practices of resorts that are go green and giving their employee green training
and hiring them in green manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Amirudin, N. R., Nawawi, A. and Salin, A. S. A. P., 2017. Risk management practices in tourism
industry–a case study of resort management. Management & Accounting Review
(MAR). 16(1). pp.55-74.
Bach, L. and Burton, M., 2017. Proximity and animal welfare in the context of tourist
interactions with habituated dolphins. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 25(2). pp.181-
197.
Baum, T., 2018. Sustainable human resource management as a driver in tourism policy and
planning: a serious sin of omission?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 26(6). pp.873-889.
Dryglas, D. and Różycki, P., 2017. Profile of tourists visiting European spa resorts: a case study
of Poland. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events. 9(3). pp.298-
317.
Haarhoff, R., 2018. Tourist perceptions of factors influencing destination image: A case study of
selected Kimberley resorts. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure. 7(4).
pp.1-21.
Okumus, B. and et.al., 2020. Tackling food waste in all-inclusive resort hotels. International
Journal of Hospitality Management. 88. p.102543.
Page, S.J., and et.al., 2017. Case study: Wellness, tourism and small business development in a
UK coastal resort: Public engagement in practice. Tourism Management. 60. pp.466-
477.
Rita, P., Brochado, A. and Dimova, L., 2019. Millennials’ travel motivations and desired
activities within destinations: A comparative study of the US and the UK. Current
Issues in Tourism. 22(16). pp.2034-2050.
Song, H., Wang, J. and Lyu, S.O., 2021. Willingness to pay for casino-based integrated resorts:
A choice experiment. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 19. p.100555.
Stankov, U., and et.al., 2020. E-mindfulness–the growing importance of facilitating tourists’
connections to the present moment. Journal of Tourism Futures.
Torregrossa, D. and Capitanescu, F., 2019. Optimization models to save energy and enlarge the
operational life of water pumping systems. Journal of cleaner production. 213. pp.89-
98.
Tyllianakis, E., and et.al., 2019. Policy options to achieve culturally-aware and environmentally-
sustainable tourism in Fiji. Marine pollution bulletin. 148. pp.107-115.
Online
Sustainable Hotel Ideas: 25 Ways to Go Green.2021.[Online]. Available
through:<https://www.cvent.com/en/blog/hospitality/eco-friendly-hotel-ideas>
Tourism Marketing Mix Essay.2021.[Online]. Available through:
<https://www.ukessays.com/essays/tourism/marketing-mix-of-tourism-industry-
essay.php>
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