(Solved) Assignment on E-Tourism
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Added on 2021-06-17
(Solved) Assignment on E-Tourism
Added on 2021-06-17
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Running Head: E-TOURISM 1E-Tourism
E-TOURISM 2Introduction Over the past few years, service industry has played an important role in the development ofmost of the industrialized countries. Innovative business models and technologies havetransformed the service environment in the country. In today’s modern business environment,service industry is highly dependent on the social media and other internet sources to approachits customers. It is practical for the hospitality sector to realize this fact and familiarize with thesechanges for their marketing and communication process. By looking at the organizations inhospitality industry, it can be stated that innovative business models and technologies havetransformed the hospitality and tourism industries. Some of the examples of such innovations aremobile booking, phone-as-key-cards, mobile self-check-in, check-in kiosks, electronic luggagelags, lobby media panels etc. Looking at the scenario, it can be seen that social media hasdeveloped into an extension of organizations and when practiced can be an excellent way toengage with the customers and enhance market intelligence (Berkowitch, 2010). This digitizationof hospitality and tourist industry can be possible by the development of e-tourism. E-tourismassists in doing communication with its customers. Use of social media and mobile technologiesplay a significant role in the life of small and medium hospitality enterprises. An increase in theesales is seen in the hospitality industry. About this, it can be said that internet has completelychanged the principle and infrastructure of hospitality and tourism. This case study report includes the role of social media and mobile technologies for a small andmedium hospitality business i.e. Marine Court Hotel that is located in United Kingdom. Thecompany has presence on different social media platforms and networking sites so that it canreach to its potential customers. This report includes the literature review on current social mediastrategy that is used by this organization in hotel industry. Furthermore, it includes the case studyevaluation about the chosen business that includes all the findings which are generated from theabout literature review. At the end, a new social media strategy is suggested to enhance theservice operations and revenues of the chosen hotel. Literature review With the increase in the number of internet users, the use of social media platforms has grownover the past decades. This utilization has increasingly grown from the individuals and
E-TOURISM 3businesses. There are various companies which are proactively using social media as a vehicle toapproach millions of potential and repeat customers. Businesses in service sector, like hospitalitywhich engage in continuous communication with the guests are hugely changing their marketingstrategies by selecting this modern age interactive media over the outdated practices ofmarketing and public relations. According to Seth (2012), social media has changed the way the people around the world interactwith each other. However, social networking exists right from the beginning of humanity. Thesocial networking concept has developed much like other innovations and it is becoming verysophisticated with the improvement in the technology. The author defined social media as a formof electronic communication through which the users create and share the essential informationonline through pictures, texts, video and audio (Seth, 2012). As social media approaches thehuge number of people, it has developed as an effective marketing tool to communicate with thecustomers and build the brand image by the constant correspondence. In this context, Van der Bank (2014) stated that social media has become a low-cost marketingtool which enhances two-way communication between customers and businesses. Consideringdifferent small and medium enterprises, it can be stated that social media and mobiletechnologies play an important role in the growth of small and medium hospitality businesses(Van der Bank, 2015). As per Mgijima and Flowerday (2012) internet and mobile technologieshave the potential to assist the small-medium businesses to enhance quality of service, decreasethe costs, enhance productivity, attain competitive advantage and enhance profitability andrevenues (Mgijima and Flowerday, 2012). There are various small and medium hospitality organizations in United Kingdom which areusing social media and other internet technologies to reach out to its customer base. MarineCourt Hotel is one of them that are using social media to promote its services among targetedaudiences. Marine Court Hotel is a small and medium hospitality organization that is situated onthe seafront at Bangor. The hotel boasts an on-site restaurant and bar, gym and other wellnessfacilities. The organization offers free of cost parking services at its site. Rooms at thishospitality organization feature the stylish and traditional décor and furniture and they areequipped with the television and coffee and tea making amenities (Marine Court Hotel, 2018).To promote its services and grab the attention of London’s population, the organization is using
E-TOURISM 4social media and mobile technologies. It uses effective social media strategies which assist theorganization to reach out to its potential customers. According to Cardon and Marshall (2015) with customers responding and expressing theiropinions on public domain, social media has become more than a promotional tool for MarineCourt Hotel. For the company, it is working a channel which enables the interaction and providesthe chosen hotel an opportunity to look at the issues and needs of customers. If the organizationis able to resolve them effectively, it contributes to build an enhanced brand image in the UKhospitality industry. The authors further stated that with the increase in the number of websiteslike Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. which give the possible customers an opportunity to lookthe reviews by actual customers, the way the data is interpreted today has been changedsignificantly (Cardon and Marshall, 2015). Marine Hotel develops its social media strategyconsidering the fact that developing a unique social media network which enables the guests tocreate a profile and share feelings, opinions, photos, stories etc. can be a better source ofcompetitive edge or disadvantage.According to Carter (2014), the chosen organization understands that social media has a largeimpact on the hospitality industry. Customers use these platforms to make their purchasingdecision. Under its current social media strategy, Marine Court Hotel first makes the decision onthe selection of right platform like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. It has created apage on Facebook where it posts the pictures and important information about the hotel and itsservices. To increase its brand presence, the organization gives various offers to its regular guestsat hotels. It gives the information about the discounted offers on its Facebook page (Carter,2014). In this process, the business ensures that the content of message is user generated and itposts the messages on being mindful like the organization gets the most engagement from theiraudiences on Fridays and Saturdays. In this context, Tuten and Solomon (2014) stated that apartfrom having understanding of social media platforms which hotels’ audiences use, the hotelkeeps the deep knowledge of which type of content generates the most commitment for them.Since the audiences find the images and videos more engaging, the hotel posts the content withthe visually and engaged strong images across all the social media platforms (Tuten, andSolomon, 2014).
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